Web design pricing is opaque. Some Seattle agencies have a rate card. Some will only give you a price after a long discovery process. Others seem to pull a number out of thin air.
This is confusing for clients. You have a budget. You have a business goal. You just want a straightforward price for a professional website. Let's look at how agencies arrive at their numbers.
How do most agencies price their work?
Most web design and development projects use one of three pricing models: fixed bid, time and materials, or value-based.
- Fixed Bid: You agree on a single, fixed price for a specific scope of work. This is the most common model for small to medium-sized projects. It provides cost certainty for the client.
- Time and Materials (T&M): You pay for the actual time spent on the project, plus the cost of any materials (like stock photos or software licenses). This is common for large, complex projects where the scope is likely to change. It offers flexibility.
- Value-Based: The price is based on the perceived value of the website to your business, not the time it takes to build. This is less common, but it can be a good option for projects with a clear and significant ROI.
Each model has its place. We have used all three. But for most of our projects with Puget Sound businesses, we have settled on a hybrid approach.
What are the risks of fixed-bid pricing?
The fixed bid seems simple and safe. You know exactly what you will pay. But it carries risks for both the client and the agency.
If the project scope is not perfectly defined from the start, you will face change orders. A change order is a request for additional work that falls outside the original scope. Each one comes with an additional cost. This is where a seemingly low fixed bid can balloon into a much larger number.
It also puts the client and the agency in an adversarial relationship. The agency has an incentive to minimize the time they spend to protect their profit margin. The client has an incentive to ask for as much as possible within the fixed price. This is not a healthy dynamic for a creative partnership.
A fixed bid on a loosely defined project is a recipe for disappointment. It often leads to a finished product that meets the letter of the contract but not the spirit of the client's goals.
We have seen this happen. A Tacoma-based manufacturing company came to us after a fixed-bid project with another agency went sour. The agency delivered a website that checked all the boxes in the contract, but it didn't generate any leads. It was a functional failure.
How does Time and Materials (T&M) work?
A T&M model is more flexible. You pay an hourly rate for the designers, developers, and strategists working on your project. This is common for ongoing work, retainers, or large projects where the scope is expected to evolve.
For example, a growing Bellevue startup might use a T&M contract to continuously add features to their web application. They get the flexibility to adapt to user feedback without a new contract for each change.
The risk for the client is budget uncertainty. An open-ended T&M contract can easily go over budget if not managed carefully. That is why we always use T&M contracts with a "not to exceed" cap. This gives you the flexibility of T&M with the cost certainty of a fixed bid.
Our Hybrid Approach: Capped T&M
For most projects, we use a capped Time and Materials model. We start with a detailed discovery process to understand your business goals and define a clear scope of work. Based on that discovery, we provide a detailed estimate of the hours required for each phase of the project.
We then set a "not to exceed" price. You will never pay more than that amount. We track our time meticulously and bill you only for the hours we actually work. If we are more efficient and come in under the estimated hours, you pay less. We share the benefit of our efficiency with you.
This model aligns our interests with yours. We are both focused on creating the best possible website in the most efficient way. There are no change orders, no haggling over scope, and no surprises on your invoice.
It's a transparent, collaborative way to work. It’s how we have built long-term relationships with clients from Olympia to Everett.
If you want a clear, fair price for a professional website, let's talk. We can review your current site and show you what is possible.
Request a free website audit report to get started.
Seattle, WA
A full-service digital agency working in WordPress, Drupal, Shopify, Webflow, React, and React Native. We partner with universities, governments, and growing brands to ship sites and products that hold up after launch.
