Choosing a Website Design Company? 9 Things to Check Before You Sign

The website itself is relatively easy to check before you sign. You look at past work, get a quote and hear what the company promises.

The more expensive problems tend to show up later: when you need support and nobody answers, when a charge arrives that you didn't expect, when you want to switch providers and discover the site can't really come with you, or when the site looks great but doesn't do the job you built it for.

So before you choose a website design company, check not only what you'll get on the day the site goes live, but also what will happen the day after.

Here are 9 things to find out before you sign. For each one you'll find what to ask, what to ask to see, and what should raise a red flag. Because if you ask "Will there be support?", every provider will say "Of course."

1. Who answers you after the site goes live

A website isn't something you buy once. You'll need to update a price, add a service, fix something that broke after an update. Happy clients describe it in one simple sentence: "There's always someone to talk to." Unhappy clients describe the opposite: "Everything is fine until you need their technical support."

What to ask: Who handles my requests after launch, through which channel (phone, WhatsApp, email), and how fast do you commit to answering?

What to ask to see: What the quote or the agreement says about support. What is included at no extra cost, and what costs money.

Red flag: "Don't worry, we're always available," with no definition of what's included, through which channel and how fast.

2. Whose name the domain and the site are registered in

The domain is your business's address online. If it's registered in the name of the company that built the site, you depend on them. The day you want to move to another provider, you may discover the address isn't yours.

What to ask: Will the domain be registered in my name? Will I get full admin access to the site? Are the images and fonts licensed?

What to ask to see: After registration, the domain's owner details. Your name, or your business's name, should appear there.

Red flag: "We keep the domain with us, it's simpler to manage." It really is simpler. For them.

3. What exactly you're getting

Many problems start with a gap between what the client thought they were buying and what the company meant to deliver.

What to ask: What exactly is included in the site I'm getting? How many pages? Who is responsible for each part? Which features are included, and what isn't?

What to ask to see: A quote that spells out the deliverable, not just "a professional website for your business."

Red flag: Lots of promises like "an advanced website," "professional design" and "fully tailored," without the detail that lets you understand what you'll actually get.

4. Which fees continue after launch

The build price is only part of the picture. After the site goes live come hosting, maintenance, licenses and annual renewals. Some providers also have a minimum commitment period, or an automatic renewal that's easy to miss.

What to ask: Which recurring fees are there, and how much are they? Is there a minimum commitment period? Is there an automatic renewal, and how do I cancel?

What to ask to see: A quote that lists every recurring fee, including the price in the second year.

Red flag: A quote that only lists the build price, or an answer like "We'll talk about maintenance later."

What it looks like in a quote:

Wording to be careful with: "Maintenance and support as needed."

Wording that gives you more certainty: "Maintenance and support: $___ per month, including backups, updates and bug fixes."

5. What happens if you want to leave

Sometimes the site is built on the company's own closed system, and it can't be moved to another provider. Then leaving means rebuilding everything, and paying again.

What to ask: What system is the site built on? If I leave, can I take the site with me, and will another provider be able to work on it?

What to ask to see: What the agreement says about ending the engagement: what you receive, in what format and how fast.

Red flag: A system only the company can edit, or an evasive answer to "What happens if I leave?"

6. Whether you can update the site yourself

Things change after launch too. A price changes, a new service is added, a photo is replaced, or a few lines on a page need rewriting. Check in advance whether you'll be able to make simple changes yourself, or whether every change will require going back to the company that built it.

We prefer to leave the choice with the business owner. The sites we build let you manage and update the content yourself, but you don't have to deal with it. If you'd rather have someone handle updates for you, you can leave that work to us too.

What to ask: Will I get access to manage the site, and will I be able to update texts, images, prices and services myself?

What to ask to see: What a simple update looks like, and what the options are if you'd rather the company handle updates for you.

Red flag: You depend on the company for every small change, not because you chose to have them handle the site for you, but because you have no other option.

Getting ongoing service isn't dependence. Dependence starts when you can't choose who takes care of your site.

7. What the timeline is

Meeting deadlines sounds obvious, but it's one of the things clients mention as praise, because it doesn't always happen.

What to ask: When will I get the first design? How many rounds of revisions are included? When does the site go live, and what happens if there's a delay?

What to ask to see: A written timeline, with stages and dates.

Red flag: "It'll take a few weeks," with no stages, no dates and no definition of what depends on you and what depends on them.

8. What the site should get visitors to do

A beautiful site that doesn't bring inquiries is an expensive business card. The difference between someone who builds a website and someone who builds a website for a business starts with the questions the company asks you, before the design.

For example, on a law firm's site the goal is usually for the visitor to reach out to book a consultation call. That's how we approach law firm website design.

What to ask: What should the site get visitors to do? Call, send a WhatsApp message, leave their details, book an appointment? And how will we know if it's happening?

What to ask to see: That the company asks about your target audience, the service you want to sell and your message. That it proposes a clear path from landing on the site to getting in touch, and a way to measure how many inquiries came from the site.

Red flag: A conversation that's only about colors, templates and the number of pages, without a single question about your clients.

9. How the company responds to negative reviews

A high rating on its own doesn't tell the whole story. The less positive reviews can teach you a lot about the company, especially the way it responds to them.

What to ask: Have you had a client who wasn't happy? What happened, and how did you handle it?

What to ask to see: The company's negative reviews and its replies to them. Also reviews written a year or more after the site went live, because they tell you about the service, not just the beginning.

Red flag: Replies that attack the client, or promises like "first place on Google." Nobody can promise that.

So how does it work with us?

We don't think you should have to choose between independence and service. The site and the domain belong to you, you get access to manage the site and can make updates yourself. And if you'd rather not deal with it, we can keep taking care of the site for you.

Before we start, you'll get a quote that spells out what's included, which costs continue after launch and what the work process is. The site is built from the start so that Google and AI engines can understand what your business offers, with a clear path that leads visitors to the action you want them to take.

Want to check us against the same questions we suggested you ask any other company? Talk to us.

Check us before you choose us