10 questions to ask before you hire a web designer
Most bad website experiences were predictable from the first conversation — the buyer just didn't know what to ask. These ten questions, and the answers to listen for, will tell you more than any portfolio. Ask us all ten; ask everyone else too.
The short version
- The two questions that matter most: who owns the site when it's done, and what will this actually cost per year, all-in. Vague answers to either are the loudest warning sign there is.
- Ask for proof, not promises: real PageSpeed scores from recent builds, real clients you could call, and what specifically is included versus billed later.
- “What happens if we part ways?” is the question that separates asset-builders from landlords. A good answer takes ten seconds and involves you keeping everything.
- Any designer worth hiring will enjoy these questions. Discomfort with them is itself an answer.
Hiring a web designer is strange shopping: every portfolio looks nice, every pitch mentions SEO, and the prices for what sounds like the same thing run from $500 to $20,000. The portfolios won't separate them. These questions will. They're the ones we'd want our own family asking before signing with anyone — including us.
1. Who owns the website when it's done?
The most important question on this list. Listen for: a fast, unhedged "you do — the files, the design, everything, and here's how you get them." Be wary of: anything involving a platform you're licensed to use, a "proprietary system," or a site that lives in the designer's account. If you stop paying and the site disappears, you never owned a website — you rented one.
2. What will this cost per year, all-in, for the next three years?
Not the build price — the whole picture: hosting, platform fees, plugins, maintenance, "required" care plans. Listen for: a designer who can put the full number in writing without squirming. Be wary of: a low build price that quietly requires a monthly subscription forever — that's not a price, it's a payment plan with no end date.
3. What will you build it on, and why that?
There's no single right answer — WordPress, builders, and custom code all exist for reasons. Listen for: a reason connected to your business ("because you need X"). Be wary of: "it's just what we use." That means the tool was chosen for the designer's convenience, and every limitation of that tool is now your problem. Our own reasoning is laid out honestly in our WordPress vs. custom-coded comparison — including when we'd point you elsewhere.
4. Can you show me real Google PageSpeed scores from your last three builds?
Speed is measurable, public, and free to check — which makes this the easiest claim to verify in the whole industry. Listen for: actual numbers, ideally mobile scores, from sites they'll name. Be wary of: "our sites are fast" with nothing behind it. Anyone can say fast; pagespeed.web.dev settles it in sixty seconds.
5. What exactly is included — and what's billed later?
Scope surprises are the #1 source of web project horror stories. Listen for: a written scope that names what's excluded as clearly as what's included — copywriting, photos, extra pages, revision limits. Be wary of: a one-line quote. The vaguer the scope, the more expensive the project becomes after you're committed.
6. What happens to my Google rankings during the switch?
If you have an existing site, this question exposes real competence fast. Listen for: redirects, preserved page addresses, Search Console, and re-submitting the sitemap — the boring mechanics of a safe migration. Be wary of: a blank look. A careless relaunch can throw away years of accumulated visibility in a week.
7. What do you actually do for SEO — specifically?
Everyone says "SEO included." Listen for: specifics you can check later: a real page per service, titles and descriptions written per page, schema markup, sitemap submitted, Google Business Profile connected. Be wary of: "we optimize it for Google" as a complete sentence, or guaranteed rankings — Google itself says nobody can honestly guarantee those.
8. Who writes the words?
Copy is the most commonly unspoken assumption in web projects — and the most common cause of a stalled one. Listen for: a clear answer either way: they draft and you edit, or you supply it and they'll tell you now. Be wary of: discovering at week three that a finished-looking site is waiting on words nobody agreed to write.
9. What does support look like after launch — and what does it cost?
Listen for: named terms: a bug-fix window, an hourly rate for changes, an optional care plan with a real scope and a cancel-anytime clause. Be wary of: mandatory maintenance contracts, or the opposite — a designer who visibly plans to vanish at launch.
10. If we part ways in two years, what do I walk away with?
The kindest stress-test there is, and the whole hiring decision in one question. Listen for: "everything — files, hosting access, accounts in your name — and you'd owe nothing further." Be wary of: any answer with hesitation in it. You're choosing between someone building you an asset and someone becoming your landlord, and this is where they tell you which.
Our answers, for the record
Since we're asking you to grill everyone: you own everything at final payment, our pricing is published with hosting included and no required monthly anything, we build custom-coded HTML for reasons we've written down, our builds target 95–100 mobile PageSpeed and we'll show you real scores, and if you leave, you leave with the files. Ask us the other five on the call — that's what the free audit is for.
Want to see how we answer all ten?
Get a free audit — no obligation, and the honest kind: we'll look at your current site, show you real numbers, and answer every question on this list in writing. Bring the list.
Get your free website audit →Try the cost calculator →Frequently asked
What's a fair price for a small business website?
In this region, credible custom work for a local business generally runs $1,500–$6,500 depending on scope, with template-based work below that and agency retainer models above it. What matters more than the number is what it buys: ownership, real per-service pages, verifiable speed, and a written scope. We published a full breakdown in our Hudson Valley website cost guide.
Should I hire a local designer or use an overseas freelancer?
Cheap overseas work can be genuinely fine for simple, well-specified tasks. Where local tends to win for a local business: accountability you can call, knowledge of your actual market and towns, and someone whose reputation lives where yours does. The ten questions above apply identically to both — and filter both.
A designer quoted me $500. What's the catch?
Sometimes nothing — a simple one-pager can legitimately cost that. Usually, though, $500 buys a template reskin with your logo on it, no real SEO structure, and either a monthly platform fee or a disappearing act after launch. Ask questions 1, 2, and 5 and the catch will introduce itself.