Writing a Website Design Proposal

Propaganda Party: The Pop Stalin Design Manifesto

44 Comments | Feb 2 | Business

Writing a Website Design Proposal

I’m still trying to get the hang of writing website design proposals myself but that’s not going to stop me from passing on some tips. Website design proposals can take all forms—there’s no set way to create one. There can be some things you’ll see in all design proposals and I’ll list some of the common items I’ve seen in different proposals and what I put in mine.

What Is a Website Design Proposal?

A website design proposal is a fancy way of saying quote. Often a potential client will come to you asking, “What will this kind of site cost me?” You should do some discovery, using a client questionnaire before giving the client a quote. Otherwise, you may find yourself under-quoting a project without getting all the information up-front.

Once you’ve spoken with the potential client, gone over the client questionnaire, you’ll sit down in front of your trusty computer and hammer out a proposal—which explains in detail what you’re going to do with the project, step by step. Like the song goes, “Break it down…”

Design Your Proposal

I use Microsoft Word to create my proposals and inside Word you have a Header and Footer function. In the Header I like to place an understated logo with my company name, tagline and website address. You don’t want to go too crazy with graphics because the proposal is about what you’re going to do for the company, not your design skills. Though, being a designer, your proposal shouldn’t be without some design elements.

In the Footer, I like to put my company name, address, phone number and email.

Confidentiality Statement

I like to include a cover page with a confidentiality statement. It basically says, “The content inside here is mine; don’t show it to anyone else ’cause that’s not cool.” Of course, it’s written more professionally than that.

Your Company Statement

I place a small statement about my company, what I do, etc. It doesn’t have to be extremely wordy just a quick sentence or two.

Company Name

You’ll want to include the company name you are creating the proposal for. It’s kinda like saying “Hello, I acknowledge your companies’ importance.” Below is how I write it:

ABC Widgets Website Design Proposal
Submitted to Person Who Requested Quote
Prepared by Jen Huls, Pop Stalin Design
February 2, 2007

Project Goals

If you’ve proceeded to the point of writing a proposal than you’ve already talked to your potential client about their expectations… right? Lets hope so because without that information, you’re going to have a heck of a time writing a thorough proposal.

The project goals are just that, what the client is expecting from you as a designer. You’ll show in this area that you’ve actually paid attention to the clients’ requests and are reiterating those needs here.

Project Phases

I can’t claim originality for this section, I got it from the fine folks at Dynamic Vantage, Inc.

The phase sections break the project down by the steps you’ll be working in—design, development, testing, delivery & launch. You can go into as much detail here as you’d like talking about what will happen through each step. This gives the potential client a clear idea of what you’ll be doing.

Schedule & Fees

In this section you can break the project down into hours and outline your fees or costs. There are very few clients you can send a proposal to and state, “This project will cost $4500″ and not explain how you arrived at that number. Any business worth their salt is going to want to know how that $4500 breaks down.

I also like to put my payment terms in this section. Payment terms are what I expect to be paid up front before beginning the project because at this point, I’ve done all the “spec” work I’m going to do—which is talking with the client about their project and writing the proposal.

In Conclusion

That’s correct, I write a conclusion statement at the end of my proposal. It’s a basic summary and some niceties to make the client feel good about working with me. Hopefully, having received a professionally drafted design proposal makes them feel all gooey inside to begin with though I suspect most potential clients don’t expect this from a freelance designer.

Don’t be mistaken, proposal writing is an art form and isn’t much fun, unless you like to write proposals. It is however a necessary step towards professionalism in our trade. It also helps you as a designer to wrap your head around a project.

Good luck!

44 People Have Bloviated

noel | Feb 2

These are awesome tips and i agree, writing proposals is an artform! I will definitely be coming back to this page next time i tackle a proposal.

…and i just also want to say that these are great tips to follow for any kind of proposal, not just website related
Pop Stalin | Feb 2

Thanks Noel for going to all the trouble you did to leave this insightful comment! Also, thanks for letting me know my anti-spam measures weren’t working.
Colin Rowley | Feb 3

Jen,
Great post. Working for a web development firm out of Houston, I write close to 4-5 proposals per week. I’ve learned quickly it is truly a science.

