Four Practices to Significantly Reduce the Cost of Your Next Web Project

As the leader of a digital agency, my team and I have helped numerous organizations navigate technical work. Through this experience, I've learned that following a few simple principles can significantly reduce the costs of a web project. Here are four powerful tips to help you spend less on your next web project, whether it's handled by your in-house team, an independent contractor, or a digital agency.

1. Measure Twice, Cut Once: Thoroughly Discover Internally Before Engaging an Engineering Team

You can’t delegate vision. As the project owner, investing energy early on will yield exponential efficiencies throughout the entire project. From my experience, every additional minute spent early on can save you 10 to 100 minutes over the project's life. When you think you're overcommunicating requirements and vision, you're probably just barely communicating enough. For proof, ask five people what was communicated after your next meeting, or compare your understanding of agreed-upon actions—you'll likely get as many different answers.

Start by laying out high-level “buckets” (in bullet points) for the project features. These can be the various pages of your web app or website redesign. Under each broad heading, list short summaries of each feature (e.g., recent press releases listing, slideshow hero image). Keep it to 3-7 words per item for easy digestion.

Below each feature, write 3-7 specific expectations. If you think, "This is easy; the developer should understand without much explanation," you risk disappointing results. Engineers lack your domain expertise and context, so be as specific as possible. Too few details can be worse than too many.

For clarity, limit your sub-bullets to 3-7 points. More than that may indicate the need for a new feature. Larger tasks are harder to estimate and hold developers accountable for. Breaking down features into digestible parts makes them easier to manage.

I recommend using Workflowy (no affiliation) for this process. Unlike Google Docs, Workflowy allows you to collapse multiple bullet levels, presenting your document in a way that prevents overwhelm and keeps focus.

2. Use Wireframes

Often, what seems clear initially isn't so. To clarify, create wireframes for the various screens you're envisioning. You don't need to be a UI expert; the goal is to convey your ideas for the engineer or designer's digestion. Tools like Balsamiq or even pen and paper work. If you don't have a scanner, use your phone to take a picture. The process or perfection shouldn't hinder idea conveyance. A single wireframe can eliminate considerable confusion and future rework.

For cost estimation, have your engineers provide rough estimates for each feature. Double the sum of these estimates to account for overhead such as project management, QA, and unforeseen issues (X-Factor). Seeing real estimates and assigning dollar values helps you decide if a feature is worth its cost, allowing you to adjust the project scope accordingly.

3. Apply Parkinson’s Law and the 80/20 Rule

Software engineers enjoy building well-crafted solutions, which can be costly. Significant savings can be achieved by leveraging Parkinson’s Law and the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule).

Parkinson’s Law states that a task will expand to fill the time allotted. Ask your engineers, "What if we only had half the budget for this task?" This can yield creative solutions that are acceptable for your purposes, even if not as elegant.

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of a feature's value comes from 20% of the effort or cost. By focusing on the essential 20%, you can significantly reduce costs. If your project budget is $100,000, honing in on the “80% solution” can potentially reduce it to $20,000. While the 80% solution might not always be sufficient, pushing beyond 80% significantly increases costs. Regularly ask your team, "What changes would make this feature less expensive?" This often results in more cost-effective solutions with minimal compromise on functionality.

4. Get Involved When Tasks Exceed Time Estimates

Engineers can lose track of time in a flow state, leading to extensive hours spent on features you might not prioritize highly. A task estimated for an hour can take ten or more due to unforeseen complexities. If clients knew the true costs upfront, many features would be adjusted or deprioritized.

To prevent this, ensure your engineers inform you if a task exceeds its estimate, providing an updated completion estimate. This allows you to reassess the feature's value and prioritize tasks effectively. You don't need technical expertise to do this—just the ability to evaluate updated costs and allocate resources accordingly.

5. Focus on Projected Final Costs, Not Just Burn Reports

Burn reports show how much you've spent but not how much remains. Knowing you’ve spent $20,000 of a $25,000 budget is less helpful if you don’t know how much of the project is left. Development teams often struggle with precise tracking due to unpredictable task times and scope changes.

Instead, work with someone who can provide projected final costs: hours worked plus hours remaining on all features. This visibility allows you to adjust expectations, scope, and resources to stay on budget. Accurate tracking requires discipline and the right team, so choose wisely.

Conclusion

Practicing these concepts will yield tremendous results for your next web project. If you have questions or would like to discuss further, please feel free to reach out!

‍