That NT$300,000 quote in your hand—where does the money actually go?
Mr. Chen runs a trading company and wants an official website that takes orders and manages them in a back office. He receives a NT$300,000 quote with a single line: "Website design and development: 300,000." He is uneasy: is that number pulled from thin air, or is there real structure behind it? A peer says they got theirs done for NT$120,000; another firm quoted NT$550,000. He is not trying to haggle. He simply wants to know—for these NT$300,000, what work and what risk does each dollar correspond to? This article lays that money out on the table, cell by cell, and gives you a scorecard to spot padded quotes.
Three industry myths: "sounds right, actually wrong"
- Myth 1: The lower the quote, the better the deal. Truth—low quotes often exclude testing, post-launch fixes, and change requests. That work does not vanish; it returns as "add-ons," and the final total often exceeds the higher, complete quote.
- Myth 2: A one-line quote is more professional. Truth—compressing NT$300,000 into one line usually means someone does not want you to see the room inside it. A quote broken into design, frontend, backend, testing, PM, and risk buffer treats you as a partner.
- Myth 3: Only engineer time is real cost; the rest is padding. Truth—communication, requirement clarification, project management, deployment, and security setup are all real hours. Projects that skip them make it up with your overtime and a post-launch disaster.
A cost-structure table: how NT$300,000 actually splits
For a mid-sized site with payment integration and back-office order management, an honest NT$300,000 quote breaks down roughly as follows. Payment integration also carries third-party rates, such as ECPay's all-in-one payment rates or Stripe pricing—an ongoing post-launch cost, not part of the build fee.
| Cost item | Share | Amount (NT$) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| UI/UX design | 15% | 45,000 | Wireframes, visuals, markup specs, responsive design |
| Frontend | 25% | 75,000 | Page build, interaction, performance (Core Web Vitals) |
| Backend | 30% | 90,000 | Database, API, payment integration, admin (Laravel) |
| Testing and fixes | 10% | 30,000 | Cross-browser, cross-device, payment testing, bug fixes |
| Project management | 10% | 30,000 | Requirements, tracking, meetings, documentation |
| Risk buffer | 10% | 30,000 | Reserve for change requests and unexpected technical issues |
Backend taking the largest share makes sense—orders, payments, and admin are the most error-prone and time-consuming parts. And "risk buffer" is not padding; it honestly acknowledges that software projects carry uncertainty. Without this cell, an overrun leaves only two paths: you pay add-ons, or they cut corners.
The same project, three team sizes—how much they differ
The same site, handed to teams of different sizes, produces very different cost structures.
| Item | Solo freelancer | Small studio | Mid-sized company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote range | NT$120,000–180,000 | NT$250,000–350,000 | NT$500,000–800,000 |
| Design | Often self-done, basic | Dedicated design/markup | Design team with roles |
| Testing | Almost no separate testing | Basic testing process | Full QA and test environment |
| Project management | Direct contact, no PM | Owner doubles as PM | Dedicated PM and process |
| Risk | High single-point-of-failure risk | Controllable, flexible | Stable but many comms layers |
| Best for | Tight budget, simple needs | Quality plus flexibility | Large, high-compliance needs |
The hidden-cost checklist not written on the quote
Low quotes usually leave these out, but they will happen:
- Change requests: each mid-project layout change or new feature runs 1–3 workdays in practice, about NT$8,000–24,000 each.
- Communication cost: back-and-forth from unclear requirements often accumulates 15–30 hours on a mid-sized project, about NT$15,000–30,000.
- Rework: discovering the wrong direction at acceptance and rebuilding a module often eats 5–10% of budget, i.e. NT$15,000–30,000.
- Maintenance: yearly hosting, SSL, package updates, and minor fixes run about 15–20% of the project, i.e. NT$45,000–60,000/year.
- Opportunity cost: launching a month late, if monthly revenue opportunity is NT$50,000, costs you NT$50,000—the most easily overlooked line.
