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!