A polished homepage is only one part of a website project. The harder questions usually appear elsewhere: can a visitor understand the service, can the team update the content, and does an enquiry reach the right person?
When comparing web design and development proposals, ask each team to explain how it will answer those questions. A list of technologies or attractive mockups cannot tell you what is included in the delivery. For a finance or technology business, the brief also needs to distinguish public marketing pages from account access, product interfaces and any external systems.
Define the website’s job before comparing proposals
Write down the main audience and the action the website should support. A company introducing a trading platform may need product explanations and demonstration requests. A creative studio may need project collections and a useful enquiry form. These examples need different page structures even if both businesses want a modern visual style.
Prepare a page list, the content available for each page and the people responsible for missing material. Identify who approves product descriptions and financial claims. Our business website planning guide can help organise that initial brief.
Compare deliverables, not just page counts
A proposal for ten pages can mean ten unique layouts or several pages assembled from one template. Ask which layouts are custom, what can be reused and how the mobile versions will be reviewed.
- Design: page layouts, navigation, typography, image treatment and interactive states.
- Development: the working pages, forms and any specifically agreed integrations.
- Content: who writes, supplies, uploads and approves the text and media.
- Handover: editing access, instructions, account ownership and maintenance responsibilities.
Clarify the number of review rounds and how new requests affect the scope. Agreeing these details early makes proposals easier to compare and gives both sides a useful reference when decisions change.
Review a complete visitor journey
Ask to review a representative journey before approving every page. For a service business, that might run from the homepage to a service page, then to a relevant portfolio example and an enquiry form. Each step should answer the question that led the visitor there.
Use realistic text and images during the review. Placeholder headlines can hide awkward wrapping, while a short dummy paragraph says little about how an actual service description will fit. Check menus, buttons, form labels and error messages alongside the main page design.
Set practical mobile acceptance checks
Include a mobile review in the delivery plan. Check that headings stay readable, images preserve the intended subject, controls remain usable and the page does not scroll sideways. Review the actual campaign banners and project covers rather than assuming every image will work in the same crop.
Try the enquiry form from a phone, including an incomplete submission. Confirm that the success message is clear and that the receiving team gets the message. A form that looks finished still needs an end-to-end delivery check.
Make technical requirements specific
Ask what will be measured, where it will be measured and which pages are included. A general promise of a fast, secure or SEO-ready website is difficult to assess without an agreed review process.
For example, specify representative pages for performance checks, the content fields editors need and the systems a form must connect to. Discuss keyboard navigation, readable contrast and labelled controls during design and testing. If a formal accessibility audit is required, define its scope separately.
For search-related build checks, use our SEO-friendly website checklist. The website proposal should identify the actual tasks included rather than imply that launch guarantees search rankings.
Agree what happens after launch
Before signing off, confirm who owns the domain, hosting and third-party accounts, who can publish changes and who handles updates. Ask for an editing walkthrough and a clear list of recurring costs. If there is ongoing support, document its availability and the work it covers.
Hipex brings creative and technical services together for finance and technology businesses. Explore our web design and development service, then share your page list, audience and integration needs so the deliverables can be agreed around your project.
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