Signatory WordPress Web Design Proposal Template Made Easy

E signature wordpress web design proposal template

this week we're looking at work proposals what to consider and what to include in your price quote and a pricing system for your services especially if you're building websites with elemental [Music] from what I've been reading in the community groups there is a demand out there for web creators and some would argue that with the whole world currently relying on the Internet this even more demand now than ever before but being good at our craft does not guarantee us work however having a confident well-structured well-thought-out work proposal will definitely make a great impression on that potential client and boost our chances of getting that job a work business or design proposal is similar to a contract in that it's a written agreement however it differs in that it establishes an understanding of the expectations between the client and the web creator and vice versa it also clarifies the needs of the client and the service or product that the web creator will provide and the cost of this service with so much work commissioned and outsourced overseas these days proposals are something of a crucial staple of the agreement between the web creator and the client and there's an example of a basic work proposal that you can download using the link in the show notes below now there are two main ingredients to a great proposal and they are good research and preparation and putting the relevant information into a good coherent structure or composition and this is exactly the way that we're going to be doing it in this masterclass [Music] before we even sit down to draft our proposal we need to do a good amount of research and the first fool of our research is an in-depth interview with our clients and it is essential to understand the client's needs or problem but also the way that they see it because seeing the problem from the clients perspective will help to ensure our understanding of their business their expectations and even make our communication with the clients much healthier now we've put together a list of some crucial questions that we should ask our clients and you can find this list in the in-depth article that we publish with this video and as always you can find a link to that and a lot more in the show notes below now I know that the next rule is a bit of a cliche but listening really is the key and if you're anything like me and during meetings your mind is busy figuring out solutions imagining ideas instead of listening properly to what our client has to say well don't or at the very least don't dwell on these ideas just write them down in shorthand or sketches and keep listening to the client and that's because every kind wants someone who they can feel understands them and if our proposal is going to prove that we intimately understand the clients problems and ideas we have to listen attentively and without being afraid of asking questions now away from our clients we need to be pragmatic and honest with ourselves as we go through the next phases of our research because what we need to do next is evaluate our abilities and our expertise do we have all the expertise needed to provide our client with the site that they want what we have to outsource work to developers content creators photographers animators graphic designers etc and if so how much would this cost and how would it affect our timeline the next thing we need to ask ourselves is do we have all of the necessary resources will we need to purchase plugins add-ons or any other products software or again if so how much would this cost and on a sidenote professional elemental users will tell you that if we're building a site with several basic features like subscription forms logins email messaging etc you do actually end up saving a lot of money time and resources by opting for elemental and the features that it already comes with and this is important because saving time and money on our side means that we'll be able to offer more competitive quotes for our potential clients and also because of the nature elements are as a platform we can build a standard construction and modulate it throughout the site and this has enabled users to devise a pricing system that is simple efficient and allows us to present our client with even more competitive quotes but more on the pricing system later because right now we also need to consider whether the client needs to provide us with materials that are essential to our work and if so when will these materials be ready does the kind have professional images for instance and if not will the kind consider investing in a professional photo shoot otherwise we'll have to opt for stock footage which we will then have to add to the total cost what about hosting and domain name charges will we be dealing with these essentials or will the clients again this is something that we want to consider well before we hand in our proposal now the last rule on our preparation list is evaluate our availability we need to check the calendar how long do we think this work will take once we have received all the necessary materials what's the best-case scenario what's the worst-case scenario and will you and your team be fully available during that time and don't forget we also need to account the holidays and sick days and whatever else could spoil our schedule now with the research and preparation behind us let's look at what an actual proposal looks like and what we should include to make a good proposal [Music] like some I prefer to begin with the clients needs or problems because I find the kind so you have to read lots and lots of proposals don't really want to read through all of our accolades and bragging so let's use the same rules that we use for great storytelling and hit the ground running starting with the inciting action the problem let's hook the client immediately by showing them how well we intimately understand their business their problem and their needs and help them feel confident that we are the people that they are going to feel most comfortable working with next we'll add our proposed solution a rough outline or sketch explaining how we believe that we can solve the client's problem then we'll list the deliverables the solution as an end product what will the client get in terms of products and services from us and this can appear as a separate part of the proposal or we can combine it with our next section the process or schedule on how our workflow will operate within a time frame when we expect to deliver drafts prototypes tests rounds of Corrections etc and what materials and work processes will be needed throughout this workflow like editing images and text etc now we should also learn from the experience of others and clarify that our schedule is dependent on all the parties involved the kind the outsource experts everyone must keep to the schedule if we are to deliver on time next the price quote show a comprehensible