Too bad you have to stick to old Word to design and publish it. I am still on the look out for a better creative way to write and submit proposals. I keep thinking delivering a proposal via the web could catch on quickly. You could use a simple html template (allowing for more creativity), publish it, make it secure with use of a password, and let it expire in 30 days automatically (proposal discontinues). Not bad, huh. Give me a couple programmers and I could have an ASP model up in no time

What’s wrong with my idea? Prolly already done, just not aware
David Airey | Feb 5

Personally I use Adobe InDesign to create my proposals, kind of like laying out a page of a magazine (except simpler). Then I print to PDF and email that. PDFs can’t be changed easily so it’s more secure.

Back in my good old days I used to send CVs (Resumés) in Microsoft Word. The downside came when the recipient had a different version of Word, meaning the alignment jumped when they opened the file, screwing up my layout.
Pop Stalin | Feb 5

That’s a really good idea David. I saw a discussion somewhere about the security of contracts and MS Word. Come to think of it, I never even thought of the “tampering” aspect.
David Airey | Feb 5

One other thing. I noticed your card on bla.st. If you think it’s a good idea you should write a blog post about it (your post could be a good or bad review). Then send the post link to bla.st and they’ll add 2 cents to your account per day.

It’s not much, but it’ll really boost your ranking amongst the other ‘free’ cards, putting up near mine. Then I’ll be in better company too.
Pop Stalin | Feb 5

Ha! Thanks for the tip, I’ll do that.
Increase Productivity: Create a Client Questionnaire | Pop Stalin Designs’ Design Blog | Mar 9

[...] I briefly touched on the client questionnaire in the post about “Writing a Website Design Proposal” and some of you “greener” folks may not know exactly what that is and why it’s important. As a freelance designer you’re more than just a designer—you’re a business owner, an account, a project manager and a sales person—just to name a few of the hats we wear. So it’s really important to make sure you’re working as efficiently as possible. If not you could be wasting the clients’ time and giving yours away for free. [...]
links for 2007-04-08 | Apr 7

[...] Writing a Website Design Proposal | Pop Stalin Designs’ Design Blog I’m still trying to get the hang of writing website design proposals myself but that’s not going to stop me from passing on some tips. Website design proposals can take all forms—there’s no set way to create one. (tags: web design business freelance tips writing) [...]
Belazure | Apr 11

I found this extremely helpful and insightful. Definately will use these tips in my future proposals. Thanks!
Pop Stalin | Apr 12

Glad you found it useful.
Chris | May 22

Great article! Can you share with us an example propsal ?
sangesh | Sep 19

Grest compilation, thanks you it was quite useful
Rwothomio Happy Dean | Oct 11

I found this to be a very useful website. I have been in the industry for now nearly seven years and go through most of the checks listed above. I know for sure that many others will find this information very useful, especially those that are new in this area. Otherwise Congs for sharing with the world.
Mead | Oct 26

Well written article, I will be sure to have it bookmarked. I however would like to see a sample proposal which I honestly believe would be a good complement to this article.
Phill | Nov 21

Great Article,
I too have been freelancing for a while and was recently asked for a proposal.
After 3 attempts I discovered these simply tips and have made a nice looking proposal.
Thanks
Phil McCarty | Dec 9

Thanks for this. You probably have no idea how many careers you’ve nudged in the right direction, but hopefully Karma is bringing it back to you.
dubai web designer | Dec 17

yes, well done, useful article!!
Pop Stalin | Dec 20

Thanks!
Singh Rishiraj | Dec 28

Great article,
I like to send proposal in pdf format as it widely supported even on mobile devices.
Also its not easy for some one to modify it.
Pop Stalin | Jan 1

@ SIngh: I always, always, always send in PDF format for the specific reason of not being able to modify it easily. Of course, I’m paranoid like that so…
RONNIESPLIFF | Feb 7

this good but can i get a sketch of the whole proposal
Jen | Feb 7

Ronnie-
Just do a Google search for “web design proposal” filetype:pdf
Megan Prusynski | Feb 21

Hi Jen,
Thanks for the very useful article. Funny, it was the first result when I searched for “design proposal writing.” Cool, huh? Makes me think it’s a small world when the first google result is someone I know. Hope you’re doing well!
web design , almog | Feb 29

Hi this was great it really helped me out.
Thanks
Revisiting Website Proposals For the New Year- Pop Stalin Design’s Design Blog | Mar 12

[...] an actual example of a web design proposal based on the post I wrote a while back entitled, “Writing a Web Design Proposal.” So today, I’ll be posting a PDF of my web design proposal. I hope you find it helpful [...]
James Gargan | Apr 28

