Questions to ask a web design agency before you sign

Before you sign with a web designer, ask five sets of questions: who will own the domain, hosting, website files and logins; exactly what is and isn’t in the scope; where form enquiries go and how you’ll know they’re arriving; what happens after launch and who you call when something breaks; and what the site will cost over three years, not just to build. Get the answers in writing, and ask every agency on your shortlist the same questions.

A portfolio shows you what a designer’s sites look like on launch day. It tells you very little about what happens in year two, when a plugin breaks, the person who built the site has moved on, or you want to switch providers and find the domain is registered to someone else. The questions below are grouped by the problems they prevent. Print them, take them to each meeting, and write down the answers.

Ownership: domain, hosting, website files and logins

This is the section that causes the most grief later, so ask it first.

Your domain name

Strictly speaking, nobody owns a .au domain name. Under auDA’s licensing rules, the registrant holds a licence to use the name for a set period, and the registrant is the person or business recorded against it. To register a .com.au you need an Australian presence, such as an ABN or a company registration. What matters for you is simple: the registrant should be your business, not the agency, and the login to the registrar account should be yours. The agency can be listed as the technical contact.

Website files and design

According to IP Australia, intellectual property created by a contractor belongs to the contractor unless the contract says otherwise. That includes things like website designs and code. If you want to own the custom work you’re paying for, the contract needs to say so, usually with ownership passing to you once the final invoice is paid. This is general information, not legal advice; have a lawyer look over the contract if the project is significant.

Some parts of any website are licensed rather than owned: the content management system, premium themes and plugins, fonts and stock photos. Ask whose name those licences are in and what happens to them if you leave.

Questions to ask

• Will the domain be registered in our business’s name, with a registrar login we control?
• Whose account will the hosting be in, and can we get admin access?
• Will we own the design and code once the final invoice is paid? Where does the contract say that?
• If we leave, will you hand over a full copy of the site and every login, and is there a fee for that?
• Which paid themes, plugins or tools does the site rely on, and whose name are the licences in?

Scope: pages, content, forms and what is not included

Most disputes about price are really disputes about scope. One quote includes copywriting and photo editing; another assumes you’ll supply every word and image. One includes three rounds of design changes; another includes one. Unless you ask, the quotes look comparable when they aren’t.

• How many pages are included, and which ones?
• Who writes the words? If we supply them, will you edit them for the web?
• Who sources photos, and are any stock images licensed for our use?
• How many rounds of design revisions are included?
• Which forms are included, and what fields do they have?
• Is basic search setup included: page titles, descriptions, redirects from our old pages, and a sitemap?
• Will we be trained to update the site ourselves?
• What is specifically excluded, and how are extras priced?

The last question is the most useful. A good proposal lists what’s out of scope as clearly as what’s in.

Enquiries: where form submissions go and how you’ll know they work

For most small businesses, the website’s main job is producing enquiries. Yet the contact form is often the least tested part of the build. Form notifications can land in junk, go to an old staff member’s inbox, or stop sending after a plugin update, and nobody notices for weeks.

• Where will form submissions go: one inbox, several people, or straight into our CRM?
• Will submissions also be stored on the site or in another system, so nothing is lost if an email goes missing?
• How are notification emails sent, and will they be set up so they don’t land in spam?
• Will the person who enquired get an automatic confirmation?
• Will you test every form before launch and after updates?
• How will we see how many enquiries the site produces each month, and from where?

If the answer to the email question is vague, it’s worth reading up on why business emails go to spam before you sign.

After launch: updates, backups, security and who you call

A website isn’t finished at launch. The software underneath it needs updating, backups need to run, and someone needs to notice when it goes down.

• Who applies software and plugin updates, and how often?
• How often is the site backed up, where are backups stored, and how quickly can you restore one?
• Who monitors whether the site is up, and who gets told when it isn’t?
• If something breaks, how do we report it, and how fast will you respond?
• Are small content changes included in a monthly fee, or charged by the hour?
• What happens to our site if your business closes or the person who built it leaves?

If you’re looking at a monthly care plan, ask for it in writing with response times. “We’ll look after it” isn’t a service level.

Costs over three years, not just the build

A low build price with high ongoing fees can cost more over three years than a higher build price with modest upkeep. Ask each agency to list every recurring cost so you can add them up on the same basis. Our guide on what a small business website costs covers the build side in more detail.

Multiply the recurring lines by three years and add the build. That’s the number to compare.

Red flags in a proposal

None of these automatically rules an agency out, but each one deserves a direct question.

• The domain or hosting will be in the agency’s name, with no plan to transfer it to you.
• No mention of ownership of the design or code anywhere in the contract.
• A proprietary platform that only that agency can host or edit, with no export option.
• A vague scope, such as “up to 10 pages” with no list of what those pages are.
• No exclusions listed. Everything that isn’t written down becomes an argument later.
• Long lock-in on monthly fees with heavy exit costs.
• Guaranteed search rankings. No one controls where Google ranks a page.
• No testing or launch checklist, particularly for forms.
• Nobody can tell you who will actually do the work.

A one-page comparison table for your shortlist

Get two or three quotes against the same written brief, then fill in a table like this for each one. Gaps in the table are questions to send back before you decide.

If you’re already with a provider and thinking about leaving, read our guide on moving hosts without losing email before you give notice.

Where to start

1. Check who is listed as the registrant of your current domain, and make sure you have the registrar login.
2. Write a one-page brief: the pages you need, who supplies content, the forms and where enquiries should go.
3. Send the same brief to two or three agencies.
4. Take the questions above to each meeting and record the answers in the comparison table.
5. Add up three years of costs for each, not just the build.
6. Ask for ownership and handover terms in the contract before you sign.

If you’d like to see how we answer these questions, our website design and build page sets out what’s included, and our managed hosting page covers updates, backups and who you call. We’re happy to go through the list with you, even if you end up choosing someone else.