August 6, 1991, approximately 30 years ago, the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) physicist Tim Berners-Lee created the very first website—the World Wide Web (W3). And this British physicist’s work paved the way for numerous websites fast forward to today. According to Statista’s survey as of August 6, 2021, there were over 1.88 billion websites worldwide. And with lots of competitors in the market, there is more to a website than for the sake of publishing one. A professional design, unique layout, quality content, cost-effective, and marketing-driven site is just one standard. Hence, a concrete strategic plan in the form of a website proposal must be considered first.
A website proposal is basically like a business proposal, except website proposals are more focused on pitching websites. So before any website is published and available to users, a proper website proposal presentation is necessary as it deals with the entire plan from what to consider in the website, its graphic design, structured layout, pricing metrics of services, and more. And when the proposal itself appeals to a specific client, stakeholder, or developer, the proposed website will eventually be published.
Based on an August 6, 2021 survey, around 1.88 billion websites existed globally.
Why is there a need to create a website proposal rather than publishing a site pronto, you might ask? The answer leads down to business. Publishing a website that won’t generate traffic, sales, and other aspects is as good as nothing. This is why a written contract or agreement between clients and service providers occurs in a web proposal. This way, clients get what they want, web designers submit the planned site as promised, costs of the project go according to the budget, etc.
Also, the most important reason website proposals are needed is how they set the product roadmap on how websites will run seamlessly as planned. For example, did you really think a successful social media network such as Facebook was just published from scratch? Behind the scenes, there were tons of trial and error, specific plans, and key decisions before it became successful. So to make sure any website you publish guarantees success or according to the client’s goals and objectives, website proposals come in handy before greenlighting that site.
To make sure your website proposal is a detailed, organized, and well-structured document, the key is to divide the data into specific sections. And there are seven golden elements that make up an excellent website proposal. And these sections to include in the proposal are:
Indeed, a website proposal takes a lot of work. But it still marks the foundation of any website before being functional to users. So it only makes sense not to take a proposal for granted by ensuring you make a website proposal properly. And if you need a detailed guide on how to make a well-made website proposal, the steps are as follows:
Do not create a website proposal yet without researching and identifying the goals and objectives in making one. Researching even helps you identify a website’s target audience, competitors, and other elements. Also, learning the objectives after interviewing clients or stakeholders and recognizing the goals to accomplish make the process of crafting the proposal a lot easier. The data you gathered will be used as a reference on what to write in the proposal itself. And the data reports already let you create a draft of how the proposal could be like.
Sample.net has a grand collection of the best website proposal examples that you could use as your template to create website proposals shortly. Check out each sample so you can take advantage of premade templates and skip the need to make one from scratch. What’s special about these samples is you can add data, edit the content, and produce your work anytime. Explore each sample template’s editable features and optimize it however you want. Give it a test by downloading any of the sample website proposals above!
Of course, you already know that there are seven golden elements that complete a website proposal. And those seven sections must be found in your crafted website proposal as well. So from the introduction down to the call to action, you should add them to your work for a solid proposal. Also, you can add more elements that you think are helpful and relevant to your website proposal. For example, you add an executive summary right after the introduction to explain the project shortly before heading to the specifics. Or perhaps, you attach some images or links of your best works or websites already published so clients get to see your work portfolio. If you can impress them from the portfolio alone, expect to get accepted in no time.
A website proposal should be detailed in a way that it tackles all the essential information about the project. However, it doesn’t need to be a lengthy letter where a bunch of unnecessary words and unimportant details were written. Just like a brief report, you have to keep the website proposal as succinct as possible. If you can explain everything shortly and concisely, then why keep it lengthy? The key is to balance the content from how detailed and specific it is.
Another significant tip is to make your writing easy to follow. That means your words and sentences would be simply understandable to the public, or specifically your clients. Simple English already works as long as the target audience gets the gist and message of the proposal promptly. Also, you can keep your writing easy to comprehend if the details are organized, just like how you divided the data into seven sections. And most importantly, don’t forget to observe a clear format from the margins, texts, and other customizable features.
Lastly, conduct a heavy evaluation before submitting your website proposal to your target. So is the spelling, grammar, and complete thought stellar already for the entire proposal? Besides the format, content, and overall message, you also have to evaluate the success rate of your project as well. For example, is the client’s budget enough for lots of websites to manage rather than just a one-page website? Other facets to evaluate would be the availability of resources, the reliability of the pricing system, and more. Submit the proposal only when you are confident with everything. Then, wait patiently for the client’s response.
The steps and processes to insert in a website proposal’s project overview depend on your goals and objectives. But generally, these commendable steps are research, wireframing, site mapping, initial design, development, content management system (CMS) configuration, testing, and training.
Great websites are those that contain responsive web pages, observe rigid protection towards security, feature interactive content, use accessible HTML, have easy-to-edit web pages, and track web interaction or traffic conveniently.
Most commercial or business websites have around five to seven web pages. These are the home page, about page, services page, contact page, 404 page, popup, and the header or footer.
Whether you are a highly creative designer, a skilled planner, or a savvy developer in the web design department, or any site-related business in general, the make-it-or-break-it point all leads down to how excellent you are in selling the planned website. Is your idea interesting enough to pitch to clients and stakeholders that it would create a lucrative business in the long run? That’s what you need to prove in a website proposal. Gather all ideas, designs, and plans by organizing the data into sections until an effective proposal ensues. And that is just what you can accomplish using the sample website proposal templates in this article. Create yours now!
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