Most of my projects start the same way. Someone emails me a few sentences about what they need. Sometimes it’s detailed, sometimes it’s “I need a website for my business.” Both are fine.
My job at that point isn’t to send a quote. It’s to figure out what they actually need, which is often different from what they think they need.
The questions
I ask questions. Not a questionnaire – just the specific things I need to understand before I can give an honest estimate. What does the site need to do? Who’s going to be editing it? Is there an existing site, and if so, what’s wrong with it? Do they have content ready or is that part of the project? What’s their timeline, and is it flexible?
Most of the time, three or four emails back and forth are enough.
What I’m actually doing during those emails
What I’m doing during those emails isn’t just gathering requirements. I’m looking at their current setup if they have one. Checking their hosting. Seeing what plugins or tools they’re already using. Sometimes I’ll find things they didn’t mention because they didn’t know they were problems – an expired SSL certificate, a site running on a PHP version that’s been end-of-life for two years, a backup system that isn’t actually backing anything up.
I mention those too. Not to upsell, but because I’d rather they know now than find out the hard way later.
The proposal
Once I have enough to work with, I send a proposal. Not a PDF with a cover page and a mission statement, just a clear email that says: here’s what I’ll do, here’s what it’ll cost, here’s roughly how long it’ll take. If there are things I’d recommend but aren’t essential, I’ll list those separately so they can decide.
I use fixed pricing for projects, not hourly. Hourly billing doesn’t make sense for this kind of work – if I solve something faster because I’ve seen it before, the client shouldn’t pay less for that experience. Fixed pricing means we both know what we’re agreeing to before work starts.
For ongoing maintenance, it’s a monthly retainer. Same idea – predictable cost, clear scope, no surprises.
No sales calls, no pitch decks
The whole process from first email to agreed proposal usually takes a week or two. No sales calls, no pitch decks, no “let me loop in my team.” It’s just me reading your email, thinking about your problem, and telling you what I’d do about it.
I turn down projects too. If what someone needs isn’t something I’m good at, or if the budget and the scope don’t match, I’ll say so upfront. I’d rather lose a project than start one I know will end badly.
After enough projects you learn that how the scoping goes pretty much determines how the rest of it goes. If the scoping is clear, the project runs smooth. If it’s rushed or vague, problems show up later – and they’re always more expensive to fix than they would have been to prevent.
So I take the scoping seriously. Even when the project seems simple. Especially when the project seems simple.