We get lots of questions about building / hosting / promoting websites for new clients and sometimes we offer things that new website owners should be asking to ensure they know what the process completely. Here is a list of quesitnos that you should consider asking us / your new website designer when you’re choosing a new website design company, you want to find out three things: what you actually get, who owns everything afterwards, and what happens after the website goes live.
Here are the main questions I’d ask:
- Can I see examples of websites you’ve built for businesses similar to mine?
- Will the website be custom-designed for my business, or based on a pre-made template?
- What pages are included in the price?
- Is the website fully mobile-friendly?
- Will I be able to edit text, photos and other content myself?
- What platform will the website use — WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc.?
- Will I own the website once it is completed?
- Will I have full administrator access to the website?
- Will I own and control my domain name?
- Where will the website be hosted, and what are the ongoing hosting costs?
- Is an SSL certificate included?
- Are backups and website security included?
- What happens if the website gets hacked or stops working?
- Is SEO included, and specifically what SEO work will you do?
- Will you set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console?
- Will you optimise page titles, descriptions, headings and images for Google?
- Will you submit the website to Google after launch?
- Will you help improve my Google Business Profile if I have one?
- Will you write the website content, or do I need to supply it?
- Are professional images included, or do I need to provide photographs?
- Do you provide GDPR, privacy policy and cookie consent setup?
- Are contact forms protected against spam?
- Can you add WhatsApp, click-to-call, enquiry forms or online booking if required?
- If I already have a website, will you redirect the old pages properly so I don’t lose Google rankings?
- How long will the website take to complete?
- How many design revisions are included?
- What do you need from me before you can start?
- What is the total cost, and are there any additional charges I should know about?
- Do you require an upfront deposit, and when is the remaining balance due?
- Are there any monthly contracts?
- What support do I receive after the website launches?
- How much do future changes or additional pages cost?
- Can I move the website to another company in the future if I want to?
One question I would definitely ask is:
“If I decide to leave your company in two years, can I take my domain, website, database, content and everything else to another hosting company without paying a release fee?”
That question can uncover quite a lot. Some cheap website packages effectively rent you a website, whereas ideally you want full ownership and access.
I’d also be wary of a company simply saying “SEO included”. Ask them exactly what that means. There is a big difference between installing an SEO plugin and actually carrying out keyword research, writing properly optimised pages, configuring Google Search Console, creating local landing pages and working on rankings.
If you’re comparing 2–3 website companies, I’d suggest getting each one to answer the same questions so you can compare them properly rather than just comparing the headline price.
