Most bad website projects are not caused by bad designers. They are caused by vague answers accepted too early. A business owner asks “how long will it take?”, hears “about six to eight weeks”, nods, pays the deposit, and then spends the next seven months chasing emails.
This guide is deliberately different from the usual lists you will find. Instead of just handing you 20 questions to ask a web design company, we tell you what a strong answer sounds like and what a red-flag answer sounds like for each one. Use it as a scorecard on your next discovery call. If an agency cannot answer these clearly, in writing, before money changes hands, you have your answer.
How to Use This List (Before You Read the Questions)
- Ask by email or in a recorded call. Verbal promises evaporate. Written answers become part of your contract.
- Do not ask all 27 questions in one breath. Pick the sections that matter most to your risk: ownership, timeline and post-launch support are where most disputes happen.
- Watch the pattern, not the single answer. One fuzzy reply is human. Five fuzzy replies is a business model.
- Compare at least three companies. The differences in answers will teach you more than any article can.
Section 1: Process and Discovery
1. Can you walk me through your process from kick-off to launch, stage by stage?
Good answer: A named sequence with deliverables attached to each stage, for example discovery workshop, sitemap, wireframes, design concepts, build, content population, QA, staging review, launch. They should mention what you are responsible for at each stage.
Red flag: “We’ll design something, send it over, and take it from there.” No stages means no accountability and no way to measure progress.
2. What does discovery actually involve, and is it billed separately?
Good answer: A defined session or set of sessions covering business goals, target audience, competitors, conversion paths and technical constraints, with a written output such as a strategy document or sitemap.
Red flag: Discovery is skipped entirely, or it is a single 15-minute call about colours and logos. Design decisions made without business context are decoration, not web design. A longer analysis is available for anyone who wants it.
3. Who exactly will work on my project, and will I speak to them directly?
Good answer: Named roles, a single point of contact, and clarity on whether work is done in-house or subcontracted. Subcontracting is fine when disclosed and managed.
Red flag: The person selling you the project cannot tell you who will build it. Or the answer changes when you ask twice.
4. Who writes the content, and what happens if my content is late?
Good answer: A clear split. Either they write it (priced in), or you do, with deadlines and a stated policy on what happens to the timeline if content slips.
Red flag: Silence on content. Late client content is the number one cause of stalled projects, and an experienced agency will have a policy for it.
5. What is your approach to user experience and conversion, not just aesthetics?
Good answer: They talk about user journeys, page hierarchy, calls to action, forms, page speed and measurable outcomes such as enquiries or bookings.
Red flag: The entire answer is about “modern”, “clean” and “animations”. Pretty is not a business goal.
6. Do you build custom, or do you use a pre-built theme or template?
Good answer: An honest answer either way, with the reasoning and cost implications explained. Themes are not evil; hiding them is.
Red flag: “Fully bespoke” at a price that could not possibly cover bespoke work. Ask which theme or page builder and check the licence cost.
Section 2: Timelines and Project Management
7. What is the total timeline, and what are the milestone dates?
Good answer: A dated schedule with milestones, review windows and a launch target, plus the assumptions it depends on (content delivered by X, feedback within Y working days).
Red flag: A single vague number with no milestones. “Six to eight weeks” without milestones is a hope, not a plan.
8. How long do I have to give feedback at each stage?
Good answer: A specific window, typically 3 to 5 working days, with a stated consequence for delays on either side.
Red flag: No feedback windows at all. This is how a 10-week project becomes a 10-month project.
9. What happens if you miss the deadline?
Good answer: Honest acknowledgement that delays happen, plus how they communicate them and, ideally, a contractual remedy or revised-schedule process.
Red flag: “That never happens.” It happens to everyone. Confidence without a contingency is a warning sign.
10. What tools will we use to communicate and track progress?
Good answer: A named project tool or shared board, plus a weekly or fortnightly update rhythm. You should always know what stage you are at without asking.
Red flag: “Just email me anytime.” Fine for a one-page site, dangerous for anything bigger.
11. Do you have other projects running at the same time as mine?
Good answer: Yes, with an explanation of capacity and scheduling. Honesty here is a good signal.
Red flag: “You’ll be our only focus.” Either untrue, or the business is empty. Neither is comforting.
Section 3: Ownership of Files, Domain and Accounts
This is the section most business owners skip and later regret. Get these answers in writing.
12. On final payment, do I own the website outright, including design files and code?
Good answer: “Yes. On final payment, full intellectual property in the custom design and code transfers to you.” Third-party plugin and theme licences are usually excluded, which is normal, but should be listed. The same thing is done cleanly on coding4.net.
