What a Fixed-Price Website Rebuild Includes

I have rebuilt enough small business sites under a locked quote to know the confusion starts before day one. A fixed-price website rebuild includes a defined discovery, design approval, development, content migration, launch, and a short warranty. The price stays fixed when the scope stays fixed.

What does a fixed-price website rebuild include?

A fixed-price website rebuild is a project where you and the studio agree on a written scope, a single price, and a delivery plan before serious build work starts. You pay for that package. You do not get open-ended hours billed at the end of every week.

For a typical small business rebuild at a studio like Subsecond Studio, the package usually covers:

A short discovery call and written scope (pages, goals, integrations, content sources)
Information architecture: sitemap, page list, and navigation
Design of key templates you approve before build (home, inner page, form or booking page)
Responsive development on the stack named in the quote
Content migration for a set number of pages (for example 8 to 20)
Forms, basic analytics, SEO foundations (titles, meta, clean URLs, sitemap)
QA on current browsers and common phone sizes
Launch, DNS or hosting handoff notes, and a short post-launch bug window (see what the first two weeks after launch usually look like)

What it usually does not include unless named in the quote: custom software, multi-language sites, full brand identity, professional photography, ongoing content writing, paid ads setup, or a year of unlimited redesign rounds.

On one local service rebuild, the client assumed "rebuild" meant every old blog post, three third-party tools, and a new booking flow. The quote covered a 12-page marketing site and one form. We fixed the gap with a change order before design, not after launch. That conversation is cheaper than rebuilding the build.

If the quote is silent on a feature, treat it as out of scope until it is written in.

How long does a fixed-price website rebuild take?

Most fixed-price website rebuilds for a small business land in a 4 to 10 week window once content and feedback arrive on time. That is calendar time, not pure build hours.

A common shape looks like this:

Phase	Typical duration	What you do
Discovery and scope lock	3 to 7 days	Approve page list, goals, integrations
Design	1 to 3 weeks	Give feedback in 1 or 2 rounds
Build and content	2 to 4 weeks	Supply copy, images, logins
QA and launch	3 to 7 days	Final review, go-live check
Warranty window	2 to 4 weeks after launch	Report bugs inside the fixed scope

Slowdowns almost never come from code alone. They come from missing photos, unapproved copy, stakeholders who only appear in week six, or a new "can we also add..." list mid-build. A fixed price protects you from surprise hourly bills. It does not freeze the calendar if feedback stalls.

Budget your time as well: one decision-maker, a content owner, and a clear review window of 3 to 5 business days per round keeps a six-week plan from stretching to twelve.

What stays fixed and what triggers a change order?

The locked price covers the written scope. A change order is a short addendum that adjusts price, timeline, or both when the work itself changes.

Usually stays fixed

The agreed page count and template set
The design system and the number of design rounds in the quote (often two)
Platform and hosting model named in the proposal
Performance and accessibility targets you both wrote down
Content migration volume (for example "up to 15 pages and 40 images")
Training length (for example a 60-minute CMS walkthrough)
Bug fixes that match the approved design and scope during the warranty

Usually triggers a change order

Extra pages beyond the cap ("we also need 8 service pages")
New features: client portals, memberships, custom calculators, multi-step apps
A full redesign after you already approved the design direction
Third-party tools that need custom API work not listed in the quote
Heavy content you expected the studio to write from scratch
E-commerce depth: product variants, inventory rules, tax plugins, multi-currency
Moving from a simple CMS site to a custom web app mid-project

Price ranges for small business rebuilds vary by market and complexity. A simple brochure rebuild often sits in a low four-figure to mid four-figure range. A larger multi-template marketing site with migrations and integrations can land in the high four figures to low five figures. Custom software is a different product and should be quoted that way. Treat any public number as a planning band, not a guarantee for your stack (see Custom software is a different product).

If you want the number to stay still, freeze scope before design. The cheapest change order is the one you never need.

What deliverables should you receive on a fixed-price rebuild?

Deliverables are the concrete things you own when the project closes. Ask for them by name in the proposal.

