Questions to Ask Before
Hiring a Web Designer
The Ones Most Agencies Hope You Won't Ask
In 26 years, I've watched good businesses hand over thousands to the wrong web designer. Not because they chose badly — because they didn't know what to ask. These are the questions that separate the professionals from the chancers. Ask them to anyone you're considering — including me.
Questions About Ownership and Control
This is where most businesses get caught out. You'd be amazed how many people don't realise they don't own their own website until they try to leave.
Who owns the domain name?
Your domain name is your address on the internet. If someone else registers it in their name, they control your online identity. Ask for proof of registration in your name — not their reseller account, not their hosting panel. Your name, your account, your login details.
Red flag: "We manage all domains centrally for our clients." This means they own it and you're renting access. If you leave, they hold the keys.
Who owns the website code and content?
You paid for it, so you should own it. But many agencies retain intellectual property rights over the code they write — meaning you've paid for a website you can't take with you. Ask directly: "If I leave, do I get the source code?" Get the answer in writing.
Red flag: "The code is proprietary to our platform." Translation: you're locked into their ecosystem and leaving means starting from scratch.
What happens if I want to leave?
This is the question that reveals everything. A confident web designer will tell you exactly what happens: you take your domain, your code, your content, and your data. No exit fee, no drama. If the answer involves penalties, notice periods, or vague conditions — you're being locked in, not looked after.
Red flag: "There's a 12-month minimum contract" or "early termination fees apply." If the work is good, you won't want to leave. Contracts that punish you for leaving exist because the work doesn't stand on its own.
Can I access my own hosting?
Your website lives on a server somewhere. You should know where, and you should have login credentials. Some agencies host sites on shared servers and charge a premium for what costs them pennies. Others won't give you access at all — so if the relationship ends, you're stranded.
Red flag: "We handle all hosting internally — you don't need to worry about it." You absolutely do need to worry about it. No access means no control.
Questions About the Build
The person who sold you the project and the person who builds it are often two different people. That matters more than most businesses realise.
Who actually builds the website?
In many agencies, the senior person pitches and wins the work, then hands it to a junior developer or outsources it overseas. There's nothing inherently wrong with delegation — but you deserve to know who's doing the work and what their experience level is. The person you meet should be the person who builds.
Red flag: "Our team will handle it." Ask for a name. If they can't tell you exactly who will build your site, the answer is whoever's available.
What technology will you use, and why?
Many designers default to WordPress because it's what they know — not because it's the best fit for your business. The technology choice affects speed, security, maintenance costs, and what's possible in the future. You don't need to understand the technology, but you deserve to know why it was chosen.
Red flag: "We use WordPress for everything." One-size-fits-all means they're fitting your project to their skillset, not the other way around.
Will my site be fast? How fast?
Speed isn't a nice-to-have. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, and visitors leave slow sites. Ask for specific numbers: What PageSpeed score will the site achieve? What's the target load time? If they can't give you a number, they haven't thought about it.
Red flag: "It'll be fast enough" or "We'll optimise it later." Performance needs to be built in from the start. Retrofitting speed into a slow site is expensive and often impossible.
Is SEO built in, or bolted on later?
Some designers build a site and then talk about SEO as an add-on. That's backwards. Title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, image optimisation, schema markup, and internal linking should all be part of the build — not a separate invoice after launch.
Red flag: "SEO is a separate package." Basic on-page SEO should be standard, not premium. Charging extra for title tags is like charging extra for doors on a house.
How will the site perform on mobile?
Over 60% of web traffic is mobile. Google indexes the mobile version of your site first. "Responsive design" is the minimum — ask to see examples of their mobile work on a real phone, not just a browser window dragged narrow. The experience should feel native, not squashed.
Red flag: "It's responsive" with no further detail. Ask them to show you a live site on your phone. If the text is tiny, buttons are hard to tap, or the layout breaks — "responsive" is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Questions About Money
The upfront quote is rarely the full picture. Ask about what comes after launch, because that's where hidden costs live.
What exactly is included in the price?
Get a written breakdown. How many pages? Does the quote include copywriting or are you providing the text? Is hosting included? What about SSL certificates, email setup, Google Analytics, and Search Console configuration? The items that seem obvious are often the ones that appear on a separate invoice.
Red flag: Vague proposals with round numbers and no itemisation. If someone can't tell you exactly what you're getting for your money, they haven't scoped the project properly.
Are there ongoing costs after launch?
WordPress sites need security updates, plugin renewals, and hosting fees. Some designers charge monthly "maintenance" fees for work that takes minutes. Others lock you into expensive hosting that costs them a fraction of what you're paying. Ask for a complete picture of year-one costs, not just the build price.
Red flag: "Maintenance is just £99/month." Ask what that includes. If it's plugin updates and backups, you're paying over £1,000 a year for tasks that take 20 minutes.
What happens if it takes longer than expected?
