Write the job before you collect quotes
Name the audience, the action the site must support, the languages, and whether this is a first site or a rebuild. Include any panel, chatbot, or migration. That paragraph lets every provider price the same work.
If you only send “we need a new website,” you will receive incomparable numbers. One quote may hide a template and no redirects. Another may include custom design, metadata, and an admin panel. The gap is scope, not mystery.
Ask what “custom” actually means
Custom work means the interface is designed and built for the brand. A marketplace theme with new colors is a different product. Ask which layouts are unique, which pages share a template, and whether the code is yours after handoff.
METEK Digital does not resell ready-made themes as custom. If a provider cannot show a project where the public site and the operating tools were planned together, that is information, not an insult.
Put search and URLs in the comparison
Ask who writes title tags, how the XML sitemap is produced, and what happens to old addresses in a rebuild. Technical SEO belongs in the website delivery. Rankings are not a package anyone can honestly guarantee.
A rebuild without a redirect map discards pages search engines already know. If you already appear for useful queries, that mapping should be a line in the proposal.
Find out who stays after launch
Confirm who owns the domain, hosting, analytics, and source. Confirm which fields the team can edit without a developer. Confirm how defects in the agreed delivery are handled versus new requests.
One accountable delivery lead from discovery to launch is a clearer arrangement than an unnamed “team” that changes at every call. Ask for the name of the person who will still be there at handoff.
Read the portfolio as evidence
Look for businesses that sell the way you sell: quotes, bookings, catalogue, or local service pages. A pretty screenshot without the problem it solved is decoration.
When you are ready, send METEK that job paragraph. We will tell you whether the work fits and which service it resembles: website, panel, automation, or a combination.