Seven questions to ask before hiring a web designer

Portfolios all look good — that's what portfolios are for. The real differences between providers only show up when you ask questions the sales page wasn't built to answer. These are the seven we'd ask before hiring anyone, ourselves included. Some answers should end the conversation.

One: who actually does the work? Plenty of agencies sell with a senior face and deliver with subcontractors the client never meets. Neither model is wrong, but you're entitled to know which one you're buying — because it determines whether the person on your calls can actually make decisions, or only relay them.

Two: who owns the site when it's done? The domain should be registered to you. The hosting account should be accessible to you. The code and content should be yours to take elsewhere. If any of those is "it stays with us," you're not buying a website — you're renting one, and the exit fee is a rebuild. Get ownership in writing before the deposit.

Three: what happens after launch? Sites don't stay finished: dependencies need updates, small changes accumulate, things occasionally break at inconvenient hours. A provider with a real answer — a maintenance arrangement, response expectations, named contact — plans to still know you in year two. "Just email us if something comes up" is not an answer; it's an absence of one.

Four: can we see live sites, not mockups — and may we contact the clients? A mockup shows taste. A two-year-old site that still works, loads fast, and is still maintained shows delivery. A client who'll take your call shows something better than either.

Five: how are changes priced once we've agreed the scope? The pattern that sours projects is the quiet re-quote: a low headline price, then every adjustment billed as an extra until the total doubles. The answer you want is a clear line between what's included and what's a change — and change prices agreed when they arise, not disclosed at handover.

Six: what do you need from us, and by when? A provider who can't tell you what they need — copy, photos, logins, approvals, and the dates they need them — hasn't run enough projects to know that clients are usually the schedule risk. The good ones manage you a little. That's a feature.

Seven: why are you the wrong choice for some projects? Everyone has a shape of work they're bad at. A provider who can name theirs — too small, too big, wrong stack, wrong industry — is telling you their yes means something. A provider who is right for everything is right for nothing in particular. Ask all seven, take notes, and the decision usually makes itself.