Comparing Web Design Packages Side by Side: A Buyer's Checklist
You asked three web designers for a price and got three completely different answers. One says R3,000 for a “complete website”, another says R15,000 for what sounds like the same thing, and the third sends a monthly fee with a 24-month contract. How do you compare them fairly?
This guide is a buyer’s checklist for exactly that moment. It is not about any one agency’s packages. It shows you how to line up several packages side by side, turn them into a like-for-like comparison, add up what each one really costs over three years, and spot the red flags before you sign anything.
If you only have one quote and want to know whether it is well put together, start with our guide on how to read a single website quote. This article picks up where that one ends: when you have several on the table.
Why Packages Are Hard to Compare
There is no industry standard for what a “website package” includes. “5-page website with SEO” from one designer and the same words from another can mean completely different things.
Designer A might mean five pages designed around your brand, page titles and meta descriptions written for each page, and a site you can update yourself.
Designer B might mean five pages dropped into a stock template with your logo swapped in, and nothing else.
Same words, very different value. That is why you compare line by line, not total by total.
Step 1: Build a Comparison Grid
Before you look at a single price, put every package into the same grid. A spreadsheet or a sheet of paper works fine. One column per designer, one row per item below. Where a quote does not mention an item, write “not stated” and ask.
| Row in your grid | What to write down |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | The exact pages included, not just a count |
| Design | Built around your brand, or a stock template with your logo |
| Mobile-friendly layouts | Yes or no (it should be yes) |
| Contact form | Yes or no |
| Can you update it yourself? | An admin area (CMS), or changes only through the designer |
| Blog | Included or not |
| SEO basics | Page titles, meta descriptions and headings set up on every page |
| Google Analytics and Search Console | Included, or sold as separate SEO work |
| Images | Your own photos, free stock or AI images, or paid stock |
| Copywriting | Who writes the words on the pages |
| Hosting | Included, billed separately, or “use your own” |
| SSL certificate (the padlock) | Included with the hosting or charged extra |
| Domain name | Whose name it is registered in, and the yearly cost |
| Bug fixes after launch | For how long, and what counts as a bug |
| Training or handover guide | Included, or an add-on |
| Paid themes, plugins or licences | Included, or your cost each year |
| Changes after launch | The hourly rate or price per change |
| Ownership | Do you own the site once it is paid in full? |
Once the grid is filled in, the “cheap” quote and the “expensive” quote often turn out to be quoting for different things. Now you can see it.
Step 2: Separate the Floor From the Extras
Some rows in your grid are the floor: any professional package should have them. Others are genuine extras that different designers bundle or unbundle in different ways.
The floor (question any package that leaves these out):
- Mobile-friendly layouts
- A working contact form
- Page titles and meta descriptions on every page
- An SSL certificate, either in the package or with the hosting
- Clear written ownership of the site once paid
Genuine extras (fine to see priced separately, as long as it is clear):
- Copywriting
- Logo design
- Ongoing SEO, Google Analytics and Search Console setup
- Online store and payment setup
- Booking or membership systems
- A handover guide or recorded walkthrough
- Ongoing maintenance
Some agencies put Analytics and Search Console inside the website package and some treat them as SEO work. Neither is wrong. What matters is that you know which one you are getting, so you are not comparing a package that includes it against one that does not.
Step 3: Work Out the 3-Year Cost
The upfront number is only part of the price. For each column in your grid, add up:
- The once-off build fee
- Hosting for three years
- Domain renewal for three years
- Any theme, plugin or licence renewals for three years
- Any monthly fee or retainer for three years
- A rough allowance for the changes you expect to ask for after launch
A package with a low build fee and expensive hosting can cost more over three years than a higher build fee with modest hosting. This one sum changes which quote looks best more often than anything else on the list.
Monthly packages need an extra question: what happens if you stop paying? If the site belongs to the designer until the contract ends, you are renting, not buying. That can be fine if you want someone else to carry everything, but it should be clear in writing, along with the minimum term. The trade-offs between paying once-off and paying monthly are covered in our small business website packages guide.
Step 4: Check “Custom” Means the Same Thing in Each Quote
“Custom” is one of the most stretched words in web design. When two packages both say custom, ask each designer what they start from.
- Designed around your brand: layouts, fonts and colours chosen for your business, often built on a theme or framework. This is what most small business sites need.
- Built from scratch: the code itself is written for your site, with no off-the-shelf theme underneath.
- A template with your logo: a pre-made design with your details dropped in.
None of these is wrong for every business. The problem is paying a from-scratch price for template work. Our guide on custom websites vs templates goes deeper into the trade-offs, and static vs WordPress vs custom CMS explains the different ways a site can be built.
