Picture the call. You've found a web designer whose portfolio looks good. They're friendly, they talk about "pixel-perfect design" and "a modern look," and they send a proposal with a number on it.
Then you sit there thinking: how would I even know if this is a good deal? You're not a developer. You don't know what to ask. So you ask about the price, the timeline, and whether they can make the logo bigger.
The problem is that the expensive mistakes in a website project rarely come from the design. They come from things nobody asked about: who owns the site, what happens when it breaks, where the content comes from, who's responsible for getting found on Google. Those are the questions to ask a web designer before you sign.
If you're still deciding whether to hire someone at all, start with why hire a web development company. This article is for the next step: you've decided to hire, and you want to choose well. Here are fifteen questions, why each one matters, and what a good answer sounds like.
Questions to ask a web designer about their work
1. Can I see work like mine, and can I talk to those clients?
Why it matters: a portfolio shows what a designer can make look nice. It doesn't show whether the sites produced results or whether the client enjoyed working with them.
A good answer: they show you projects with a similar goal or size to yours, tell you what each client needed and offer a couple of references without hesitation. Be wary of someone who only shows screenshots and can't name a single result.
2. What do you need to know about my business before you start?
Why it matters: the best predictor of a good site is how much a designer wants to understand your customers first.
A good answer: a stream of questions back to you. Who buys from you? Why do they choose you over the other option? What's your best-selling service? What do you want visitors to do? If they jump straight to colors and layouts, they're designing for themselves.
3. Who will actually work on my project?
Why it matters: some agencies sell with a senior person and hand the work to someone you never meet. Neither approach is automatically wrong, but you should know which one you're getting.
A good answer: clear names and roles. Who designs, who builds, who you'll talk to week to week and who to call if there's a problem.
4. How do you measure whether the website is working?
Why it matters: a site that looks great and produces nothing has failed, however pretty. You want a designer who thinks about outcomes.
A good answer: they talk about goals like leads, bookings or sales, and about tracking them. They'll mention setting up analytics so you can see what's happening after launch. Ask which numbers they'd watch in the first three months.
Questions about ownership, hosting and cost
5. Who owns the website, the domain and the design files when we're done?
Why it matters: this is the single most important question on the list. Some designers register your domain in their name, host your site on their account and keep the source files. If the relationship ends badly, you can lose the site entirely.
A good answer: "You do. The domain is registered in your name, and you get the files and the logins at the end." Get it in the contract in writing.
6. What's included in the price, and what costs extra?
Why it matters: a low quote can balloon with add-ons nobody mentioned. Photography, copywriting, extra pages, forms, integrations and revisions are common surprises.
A good answer: a written scope that lists pages, features and the number of revision rounds, plus a plain explanation of what falls outside it. We publish what drives cost on our Price Guide because we think surprises hurt trust. Ask how payment works too; fixed pricing and payment plans make budgeting easier than open-ended hourly billing.
7. Where will the site be hosted, and what does that cost every year?
Why it matters: hosting affects speed, security and your ongoing bills. Some designers resell cheap shared hosting at a markup, and some build on platforms that charge you monthly forever.
A good answer: they name the hosting, say what it costs, explain what backups and security are included and confirm you can move the site if you want to. If you're comparing options, see our notes on small business web hosting.
8. What happens after launch if something breaks?
Why it matters: websites break. A plugin updates, a form stops sending, a page goes down on a Saturday. You need to know who picks up.
A good answer: a clear support arrangement. How quickly they respond, what's covered, whether there's a care plan and what it costs. "Call me anytime" with no process behind it is a warm feeling, not a plan.
Questions about SEO, content and the build
9. How will you set the site up for search?
Why it matters: many designers treat SEO as something you buy later. But the foundation of search, including page structure, headings, titles, speed and mobile layout, gets set during the build. Fixing it afterwards costs more.
A good answer: they explain how pages are structured around the things your customers search for, how titles and descriptions get written and how the site is checked for speed and mobile use. They don't promise rankings, because no honest person can. Google's own SEO starter guide is a good yardstick: if their answer lines up with it, they know the basics.
10. Who writes the content, and who finds the photos?
Why it matters: content is the number one reason websites run late. The design can be done in weeks while the text sits in a drawer for months.
