Key questions to ask your web designer before you start

A new website is one of the easier ways to waste a five-figure budget — hand it to the wrong team and you find out three months in, when it's too late. The questions below are built to expose that fast. Ask them before you sign, and watch how the answers separate the studios who'll build you an asset from the ones who'll sell you a template with a markup.

1. Can I see your work — and the thinking behind it?

A portfolio shows the surface. Push past it. Ask what problem each project solved and how they solved it. Anyone can restyle a template; you want someone who shaped the design around a real business goal.

2. What does your process actually look like?

Look for a clear, collaborative path: a discovery session on your goals and audience, design directions you can react to, UX structure (sitemaps, flows, wireframes), then UI and build. And ask the question most designers dodge — do they understand that most sites are conversion tools, not galleries?

3. Do you stick around after launch?

A website needs updates, security, and the occasional fix. Plenty of designers vanish at handover. Ask about ongoing support, training, and who keeps it fast once it's live. You want a partner, not a drive-by.

4. How do you build SEO in?

Ask for specifics beyond "we do keywords." How do they structure content, speed, and markup so you actually earn organic traffic? Real SEO is designed in from the first wireframe.

5. Will it work on every device?

Phones, tablets, laptops — your site has to hold up on all of them. Responsive isn't optional.

6. How and how often will we talk?

Agree communication channels and update cadence upfront. Be wary of anyone hard to reach or vague in their answers now — it won't improve later. Ask whether you'll talk to the people doing the work, or only an account manager.

7. What are the costs and timeline?

Get the price, the schedule, and the finish date in writing. And be careful of a quote far below everyone else's. A race-to-the-bottom price usually means corners you'll pay for later. Weigh value, not just the number.

8. Have you done work like mine?

If you need ecommerce, a booking system, or a specific integration, ask for a comparable example. That's how you avoid a generic template dressed up as a custom build.

9. What platform do you build on, and who owns it?

Make sure their platform fits how you'll maintain the site — and confirm you own the final design and code, no strings.

The best studios answer all of this without flinching, because they see themselves as a business partner, not a page factory. That's exactly how we work: strategy-led, conversion-focused, and built to hand you control. We migrated McLean Financial Services off a clunky legacy site and lifted their traffic 300%, and built The Merging Path a site their team runs themselves. See how we approach it in our custom Webflow website design work.