Hidden Costs That Change the Comparison
These are the rows that most often turn a cheap package into an expensive one:
- Hosting renewal after year one. Some packages include the first year and then renew at a much higher rate. Ask for the renewal price, not the first-year price.
- Domain name. Ask whose name it is registered in and what it costs each year.
- Paid theme and plugin licences. Many premium WordPress themes and plugins renew yearly. Find out who pays after the first year.
- Changes after launch. Ask for the hourly rate or the price per change before you sign.
- Copywriting. If nobody is writing your page text, you will be. Plan for it, or budget for a copywriter.
- Photos. Check whether images are included, free stock, or something you must supply.
- Payment gateway setup on an online store. Check whether it is included, and remember the gateway charges its own transaction fees.
Red Flags When Packages Sit Side by Side
Comparing several quotes at once makes some warning signs easier to see:
- One quote is far cheaper than all the others. Find out which rows in your grid it is missing.
- One quote refuses to itemise. If the others can break down what you get and one cannot, that is telling you something.
- No live portfolio. Ask for links to working sites, not screenshots, and click through them.
- Vague ownership. Every quote you compare should say, in writing, that you own the site once it is paid for.
- Ranking promises. Nobody can guarantee a Google position. A package that promises page one is a reason to be careful, not a reason to pick it.
- Pressure to decide today. “This price ends Friday” is a sales tactic, not a reason.
Questions to Ask Every Designer on Your Shortlist
Ask all of them the same questions so the answers line up in your grid:
- Which exact pages does this include?
- Will I be able to update the site myself, and how?
- Who writes the page text, and who supplies the photos?
- What will hosting and the domain cost in year two and year three?
- Are there any theme, plugin or licence fees, and who pays them after year one?
- What do changes cost after launch?
- What happens if something breaks in the first month?
- Do I own the site outright once it is paid for? What happens if I stop working with you?
- Can I see three live sites you built for businesses like mine?
If a designer is irritated by these questions, write that in your grid too.
How JWD’s Packages Fit Into Your Grid
If you want to add us as one of your columns, here is what our website packages cost. Every price is a once-off build fee, with no lock-in contract.
| Package | Custom static | WordPress | Custom CMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 pages | R2,500 | R3,000 | R4,000 |
| 3 to 5 pages | R3,500 | R4,000 | R5,000 |
| Business, up to 12 pages | R6,000 | R6,500 | R7,500 |
| E-commerce, 10 products set up | Not offered | R7,000 | R8,500 |
To fill in the rest of your grid for us:
- Hosting is billed separately: R99 a month or R950 a year, with an SSL certificate and a backup tool in the control panel included. Our .co.za annual plan is R1,150 a year including the domain, and the .com annual plan is R1,300 a year.
- Copy: you supply the text for your pages. Where you do not have photos, we use free stock or AI-generated images.
- Blog: included on WordPress and custom CMS sites, not on custom static sites.
- Bug fixes: 30 days from the day the site goes live.
- Changes after launch: R450 an hour, agreed before any work starts.
- Paid third-party themes, licences and plugins are not included. On WordPress sites, the theme and plugins are agreed with you before we start.
- Google Analytics, Search Console and ongoing SEO are a separate SEO service, not part of any website package.
- A handover guide or walkthrough is only included if it is added to your quote.
Not sure which column is right for you? Our side-by-side guide to choosing a website type walks through it, and the full package breakdown explains each one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are web design quotes in South Africa so different in price?
Because they are usually quoting for different things. Once you put each package into the same comparison grid, most of the gap is explained by missing rows: no copywriting, no admin area, hosting billed later, paid plugins renewed yearly, or a monthly contract instead of a once-off fee.
Should I just pick the cheapest package?
Only if it still covers the floor (mobile-friendly layouts, a contact form, SEO basics on every page, SSL and clear ownership) and its 3-year cost is also the lowest. A low build fee with expensive renewals often costs more in the end.
How many quotes should I compare?
Two or three is usually enough to see the normal range and spot an outlier. More than that tends to add confusion rather than clarity.
What does “SEO included” usually mean in a package?
Normally the on-page basics: page titles, meta descriptions, headings and clean page addresses. It rarely means ongoing SEO work, and no honest designer can guarantee a Google ranking. Ask each designer to spell out exactly what their “SEO” line covers so you can compare it properly.
Ready to Fill In Your Grid?
You now have a way to compare any set of web design packages fairly: one grid, the floor versus the extras, the 3-year cost, and the same questions for everyone.
If you would like JWD to be one of the columns, request a free quote and we will give you an itemised answer you can drop straight into your comparison.
