Most website quotes are incomparable because each supplier responds to a different question. Sending one written brief to every supplier solves that.

The brief, in eight lines

  1. What we make — product categories, in plain terms
  2. Who buys — distributors, project buyers, OEM procurement, end users
  3. Where we sell — named countries or regions
  4. Languages required — including any you plan to add later
  5. Pages we can describe — a rough list; the supplier can propose structure
  6. Material we have — specifications, photographs, certification scans, existing English text
  7. What we need the site to do — enquiries, dealer recruitment, catalogue downloads
  8. Budget range — a range is more useful than a single number

The four things to ask for in return

Ask each supplier for the same four outputs: a proposed page structure with reasoning, a stage-by-stage timeline, an itemised price, and two or three live example websites that you can open and test on a phone.

Three questions to add at the end

  • Will the contract state that source code, domain and analytics accounts transfer to us?
  • What will the monthly report contain after launch, and from which tools?
  • What is not included in the quoted price?

The third question produces the most useful answers. Suppliers who list exclusions clearly are usually the ones who deliver on time.

A note on how we answer this brief

Tuoke Technology is a development company in Chancheng District, Foshan, founded in October 2016, with a core team working in search optimization since 2006. We publish our prices rather than quoting only after a sales call: ¥6,800 first year for a custom marketing website, ¥9,800 for a premium custom website and ¥19,800 for a fully custom site, with each additional language at 20% of the website price. Every website includes the full source code, domain and server configuration, SSL, global CDN and twelve months of fault maintenance.

Why this matters

Five comparable responses take about an hour each to read. Five differently structured proposals take a week and still leave you guessing.