[To the blog](https://88lab.eu/en/blog/) [Websites](https://88lab.eu/en/category/ueb-sajtove/) # How to choose a website agency and compare proposals Evgeny Dimitrov 3 October 2026 6 min read  In this article + [Let's discuss your project](https://88lab.eu/en/contact/) ## In short Two offers for the same website can look almost identical and promise completely different results. To choose an agency, compare what the visitor will get, how your team will work, and what remains in your hands after handover. The number of pages and the starting price are only part of the decision. ## Why identical offers are not actually identical One says "company website, five pages, responsive design." The other says the same. The first includes a ready-made template and the texts you send. The second includes work on the structure, rewriting the main messages, and custom design. On paper, both are a five-page website. The difference shows when you need to explain a complex service or persuade someone to make an inquiry. The problem starts with the request "Give me a price for a website." Every agency fills in the missing pieces in its own way. One assumes you have photos and ready texts. Another includes content processing. A third leaves integrations for a later stage. Then you compare sums that cover different work. Prepare a short [brief for a company website](https://88lab.eu/en/business-website-brief-template/) and send it to all candidates. You do not need technical documentation. Goal, main audiences, required features, and available content are enough. That way, the conversation starts from a common point. ## Review the portfolio as a future client A beautiful homepage shows a sense of design. It does not show whether the project solves the task it was built for. Open a few portfolio sites on a phone and do something specific: find a service, choose a product, read delivery terms, get to the form. If you get lost, see whether that comes from the design, the content, or a business-specific detail. Look for a similar challenge, not just a similar industry. A yarn shop and a clothing store can share the same problem with variations, stock, and product selection. A media site and a catalog may require similar organization of large amounts of content. The agency should be able to explain how it solved that problem and which part of the project it delivered. At Maison de Yarn, for example, there are products with variations, selection icons, courier integrations, and more than one language. These are visible features you can review. They do not prove sales growth on their own. When someone cites a result, ask for the period, the starting value, and an explanation of what else changed - advertising, prices, assortment, or seasonality. ## What to ask at the first meeting A useful meeting feels more like a work discussion than a presentation. Explain how your customers choose, what they call about most often, and what makes your current site difficult. Then watch what questions the team asks. Are they interested in the content and the process, or does the conversation stay only on colors and effects? Ask them to show you one similar scenario. For example: “The customer chooses a service, sends an inquiry, and our staff receives it. How will we verify the entire journey?”. For a store, it could be a purchase with a specific variation and delivery to an office. That will show whether the proposals are relevant to your work. Pay attention to the uncomfortable questions too. Who will prepare the descriptions? Do you have rights to the photos? Who makes the final design decision? An agency that asks these in time helps you avoid delays. That is a more useful sign than a promise that “everything will be done quickly.” ## Put the proposals in one table Do not evaluate each offer separately. Rewrite the important terms side by side. An empty cell is a question for the next conversation, not an automatic drawback. What you are comparing What should be described Why it matters Structure and content Pages, copy, photos, who prepares them Shows the real work before design Design What you see in advance and how you approve it Reduces mismatched expectations Features Specific actions and integrations “Contact form” does not explain the whole process Mobile version Checks for menu, forms, readability, and images The customer must be able to complete the task Handover Access, files, training, documentation Lets you manage the site after launch Costs One-time fees, licenses, hosting, support Makes the total price comparable Add stage deadlines and dependencies on your side to the table. If content approval takes two weeks, that usually affects the final deadline too. Ask for clarity on what happens if a decision is delayed, a new feature is added, or an already approved design changes. ## Ownership is part of the offer The domain, hosting, and admin accounts often stay in the background until the first problem. It is better for your business to control the main accounts, while the contractor gets the access needed. This makes it possible to switch partners without relying on someone else’s email or phone for recovery. For themes, extensions, photos, and other licensed components, you should know who owns the license, how long it is paid for, and what happens if you stop support. For custom code, agree on what is handed over and what rights you receive. Do not assume that the word “ownership” automatically covers all third-party products. Separate access from the ability to use the site. You may have an admin account and still not know