Red flag: “You license the site from us” buried in the terms, or “we retain the design files”. If you do not own it, you cannot leave.
13. Whose name is on the domain registration?
Good answer: Yours, as registrant, with your billing details, and you hold the login. They may manage it for convenience.
Red flag: The agency registers your domain under their own account and does not offer to transfer it. Your domain is the single most valuable digital asset you own.
14. Will I have admin-level access to the CMS, hosting, analytics and Search Console?
Good answer: Yes, from day one or at handover, with credentials documented.
Red flag: “We keep admin access for security reasons and give you an editor account.” Reasonable-sounding, but if it applies to hosting and the domain too, it is a lock-in strategy.
15. If I leave in a year, what exactly do I take with me and how?
Good answer: A described exit process: full site export or migration package, database, media library, credentials, and any offboarding fee stated upfront.
Red flag: Awkwardness, or “nobody has ever asked that”. Every professional has been asked that.
16. Is the site built on a platform I could move to another provider?
Good answer: Clear disclosure. WordPress, Shopify and similar are portable. Proprietary in-house builders are not, and if they use one, they should say so plainly and explain the trade-off.
Red flag: Not being told it is a proprietary system until you try to leave. The reasoning is set out in this piece.
Section 4: Revisions, Scope and Pricing
17. How many rounds of revisions are included, and what counts as a revision?
Good answer: A number (commonly two or three rounds per stage) plus a definition. Consolidated feedback in one document counts as one round; changing your mind about the whole layout after approval does not.
Red flag: “Unlimited revisions.” This is either a bluff that ends in ghosting, or a sign the price is padded to cover chaos. It also removes the pressure to get it right first time.
18. What is specifically excluded from the quote?
Good answer: A written exclusions list. Typical exclusions: copywriting, photography, stock image licences, translations, premium plugin subscriptions, ongoing SEO, hosting after year one.
Red flag: “Everything’s included.” Nothing is everything. Ask again.
19. How do you handle scope changes and what is your hourly rate for extra work?
Good answer: A change-request process with written estimates approved before work starts, and a published rate.
Red flag: No rate, no process. Surprise invoices live here.
20. What is the payment schedule and is the deposit refundable?
Good answer: Staged payments tied to milestones, for example 40 percent to start, 30 percent at design approval, 30 percent before launch. Clear refund and cancellation terms.
Red flag: 100 percent upfront, or a final payment demanded before you have reviewed the staging site.
21. Will you withhold the launch or the files if there is a payment dispute?
Good answer: A fair, stated position. Most agencies reasonably withhold transfer of ownership until final payment, and that is normal when stated upfront.
Red flag: Terms allowing them to take a live site offline at will. Ask to see that clause and negotiate it. Much the same conclusion turns up on business.com.
Section 5: Hosting, Maintenance and Security
22. Where will the site be hosted, and what exactly does hosting include?
Good answer: Named host or infrastructure, backup frequency and retention, SSL, uptime expectations, staging environment, and whether hosting is resold at a markup (which is fine if disclosed).
Red flag: “We’ll host it, don’t worry about it” with no price, no backup policy and no named provider.
23. What does your maintenance plan cover, and what does it not cover?
Good answer: A specific scope: core, theme and plugin updates, security monitoring, backup testing, uptime monitoring, a stated number of support hours or content edits per month, and response times.
Red flag: A monthly fee with no deliverables listed. You are paying for a vibe.
24. Is maintenance mandatory, and can I cancel monthly?
Good answer: Optional or clearly justified, with a fair notice period and a documented offboarding process.
Red flag: A 24 or 36 month lock-in bundling site, hosting and maintenance into one inseparable monthly fee, where cancelling means losing the site.
25. Who is responsible if the site is hacked or goes down?
Good answer: A clear answer depending on the plan, including restore-from-backup procedure and expected recovery time.
Red flag: The responsibility shifts to “the hosting company” with no ownership of the outcome.
Section 6: Post-Launch Support and Results
26. What support is included after launch, and for how long?
Good answer: A defined warranty window (commonly 30 to 90 days) covering bug fixes at no cost, plus documented support channels and response times. Bonus points for handover training or a walkthrough video.
Red flag: Support begins only if you buy a retainer, and bugs they created are billable.
27. What SEO and analytics groundwork is included, and how will we measure success?
Good answer: Technical SEO basics are treated as part of the build: crawlable structure, metadata fields, redirects mapped from old URLs, page speed targets, structured data where relevant, analytics and Search Console configured. Success is defined in numbers you agree on.
