Choosing is comparing specs, not prices
Three quotes for "the same" website vary 5x because they describe three different projects. The quote that looks expensive may be the one that included content handling, redirects and training; the cheap one assumed you would not notice their absence. Normalize the comparison: demand a written scope with each quote, then compare what is included, excluded, and assumed. Price only becomes meaningful after the scopes match.
The signals that predict outcomes
- Spec quality predicts build quality. A quote that lists assumptions and exclusions comes from a process that finds problems before they cost money.
- Questions predict fit. The candidate who asked about your content, your editors and your deadline is pricing reality; the one who asked only about features is pricing a fantasy that becomes a change-order machine.
- Live work predicts delivered work. Check their sites on your phone, run Lighthouse, click the footer links. Ten minutes, more signal than any call.
- Terms predict the ending. Repo access, IP on payment, milestones — the five clauses tell you what parting ways looks like, before it matters.
- Candor predicts everything. "This platform is wrong for you", "that deadline is not honest", "I am not the right fit for this one" — each of these sentences is a green flag wearing a disappointing costume.
The disqualifiers
Four answers end evaluations immediately, whatever the price: no version control or repo access; fixed quotes with nothing fixed in writing; bad-mouthing every past client; and ownership terms that surface late — licenses, hostage retainers, "access on completion". These are not judgment calls; they are how the worst stories start.
Price band logic, honestly applied
With matched specs, the remaining price spread is calibre and margin. One band up for demonstrably better work is usually the best money in the project; two bands up without evidence is brand premium; below the benchmarks by half means something in the spec is not being priced — find out what before signing, not after.
The tiebreaker
When specs, signals and prices genuinely tie, choose the candidate whose communication you would least like to lose: the one who explains clearly, replies at a sane rhythm, and told you one true thing you did not want to hear. You are not hiring a website; you are hiring months of that person's judgment. Send the brief here and the spec-first quote that comes back is built to be compared — that is deliberate.