Agency is pitching a "turnkey" website — what does that actually cover, and what gets billed as extra later?

An agency that verbally promises "we'll handle everything" will turn around a month after signing and say, "you never sent the copy, our data entry fee is 500 RUB per product." Never trust the word turnkey without a scope of work. To you, turnkey means you can start selling without lifting a finger; to them, it just means handing over functional, empty code.

Typical surprise costs that pop up later: 1) Clipping paths and optimizing professional product photos. 2) Translations for the secondary language if it's multilingual. 3) Setting up corporate email accounts on the server. 4) Hourly revision bills for minor design tweaks spotted post-launch.

Last year we signed for a similar corporate site at 280,000 RUB. Because we didn't specify content and catalog uploads upfront, the agency hit us with a 95,000 RUB surprise invoice for 60 pages of product data entry and copy edits. Since we hadn't defined it early on, we had no choice but to pay.

definitely get the domain and hosting under your own name using your own card. if it sits in the agency's account they can hold your site hostage if things go south seen it happen way too many times watch out

It's very unlikely an agency is building a custom site from scratch AND writing high-quality Russian B2B copy tailored to your industry for 320,000 RUB. They'll probably just dump lorem ipsum placeholders everywhere and call it "ready." Either handle the copy in-house or budget separately for a professional copywriter.

I fell right into this trap two years ago. They promised turnkey; the site went live, but the contact form didn't work and they wouldn't even hand over the CMS logins. Said admin training and monthly maintenance were extra. If your contract doesn't define acceptance criteria, your hands are tied.

Make sure to demand a detailed Technical Specifications Document annexed to the contract. Itemizing how many page templates will be designed, how many products will be imported, and listing explicit acceptance criteria will protect your legal rights in case of any future disputes.

edit: fixed a few typos.

Shoot an email to the agency right now: "Does the quote include hosting, uploading 50 products, Russian copywriting, and 2 rounds of design revisions?" Get the answer in writing and have that confirmation attached to the contract.

Three different views emerged, they all complement each other. btw start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

Thats all, sorry if I went on too long.

We need to make a distinction here. Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

correct but weekly written progress reports are much more useful than asking for dates.

i'm also curiious if anyone does it differently.

I'm in the same situation, that's why I'm asking. The cheapest quote is usually the least thought-out one.

Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval. Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

Just a heads-up. If code ownership isn't in the contract, you have no bargaining power when leaving.

I'll try it. The biggest time-waster for us was not knowing who had the final say.

Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval. That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

I went through the same thing.

Thanks this was very helpful. If you dont write this down from the start it leads to arguments later.

Proven by experience.

Saved.

Thanks for posting. Most time waste accumulates in tasks waiting for approval.