A website project rarely consists of one line item. A good invoice makes fixed fees, hourly work and changes clear without making the client reconstruct your project plan.
There may be discovery, wireframes, design, development, content entry, revisions and ongoing maintenance. Some of that work is billed at a fixed price, some by the hour, and occasionally a client adds more work halfway through.
Start with the agreed scope
Before you produce an invoice, check the proposal, estimate or signed agreement. Look for four things: the work included, the agreed price, the payment schedule and the conditions for changes.
If you agreed a £2,800 website package, the invoice should not suddenly describe it as 40 hours of general development. Use a recognisable project name and the same scope language the client has already approved.
For a small web project, that might be "Five-page brochure website: design and development, as agreed 21 October 2026". For an ongoing support contract, it could be "Website maintenance: November 2026".
Fixed-price projects: invoice by milestone
Milestone billing is useful when a project takes several weeks or months. Instead of waiting until launch, you agree when payments become due. For a £2,800 project, a 40/40/20 schedule works like this:
| Stage | Percentage | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Booking and discovery | 40% | £1,120 |
| Design approval | 40% | £1,120 |
| Completion and handover | 20% | £560 |
| Total project fee | 100% | £2,800 |
Issue a separate invoice for each milestone, clearly showing which instalment it covers. If you want to show the total contract value for context, distinguish it from the amount due on that particular invoice. Do not label the full £2,800 as payable on every milestone invoice, which creates confusion and can lead to double counting.
Hourly work: make the time visible
Hourly invoices need enough detail for the client to see what was done. You do not need to reproduce every line of your time tracker, but avoid a single line marked "Website work".
| Work | Hours | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homepage layout and responsive testing | 5.5 | £65 | £357.50 |
| Content management system updates | 3 | £65 | £195 |
| Browser testing and fixes | 2 | £65 | £130 |
| Total | 10.5 | £682.50 |
If you work at more than one rate, show the rate next to each task. If the client has approved a maximum number of hours, do not exceed it without permission.
Separate project work from ongoing support
A one-off build and a maintenance package are not the same purchase. Keep the invoice descriptions separate:
- Website build: agreed deliverables and milestones
- Hosting: the service period, and whether it includes domain or server costs
- Support retainer: the period covered and the included time or service
- Additional development: the change request, approval date and work completed
If an annual hosting renewal and a new feature fall in the same month, you can invoice them together if the client prefers, but use separate, labelled line items.
Handling deposits and changes of scope
A deposit or initial milestone should be agreed before the work starts. The amount, due date and refund or cancellation terms belong in the commercial agreement, not as a surprise on the invoice.
When requirements change, document the request and its additional cost before doing the work. A short written approval can prevent a dispute later. "Additional event listing page, approved by email on 4 November 2026" is clearer than an unexplained £250 line on the final invoice.
If a client has already paid a deposit, make that payment and the remaining balance obvious. Use separate milestone invoices or an appropriately itemised final statement, depending on your accounting arrangement.
What should appear on a web design invoice?
All the ordinary UK invoice requirements still apply: a unique number, supplier and customer details, invoice date, supply date, clear description, charges and total, plus VAT information where applicable. Our guide to what a UK invoice must include has the full list.
Useful project-specific extras are the website or project name, the milestone number, a statement of work reference, the payment due date and any purchase order number. Be careful with vague terms such as "final payment". "Final 20% milestone: website handover, approved 6 November 2026" is easier to reconcile.
Choosing an invoice layout
Project work often reads best grouped by phase. Keep project information near the top, followed by the itemised work and a clearly emphasised amount due. Long descriptions should wrap properly in the PDF rather than being cut off.
A branded invoice can look considered without being decorative. One accent colour, consistent typography and a readable table are usually enough.
Next Invoice lets you group line items under section headers, reorder them by dragging, and style invoices with the template builder before exporting a PDF. Whatever you use, check the actual invoice before you share it with your client.
A simple routine after the invoice is sent
Record the date it was sent and keep the PDF with the project documents. Check whether the client has a purchase order or finance contact, follow up before a milestone becomes overdue, and update your records when payment arrives.
The aim is to make billing as predictable as the project itself. When scope, approvals and invoice descriptions agree, you spend less time answering questions about the bill.
Keep reading
Try it on your next invoice
Free to start: 5 invoices a month, every template and the template builder included.