how to edit a service, add a photo, or restore a deleted page. A short training session based on your real tasks is more useful than a long recording of menu tours. ## How to know the site is ready Make a checklist before the final payment. The form should accept an inquiry correctly and deliver it to the agreed recipient. Phone links should work on mobile. If there are languages, the menu, content, and important system messages should be translated. Check what happens on error, not only in the success case. When moving an existing site, include the important URLs, content preservation, and the redirects that are actually needed. [Google describes moving with URL changes separately](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes). This is a specific migration task, not a promise of future rankings. For accessibility, there are useful checks in [W3C Easy Checks](https://www.w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/preliminary/): keyboard navigation, contrast, headings, and field labels. They do not replace a full audit, but they help you catch obvious issues before publishing. ## When does a higher price make sense Imagine two proposals for the same project. The cheaper one requires you to prepare all the copy, enter the products, and arrange the translation. The more expensive one includes those tasks. If your team has the time and skills, the first can be reasonable. If not, the difference will likely appear as an extra charge or a delayed start. Compare the price for the same period, with the same VAT treatment and clearly stated annual costs. Separate what is needed for launch from the extras you can add later. Animation can be a nice part of the presentation, but it will not make up for a vague offer or a broken order flow. Choose the team whose proposal you can explain in your own words: what they will build, what you need to provide, how you will approve the work, and who will support it afterward. If these four things are still unclear after the conversation, the price is not ready to compare yet. ## frequently asked questions ### How many agencies should I compare? Two or three well-chosen proposals are usually enough for a meaningful comparison. Send the same brief to each and discuss the differences. More quotes do not help if each one assumes a different scope. ### Is a custom design necessary? No. A suitable template can work for a simpler project. Custom design makes sense when the content, brand, or buying process requires a different structure. What matters is that the solution fits the real tasks. ### What does “SEO included” mean? Without details, it means too little. Ask for specific tasks: indexing, titles, descriptions, structure, URLs, sitemap, and migration checks. Technical setup alone does not guarantee rankings. ### Should support stay with the same agency? It depends on the contract and the way the site is built. Before assigning the work, clarify what access, files, and documentation you receive, and whether the licenses allow you to change contractors. A well-delivered project makes it easier both to continue with the same team and to switch later.  About the author ## Evgeny Dimitrov the founder and manager of 88Lab He has worked in web technologies, digital marketing, and information security for more than two decades. His path began back in **2001 with LinuxExpress** - his first web project, dedicated to Linux. Later, under the pseudonym **KByte** , he published technical materials and articles on Linux-BG.org, and in **2002 he founded Security-BG** - a project for learning and sharing knowledge in the field of computer security. Today, he is **the founder and manager of 88Lab** , where he works on web platforms, SEO, Google Ads, AI solutions, and online business optimization. The agency’s projects include **Banker, Pulse Fitness & Spa, CoolFit, and the Bulgarian Construction Chamber** . His expert opinions on **web technologies, digital marketing, and online business** have been published in the newspaper **Banker and Actualno.com** . [More about 88Lab](https://88lab.eu/en/za-nas/) ## Share the post [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2F88lab.eu%2Fen%2Fhow-to-choose-a-website-agency%2F)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2F88lab.eu%2Fen%2Fhow-to-choose-a-website-agency%2F) CONTINUE READING ## More on this topic [](https://88lab.eu/en/business-website-brief-template/) Websites / 7 MIN ### [Business website brief: a template and worked example](https://88lab.eu/en/business-website-brief-template/) You do not need to know how to code a website to prepare a good brief. Use the template and completed example to describe the real tasks. [Read the article](https://88lab.eu/en/business-website-brief-template/) [](https://88lab.eu/en/classifieds-website-features/) Websites / 6 MIN ### [Classifieds website: features, moderation and launch](https://88lab.eu/en/classifieds-website-features/) A classifieds website should help the seller, buyer, and administrator. An example with furniture shows how to organize fields, search, and moderation. [Read the article](https://88lab.eu/en/classifieds-website-features/) [](https://88lab.eu/en/website-maintenance-access-backups/) Websites / 6 MIN ### [Website maintenance: access, backups and responsibilities](https://88lab.eu/en/website-maintenance-access-backups/) Who holds the access, how is the site restored, and who responds if there is a problem? Organize responsibilities and checks before relying on support. [Read the article](https://88lab.eu/en/website-maintenance-access-backups/)