Website Quotation Checklist: 15 Line Items to Check
Short answer: a website quotation should list 15 things: pages, design type, copy, edit rounds, dates, platform, hosting, domain, email, licences, maintenance, redirects, ownership, payment schedule and GST. If any line is missing, the quote is incomplete, not cheaper. Paste every quote into the same 15 rows and the differences become visible.
Published figures below are from each company's own pages, checked 17 October 2026.
What should a website quotation list?
| # | Line item | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pages | A number, and the price per extra page |
| 2 | Design | Named theme or custom design drawn for you |
| 3 | Copy | Who writes each page, and whether research into your buyers is included |
| 4 | Photos and brand | Stock, licensed, shot, or supplied by you; logo included or not |
| 5 | Edit rounds | How many, what one round means, price of extra rounds |
| 6 | Dates | First draft date and launch date, with what you must supply before each |
| 7 | Platform | WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Webflow, custom code; named |
| 8 | Hosting | Where, whose account, price after any free period |
| 9 | Domain | Registered in whose name, renewal price |
| 10 | Included or not, per-user price | |
| 11 | Licences | Theme, plugins, form tools, page builders, with yearly prices |
| 12 | Maintenance | What is covered, hourly or monthly rate, free period |
| 13 | Redirects | For an existing site, a redirect map for every indexed URL |
| 14 | Ownership | Domain, code, hosting account and enquiry data, in writing |
| 15 | Payment and GST | Schedule, and whether the price includes 9% GST |
Most quotes cover rows 1, 2, 6 and 7. Rows 3, 5, 8 to 14 are where the real cost difference sits.
Which recurring fees must be written down?
The build is paid once. These repeat. Each one should appear with a price and the name of the account holder.
- Domain. Renewal yearly. Who renews it and from which account.
- Hosting. Awebstar values the first-year domain and hosting in its packages at S$600 to S$900 a year, free in year one. Ask what year two costs.
- Email. Per-mailbox fee, or confirm that email stays with your current provider.
- Platform plan. Shopify Basic is S$29 a month on yearly billing. Wix Light is US$17.77 a month billed yearly. A site on either carries that fee for life.
- Licences. Paid WordPress themes and plugins renew yearly. WooCommerce lists extensions at US$29 to US$299 a year each.
- Maintenance. SG Web Builder bills S$80 an hour after its free year. Singapore Best Web Design includes 1 to 3 months of backup and maintenance by package.
Add the year-two figures together and multiply by three. That is the number to compare across quotes, next to the build price. More in website maintenance cost in Singapore.
How are pages, copy and edit rounds defined?
Three words carry most of the disputes after signing: page, copy and round.
- Page. Agree whether a blog index, a privacy policy, a thank-you page and each service page count. Published packages state ranges such as 1 to 5 pages, 10 to 15 pages or 5 to 8 pages.
- Copy. Ask who writes it. OOm lists copywriting as an add-on. Singapore Best Web Design states it does not directly provide copywriting and photography. If you write it, the timeline depends on you.
- Round. Singapore Best Web Design states 2 to 3 rounds of UAT on its Strategic package. Design Magic describes 2 to 3 rounds of design revisions. The quote should say what a round contains, a list of changes sent once, and what an extra round costs.
A quote that says "unlimited revisions" with no scope is as unclear as one that states none. Ask for a number and a definition.
What does the contract say about ownership?
Ownership is four separate things. The contract should name each.
| Asset | The question | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Registered to your company, in your account | If the agency holds it, you cannot move without them |
| Code and files | You receive a copy and may move it | On Wix, the help centre states a site must be hosted on Wix's servers |
| Hosting account | In your name or theirs | Decides who can switch the site off |
| Enquiry data | Stored where you can export it | Form tools hold your leads under their terms |
SG Web Builder labels WooCommerce "Full Ownership" and Shopify "Subscription-Based" on its e-commerce page. Few Singapore agency pages state ownership terms at all, so ask for the clause in writing.
What payment schedule is normal?
Published terms vary. SG Web Builder states "Pay Only When Your Website Is Delivered" on its web design page. Most agencies do not publish a schedule.
A reasonable structure, in our view:
- A deposit on signing, commonly 30% to 50%.
- A payment at design or first-draft approval.
- The balance at launch, after you have logged in to the domain and hosting accounts.
Avoid paying 100% before a first draft exists, and avoid a final payment due before the ownership items in the table above are in your hands. Check whether the quoted figure includes GST. The rate is 9%, per IRAS/basics-of-gst/current-gst-rates), and a GST-registered supplier must charge it.
Which quote items are red flags?
| Seen in the quote | Problem | Ask for |
|---|---|---|
| One lump sum, no lines | Nothing to compare | The 15 rows above |
| No recurring fees listed | Year-two costs are unknown | Each fee with the year-two price |
| Domain registered by the agency | You do not control your address | Registration in your company's name |
| "Revisions" with no number or definition | Open-ended disputes | A count and what one round contains |
| No first-draft date | Open-ended timeline | Two dates: draft and launch |
| Existing site, no redirect plan | Rankings and bookmarks break | A redirect map for every indexed URL |
| Copy not mentioned | You are writing the site | Who writes each page |
| Hosting on the agency's account only | Hard to leave | Your own account, or a written exit process |
For the conversation to have before the quote, see how to choose a web design company in Singapore.
What cense does
cense quotes the full price before work starts, with copy written from one call, up to 20 rounds of edits and a first draft 14 days after the call. The client owns the domain, code, hosting and data, enquiries land in the client's own database, and monthly maintenance is S$0. See web design in Singapore.
What should a website quotation list?+
Pages, design type, who writes the copy, edit rounds, first-draft and launch dates, platform, hosting, domain, email, licences, maintenance, redirects, ownership of domain and code, payment schedule and GST.
Which recurring fees must be in a website quote?+
Domain renewal, hosting, email, theme and plugin licences, platform plans and maintenance, each with the price after any free period and who holds the account.
How many edit rounds are normal?+
Published Singapore packages state 2 to 3 rounds. The quote should define what one round is and the price of extra rounds.
What payment schedule is normal for a website?+
A deposit on signing and the balance at launch is common. One published Singapore package charges only on delivery. Avoid paying in full before a first draft exists.
What is a red flag in a website quotation?+
No recurring fees listed, the domain registered by the agency, no edit-round definition, no dates, no redirect plan for an existing site, and a lump sum with no line items.
