How to choose a web design company: 20 questions to ask

Choosing a web design company is hard to do well because you only do it every few years. Every agency website says much the same things, every portfolio looks good, and the proposals are written in different terms, so they are hard to compare.

This guide gives you a process and a set of questions that cut through that. We’re a web design and development company ourselves, so read it knowing that. The questions are the ones we’d want a careful client to ask us.

Start with a one-page brief

You will get better answers, and comparable proposals, if every company works from the same brief. It doesn’t need to be long. Cover:

• What the site is for: the visitors you want and what they should do.
• What you have now: your current site, and what works or doesn’t.
• Must-haves: features like online booking, a members’ area, a store, several languages, or a connection to your CRM.
• Content: who will write the words and supply the photos.
• Budget range and deadline, even if rough. Without them, proposals swing wildly.
• Who decides, and who else needs to approve.

Our list of everything we need to get started shows what a web team will ask for anyway.

Shortlist three companies

Three is enough to compare without drowning in calls. Good places to look:

• Sites you admire. Many have a “website by” credit in the footer.
• Referrals from businesses like yours, especially ones that have used the same company for years.
• Review profiles on Google and Clutch, where you can read what clients say in their own words and see how recent the reviews are.
• Work in your industry. A company that has built sites like yours will ask better questions.

Being local helps if you want to meet in person, but it matters less than it used to. Plenty of projects run well over video calls. What matters is that you can reach a real person and get a straight answer.

Questions about their work

1. Can we see three live sites similar to ours? Live sites, not just screenshots. Open them on your phone.
2. What did you do on each one? Design, development, both, or only part. Agencies often work together, so ask.
3. Can we speak to one or two of those clients? A good company will put you in touch.
4. Who will actually work on our site? Ask for names and roles, and whether any work is handed to subcontractors.
5. How long have you worked together as a team? Long-standing teams tend to have fewer gaps between design and build.

Questions about how they work

6. What are the steps, and what do we review at each one? Look for a clear order: plan, content, design, build, test, launch.
7. How many rounds of design changes are included? And what happens after that?
8. Who writes the content? If it’s you, when is it due? If it’s them, who checks it’s accurate?
9. How will we communicate, and how quickly do you usually reply?
10. What could delay the project, and what do you need from us to keep it on time?
11. How do you handle changes to the scope once work has started?

Questions about what you’ll own

12. Will the domain be registered to our company? It should be, with your email address on it.
13. Whose account will the hosting be in? If it’s theirs, what happens if you part ways?
14. Will we have full admin access and own the code and design files? Check the contract says so.
15. Can our team edit the site without a developer? Ask to see the editing screens of a site they’ve built. Our guide to content management systems explains what to look for.

Questions about search, speed and accessibility

16. How will you protect our current Google rankings? If you’re replacing a site, they should talk about mapping old addresses to new ones. Our website migration checklist explains why.
17. How fast will the site be on a phone, and how will you measure it?
18. Which accessibility standard will you build to? The current standard is WCAG 2.2, usually at level AA. If they don’t recognize it, keep looking.

Questions about after launch

19. What happens after launch? Is there a warranty period for fixing bugs, and what does ongoing maintenance include? Our website maintenance checklist lists what a site needs.
20. If something breaks, who do we call, and how fast will they respond?

Notice how they listen

The answers matter, and so does the conversation. On a good first call, the company asks as many questions as you do: about your buyers, your sales process, what went wrong last time, and what your team will need to change on the site each week. They tell you when something on your wish list isn’t worth the money. They explain technical choices in words you understand.

Be wary of a call that is all presentation and no questions. A company that doesn’t ask about your business can’t design a site around it.

Red flags

• Guaranteed rankings. Google’s own advice on hiring an SEO is blunt: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.”
• Your domain or hosting in their name, with no plan to hand it over.
• No written scope. If it isn’t written down, you can’t hold anyone to it.
• Only screenshots, no live sites.
• Pressure to sign quickly with a discount that expires this week.
• Vague answers about who does the work.

Compare proposals on more than price

Put the proposals side by side and check each one for:

• Scope: the pages, features and content work that are included, and what isn’t.
• Assumptions: for example, that you supply all text and photos, or that there are two rounds of design changes.
• Timeline: dates for each stage, and what they depend on.
• Payment terms: how much is due up front and at each stage.
• After launch: warranty, training, maintenance and support.

A lower price often means less is included. Ask each company to explain the gaps rather than guessing.

Agency, freelancer or a website builder?

A freelancer can be a great fit for a small, simple site. A team gives you designers and developers who specialize, and cover when someone is away. We explain the trade-offs in why we’d choose an agency over a solo developer. A do-it-yourself website builder suits a very small budget, as long as you are happy doing the work yourself and living within its limits.

Questions we hear

How do I find a good web designer near me?

Look at sites you like from businesses in your area and check their footer credits, ask other business owners, and read recent reviews on Google and Clutch. Then ask the questions above.

How many web design companies should I talk to?

Three is usually enough. Fewer and you have nothing to compare; more and the differences blur.

What should a web design proposal include?

The scope, what is excluded, the assumptions, a dated timeline, the payment schedule, who owns what at the end, and what happens after launch.

Should we choose the cheapest proposal?

Only if it includes the same things as the others. Compare like with like first, then compare prices.

Looking for a web design company?

Millennial Web Development has designed and built websites from Chicago since 2014, for businesses and nonprofits across the US. Read what our clients say, see how we approach web design, or configure your website and get a quote.