Website Design in Madison, WI: Hiring and Scope

Define the customer task before requesting quotes

Write down what a customer should accomplish: request an appointment, find your opening hours, buy a product or submit an inquiry. Give each designer the same brief. List the pages, forms and integrations you want, and name the employee who will approve copy and images.

For a shop, include the information you want customers to see before visiting, such as directions and pickup instructions. For an appointment business, describe booking, cancellation and confirmation steps. Ask the designer to demonstrate the complete customer task on a phone before you approve the design.

Separate launch essentials from later additions. Request a price for the agreed scope and a written method for approving extra work. Ask who supplies photographs, writes copy, enters products and checks migrated content. Set approval dates with the designer rather than accepting a launch date that assumes your staff have finished everything.

Compare the build price and ongoing obligations

Request separate prices for design, development, content work, software, hosting, support and training. Ask for renewal terms and cancellation conditions. Have the designer identify who pays each supplier and what you can export if you change providers.

Wisconsin Department of Revenue guidance says website design is not subject to sales tax when the service is not primarily photographic. It also describes hosting, domain registration and site maintenance as nontaxable under stated conditions. Photography, prewritten software and related services can receive different treatment. Do not assume one tax treatment applies to the whole proposal. [1]

Ask for an itemized invoice and an explanation of any tax. The department's software-training example illustrates why optional and required services can produce different taxable amounts. The chart describes that example; it does not supply a website budget or a Madison market price. [1]

Make accessibility part of acceptance

The Justice Department identifies inaccessible forms, mouse-only navigation, missing image descriptions and poor contrast as website barriers. Its guidance explains that ADA responsibilities extend to web offerings of businesses open to the public. Ask the designer to name the testing standard and deliver a record of checks and corrections. [4]

Include a manual test of your main customer task. Ask the tester to navigate with a keyboard, inspect form labels and error messages, and check reading order with a screen reader. Request a demonstration of text enlargement and readable contrast. Agree who will correct problems in embedded booking or checkout tools. [4]

The department recommends combining manual checks with automated tools. Treat a scanner report as part of the evidence you review. Its cited guidance also warns that it does not reflect the newer state and local government requirements, so ask the City project owner to confirm current contract requirements for municipal work. [4] [2]

Protect accounts and test the handover

Ask the designer to register the domain and business services under accounts you control. Agree on administrator access, recovery contacts, file ownership and licenses for images, fonts and software. Request a list of anything you cannot transfer, plus the steps and charges for leaving the service.

For a redesign, provide an inventory of existing pages and ask the designer to map old addresses to their replacements. Require approval before changing domain or email settings. Assign someone to test inquiry delivery, booking confirmations and checkout on the proposed launch version.

Before final acceptance, have a staff member update a page using the handover instructions. Request backup and recovery instructions, a support contact and the agreed correction period. Record who will maintain content and software after launch.

Wisconsin software example: amount subject to sales tax

Match the scope to your project

Your hiring checklist

1. Prepare one shared brief with pages, customer tasks and required integrations.
2. Name the person responsible for content and approvals.
3. Request itemized build charges, recurring charges and tax explanations.
4. Agree on accessibility testing and correction responsibilities.
5. Confirm applicable City contract and translation requirements for municipal program work.
6. Document account control, ownership, licenses and exit terms.
7. Test forms, booking, checkout and staff editing before acceptance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I budget?

Use itemized proposals for your defined scope. The supplied official sources do not establish local website design prices. Compare both launch charges and ongoing commitments, and request separate options for features you can postpone.

Does Wisconsin charge sales tax on website design?

The Department of Revenue says website design is nontaxable if it is not primarily a photographic service. Other components can receive different treatment, including photography and prewritten software. Ask the supplier to explain the itemized invoice. [1]

Can an automated accessibility report serve as acceptance?

Request manual testing as well. The Justice Department says a clean automated report does not necessarily mean everything is accessible. Ask for checks of your forms, keyboard navigation and other customer tasks. [4]

Must my private business site follow Madison's language plan?

The cited City plan addresses access to City programs and services and informs contracted vendors. It does not establish a blanket translation rule for private websites. For City program work, confirm your obligations with the project owner. [3]