How web designers and developers bill a site
A website build is usually quoted as one project fee and invoiced in milestones, so neither side carries the whole risk. After launch, the relationship often becomes recurring: hosting renewed each year, a monthly care plan for updates and backups, and hourly work for new pages or features outside the original scope.
- Milestones: for example 30 percent at kickoff, 30 percent when designs are approved and 40 percent at launch, as agreed in your proposal.
- Change requests: work outside the agreed scope, priced hourly or as a mini quote and approved in writing.
- Licenses: premium themes, plugins and fonts, which often renew every year.
- Hosting and domain: billed yearly in advance if you manage them for the client.
- Care plan: a monthly fee covering updates, backups and a small amount of editing time.
Web design invoice template line items and example prices
The table shows how a site project and its ongoing services might appear on invoices. All prices are examples only, set for a small business brochure site. Larger builds, ecommerce and custom development cost more, and your local market sets the real range.
| Line item | How it is usually charged | Example price |
|---|---|---|
| Milestone 1 of 3: kickoff deposit | Share of project fee | $2,400 (example) |
| Milestone 2 of 3: design approved | Share of project fee | $2,400 (example) |
| Milestone 3 of 3: site launched | Final share | $3,200 (example) |
| Additional page template | Per page | $350 (example) |
| Premium form plugin, 12 months | Passed through, renews yearly | $89 (example) |
| Managed hosting, 12 months | Yearly, in advance | $240 (example) |
| Care plan: updates, backups, 1 hour of edits | Monthly | $120 per month (example) |
What to put on a website invoice
A website invoice should tie each payment to something the client can see or approve. Many web designers include the milestone name and what was delivered, a link to the staging site or approval email, the domain, and the start and end dates of any hosting or license period, so renewals are easy to track next year.
- Milestone wording: “Milestone 2 of 3: homepage and inner page designs approved on March 12.”
- Change request reference: the date and number of each approved change, with its hours.
- Renewal dates: for hosting, domains and plugin licenses.
- Account ownership: a note on whose name the domain and hosting accounts are in, if your agreement covers it.
- Launch condition: if the site goes live once the final milestone is paid, say so in the terms.
Hosting and maintenance invoices after launch
Once the site is live, keep the build and the ongoing services on separate invoices. The project invoices close when the final milestone is paid. Hosting, domains and care plans then run on their own schedule, usually monthly or yearly, which makes them easier for the client to approve and for you to track.
Repeat billing like this is where a recurring invoice earns its keep. Our generator makes one invoice at a time, and WhizInvoice can send repeat invoices on a schedule if you look after many sites. For the build itself, our guide to deposit invoices covers the first payment.
Web design invoicing mistakes to avoid
Website billing problems often show up months after launch, when a renewal arrives on your card or a client disputes a change request. Most can be prevented with clear lines on the invoice and a short written approval for anything outside the scope. Watch for these.
- Paying renewals yourself and invoicing afterward. Invoice hosting and licenses before the renewal date.
- Launching with the final milestone unpaid and no terms that say when the site goes live.
- One line called “Website”. Clients approve payments faster when they can see milestones and pages.
- Mixing the build and the care plan on one invoice, which confuses the client’s books.
- Change requests without approval dates, which turns a fair charge into an argument.
Using our website invoice template and generator
Download the template from this page in Word, Excel or PDF, or open the prefilled website invoice sample in our free generator. It shows a second milestone, an extra page, a plugin license and change request hours. Edit the lines, add your logo and save a PDF in your browser.
The Compact design fits several milestones and renewals on one page. For more styles, see our invoice templates. If you also design brand assets, the design project invoice handles revision rounds, and agencies offering support can use the IT services invoice for helpdesk work.
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