Editorial draft · Prepared for LEBRETO DESIGN WEB. Business review pending; no publication or review date has been assigned.
Start with the business job
Write down what the website needs to do: generate qualified enquiries, explain a specialist service, sell products or support existing customers. Identify the main audience and the action it should take. A supplier cannot recommend an appropriate structure if the goal is simply “a modern website”. Include the information your sales team repeatedly has to explain.
Compare like-for-like proposals
Ask each supplier to specify pages, copywriting, imagery, integrations, content migration and testing. Check whether search setup means only metadata or includes redirects, indexation and content structure. Record hosting, licences and maintenance as recurring costs. A lower initial fee may exclude work that another proposal includes; the comparison should show those boundaries clearly.
Inspect how the work will be delivered
Request an explanation of discovery, content approval, design review, implementation and launch. Ask who can approve changes and how extra scope is priced. Review relevant work where the supplier has permission to discuss it. A polished homepage alone does not demonstrate a usable mobile navigation, an accessible form or a reliable publishing workflow.
Keep ownership clear
Confirm who holds the domain, hosting, platform and analytics accounts. Ask for editable source or administrator access appropriate to the chosen platform, plus a handover guide. Record third-party licences and renewal responsibilities. Avoid relying on a verbal promise that every component can be transferred; the agreement should explain any restrictions.
Use a practical acceptance checklist
Before approval, test a phone enquiry, a form submission and the most important browsing journey on a mobile device. Confirm who will monitor delivery failures after launch. A sensible decision balances fit, evidence, scope clarity and ongoing operating cost. The cheapest proposal and the most visually dramatic concept are not automatically the best match.
Put the guide into practice
Write down your current position, the outcome you want and the constraints you need to work within. Use those notes as the starting point for a focused conversation.