Red flag: “SEO is a separate service” with no redirect plan for a redesign. Launching a redesign without redirect mapping can wipe out years of rankings overnight.
Quick Reference: Good Answer vs Red Flag
| Topic | Good answer sounds like | Red flag sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Named stages with deliverables and client responsibilities | “We’ll send you something to look at” |
| Timeline | Dated milestones plus stated assumptions | A single vague range, no milestones |
| Ownership | Full IP transfers on final payment, in writing | “You license the site from us” |
| Domain | Registered in your name, you hold the login | Registered under the agency account |
| Revisions | Defined rounds with a definition of a round | “Unlimited revisions” |
| Quote | Written inclusions and exclusions list | “Everything is included” |
| Hosting | Named provider, backup policy, staging, clear price | “We handle all that for you” |
| Maintenance | Itemised scope, response times, monthly cancellation | Long lock-in where cancelling loses the site |
| Post-launch | Free bug-fix warranty window plus training | Bugs they created are billable |
| SEO on redesign | Redirect mapping included as standard | No mention of old URLs at all |
Five Questions to Ask Their Past Clients (Not the Agency)
References are where the truth lives. Ask for two clients from the last 12 months and ask them:
- Did the project launch on the date you were originally given?
- Did the final invoice match the original quote? If not, why?
- How quickly do they reply now that the project is finished?
- Did the new site actually change your enquiries, sales or bookings?
- Would you hire them again for a bigger project?
Bonus check: look at three sites in their portfolio on your phone. Test load speed, tap a phone number link, submit a contact form. A portfolio full of sites that are slow on mobile tells you more than any answer they will give you.
Warning Signs That Have Nothing to Do With Answers
- No written proposal or contract. A quote in the body of an email is not a scope of work.
- Pressure to sign today because of a “limited slot” or a discount expiring in 24 hours.
- Guaranteed number one on Google. Nobody can guarantee rankings. Ever.
- Portfolio links that are dead or lead to sites now rebuilt by someone else.
- They never ask about your business. If nobody asks what a customer is worth to you, nobody is designing for revenue.
- Prices that are dramatically cheaper than everyone else. The gap gets recovered later, usually through lock-in or abandonment.
The Three Non-Negotiables
If you remember nothing else from this article, get these three in writing before you pay a deposit:
- The domain is registered in your name and you hold the login.
- Full ownership of design and custom code transfers to you on final payment.
- You can cancel hosting and maintenance and take the site with you, with the exit process and any fee stated upfront.
Everything else is negotiable. Those three protect you from the only outcome that really hurts: paying for an asset you do not own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important questions to ask a web design company?
The three that protect you most are: who owns the website files and design after final payment, whose name the domain is registered under, and what exactly is excluded from the quote. Timelines and revision limits come next. Anything an agency cannot answer clearly in writing is a risk you are being asked to absorb.
Should I be worried if an agency offers unlimited revisions?
Yes, mildly. Unlimited revisions sound generous but usually mean one of two things: the price already includes a buffer for endless changes, or the promise quietly disappears when the project drags. A defined number of rounds with a clear definition of what counts as a round protects both sides and keeps the project moving.
Is it normal for a web design company to host my website?
It is very common and often convenient, because they can fix problems faster. It only becomes a problem when hosting is bundled into an inseparable contract, when the price is not disclosed, or when leaving means losing your site. Ask for the hosting cost separately and confirm you can migrate away.
How much should I pay upfront for a website?
Staged payments tied to milestones are standard, often around 30 to 50 percent to begin, with the balance across design approval and pre-launch. Be cautious about paying the full amount before you have seen a staging version of the site.
What questions should I ask about SEO during a redesign?
Ask specifically whether redirect mapping from old URLs to new ones is included, whether existing rankings and top-performing pages will be reviewed before the rebuild, and how page speed will be tested before launch. A redesign without redirects is the fastest way to lose organic traffic.
How do I know if a web design quote is too cheap?
Compare inclusions, not totals. If one quote is half the price of the others, look for what is missing: discovery, copywriting, redirect mapping, testing, training, post-launch support. Cheap quotes are rarely cheaper overall, they are just billed later.
What should I get in writing before signing?
Scope of work with a written exclusions list, milestone dates, revision rounds, payment schedule and refund terms, ownership and IP transfer terms, hosting and maintenance costs with cancellation terms, and the post-launch warranty period.
Ask Us These Questions
We wrote this list because we would rather be measured against it than avoid it. If you are shortlisting web design companies, bring these 27 questions to a call with us and hold us to the same standard as everyone else on your list. You will get written answers, a dated schedule and full ownership of what you pay for.