How to write a Web Site Proposal with ConceptDraw WebWave

If you are competing for web design and development, or marketing contracts, a professionally presented development proposal is often crucial in the question of whether you win or lose a contract. A web design proposal also decreases misunderstandings between you and your clients when the project is under way and acts as a basis for a formal contract.

Creating a basic web site proposal you should consider the following elements:

Personal information

Your background or company history, business qualifications, technical skills, achievements and contact details.

For example:

X-Design is a professional Web design company based in Los Angeles, California. We specialize in best-in-class website design, Flash multimedia, corporate identity and print graphics. X-Design features an integrated team of web consultants, creative designers, writers, and programmers who know how to get results.

Our business-driven approach differentiates us from typical web design companies. For the past six years we have built up a reputation for creating a positive return on investment for our clients. If you are serious about your web design success, we can get you there.

Strategic thinking, top designers, personal attention, competitive prices, real world results - discover the X-Design difference.

Contact Information: Contact person, Phone, E-mail, Address.

Project Overview

The business you are submitting the proposal for, your understanding of their products and services, the target market, the goals of the web site and a rough outline of how you will achieve them.

In our example we will develop a web-site for a hosting company.

Project theme

Your suggestions on the style of you prospective site. Elements from the client's current branding you will utilize or new elements you will develop. It could be the company's colors or the company's logo and slogan.

Special considerations

Such as language, security or other issues pertaining to the business, site or target market that will need to be addressed.

Web site flow chart

A diagram showing different pages of the site and its navigational structure. With the aid of the ConceptDraw WebWave software you can quickly create a flow chart that describes the site structure. To ease your task use library objects from the appropriate ConceptDraw WebWave libraries.

Here is the example of such a flow chart:

You can download the sample file here

Flowchart description

A detailed description of each web page, how it fits in with the overall web site theme and the project element it addresses.

Mock-ups (samples)

Be careful not to give away too much of your thoughts, to give your client a good idea of what the site will look like will just be enough. Ensure that copyright notices and intellectual property statements are in place.

The distinctive feature of the ConceptDraw WebWave software is an ability to create a web-site mock-up in minutes, using ready smart library objects or your own art.

It will be not only a graphical image of the web-site but the functional model.

Place in your proposal the mock-ups of all pages you created in ConceptDraw WebWave.

You can download the sample file here

Development timelines

This should be a description of each stage of the web projects' development, the estimated completion date and notes regarding client consultation and supply of information/feedback from the client. This may also include milestone payments for involved projects and site promotion activities. Make it clear that traffic takes time to build up after implementation and promotion should only occur after the site has been thoroughly tested. Improper implementation can cost months of traffic and great business losses.

In order to describe development timeline you can use a Gantt chart structure or a Pert chart structure. You can create both structures using ConceptDraw WebWave tools.

You can download the sample file here

Project costing

A descriptive breakdown of costing and total of quote including the end date before the price will need to be re-calculated. This will include items such as domain name registration, hosting fees and outsourcing for sections of the site you will not be able to develop yourself. Ensure you take into account business related items including travel time, electricity, telephone and consumables.

Factor in the cost of the development of the business proposal as well; a good proposal will take hours of your time and you should be compensated for that. In your eagerness to gain the contract, you may lose money if you quote too close to the bone. Bear in mind that things rarely go strictly to plan in web design and delays can be expected. Time is money. The going rate for web design services seems to be between US$25-$75 per labor hour at present; dependent upon the complexity of the task and the competency of the designer.

Web Development

Terms and conditions

Expectations and commitments. It is not unusual for web projects to be delayed due to clients not supplying feedback or content necessary to complete sections. It is just as important to be clear in what you expect from your clients as well as explaining your commitment to them. Conflict resolution issues and feedback mechanisms should be described.

Your clients will need to know what will occur if they do not supply information when requested, or request changes mid-stream and the action that you will take if you are running behind in the project yourself. You need to be clear on payment details and consequences of failure to pay for the services that you provide.

Ongoing web site maintenance

Summarize an offer of ongoing site maintenance or the implications of the client deciding to update or maintain the site themselves after it has been established.

Conclusion

The above points are usually sufficient to put together a professional web design proposal for a small to medium project. If drafting a business proposal based on criteria given to you by the prospective client; be sure to address all the points.

If the client suggests the proposal documentation be a certain format, respect that. In the culling process, the first proposals to be binned will be the ones that do not address all the criteria the client has laid down.

Bear in mind that not all the web design proposals you submit will be accepted. Be prepared to do some heavy revisions to satisfy your clients and to find a middle ground where all parties feel comfortable. A prospective client asking for revisions is a good sign - they are genuinely interested.

Also remember that some companies will ask you for proposals purely to use as a comparison against another designer that they are interested in utilizing; so try and limit the amount of time you spend on the draft until the client gives indication of serious interest.

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