hi everone

 

I have been learning web design and development for a few years and have built a few sites. mainly for friends and colleagues. Most of my sites have been static, though I have helped build and maintained a wordpress site and textpattern site.

 

I friend of mine has asked me to write a web design proposal for a company they do work for. The company are a is a light engineering business with quite a few years of trading.

 

The current site is very ugly and is in need of a fresh and professional update with

re-branding, Usability and structure.

 

As its my first proposal I'm a little un-sure how to approach this for the first time, considering this is going direct to the proposed client.

 

1. Should all proposals provide quotes at initial stage.? I'm a little worried here as I have had no communication with the client as of yet

 

2. The current branding within the site uses quite an ugly logo. How do you suggest to the client that they need to think about re-deisgning the logo and brand colours before work is done on the design look and feel. Or are some sites designed around a bad logo?

 

 

could anyone give us some tips or advice for planning proposals for a new client for the very first time. I have done some research on google but would like to know how people here started off?

 

Thanks

 

lister

What I would do, is build a list consisting of each stage and write a start and end date for each stage. For example;

 

- Stage 1 (Start Date - End Date)

- Stage 2 (Start Date - End Date)

- Stage 3 (Start Date - End Date)

and so on...

 

I would quote each stage, so it makes it easier for both yourself and your client to break down the cost. Put yourself into your clients place and think of it like this; would you like to be presented with a breakdown of what you are paying for?

So yes, quote each stage in detail.

 

And make it look professional.

 

Check your PM!

Try to find out how long it will take you to fulfil the project and base the cost on that. Don't undersell yourself as that never works. Usually clients tend to have more input during the development process, and usually prefer to be charged less for this input if this is, of course, going to take you longer. Most clients don't understand what can be so hard about a bit of programming or design adjustment lol. Usually you need to try and be as undertechnical as possible with them.

 

Usually, I provide a mock up photoshop design of a website before charging the customer anything. It doesn't take long to mock up a web design in photoshop. Then you can play around with it all you like, bearing in mind your development abilities. Then, once the customer has agreed (in writing, such as e-mail) then process the order at an agreed rate assuming the client has no other input.

 

Hope this helps

What I would do, is build a list consisting of each stage and write a start and end date for each stage. For example;

 

- Stage 1 (Start Date - End Date)

- Stage 2 (Start Date - End Date)

- Stage 3 (Start Date - End Date)

and so on...

 

I would quote each stage, so it makes it easier for both yourself and your client to break down the cost. Put yourself into your clients place and think of it like this; would you like to be presented with a breakdown of what you are paying for?

So yes, quote each stage in detail.

 

And make it look professional.

 

Check your PM!

 

 

Thanks for the feedback.. sorry, I cant see me PM? not sure its setup..

 

lister

What Should You Include In A Design Proposal

One thing I would suggest, when detailing costs and schedules in an initial proposal or project scope, try to add a cavaet that the figures/dates mentioned are based on the scope you've documented.

 

If the scope goes through a number of iterations, and this results in a larger scale project, you don't want to be tied into a limited budget and timescale.

 

Once the proposal/scope has been signed off, at this point the final quote and schedule should be binding.

 

Then following this milestone, any changes to scope would be subject to change control.

Instead of trying to write your own, why dont you try these ready made templates. Youll save so much time and will have a proposal ready in 5 minutes.

 

http://www.webdesigndocuments.com