Web design in Mallorca: how to compare quotes without looking only at the price

Getting three quotes for a new website is the sensible thing to do. The trouble starts when they land in your inbox: one is half a page long, another runs to ten, one talks about "sections", another about "templates" and the third about "hours". It's tempting to compare the figure at the bottom, but you're almost never comparing like with like.

This article isn't about what web design in Mallorca ought to cost. It's about something more useful: how to line up several proposals so you can see what each one really offers, what's missing and what to ask before you sign. It works just as well for a business in Palma, Inca, Ibiza or Menorca.

Why two web design quotes are rarely comparable

A website isn't a boxed product. It's a bundle of jobs (strategy, copy, design, development, launch, maintenance), and every agency decides which ones to include, which to charge separately and which to leave unsaid. That's why a cheaper quote can end up costing more, and a pricier one may already include things you'd pay for later elsewhere.

The differences usually hide in three places:

• What isn't written down. If a quote doesn't mention copywriting, you'll most likely be writing the texts yourself.
• What's assumed. "Website in three languages" might mean the agency translates, or that it just builds the structure and you supply the translations.
• What happens after launch. Hosting, domain, updates, backups and small edits may be included for a year, billed monthly or not covered at all.

Step 1: define the scope yourself before asking anyone

The easiest way to get comparable quotes is to send every agency the same brief. Before contacting anyone, write down:

1. What the website must achieve. Calls, bookings, enquiries, sales, being found on Google. Pick one or two main goals.
2. Which pages you need. For example: home, one page per service, about, projects, contact.
3. Languages. In Mallorca you'll often need English and Spanish, and in some sectors German or Catalan too. Say which ones and who translates.
4. Special features. Bookings, payments, a client area, a catalogue, a link to your management software.
5. What you'll provide. Copy, photos, logo, access to your current domain.
6. When you need it live. If you depend on the season, say so: launching in March is very different from launching in July.

With this, every agency quotes for the same thing, and you can see who suggests changes and why.

Step 2: build a comparison table

Give each quote a column and use these rows. If something isn't mentioned, write "not stated" rather than guessing:

Item	What to check
Pages included	How many and which. What does an extra page cost?
Design	Bespoke or adapted template? How many rounds of changes?
Copy	Written by the agency, edited by them, or supplied by you?
Languages	Translation included, or just the structure?
Mobile-friendly	It should always be. If it isn't mentioned, ask.
Basic SEO	Titles, descriptions, clean URLs, speed, Google Search Console setup.
Forms and legal pages	Cookies, privacy policy, legal notice, consent on forms.
Training	Will they show you how to edit text and photos yourself?
Hosting and domain	Included? For how long? In whose name?
Maintenance	What it covers, what it costs and whether it's compulsory.
Timeline	Delivery date and what could delay it.
Payment terms	How much upfront and at which milestones.

Once it's filled in, you'll often find the "cheapest" quote is cheap because three rows are empty.

Step 3: the questions that clear things up

Some questions tell you a lot about a web design company, both from the answer and from how they give it:

• Whose name will the domain, hosting and logins be in? Ideally yours, or at the very least you should hold the admin credentials.
• Can I move the site to another provider one day? If the answer is complicated, better to know now.
• What happens to my current site and its Google rankings? If your existing site gets traffic, the switch should include redirects from the old pages.
• How many design revisions are included, and what does an extra one cost? It avoids arguments halfway through.
• Who will I be dealing with? Talking directly to the people who design and build is a very different experience from going through a salesperson.
• Can you show me similar sites you've built? Ideally for the same kind of business or with similar features.

Things worth a closer look

None of these automatically rules anyone out, but they're worth a follow-up question:

• A fixed price given without asking anything about your business.
• No mention of who owns the website and the domain.
• Compulsory maintenance with no explanation of what it covers.
• Very tight deadlines for a site with several special features.
• "SEO included" with no detail of the actual tasks.

A hypothetical example: a joinery workshop in Manacor

Picture a bespoke joinery workshop in Manacor that wants a new site to win kitchen and wardrobe commissions, including from foreign owners with homes on the island. It asks three agencies to quote on the same brief: five pages, Spanish and English, a project gallery and a form to book a site visit.

Laid out in the table, the first proposal turns out not to include the English version, only "language-ready"; the second includes copy and translation, but the domain would be registered to the agency; the third is the most expensive upfront but includes a year of hosting, training and redirects from the old site. None of them was bad; they just weren't the same. After the questions in step 3, the first two adjust their proposals and the comparison is finally fair.

Making the final call

Once the proposals cover the same ground, price becomes one factor rather than the only one. It helps to score each option from 1 to 5 on:

• Fit with your goal: is it designed to bring in calls, bookings or sales, or just to "have a website"?
• Clarity: do you understand what you'll get and when?
• Independence: will you be able to make changes yourself and take the site elsewhere if needed?
• Continuity: what happens the day after launch?
• Trust: did they listen and ask questions about your business?

If two options tie, go with the one that best explained what it doesn't include. That's usually the one with the fewest surprises later.

Want a quote that's easy to compare?

At Derek Solutions we do professional web design in Mallorca for businesses across the Balearic Islands, and our proposals spell out what's included, what isn't and whose name everything is in. If you also want the site to start bringing in customers from Google, we pair it with online marketing and SEO. Email derek@dereksolutions.com or call +34 680 283 973 and tell us what you need: we'll help you put the brief together even if you end up comparing us with other agencies.