12 Questions to Ask a Web Designer Before Signing
By Parker Gawryletz · Local Cochrane Web Design · Last updated: · 8 min read
Before signing with a web designer, ask twelve questions covering strategy, live work, platform and ownership, content, SEO and speed, timeline, revisions, and post-launch support. Strong answers are specific, measurable, and offered in writing; warning answers are vague, defensive, or "it depends" with nothing written down afterward.
The first meeting decides more than most owners realise. The right questions to ask a web designer before hiring are not about colours or fonts — they are about ownership, outcomes, and what happens when something goes wrong.
This guide gives you twelve, grouped the way a real conversation flows, with a scoring table at the end. If you are still building a shortlist, start with the best web design companies in Cochrane, then bring these questions to each meeting.
The short answer
- Twelve questions cover strategy, ownership, content, SEO, timeline, revisions and support.
- Strong answers are specific and in writing; vague answers predict problems.
- Always ask who owns the domain, site and accounts at handover.
- Score every provider's answers on the same table before signing.
Questions about business strategy and customers
Open with two questions: "How will you learn my business and my customers before designing anything?" and "What should this website's main action be?" A designer who asks about your customers, competitors, and goals before quoting is building a business tool. One who jumps straight to templates is decorating.
- Question 1. "How will you learn my business and my customers before you design anything?"
- Question 2. "What should this website's main action be — calls, quotes or bookings?"
Questions about live work and measurable outcomes
Ask for the addresses of three live websites the designer built, and what changed for those clients afterward. Then ask who will actually do the work. Screenshots prove taste; live sites prove speed and mobile quality; outcomes prove the design did a real job.
- Question 3. "Can you show me three live websites you built, and what changed for those clients?"
- Question 4. "Who will actually build my website — you, your team, or a subcontractor?"
Questions about platform and ownership
Ask what platform the site will be built on and whether it can move to another provider later, then ask who owns the domain, website, content, and accounts at handover. The only safe answer is "you do, in writing." Silence on ownership usually means no.
- Question 5. "What platform will you build on, and can the site move with me if I leave?"
- Question 6. "Who owns the domain, the website, the content, and every account at handover?" Get the answer as one written sentence.
Ownership failures stay invisible until you try to leave — read who owns the website, domain, content and code before the meeting.
Questions about copy, photos and content
Ask one question in plain terms: who writes the copy, and who supplies the photos and logos — you or the designer. Content is the most common cause of website delays, so a proposal that assigns responsibility for words, images, and late content is protecting your timeline, not padding the price.
- Question 7. "Who writes the copy and supplies the photos — you or me — and what happens if content is late?"
Questions about SEO, speed and accessibility
Ask what SEO is included at launch, line by line, and what speed and accessibility targets the build will meet. Google publishes the speed thresholds — LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, CLS under 0.1 — and WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the accessibility reference to name.
- Question 8. "What SEO is included at launch, line by line?" Expect titles, descriptions, clean URLs, redirects, a sitemap, and analytics — never guaranteed rankings.
- Question 9. "What speed, mobile and accessibility targets will the build meet, and how will you prove them?"
See what SEO should be included with a new website for the complete launch baseline.
Questions about timeline, feedback and approvals
Ask for the timeline with named milestones, what the designer needs from you and by when, and the points where you approve work before the build continues. A date with no dependencies listed is a timeline designed to be missed.
- Question 10. "What is the timeline, what do you need from me by when, and where are the approval points?"
Questions about revisions and scope changes
Ask how many revision rounds are included at each stage, what counts as a revision versus a new request, and how extra work is priced. Two or three structured rounds per stage is healthy. "Unlimited revisions" usually means padding in the price or a plan to wear you down.
- Question 11. "How many revision rounds are included, and how are changes beyond them priced?"
These answers belong in the agreement, not just the conversation. Before signing, check the paperwork against the web design contract checklist so the meeting's promises survive onto paper.
Questions about launch, training and maintenance
Ask what happens after launch: how long fixes are free, whether you will be trained to make small edits yourself, and what ongoing maintenance costs if you want it. A 30-day post-launch fix window at no cost is a reasonable baseline to ask any provider for.
- Question 12. "What happens after launch — what is fixed free and for how long, will you train me, and what does ongoing care cost per month?"
How to score the answers
Put every provider's answers into the same table and mark each one strong, weak, or missing. Strong answers are specific, measurable, and confirmed in writing afterward. Compare providers only on identical questions — then take the leaders into a full selection worksheet before signing anything.
| Question | A strong answer sounds like | A warning answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| 1. How will you learn my business? | Discovery call, competitor review, goals in the proposal | We will start with a template you like |
| 2. What is the site's main action? | One measurable action — calls, quotes or bookings | It will look really professional |
| 3. Can I see three live sites? | Here are the addresses — test them yourself | Screenshots only, or sites no longer online |
| 4. Who actually builds it? | A named person or team you can talk to | Vague, or the work is quietly outsourced |
| 5. What platform, and can it move? | A named platform, and yes — the site is portable | Our own system; leaving means rebuilding |
| 6. Who owns everything at handover? | You do — domain, site, content, accounts, in writing | We keep the domain to make renewals easier |
| 7. Who writes copy and supplies photos? | Assigned in the proposal, with a plan for delays | Not discussed until after signing |
| 8. What SEO is included at launch? | Itemised: titles, redirects, sitemap, analytics | SEO included — no line items, or ranking promises |
| 9. What performance targets apply? | Named speed and accessibility targets, tested on real devices | It will be fast — no numbers offered |
| 10. What is the timeline and my part? | Milestones plus a list of what they need from you | A launch date with no dependencies |
| 11. How are revisions and changes priced? | Counted rounds, written prices for extras | Unlimited revisions — no process attached |
| 12. What happens after launch? | Defined fix window, training, optional care plan with prices | Just call us if something breaks |
When two or three providers score well, move from interview to selection: run them through the full 15-point web designer checklist, which adds scope comparison and budget context.
Frequently asked questions
What questions should I ask a web designer?
Ask how they will learn your business, what the site's main action should be, for three live websites and their outcomes, who actually builds the work, what platform is used, who owns everything at handover, who supplies content, what SEO and speed targets apply, plus timeline, revisions, and support.
How do I ask about SEO?
Ask "what SEO is included at launch, line by line?" A strong answer itemises page titles and descriptions, clean URLs, redirects, an XML sitemap, and analytics setup. Treat guaranteed rankings as a warning — no honest company can promise a position in Google.
Should I ask who builds the website?
Yes, directly: "Who will actually build my website — you, your team, or a subcontractor?" Outsourcing is common and not wrong by itself. The problem is hidden outsourcing, where the person who understood your business hands the work to someone you never meet.
How do I ask about ownership?
Ask one plain question: "Who owns the domain, the website, the content, and every account at handover?" Then ask for the answer in writing as a single sentence. If the provider hesitates, keeps the domain in their name, or calls the question unusual, treat that as your answer.
What should I ask about revisions?
Ask how many revision rounds are included at each stage, what counts as a revision versus a new change request, and how out-of-scope changes are priced. Two or three structured rounds per stage is a healthy standard. The answers should appear in the written proposal, not just the conversation.
What should I ask about support after launch?
Ask what is fixed free after launch and for how long, whether training is included, and what ongoing maintenance costs per month. A defined fix window — 30 days is a reasonable baseline — and an optional care plan with its own price mark a professional answer.
Sources
Scope your project with our team — bring these twelve questions to a no-pressure conversation — a written, itemised proposal arrives within one business day.