A vague brief does not get you flexible quotes. It gets you three suppliers guessing at three different projects, then a decision made on price between things that are not comparable.
The supplier who quoted lowest often did so because they understood the least. That gap reappears later as variation orders, and the cheap quote stops being cheap.
What a usable brief contains
The business outcome
Not we need a website. Rather: we are losing enquiries because customers cannot find our prices, and we want price information available without a phone call.
Who the audience is
Be concrete. Procurement officers at mining companies is a different project from walk-in retail customers in Katutura.
The page list
Actually list them. Home, about, four service pages, contact. This single item removes most quote variance.
What must be there on day one, and what can wait
Separate these explicitly. It is the difference between an affordable first phase and an unaffordable everything.
Who provides content
Text and photographs. This is the most common cause of stalled projects and the most common hidden cost in a quote.
Integrations
Accounting system, booking system, payment, WhatsApp, mailing list. Name them.
Who maintains it afterwards
You, the supplier on retainer, or nobody. Say so, because it changes what should be built.
Budget range and deadline
Withholding the budget does not get a better price. It gets a quote for the wrong project.
On sharing the budget
The common worry is that naming a budget means the supplier will simply quote to it. Some will. A good supplier uses it differently, to tell you what is achievable within it and what is not.
A range is enough. Between N$ 40,000 and N$ 60,000 gives a supplier everything they need to propose something real, and lets them tell you honestly if your expectations do not fit inside it.
Withholding your budget does not protect you from being overcharged. It only guarantees the quotes will not be comparable.
Questions to ask every quote
- What exactly is included, page by page?
- Who owns the domain, hosting and source code when this is finished?
- What happens if I want a change after launch, and what does that cost?
- What is the hosting or maintenance cost per year, in N$?
- Will I be able to edit content myself, and will you show me how?
- What is not included that I should expect to pay for separately?