A good answer: a plain split of responsibility. Either they write or edit the copy as part of the project, or they tell you exactly what you'll need to provide and when. Ask whether they use real photos of your business or stock images. Real is nearly always better.
11. What is the site built on, and why?
Why it matters: the platform determines how easy the site is to edit, how fast it runs and how locked-in you are. A designer who has one answer for every client is selling their tool, not solving your problem.
A good answer: a reason tied to your situation. "WordPress, because you'll edit content often and want a familiar dashboard," or "a custom build, because you need specific functionality." If you're curious about the trade-offs, we've compared custom websites and templates in detail.
12. Will I be able to edit the site myself?
Why it matters: if every typo fix costs a service call, you'll stop updating the site, and stale sites lose business.
A good answer: yes, for the things you'll want to change, such as text, photos, team members and blog posts. They should offer to train you or give you a short walkthrough. Ask for a demo of the editing screen before you hire.
Questions about the working relationship
13. What does the process look like, and how long will it take?
Why it matters: a vague process leads to a vague end date. You want to know the stages and where you'll be asked for input.
A good answer: named phases such as discovery, design, build, testing and launch, with a rough timeline for each and a note on what can slow things down (usually your own content and feedback). A designer who promises two weeks for something complex is telling you what you want to hear.
14. How many rounds of changes are included, and how do you handle feedback?
Why it matters: projects get messy when feedback arrives from five people in five formats. And without a clear revision policy, one of you ends up feeling cheated.
A good answer: a defined number of review rounds, a single point of contact on your side and a clean way to collect comments. They should also be willing to push back when a requested change would hurt the site's results. A designer who agrees with everything isn't protecting your interests.
15. What do you need from me, and what's your honest take on my current site?
Why it matters: the best project partners are candid. You want someone who'll tell you what's working, what isn't and where your expectations might be off.
A good answer: specific, kind and useful. "Your offer is clear but your pages are slow and the contact form is buried" is a good answer. "It's terrible, we'll fix everything" is a sales pitch. Also listen for what they ask of you, such as decisions, content and timely replies, because a project needs both sides to show up.
"They really got to know us and incorporated our ideas into our website perfectly."
T. Tran, NNCEPP
Before the call: what to get ready
You'll get better answers if you show up prepared. Spend twenty minutes on three things.
First, write down what the website must do for the business in a single sentence. "Bring in three more commercial roofing inquiries a month" is a goal. "Look modern" is not. Second, collect two or three sites you admire and one you can't stand, and be ready to say why. Third, decide who has the final say on your side. Projects slow to a crawl when three partners each hold a veto.
Then, after you've heard the answers, check the paperwork. A good proposal and contract should spell out, at a minimum:
- The pages and features included, and the number of revision rounds
- The payment schedule and what triggers each payment
- Who owns the domain, the files and the finished site
- The timeline, and what happens if either side causes a delay
- What support or care is included after launch
If the answers you heard on the phone aren't in the document, ask for them to be added. A good designer won't mind. Verbal promises are fine until someone leaves the company or the project gets tense.
How to use this list
You don't need to ask all fifteen in the first call. Pick the six that worry you most and use them to compare two or three designers side by side. Pay attention to the way they answer as much as the answers themselves.
Watch for these signals:
- Good signs: plain language, specific examples, questions back to you, willingness to say "that's not a good fit."
- Red flags: jargon used to avoid a straight answer, pressure to decide quickly, reluctance to put things in writing, or an answer to every question that is simply "yes."
If a designer gets defensive when you ask about ownership or support, that tells you what a bad day on the project would feel like.
One more habit helps: take notes during each call and send the designer a short email afterward summarizing what you understood. "Just confirming: the domain will be registered in our name, two rounds of revisions are included and launch is about eight weeks after we send content." Their reply, or their silence, is useful information. It also creates a paper trail that protects both of you, and the good ones appreciate the clarity.
Finally, trust your gut about the conversation itself. You'll be working with this person for weeks or months. If they listen, explain things without making you feel small and answer straight, that's worth more than a slightly lower quote.
Where we fit
We're Stack Mode, a web design and development company in Reno, and yes, we'd like to be on your shortlist. We've been building websites since 2012 and we'd happily answer all fifteen of these on a call. Not every project is a fit for us, and we'll say so when it isn't. That's part of the answer to question 15.
If you'd like to test us, our web design service page explains how we work, and you're welcome to bring this list to a call.