Hiring a web designer is one of the few purchases where most small business owners have no idea what they are actually buying until the project is half finished. You sign a quote, pay a deposit, and three months later you discover that you do not own the design files, the hosting is locked to the designer’s account, and every text change costs you 95 euros.
It does not have to go that way. The difference between a great project and an expensive mess is almost always decided in the first call, before anyone signs anything.
This is a practical list of the questions to ask before hiring a web designer, organised by theme, with what a solid answer sounds like and what should make you pause. Read it once, copy the checklist, and walk into your next discovery call as an informed buyer instead of a hopeful one.
How to use this list
You do not need to fire all 15 questions in order like an interrogation. A good designer will answer half of them before you ask. Keep the list open during the call and tick things off as they come up. At the end, ask whatever is still blank.
Three rules that make this work:
- Ask open questions. "How do you handle revisions?" tells you more than "Do you include revisions?"
- Listen for specifics. Vague answers at the sales stage become vague deliverables later.
- Get it in writing. A verbal yes on the call means nothing if the proposal says something else.
Part 1: Scope and fit (questions 1 to 4)
1. What exactly is included in the price, line by line?
This is the single most useful question on the list. "A five page website" can mean wildly different things.
A good answer sounds like: a breakdown that names deliverables. Number of pages and page templates, who writes the copy, who sources and licenses images, whether a logo or brand assets are included, contact forms, basic on-page SEO setup, analytics installation, cookie banner and legal pages, mobile optimisation, training session, and a defined revision allowance.
Red flag answer: "Everything you need, don’t worry." Or a one line quote with a total and no itemisation. Vague scope is how change orders are born.
Follow up worth asking
- What is specifically not included that clients usually assume is?
- If I need an extra page later, what does that cost?
2. Have you worked with businesses like mine, and can I see the live sites?
Portfolio screenshots are easy to polish. Live URLs are not. Ask for links you can open, load on your phone, and check the speed of.
A good answer sounds like: three or four live sites in a similar size bracket, with context. "This one was a local clinic, the goal was booking requests, we went from X to Y enquiries." Similar industry is nice but not essential. Similar goal matters far more.
Red flag answer: only mockups on a behance style grid, dead links, or sites that have since been redesigned by someone else. Also be wary if every single site in the portfolio looks identical except for the logo.
3. What are you going to need from me, and when?
Most website projects run late because of the client, not the designer. The honest ones tell you this upfront.
A good answer sounds like: a clear list with deadlines. Copy for each page by a certain date, logo files in vector format, product photos, access to the domain registrar, a single decision maker for feedback, and a response time expectation during review rounds.
Red flag answer: "Nothing really, we handle it all." Nobody can write about your business without you. If they claim they can, the content will be generic filler.
4. Who actually does the work?
You may be speaking to a founder, an account manager, or a salesperson. Find out who touches your project.
A good answer sounds like: naming the people. "I design and build it myself" is fine. "I design, a developer I have worked with for four years builds it, and I stay as your point of contact" is also fine. Transparency is what matters.
Red flag answer: evasiveness about subcontracting, or a different time zone team you will never speak to while being charged premium local rates.
Part 2: Process and timeline (questions 5 to 7)
5. What does your process look like from kickoff to launch?
You are listening for whether a process exists at all.
A good answer sounds like: named phases with deliverables at each stage. Discovery, sitemap and structure, wireframes or a homepage concept, design approval, build, content population, testing, launch, handover. Ideally with approval gates so you are not seeing the whole site for the first time at the end.
Red flag answer: "I’ll just go away and build it and show you when it’s done." That is how you end up on revision round seven arguing about the navigation.
6. How long will it take, and what happens if we run late?
A good answer sounds like: a realistic range tied to conditions. "Six to eight weeks assuming copy arrives by week two and feedback comes back within three working days." A good designer also explains what happens if you go silent for a month, because projects that stall get re-scheduled, not resumed instantly.
Red flag answer: "Two weeks, no problem" for a complex site, with no conditions attached. Unrealistic timelines are a sales tactic, and you pay for them in quality.
7. How do revisions work, and how many are included?
Revisions are the number one source of friction and surprise invoices.
A good answer sounds like: a defined allowance with a definition. "Two rounds of consolidated feedback at the design stage and one at the build stage. A round means all your feedback collected in one document. Extra rounds are billed at X per hour." The key word is consolidated, which protects both sides.