Hi Jen,

Good post, bringing proposal writing back to basics. I’ve been writing website proposals for the past six years now, maybe 5 or 6 a week. I find that customers and prospects are getting much more demanding with regards Proposal Content, e.g. they want us to specify which browsers to test on, WAI compliance details, technology used, etc. etc. Our standard proposal is up to about 20 pages now, primarily of standard bumph! However, we have found it protects us from the really demanding clients who buy an 10-page brochure website and expect a massive corporate portal.
Jen | Apr 28

@James – I think I’d lose my mind if I had to write 5-6 20 page proposals a week. I wouldn’t be able to get anything else done. More power to ya, brothu!
marke | Jun 4

for those of you who want to use Word and still get a PDF, you can download the free PDFCreator software from Sourceforge @

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/

this will allow you to select a “PDF Printer” from Word, then will write your document to a standard PDF file.

otherwise, thxs for the tips and I agree, writing 5-6 props a week would turn me into a bigger alcoholic then I already am…

thxs Jen,
- mark
Hope | Jul 14

Thanks for the helpful tips on writing a proposal. I should be typing my proposal tonight, so hopefully mine comes out as neat and productive as the one you describe.
Ruben | Sep 1

Nice post. There’s a fine line between giving enough detail to satisfy the customer and having a difficult to understand proposal. I’m actually working on a free application that does exactly that (www.earthlingsoft.com). The goal is to deliver a clear and concise proposal with as few pages as possible. Just enough information so what’s most important doesn’t get lost.
lawal | Sep 25

lovely tips
A somewhat worrisome happening. « refraction - vision in 64-bit colour | Oct 8

[...] red flags. About a month or so ago I was working on a website design proposal and I came across this FANTASTIC article about how to write a powerful proposal as a freelance web developer. In that article there was a [...]
web Design Glasgow | Oct 13

Thanks for this, as writing proposals can be a right pain,
cheers!
Jordan Burke | Feb 1

Hey Jen,
Great article. Your clear, concise focus on what’s important for a good proposal has really helped me in developing my proposals. Keep up the outstanding work!
SitePoint » 7 Tips For Writing A Winning Web Design Proposal | Mar 2

[...] to a Great Sales Proposal, by Miles Burke Writing a Website Design Proposal, by Jen of Pop Stalin [...]
SitePoint » 7 Tips For Writing A Winning Web Design Proposal | Mar 2

[...] to a Great Sales Proposal, by Miles Burke Writing a Website Design Proposal, by Jen of Pop Stalin [...]
Andrea Norman | Mar 5

Excellent summary! I would add that providing a clear understanding not just of the project but of the customer will give you a greater chance of being selected for the project. We’ve written over 150 proposals. Clients REALLY want to FEEL that you know THEM! They really could care less about you!
Peter | Mar 9

Great tips! As for the upfront fee you charge your clients… does it only cover the time spent doing the specs of your project? Lets say you take a job, the client calls you up a week later, which is already a week into the project process, and say they changed their minds about having the work done or some other likely possible risk to the project.. what do you do? Time is money, and you’ve already done a whole week worth of developing/designing… Shouldn’t there at least be some type of a deposit included in the proposal? Sorry about the dumb question, but I’m thinking about freelancing myself and I’ve never had to make a proposal..
Anwar | Mar 15

This is great. I usually have a break down that gives the milestone dates where reviews and payments will be made. This is standard for most clients. And specifics about the project is done in Photoshop. I think this does two things, it gives a schedule structure and a visual presentation of the site.
Alex Mungo | Mar 19

Hello Jen,

good post, I am about to write a proposal for a charity website. Then present it.
Alex Mungo | Mar 19

Very good post, helps to have someone out there prepared to offer there advise for free
Jen | Apr 1

Thanks all!

@PETER: The up-front fee is the deposit. You can also include some legalese about how many hours your deposit covers and what happens if the client changes course mid-stream or leaves the project all together. The important thing about the proposal and then the contract is to make sure you’re covered. Not only do I have the deposit info in my proposals but they also go in the contract and I make sure I talk to the client about the non-refundable deposit too. I’m not a huge fan of surprises, particularly when it comes to not getting paid.
Daniel Veiga | Apr 7

Good article, quick and short. I’m trying to come up with a good proposal for my clients and this helped out a bit.