How to Choose a Web Design Company: Questions to Ask Before You Sign

Choose a web design company by how well it understands your business, defines the work and explains what you will receive. A polished portfolio is useful, but it cannot tell you who writes the content, whether your team can edit the site or what happens when you need support.

We are writing this from the supplier’s side of the table. Our advice is to ask questions that make the work and responsibilities clear, rather than trying to judge technical language. You should feel comfortable asking any website provider—including us—to explain what you are buying.

The aim is to find a supplier suited to your project. A capable freelancer may be a better fit for a straightforward service website than a large agency. A DIY platform may be enough when the requirements are simple and you have time to do the work.

Write a brief before asking for quotes

Explain who the site serves, what those visitors need to do and what is wrong with the current setup. Include required pages, integrations, content responsibilities, timing and a realistic budget range. Separate essentials from ideas you would like priced as options.

Without a shared brief, three suppliers may quote for three different projects. Use our website brief template so you can assess their answers on the same basis.

Ask for relevant evidence

Look beyond screenshots. Open a few live examples on your phone, read the service pages and try the navigation. Ask what the supplier was responsible for: strategy, writing, design, development or maintenance. A project in a portfolio may have involved several contributors.

If a case study claims more leads or sales, ask what was measured, over what period and what else changed. Respect client confidentiality, but expect a clear explanation of the evidence. Avoid treating an impressive percentage without a starting figure as proof of a predictable outcome.

Understand the people and process

Find out who manages the project, who does the work and how feedback is collected. Ask whether specialist work is subcontracted and who remains accountable. There is nothing inherently wrong with subcontracting; confusion about responsibility is the problem.

A useful process has identifiable decisions: agreeing the structure, approving the design direction, reviewing content, testing and signing off launch. Ask how many revision rounds are included, what counts as a change of scope and how additional work is priced.

Turn broad promises into deliverables

Words such as “responsive”, “secure” and “SEO-ready” need detail. Ask what will be checked and what evidence you receive. For accessibility, the W3C’s preliminary checks provide a useful introduction, but a few basic checks are not a complete accessibility assessment.

For search setup, ask about page titles, internal links, indexability, redirects and ownership of Search Console. For security and continuity, ask about updates, backups, restoration and who responds if something fails. A general promise of “full SEO” should not be mistaken for ongoing research and content work.

Clarify the content workload

Many projects depend on the business supplying words, images, service details and approvals. Establish exactly what the supplier needs and when. If copywriting is included, ask how they learn about the business and how factual checks are handled.

For example, a hypothetical accountancy practice may need six clear service pages and a straightforward enquiry process. A quote including interviews and copywriting is materially different from a quote that expects six finished documents on day one. Compare the total workload as well as the price.

Check ownership, recurring charges and the exit

Know who controls the domain, hosting and administrator accounts. Confirm rights in commissioned work, any ongoing licences and what can be exported. Our ownership guide gives you a practical checklist.

Then compare the first-year and three-year cost. Include hosting, support, software, email and expected content changes. Ask what happens after a promotional period, whether there is a minimum term and how cancellation works. Get important answers into the agreement, not just the sales conversation.

Questions you can send to a shortlisted supplier

1. What would you recommend for this brief, and what would you leave out?
2. Who will do the work and be our main contact?
3. What pages, features and content are included?
4. What must we supply, and how will delays affect the schedule?
5. How do approvals, revisions and additional charges work?
6. What mobile, accessibility, form and search checks are included?
7. Will you show us the editing process before final handover?
8. Which accounts and licences will we control?
9. What are the complete setup and recurring costs, including VAT where applicable?
10. What support is included, and what response times apply?
11. Who restores the site after a failure, and from what backup?
12. What can we take with us if we leave?

Make the decision in writing

Score each proposal against your essential requirements and mark unresolved questions. Ask suppliers to explain gaps rather than guessing. A useful shortlist has enough detail to compare scope, communication, evidence, running costs and exit arrangements—not simply price.

Before signing, agree what “finished” means and use a launch checklist to make acceptance concrete. If an important answer remains vague, settle it before the project begins.