Red flag answer: "Unlimited revisions." This sounds generous and is usually either padded into the price or quietly abandoned when the project drags. Equally bad: no mention of revisions at all.
Part 3: Money and payment terms (questions 8 and 9)
8. What is the payment schedule, and what is refundable?
A good answer sounds like: a staged schedule. Commonly 40 to 50 percent to book the slot, a milestone payment at design approval, and the balance before or at launch. Deposits are usually non refundable once work starts, which is fair, but it should be stated clearly.
Red flag answer: 100 percent upfront for a project of any size, or no written schedule at all. Also be careful with the opposite extreme, a designer who asks for nothing upfront, because they may have no commitment to your timeline.
9. What are the ongoing costs after launch?
The build price is rarely the total cost of ownership. Ask for a twelve month view.
| Recurring item | Who pays it | Typical frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name renewal | You, in your own account | Annual |
| Hosting | You or the agency | Monthly or annual |
| SSL certificate | Often free with host | Annual |
| Premium themes, plugins, licences | You, under your licence | Annual |
| Stock photo or font licences | You | One off or annual |
| Maintenance and updates | Optional retainer | Monthly |
| Email hosting | You | Monthly per mailbox |
Red flag answer: "We’ll sort all that out later." Later means after you have paid and have no leverage.
Part 4: Ownership, hosting and access (questions 10 to 12)
This is the section most business owners skip, and it is the one that causes the worst outcomes. Ask these even if it feels awkward.
10. Who owns the website, the design files and the content when we are finished?
A good answer sounds like: "You own the final site, the content, the images we licensed for you, and you get the design source files on request. Our internal tooling and any third party licences stay under their own terms, and I’ll explain which ones those are."
Red flag answer: "We retain ownership of the design" or "the site stays on our proprietary platform." Proprietary platforms are not automatically evil, but they mean you cannot leave without rebuilding from scratch. If that is the deal, you should know it on day one, not day 400.
11. Whose name is on the domain and the hosting account?
The correct answer is yours. Always.
A good answer sounds like: "You register the domain in your own account and add me as a user, or I register it and transfer it to you at launch with the auth code. Hosting can be under our reseller account for convenience, and here is exactly how we hand it over if you ever leave."
Red flag answer: any version of "we hold the domain, it is easier that way." Losing control of your domain is the single most damaging thing that can happen in a web project. It takes down your site and your email at the same time.
12. What platform will you build on, and why that one?
A good answer sounds like: a recommendation tied to your needs. "You want to publish articles weekly and run a small shop, so WordPress with WooCommerce makes sense. If you only need five static pages and never want to touch code, a hosted builder would be cheaper to maintain." They should also mention what it will be like for you to edit it yourself.
Red flag answer: "We only build on X" with no reasoning, or a custom framework only they understand. Ask the killer follow up: if I hire a different developer in two years, how hard is it for them to take over?
Part 5: Launch and life after launch (questions 13 to 15)
13. What happens on launch day, and what do you check before going live?
A good answer sounds like: a pre-launch checklist they can describe. Cross browser and mobile testing, form submissions tested to a real inbox, page speed, broken link check, redirects mapped from old URLs if you are redesigning, analytics and search console connected, sitemap submitted, SSL active, accessibility basics, and a backup taken.
Red flag answer: no mention of redirects on a redesign. Losing your existing search rankings because old URLs were not mapped is a brutal and entirely avoidable mistake.
14. What support do I get after launch, and what is the response time?
A good answer sounds like: a defined warranty period for bugs, typically 14 to 30 days at no cost, followed by an optional support plan with stated inclusions and response times. "Critical issues within 4 business hours, standard requests within 2 business days."
Red flag answer: "Just email me whenever." Friendly, but unenforceable. Also watch for designers who disappear the moment the final invoice clears, which you can sometimes detect by asking the next question.
15. Can I speak to two clients you worked with over a year ago?
Recent clients are still in the honeymoon phase. Clients from 12 to 24 months ago know whether the site held up, whether support was real, and whether updates broke anything.
A good answer sounds like: "Sure, I’ll ask two of them if they’re happy to take a call." Then they actually do it.
Red flag answer: stalling, or offering only written testimonials with first names and no company attached.