breakdown of the costs and a total and you don't need to drill down to a level as low as the amount of coffee and snacks that you will need to consider but just enough so that the client can see that your quote is justifiable and reasonable now we cannot give a client a competitive quote without a pricing system that will also make sure that we are not undercutting ourselves now there might be an infinite number of possible website designs but for the purpose of pricing we could probably narrow them all down to about three types we'll call the first type of site standard a promotional or commercial web made up of five to seven pages including a home page and about page a contact page perhaps even a services page and the usual assets such as a header footer and a 404 page the next type of site will be a standard Plus block very similar to the standard site only that it includes all the designs needed for maintaining a blog such as a single post page and an archive page the third and possibly the most demanding type of website is of course an online store and it includes most of the standard pages in addition to product pages a cart page a checkout page and becoming more complex when we start adding services like shipping and credit card billing sales and special offers and so on now if we break it all down even further we'll see that each type of site contains the basics of a standard site and the most basic page of a standard site is the home page so why is this important well because in terms of design and layout the home page is where we'll spend the most time the home page is the foothold the foundation of our design and has such all of the pages will relate to it elements or users make this process considerably easier by first building the site's home page then waiting to get it approved by the clients and once it's approved they then save the home pages design as a template that they use to construct the rest of the pages on the site thus maintaining consistency throughout and saving lots of time and effort therefore the key to creating a correct pricing system must stem from your evaluation of how long it will take you to design and build a home page and beyond that the pricing should be modular in the same way that our workflow and elements are is modular too for example if a client is asking me for a quote for a standard site made up of five pages I'll begin calculating my quote by adding up the following costs building the home page will take up about 70% of the total work an about page about 5% because only be using one or two sections from the homepage design a contact page say about 10% and the other two pages will come up to 15% now if we're adding a header or footer or both they only need to be made once at least in most cases estimate the amount of time that you will personally need to create a sketch of the home page and a round of two of corrections to that and then the amount of time it will take you to build it and don't forget that we will need extra time for animation and motion effects and also add 10 or 15% of the total amount of time just to be on the safe side now estimate how much money your time is worth and the number that you come up with will serve as a great foundation for your pricing system and every other part of the website can be calculated marginally this way our pricing system reflects our work process and we don't end up undercutting ourselves but we're not done yet remember this is only a calculation of our work hours other costs that we must add our costs for outsourced work programmers and developers who we usually hire to create specialty code well they usually charge per hour some may charge for the project as a whole we also have to add the cost of materials any plugins or add-ons that we might need also we strongly suggest that you ask members of your local elemental community or local community leaders who will gladly give you the advice that is relevant to the country or state where you work we're deliberately not suggesting prices because each country has a different currency at a different cost of living and different tax laws and don't forget to account for those taxes that you will have to pay we should also need to know whether or not will be required to train and show the company's staff how to operate the site how to upload posts or products change content send messages etc and if so we should charge them per hour moving back to our proposal document we'll want to show a gross breakdown costs in our quote that is a site of a certain type with lists of requested features materials that will be required additional expertise training if needed and the sum total now if you feel that it is necessary you can add the costs for each individual asset and stage of production but most professionals that I've spoken to recently have pointed out that when you give clients too much micro information though try to cut costs and parts of the site and work processes making it more difficult to reach an agreement now with the pricing out of the way many professionals add another section a call to action section to keep the line of communication open and free other advice answers to questions keep the clients in contact with you now some professionals include a brief legal agreement at the end of a proposal because this way if our client likes our proposal they can sign it and agree to it rather than risk them changing their minds later on many of us like to add a sixth and final section about us our team in our experience and this is where we highlight what we bring to the table the talents our fields of expertise and the advantages in choosing our services I would also suggest adding a brief portfolio or a link to an online portfolio whether or not we choose to add this section the last thing on our list and the last thing that we want to forget is contact information and has supposed it's because this is such a trivial thing in a work proposal that it's the first thing that people forget to add having looked at technical and design aspects of web creation this week we decided to take a more practical look at working within the industry by reviewing design and work proposals what we need to include and what we need to consider if we are going to land that job and very importantly how to price our services without losing money out of our own pockets now don't forget to download your copy of the work templates and finally somewhere where you can find it whenever you need it and if you have any tips or advice on proposals that could further help other users please add them in the comments below and of course if you have any criticisms we are equally interested in your thoughts and if you've enjoyed this masterclass and you found this helpful insightful or inspiring then make sure that you click that subscribe button and tap that bell so that you don't miss out on our next master class because after all our goal is to be the best and helping others excel with their craft thanks for watching Cheers [Music]