Forum Moderators: phranque
I am new to this site - so hello! I have been asked by a charity/non-profit organisation in the UK to help them commission a redesign of their site. I need to approach web design companies and ask them 1) to tender to redesign, and 2) to do so at a low cost. How do I go about this? Any advice?
Best,
O.
For web companies to be able to give you an accurate quote, you should be able to give them a bit more info on what you're looking for really. Give them the URLs of some other sites you like (and choose some different ones - you may find the sites you like have very expensive features on them).
Also make sure you say you want a fixed quote and be very clear about that. Any web company which knows their stuff will also be very clear about what the quote includes or doesn't include - this is particularly important with regards to changes. We for example always let the client know that we will give them x number of initial ideas and that they will be able to make y number of changes once the site is built - if we didn't do this we would either not be able to stick to the quote, or we would go out of business.
Finally before you ask for quotes, make sure you have a look at some of the other sites the company has designed (I know its obvious, but thought I'd mention it just in case). Whatever you do though don't assume that big / expensive is better. I work with several design companies and the bigger ones are the worst.
Why did they choose to have a website in the first place and why do they want it redesigned? i.e. I would want to examine their motives and their expectations before dispensing any advice. Otherwise its a bit like giving someone directions before they have told you where they want to go.
The organisation already have a website - a purely informational one with news, articles and some interactivity (search engine, online donations). But most high-profile non-profits (as this organisation is) in the UK have or are planning well-designed sites. Non-profits are quite business-like nowadays, and although they have limited budgets, they want to present highly-professional public profiles.
Best,
O.
These may seem like irrelevant questions but in my experience what the client thinks they want initially, what they actually want after you have talked with them and they have really thought about it, and what they actually need are three different things. Before doing anything understand and agree the very basic objectives. Otherwise the site gets built (redesigned) on sand.....