Red flag cheat sheet
| What they say | What it often means |
|---|---|
| Unlimited revisions | Either padded pricing or a promise that gets abandoned |
| We’ll handle the domain for you | You may lose control of your own asset |
| We guarantee first page on Google | Nobody can guarantee rankings. Treat as a credibility test failed |
| Full payment upfront | All risk sits with you |
| No contract needed, we’re informal | No scope, no recourse, no clarity |
| It’ll be done next week | Template drop with your logo pasted on |
| We never give out source files | Lock-in by design |
The questions a good designer will ask you
Interviewing goes both ways. If a designer asks you none of these, they are selling a template, not solving a problem.
- What do you want a visitor to do on this site?
- How do customers find you today?
- Who are you trying to attract, and who are you happy to repel?
- What is broken about the current site?
- How will we know in six months whether this worked?
- Who makes the final decision and who needs to approve?
- What is your realistic budget range?
That last one is not a trap. A designer who knows your range can tell you honestly what is achievable instead of guessing and over-engineering a proposal.
Before you sign: the contract checklist
Whatever was said on the call, make sure these appear in the written proposal or contract:
- Itemised scope, including page count and templates
- Who provides copy, images and brand assets
- Number and definition of revision rounds
- Timeline with milestones and client response expectations
- Payment schedule and what triggers each instalment
- Intellectual property transfer on final payment
- Domain and hosting ownership, plus handover procedure
- Third party licences and who pays for renewals
- Post launch warranty period for bugs
- Support options, rates and response times
- Cancellation and kill fee terms for both sides
- Confidentiality, and whether they may feature your project publicly
A quick word on budget expectations
Price ranges vary enormously by market, but the logic holds everywhere: you are buying hours of skilled thinking, not pixels. A freelancer building a clean brochure site is a different purchase from an agency running research, copywriting, custom design and conversion testing. Neither is wrong. Problems start when you pay freelancer rates and expect agency scope, or agency rates for a theme install.
The healthiest framing is to ask: what is one new customer worth to me, and how many extra ones does this site need to bring in to pay for itself? That question turns a cost into an investment decision, and it also makes it obvious when a quote is wildly out of proportion to your business size.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important questions to ask a web designer?
If you only ask three, make them these: what exactly is included in the price, who owns the site, files and domain when we finish, and what support do I get after launch. Scope, ownership and aftercare cover the three areas where small business owners most often get burned.
What are the 7 C’s of website design?
They are commonly listed as Content, Clarity, Consistency, Credibility, Conversion, Compatibility and Communication. Variations exist, but the idea is the same: a site needs useful content, a clear structure, consistent branding, trust signals, a path to action, cross device compatibility, and a clear message. You can use them as a simple scorecard when reviewing a designer’s portfolio.
What are the five golden rules of web design?
- Clarity beats cleverness. A visitor should understand what you offer within a few seconds.
- Design for mobile first. Most visitors arrive on a phone.
- Speed is a feature. Slow pages lose visitors and rankings.
- One clear action per page. Competing calls to action cancel each other out.
- Consistency builds trust. Same fonts, colours, tone and navigation everywhere.
What questions should I ask in a web designer job interview?
If you are hiring in house rather than contracting, shift the focus to process and collaboration: walk me through a project from brief to launch, how do you handle feedback you disagree with, how do you hand designs over to developers, how do you test and measure a design after launch, and what is a project you got wrong and what changed afterwards. Ask for a portfolio walkthrough rather than a portfolio PDF.
Should I hire a freelancer, an agency or a student designer?
It depends on complexity and risk tolerance. Freelancers are cost effective and personal but have limited capacity. Agencies bring broader skills and continuity at a higher price. Junior or student designers can be excellent value for simple projects if you supervise closely and accept a longer timeline. Whichever route you choose, the 15 questions above apply equally.
What if a designer refuses to answer some of these questions?
Refusing to clarify scope, ownership or payment terms before a contract is not a boundary, it is a warning. A confident professional has answered these hundreds of times and will not be offended by the questions. If they are, that reaction alone has told you what you needed to know.
Final thought
A website is a business asset, not a one-off purchase. The informed buyer is not the one who knows the most about code, but the one who asks the clearest questions about scope, ownership and what happens after launch. Bring this list to your next call, write down the answers, and compare quotes on substance rather than on the total at the bottom of the page.
At the Academy of Creative Education we train designers to answer these questions properly, because clear communication is as much a creative skill as typography. If you are learning web design yourself, use this list in reverse: it is a blueprint for the kind of professional clients actually want to hire.