Typical deliverables:

Live site on the agreed host, with staging history if the studio uses one
Design source or a clear note if design lives only in Figma and who retains the file
CMS access for the people who will edit pages after launch
Asset handoff: logos, optimized images, fonts with license notes
Technical basics: SSL, redirects from old URLs, robots and sitemap, form spam protection
Analytics property access if included
Short documentation: how to edit a page, add a blog post, or update hours
Warranty terms: length, response time, what counts as a bug vs a new request

SEO foundations are part of most rebuilds even when you are not buying a full SEO retainer. Google’s own starter guidance still centers on clear page purpose, useful content, and pages that work on mobile; see the SEO starter guide. Performance work belongs in the same box. Core Web Vitals and practical speed checks are documented on web.dev, and a fixed rebuild should at least ship with image discipline, sensible caching, and no obvious layout thrash on phones.

Accessibility is not a bolt-on decoration. A rebuild that ignores keyboard focus, contrast, and form labels creates legal and usability risk. Scope should name a baseline: semantic structure, alt text for key images, focus states, and form labels. Perfect WCAG audits for every page are a separate engagement unless the quote says otherwise.

How is a fixed-price rebuild different from hourly or retainers?

Fixed-price rebuild is best when the destination is clear: replace an aging site, refresh brand presentation online, improve speed and mobile layout, and hand you something you can edit without calling a developer every week.

Hourly suits research spikes, experimental features, or work where nobody can define success yet. A retainer suits ongoing content, SEO campaigns, or small monthly improvements after launch.

Mixing models is fine. Many studios fix the rebuild, then offer a light monthly plan for updates. Just keep the lines separate on paper so "included" and "extra" never blur.

What should a small business prepare before signing?

You speed the project more than any framework choice when you arrive prepared.

Bring:

Current domain registrar and hosting logins (or who holds them)
Brand files: logo vectors, colors, fonts you already own
A list of must-have pages ranked by priority
Examples of sites you like and why (structure, not only colors)
Real photos if you have them; stock only as a last resort
One person with authority to approve design and launch
Legal pages: privacy, terms, any industry disclaimers

If your old site has hundreds of URLs, ask for a redirect plan in the scope. Broken redirects are a common reason a "successful" rebuild still loses search traffic.

Also decide what "done" means in one sentence. "A 10-page site that books consults on mobile in under three taps" is clearer than "a modern website." Fixed-price work thrives on that clarity.

How do you protect yourself in the contract without slowing the project?

You do not need a 40-page legal novel. You do need:

Scope list with page caps and integration names
Payment schedule tied to milestones (often deposit, design approval, launch)
Number of design and content revision rounds
Client delay language: if feedback is late, dates shift
Change order process: written request, price, new date
Ownership: who owns code, design, and third-party licenses
Warranty window and what it covers
Cancellation terms if either side stops mid-project

Read the payment schedule carefully. Paying 100% up front with no milestones is as risky as paying 0% until the end. A common healthy split for small rebuilds is deposit to start, a mid-project payment at design approval, and the balance at launch. At Subsecond Studio the client sees and approves the finished design before paying for the remaining work that depends on that approval. Mirror that idea even if you use another shop: approve visible design before the full build bill is due.

FAQ

Does a fixed-price website rebuild include content writing?

Usually no, unless the quote lists a copy package. Most fixed rebuilds migrate your existing text or place content you supply. Full original copywriting, blog strategy, or product descriptions are separate line items because word count and research time swing widely.

Will the price change if the project runs long?

Not if the delay is on the studio side inside the original scope. If the delay is missing content, late approvals, or new requirements, the calendar moves and a change order may apply. Fixed price locks the fee for the agreed work. It does not freeze time when inputs stop arriving.

What happens after the warranty ends?

Bugs found later that come from new plugins, CMS edits, hosting changes, or browser updates are maintenance, not free rebuild work. Many owners add a small monthly care plan for updates and backups. Without that, plan for occasional paid support when something breaks.

If you are weighing a rebuild now, write a one-page brief: page list, must-have features, content owner, target launch month, and budget band. Send that to a studio that quotes fixed scope. You will get cleaner numbers, fewer change orders, and a site that matches what you thought you bought (see one-page brief).

Get your website designed before you pay. Subsecond Studio designs and builds websites, web apps, and AI tools, and you approve the design before any payment. Get an estimate