How To Negotiate Fees With Your Website Design Company?Kabir Bedi
July 07, 2009
Cost factor is a very important aspect of website design projects. In
fact, in case of offshore web design projects, cost savings are one of
the most important elements. And this is one reason why clients seek to
negotiate the cost figures with the service provider in order to get
the best deal possible.
Establishing a strong web presence is
indispensable for business enterprises in today's world. However,
creating a website need not be a costly process. All you need to do is
to choose a professional web development company and finalize a cost
effective rate with them. Here are some points where you can negotiate
with your service provider.
Consultation Charges
Before
you go ahead and seal the deal with the website design company, it is
important to have a consultation session with them. During the
consultation, you can inform them about the prime goals and objectives
of your web presence and discuss the various elements that you would
like to see on the potential website. The company will further advise
you on how things can be employed and offer suggestions for
improvisations. There will be a consultation charge but then, you will
get to know what kind of work you are going to get.
Contract Rates
Different
service providers have different methods of charging. While some charge
the clients for the number of hours that are devoted to the task, there
are others who decide on a lump sum based on the size and complexity of
the proposed website. If you plan to get the whole website designed
from the scratch, a fixed contract rate would be better. This is
because by paying a lump sum amount you will be able to know the exact
date of delivery and would not have to keep track of the time devoted
to the same.
Sample Pieces
Ask the web design
company to provide sample pieces of their work before you sign the deal
for the complete project. Some companies agree to design the homepage
and the sitemap of the website for a specific fee so that you can
proceed with the design and programming for the rest of the website.
Intellectual Property Rights
Discuss
the intellectual property rights to the website and copyright issues of
the same with your service provider. Generally, if you are paying a
company for the website design and development you have the ownership
of the resultant product. However, its always advisable to discuss
these matters beforehand and specify them clearly in the service level
agreement. Copyright and ownership is more difficult to acquire when
you are working with freelancers.
Website Maintenance
Also
discuss the costs for future maintenance of the website. Usually, a web
design project ends with the delivery of the proposed website. However,
websites need to be constantly update and maintained to ensure quality.
Make sure you include pointers about future support service in the
agreement as well.
Timings
Another factor that can
influence the costs is the time taken to complete the project. Ask your
web design service provider about the involved timings and negotiate
the rates depending on how soon the project can be completed.
Package Deals
If
your service provider offers a range of services like website design
and development, website maintenance, search engine optimization etc.
then negotiate a rate for a package deal. You can cheaper rates if you
plan to hire more than one service rather than what you pay of you hire
a single service.
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