Should I use a freelancer or an agency?

Either can be right. Freelancers are often cheaper and more personal. Agencies usually have more people and processes. What matters most is whether they understand small businesses like yours and can show results.

Who should own my domain name?

You should. Make sure the domain is registered in your name or your business's name, and that you have the login. If it's registered to the designer, you could lose it if you fall out.

What are the warning signs of a bad web designer?

No examples of similar work, no clear price, vague answers about who owns the site, pushing long contracts, and talking only about design rather than how the site will bring in customers.

How to Choose a Web Designer: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Pay

Quick answer: Before you pay a web designer, ask what's included, who owns the website and domain, what the ongoing costs are, how they'll help you get found on Google, how you'll get enquiries, and whether you can update it yourself. Look at sites they've built for similar businesses and check those sites work well on a phone.

A new website is a big decision for a small business. Get it right and it brings in customers for years. Get it wrong and you’ve spent money on something that looks nice but doesn’t bring in a single enquiry, or worse, that you can’t change or take with you.

Here are twelve questions to ask before you pay anyone.

About the price

1. What exactly is included in the price?

Ask for a list. How many pages? Is the writing included? Photos? Contact forms? Setting up Google Business Profile? Our guide to how much a small business website costs in the UK explains what’s typical.

2. What will I pay every month or year after it’s built?

Hosting, domain, email, plugins, updates and support. Get it in writing so there are no surprises.

3. What would make it cost more?

Extra pages, extra rounds of changes, online shops and bookings can all add cost. A good designer will tell you upfront.

About ownership

4. Who will own the website?

You should own your content, images and design, and be able to move the site to someone else if you want to.

5. Whose name is the domain registered in?

It should be yours, with your own login.

6. What happens if I want to leave?

Ask how you’d move the website elsewhere, and whether there’s any fee or contract to get out of.

About getting customers

7. How will the website help me get found on Google?

Listen for specifics: a page for each service, area pages, page titles, speed, structured data, Search Console. If they just say “it’s SEO-friendly”, ask what that means.

8. How will visitors contact me?

Click-to-call, WhatsApp, quote forms, booking. Where do enquiries go, and how quickly will you see them?

9. Have you built sites for businesses like mine?

Ask to see examples, then look at them on your phone. Are they fast? Is it obvious what the business does and how to contact them?

10. Can you show results?

Ask if they can share how a past website performed, such as more enquiries or better Google rankings. Be wary of big promises like “guaranteed first page on Google”. Nobody can guarantee that.

About working together

11. Can I update it myself?

Find out how you’d change prices, add photos or write a blog post. Do you need to pay them every time?

12. How long will it take, and what do you need from me?

A clear timeline and a list of what you need to provide (text, photos, logins) keeps the project moving.

Warning signs

Warning sign	Why it matters
No clear price	Costs can grow with no limit
Domain registered in their name	You could lose your web address
Long contracts with exit fees	Hard to leave if it’s not working
“Guaranteed number one on Google”	Nobody can promise this
Only talks about how it looks	Looks matter, but enquiries matter more
No examples of similar work	You’re their experiment

How we answer these questions

We’re a website and sales partner for small businesses, built by a salesperson. That means we care less about awards and more about whether your phone rings. You own your site and domain, prices are fixed upfront, and every site is built to help you get found on Google and turn visitors into customers.

See our website design service, or ask us all twelve questions in a free 15-minute website check.

Sachin Shah, founder of SS Consultancy Group. Sachin started his career making cold calls and has spent more than ten years helping businesses grow their sales. He now builds websites and sales systems for small businesses in London and across the UK.