Projects overrun. It happens. The question is who pays for it. If the delay is your fault — slow feedback, changing requirements — that's fair. But if the designer underestimated the work, you shouldn't be picking up the tab. Get the overrun policy in writing before the project starts.
Red flag: No mention of timelines or overrun handling in the proposal. If they haven't thought about what happens when things go wrong, they will go wrong.
Will you show me a breakdown?
A professional should be able to show you where the money goes. Not an hour-by-hour timesheet, but a clear breakdown: design, development, content, SEO setup, testing, and launch. If the quote is a single lump sum with no detail, you have no way to judge whether it's fair.
Red flag: "It's a fixed project price — we don't break it down." Fixed pricing is fine. Refusing to show what it covers is not.
Questions About Communication
The build process matters as much as the finished product. A beautiful website delivered through a terrible experience isn't a good result.
How will I communicate with you during the build?
Will you have a direct line to the person building your site, or will you go through an account manager? How quickly should you expect responses? Some agencies route everything through project management software that feels like shouting into a void. You want a real conversation, not a ticket number.
Red flag: "Submit a support ticket and we'll get back to you within 48 hours." For an active build, that's glacial. You should be able to pick up the phone.
How many revisions are included?
Revisions are where relationships sour. Some designers include unlimited revisions (which sounds generous but often means they'll rush the first attempt). Others limit you to two or three rounds, then charge per change. Know the policy upfront and make sure it's reasonable for the size of the project.
Red flag: "Revisions are charged at £75/hour after two rounds." Some revision is normal on any creative project. A punitive revision policy suggests they expect to get it wrong.
Can I see work in progress?
You shouldn't wait until launch day to see your website. A good web designer will share progress regularly — staging links, screenshots, or screen recordings — so you can catch issues early. If someone disappears for six weeks and then reveals the finished product, any problems discovered at that point are expensive to fix.
Red flag: "We'll show you the finished site before launch." That's a reveal, not a process. You're paying for this — you should see it being built.
What's your realistic timeline?
Emphasise "realistic." A standard small business website should take 3-6 weeks. Anything less than two weeks for a custom build suggests corners being cut. Anything over eight weeks for a brochure site suggests you're not a priority. Ask for milestones, not just a launch date.
Red flag: "We'll fit it in around other projects." You're paying for a service, not a favour. Your project deserves a committed timeline.
How I Answer These Questions
I'm sharing these questions because I want you to ask them — including asking me. Here's what I'd say.
On Ownership
Your domain is yours. I'll help you register it in your name, with your account, and your login details. If you leave tomorrow, the domain comes with you. I never register client domains under my own account.
Your code is yours. Every site I build is version-controlled in Git — a complete history of every change, every decision, every line of code. You get the full repository. No proprietary lock-in, no "our platform" restrictions.
Leaving is straightforward. No exit fees, no minimum contracts, no notice periods on pay monthly plans. You take everything and go. I'd rather earn your business every month than hold it hostage. My satisfaction guarantee covers this explicitly.
On the Build
I build every site myself. The person you speak to is the person who designs, builds, tests, and launches your website. One person, 26 years of experience, fully accountable. No handoffs, no junior developers, no outsourcing.
I use Astro for brochure sites and Shopify for ecommerce. Not WordPress. Astro sites load in under a second and score 95-100 on PageSpeed. They don't need plugins, they don't get hacked, and they don't slow down over time. I chose this technology because it's better for my clients, not because it's easier for me.
SEO is built into every page from day one. Title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure, schema markup, image optimisation, internal linking, XML sitemaps, and Google Search Console setup. It's not an add-on. It's how I build websites.
On Money
Every quote comes with a detailed breakdown. You'll see exactly what you're paying for — pages, features, SEO setup, testing, and launch support. No vague line items, no bundled mystery charges. I want you to understand the value, not just the number.
My pay monthly plans include hosting, SSL, and updates. No hidden costs after launch. The price I quote is the price you pay. If ongoing SEO or content work would benefit you, I'll recommend it honestly — but it's never a surprise invoice.
If the project overruns because of me, I absorb the cost. If it overruns because the scope changed, we'll talk about it before any extra charge is agreed. No surprises, no post-launch invoices for work you didn't approve.
On Communication
You talk directly to me. No account managers, no ticket systems, no intermediaries. My phone number is 01952 407599. My email is on every piece of correspondence. When you call, I answer — or I call back the same day.
You see the work as it happens. Every build gets a staging link so you can check progress in real time. I use version control for every project, which means there's a complete, timestamped trail of every change I make. You'll never wonder what's been done or what's left.
I give you honest timelines. If a project will take four weeks, I say four weeks. I don't promise two weeks to win the sale and then stretch it to six. After 26 years, I know how long things take — and I'd rather lose a project by being honest than win one by overpromising.
Still have questions? Good.
The fact that you're doing your homework tells me you're the kind of client I want to work with. Ask me anything on this page — or anything not on it. I'd rather spend an hour answering questions than build a website for someone who wasn't sure.
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