A 10-dimension scorecard to spot padded vs. honest quotes
For any quote, score each of these 10 items 0–2 (0 = missing, 1 = vague, 2 = clear and specific), max 20. Below 12, ask for more detail.
| Dimension | What to look at | What an honest quote looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cost breakdown | Line items | Design/frontend/backend/testing/PM listed separately |
| 2. Effort basis | Basis of the number | Can state roughly how many person-days, hourly/daily rate |
| 3. Scope | In and out | Clearly lists included/excluded items |
| 4. Change mechanism | How changes are priced | Add-on pricing stated upfront |
| 5. Testing scope | Whether and what | Lists browsers/devices/payment testing |
| 6. Deliverables | What you receive | Source code, docs, account ownership |
| 7. Timeline | Milestones | Phased acceptance and dates |
| 8. Maintenance terms | Post-launch | Warranty period, transparent maintenance pricing |
| 9. Payment nodes | How you pay | Tied to milestones, not all upfront |
| 10. Risk statement | Any buffer | Honestly lists risks and reserve |
ScriptWalker's engagement models, and the clients we are not right for
We offer four models: fixed-scope project (one complete website/app delivery), milestone billing (payment by phase), staff augmentation (adding Laravel/Flutter capacity to your team), and maintenance retainer (long-term post-launch care). For Mr. Chen's site, milestone billing fits best: design, backend, and testing each get an acceptance point, and you pay only after seeing results at each stage.
But honestly, three types of clients are not right for us:
- Clients whose only criterion is the lowest price: we will not cut testing and risk buffer to shave the number. If you want the cheapest in Taiwan, we are not your option.
- Clients with fully undefined needs who want to figure it out as they go: we can help you clarify, but if you have not even decided what problem to solve, upfront consulting cost is high and not worth it.
- Clients expecting "build once, never spend again": software needs maintenance. If ongoing post-launch cost is unacceptable, the engagement will disappoint.
Onboarding playbook: from signing to day 90
- Month 1 (clarify and design): requirement interviews, scope confirmation, finalized UI/UX designs, technical architecture and database planning, first milestone acceptance.
- Months 2–3 (build and integrate): frontend/backend development, payment integration, admin build, cross-device testing, phased demos and fixes—you see progress at every node.
- Day 90 (launch and handover): production deployment, security and performance checks, source code and documentation handover, admin training, entering warranty and maintenance.
Before you sign, ask yourself these
- ☐ What specific problem is this website meant to solve?
- ☐ What is my budget range, and does it include post-launch maintenance?
- ☐ Does this quote have a line-item breakdown?
- ☐ How are change requests priced—was it stated upfront?
- ☐ Which browsers and devices does the testing scope cover?
- ☐ Will I receive source code, documentation, and account ownership?
- ☐ Are payment nodes tied to milestones?
- ☐ How is post-launch maintenance calculated, roughly per year?
- ☐ Have I factored third-party payment rates into total cost?
- ☐ Have I estimated the opportunity cost of launching a month late?
- ☐ If this team hits a single point of failure, do I have a backup?
- ☐ What score did this quote get on the scorecard?
FAQ
If a quote is half the price, is it simply the better deal?
Not necessarily. Half the price often means testing, change requests, and maintenance are excluded. Use the 10-dimension scorecard to compare what each quote covers, add the hidden costs back, then compare totals—the result often flips.
Is a 10% risk buffer just a way to charge more?
No. Software projects inherently carry uncertainty; the buffer puts it in plain sight. If things go smoothly, most of it is unused and negotiable. A quote with no buffer leaves only add-ons or corner-cutting on overrun—worse for you.
Should payment rates count as cost?
Yes. The build fee is one-time, but per-transaction payment fees (see ECPay or Stripe official pricing) are a long-term post-launch cost—always include them when estimating total cost of ownership.
My requirements are not fully settled—can we start?
Yes, but we recommend milestone billing: clarify requirements and design first, confirm direction, then build, to avoid large-scale rework later.
Want a quote broken down to the last dollar?
Send us your current quote or requirements, and we will use the cost-structure table above to break out a clear, defensible estimate—and tell you honestly which money is worth spending and which can be saved. Get in touch:
- Email：[email protected]
- 電話：0916-224-047
- LINE：@ufv9089p