What's Included in a Web Design Package?

Short answer: a web design package should cover more than a good-looking homepage. The sources reviewed here describe a domain name, hosting, a content management system (CMS) and a design as the building blocks, and they treat accessibility and usability as design concerns. Search visibility and a Google business listing are related tasks that many owners will want, but the sources do not say they come standard in any package. If a quote leaves an item out, ask who is responsible for it and whether it costs extra.

This playbook is for owners comparing quotes, agencies or website builders. It separates what the sources say from OwnerBriefing's own analysis. For wider context, see our digital growth coverage.

The foundations: domain, hosting and CMS

The Australian Government's Set up a business website page describes the basic building blocks. A domain name is the address of a website, and it should be registered through an accredited registrar or reseller. The page adds that most website hosting companies can register domain names.

The same page says you need a hosting service, which stores your website on a server connected to the internet, and a CMS to publish and update the site.

Cloud-based or self-hosted CMS

According to business.gov.au, a cloud-based CMS is a paid subscription service. It usually includes:

• built-in website hosting;
• different design templates;
• optional features such as online stores, online marketing and search engine optimisation.

A self-hosted CMS is an application you install on a separate hosting service. The page says you pay for that hosting yourself and might need extra applications or plug-ins for things like ecommerce. It describes self-hosted systems as more flexible and customisable than cloud-based ones, but as taking more work to set up and maintain.

Our analysis: the practical question is who does the maintenance. A self-hosted build may offer more flexibility, but someone must be named as responsible for the setup and upkeep work the source describes. Ask for that in writing. This page is Australian government guidance, so check local details such as registrar rules in your own market.

Design: template or custom?

The same source says that with a cloud-based CMS you can choose a built-in template, and most such systems have a drag and drop editor. With a self-hosted CMS you can buy or download a template, or pay a web designer to develop a custom design.

It lists branding, usability and mobile compatibility as things to consider, and suggests a style guide so the site matches your other marketing materials. It also advises avoiding overly fancy designs or gimmicks that might distract users from your content.

OwnerBriefing's decision framework

The sources do not say which option suits which business, so this framework is our analysis, not a sourced rule. Work through three questions:

1. What is the site for? Business.gov.au suggests starting with goals, such as being a digital shopfront, reaching a global audience or sharing information about your products or services. If the goal is simple, a template may be enough.
2. Does a template meet your brand and functional needs? Test this before assuming you need custom work. If it can show your branding and handle the features you need, custom design may add cost without adding value for you.
3. Who will maintain it? Custom work and self-hosted systems usually add dependence on a specialist. Cloud-based systems shift some of that to the provider, though you should check what customer support is actually included.

If you are still deciding whether to build anything at all, read Does My Business Really Need a Professional Website?.

Accessibility: a design requirement

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's Tips for Designing for Web Accessibility says its tips are good practice to help you meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requirements. The tips include:

• sufficient contrast between foreground text and background colours;
• not using colour alone to convey information;
• form elements with clearly associated labels;
• easily identifiable feedback;
• designs for different viewport sizes;
• image and media alternatives.

This is a starter list from the W3C page, not a full compliance checklist, and this article is not legal advice. Whether accessibility rules apply to your business depends on where you operate, so check locally.

What to ask (our analysis): does the package say which WCAG requirements it targets, and how will they be checked? A vague promise to be "accessible" is hard to hold anyone to.

Usability: design decisions, not decoration

Nielsen Norman Group's 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design was first published in 1994 and last reviewed in January 2024. It sets out broad rules of thumb rather than specific guidelines. They include visibility of system status, consistency and standards, error prevention, and help and documentation. The article says predictable interactions create trust in the product as well as the brand, and that designs should use words familiar to users rather than internal jargon.

Our analysis: these principles can become concrete checks on a quote or prototype:

• Does a customer who submits an enquiry form see a clear confirmation?
• Do menu labels use the words customers use, not internal terms?
• Are forms designed to prevent mistakes and explain errors clearly?
• Is there a visible way to get help or contact you?

If a designer cannot show how the site handles these, usability may be left to chance. Our 30-minute website audit to run before paying for a redesign can help you check an existing site first.

Search visibility and Google listings: confirm scope

The business.gov.au page notes that cloud-based CMS subscriptions usually offer optional features such as online marketing and search engine optimisation. That tells you these may be optional extras rather than automatic inclusions.

Google publishes an SEO Starter Guide through Google Search Central. The material available to us for this article was mainly the documentation menu, so we did not verify what the guide itself recommends. We therefore make no claims about specific search tactics here. Point your provider to that guide and ask them to explain in writing which search-related work they will do.

Separately, Google's guidelines for representing your business apply if your business has a physical location customers can visit, or travels to customers. They say your profile should represent the business as it is consistently shown in the real world, with an accurate address or service area, and that there should only be one profile per business. For the business description field, they say links are not allowed.

Our analysis: the sources do not show that Google profile setup is a standard part of a web design package. It is a reasonable item to ask about if you serve local customers, but treat it as a separate line in the quote and confirm who owns the account. None of the sources promise rankings or traffic, so be wary of any package that does.

A regional lens: mobile and data costs in Sub-Saharan Africa

The World Bank's Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs report, published in March 2023, gives context for businesses serving African customers. It says that on average across Sub-Saharan African countries, 84% of people live in areas where 3G service is available, while only 22% were using mobile internet services as of the end of 2021. Usage ranged from 6% in South Sudan to 53% in South Africa.

The report also says that 1.5 GB of data over 30 days amounts to about one third of income for the 40% of Africans who fall below the extreme poverty line. It names ability to pay and willingness to use as the main factors affecting enterprise use of smartphones and computers.

These are end-2021 figures for Sub-Saharan Africa and vary widely by country, as the report itself notes. They do not measure your customers, so check your own site analytics.

Our analysis: if your customers face high data costs, a lightweight, mobile-friendly site is a sensible requirement to put in a brief. The World Bank report does not make a website design recommendation; this is our inference from its affordability evidence. Ask providers how they keep pages light. If the site will serve several languages or markets, see localisation is a growth decision, not a translation task.

A checklist before you sign

Use this list to compare quotes line by line:

• Domain: who registers it, and in whose name?
• Hosting and CMS: is hosting included or bought separately, and who maintains updates?
• Design: template or custom, and what can you edit yourself?
• Accessibility: which requirements are targeted and how are they checked?
• Usability: how are forms, feedback and navigation tested?
• Search work: what exactly is in scope, and is a Google business listing included or separate?
• Mobile performance: how will page weight be kept low?
• Support: what help is included after launch?

Constraints and uncertainty

The sources are guidance from public bodies, a research group and Google. None defines a standard package, so what counts as included varies by provider. They give no price information, and we have not estimated any. Ask for itemised quotes instead.

Conclusion

A good web design package is a clear division of responsibility. Before paying, confirm in writing who owns the domain, who hosts and maintains the site, and how accessibility and usability will be delivered and checked. Treat search work and any Google listing as separate items to be named in the quote. Choose a template when it meets your brand and functional needs, and move to custom design only when you can name what it adds that a template cannot. If an item is not in the quote, treat it as not included and ask for it to be added.