Free guide · For freelance web designers

Choose a builder for a simple client website.

Make the choice from the brief: what the site must do, who will update it, and what your client can maintain after launch.

Open the free printable client brief

No email required. Use the worksheet alongside this guide.

1. Answer these before choosing a tool

Purpose: What should a visitor do—request a quote, call, or book?
Content: Which pages are needed? Will projects, articles, or products repeat in a structured collection?
Editing: Who will change the site, how often, and what can they confidently maintain?
Budget and ownership: Who pays for the domain, hosting, accounts, and ongoing support?

Treat accounts, payments, memberships, and complex booking rules as a separate scoping step. Confirm those requirements before quoting a simple site.

2. Pick a route to investigate

These are editorial starting points. Try one representative page and one client editing task before committing.

Design-led brochure

Shortlist Framer

Start here for a visual portfolio, landing page, or small service site. Check the plan’s page, CMS, editor, and traffic limits against your brief. A custom domain requires a paid plan.

Framer plans and limits

Structured content and control

Shortlist Webflow

Investigate this route when repeated projects or articles need a consistent structure. Choose a Site plan with CMS if required; Basic has no CMS. Budget collaboration separately from the site’s hosting.

Webflow Site and Workspace plans

Familiar tools, simple scope

Check the existing builder

If the client already has a supported builder and can edit it, first check whether it meets the brief. Improving its pages and content may avoid a migration. List any missing capability before proposing a switch.

An editorial decision rule; confirm the client’s current plan and access.

3. Work through a five-page example

Hypothetical brief: a local gardening business

Home, Services, Projects, About, and Contact. The goal is quote requests. The owner changes photos a few times a year and already owns the domain.

First test the existing builder. If a new platform is needed, shortlist Framer for a mostly static presentation. If Projects becomes a regularly updated collection with consistent fields, compare the CMS workflow in both Framer and Webflow. Ask the owner to edit a project before choosing.

Illustrative scenario; no customer outcome or hands-on comparison is claimed.

4. Write the complete cost in the quote

Costs to confirm before quoting a client website
Cost	Record in the worksheet
One-time work	Your fee, content, migration, integrations, revisions, and handover.
Recurring services	Site plan, domain renewal, needed editors or Workspace, email, and third-party services.
After launch	Included support, paid changes, renewal owner, and usage limits.

First-year total = one-time work + annual charges + 12 × monthly charges + agreed extras. Use each charge once. A monthly equivalent billed annually means an annual payment; check the checkout currency, taxes, and renewal terms. Recheck the linked vendor plans when quoting.

5. Make ownership part of the handover

Confirm who owns the domain, site account, billing, content, and licensed assets.
Use individual access roles and demonstrate the client’s editing workflow.
Test mobile pages, keyboard navigation, links, and real contact-form delivery after handover.
Provide renewal dates, support scope, and any export or backup limitations.

Plan the account setup early: a Framer transfer requires the recipient to select and pay for the needed new Site plan. Webflow’s paid-plan transfer route requires an eligible sending Workspace; form notifications and connected services need checking afterward. Review client-owned Workspace options before building.

Official sources checked November 7, 2026. Recommendations are editorial judgments based on those sources. Hands-on testing has not been performed. Vendor plans and transfer rules may change; confirm them before committing a client’s budget.