Use this guide when discovery went well and you need to describe the project clearly enough for the client to approve, compare, and start it.
Open with the project in one paragraph
Summarize the business goal, the audience, and the first useful release. This is not a slogan. It is the shared understanding that the rest of the scope should support.
Describe pages by job, not just by name
“Five pages” can hide very different amounts of work. List what each page needs to help the customer do. A service page may require research, copy, photography, pricing guidance, a form, or several service areas. A contact page may need routing, spam protection, confirmation email, and a map.
- Page or template name.
- Purpose and primary audience.
- Content or data required from the client.
- Calls to action and form behavior.
- Special layout, search, booking, payment, or integration needs.
Assign content and approvals
State who writes, edits, supplies, and approves every major content type. If you include copywriting, define the inputs and number of review rounds. If the client supplies copy or photos, give a delivery date and explain how missing content affects the schedule.
Name the final approver. “The client” is not enough when several owners, managers, or family members may give conflicting feedback.
List integrations and account ownership
The business should understand which costs are your fees and which are ongoing provider charges. Do not bury recurring expenses in a technical appendix.
- Domain registration and DNS access.
- Hosting and deployment.
- Business email and form delivery.
- Booking, payments, menus, maps, analytics, or customer-management tools.
- Which party opens, owns, and pays for each third-party account.
- What happens if a third-party service changes or is unavailable.
Define quality, launch, and aftercare
- Supported devices and browsers.
- Accessibility and performance work included in the project.
- Form, payment, booking, and analytics tests required before launch.
- Who approves the launch and how acceptance is recorded.
- The warranty or correction period, if offered.
- Maintenance, hosting, updates, and support after that period.
Make change control understandable
Explain how many revision rounds are included, what counts as a revision, and what creates a new estimate. A change to approved copy is different from adding a booking system or another location. Give the client a simple process for requesting and approving extra work.
End with price, payment schedule, estimated timeline, assumptions, exclusions, expiration date, and the exact action required to begin. A proposal should reduce ambiguity, not create urgency through pressure.