The questions to ask a website designer before hiring come down to twelve, and they are less about design than about what happens after launch: who owns the site, what it costs to keep, whether anyone can find it on Google, and what you get if the designer disappears. Some lists on this topic run to twenty-five questions and read like an interview script. You do not need that. You need the twelve below, the answer a good designer gives to each, and the answer that should end the call.
I have sat on both sides of this conversation for years, first as the person being asked and later fixing sites for people who never asked. Every question here comes from a problem I have seen more than once.
Which questions decide whether the site will work?
| Ask | A good answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Can I see three sites you built that are live right now? | Links you can click, on phones, with the client still using them | Only screenshots, mockups, or “the client took it down” |
| 2. Who owns the site, the domain and the files when we are done? | “You do. The domain and hosting are in your name and I hand over every login.” | Anything involving their hosting account, their template licence, or a monthly fee to keep “your” site |
| 3. What will it cost me per year after launch? | A number: hosting, domain, any plugin or platform subscriptions, and what maintenance costs if you want it | “Nothing” (there is always hosting) or a vague “we can talk about that later” |
| 4. What happens to my search rankings if I already have a site? | A plan to keep the URLs or redirect every old address, and to submit the new sitemap on launch day | A blank look. Redesigns without redirects are the most common way a business loses its traffic overnight; Google’s own site-move guide spells out why |
Question 4 is the one almost nobody asks and the one with the biggest downside. If the designer cannot explain a redirect in a sentence, the site may look better and be found by fewer people. Changing a domain without losing rankings shows what the plan should contain.
Which questions decide what you are paying for?
| Ask | A good answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Is this a template or a custom design, and why that choice for me? | A straight answer either way, with the reason. Templates are fine for a brochure site; custom is for a site that has to sell, book or rank | They will not say, or they call a lightly edited template “custom” |
| 6. What exactly is included? | Page count, revision rounds, mobile layouts, contact form, basic SEO setup, image sourcing, and what is extra | A one-line scope. A “custom website” is not a scope |
| 7. Who writes the copy and supplies the photos? | They tell you clearly, and they tell you it is the number one cause of delay | They assume you know, and the timeline silently depends on it |
| 8. How long will it take, and what do you need from me first? | A range in weeks, with a list of what they need before the clock starts | “Two weeks” with no questions about your content |
The template question is not a trick; a good designer will recommend a template when your budget or brief calls for it. What you are testing is honesty and whether the price matches the product. Custom website design vs a theme gives the price bands for each so you can judge the quote, and is $1,500 a good price for a website covers what that particular figure should buy.
Which questions decide what happens after launch?
| Ask | A good answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| 9. Can I edit the site myself, and will you show me how? | Yes, with a handover session or recorded walkthrough, on a platform you can actually use | Every change goes through them at an hourly rate |
| 10. What SEO do you set up, specifically? | Page titles and descriptions, heading structure, image alt text, Search Console connected, sitemap submitted, basic schema | “The site will be SEO-friendly” and nothing more |
| 11. What is in the contract and how are payments split? | A written scope, timeline, revision limit, deposit and milestones, and what happens if either side stops (the free Freelancers Union contract creator shows the minimum) | No contract, or full payment upfront |
| 12. What support do I get after launch, and for how long? | A defined window (commonly two to four weeks) for bugs from the build, and a price for anything after | “Just message me” with no terms, or nothing at all |
Two more belong in this table if the project is large: “Which platform will you build on, and why that one for me?” (a good answer names it and gives the trade-off in a sentence; walk away if it is a platform only they can edit) and “Who does the work, and who is my one contact?” (walk away if it is outsourced with no named person).
Question 10 separates designers who know how Google reads a page from designers who have heard the word SEO. The good answer is a list; you do not have to understand every item, you only have to notice whether one exists.
What should you have ready before you ask a website designer?
The designer will have questions too, and the quality of your answers sets the quality of the quote. Bring: what the site has to do (enquiries, bookings, sales, credibility), three sites you like and why, your rough budget, your launch date if there is one, and an honest note on whether your copy and photos exist. A designer who asks none of these is not planning; they are pricing.
How do you compare two quotes fairly?
Line them up on questions 3, 5, 6 and 12. A $4,000 quote with eight pages, full SEO setup, mobile layouts and thirty days of support is better value than a $3,200 quote with five pages, “basic SEO” and no support window. Then look at question 1 again: whose live sites would you be happy to have as your own? Where to find a freelance web designer and how to vet a portfolio covers the step before this one.
They are also the questions I expect on every first call for a WordPress or Squarespace project, so ask them of me too.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the site, the domain and the files when the project ends. If the answer is anything other than “you do, with every login handed over”, keep looking.
Twelve covers it: three live examples, ownership, yearly running cost, what happens to your rankings, template or custom, exact scope, who supplies copy and photos, timeline, whether you can edit it yourself, what SEO is set up, contract and payment terms, and post-launch support.
No live portfolio, no written contract, full payment upfront, hosting kept in the designer’s name, “SEO-friendly” with no specifics, and a timeline quoted before they have asked what content you have.
Yes, and ask for specifics: page titles and descriptions, heading structure, alt text, Search Console, sitemap submission and redirects if you have an existing site. A list is a good answer; a promise is not.
What the site has to do, who it is for, sites you like, your budget, your deadline, and whether your copy and photos are ready. Answer those honestly and the quote will be accurate.
Compare quotes on scope, not price: pages, revisions, SEO setup, mobile layouts and support window. A higher quote that includes more is often cheaper over the first year.
