What should I ask a web designer before hiring?

The first call with a web designer is booked for Thursday. You like the portfolio. You'll probably spend the call describing your business while they describe their process, and you'll both hang up feeling good.

Then the proposal arrives, and nobody asked the questions that decide what the next year costs you. Who builds the site? Who holds the logins? What does it cost to change a price after launch? Ask them on the call, then check the answers made it into writing.

This is general information, not legal advice. Ownership and contract rules vary by country. Check your agreement, and a qualified professional, before relying on it.

Which questions matter most before you hire?

Six areas decide how the project, and the year after it, will go.

Before hiring a web designer, ask who will do the work, what the price includes, who supplies and edits the content, who will own the site and its accounts, what happens after launch and how changes are priced. Good answers are specific, and the designer is happy to put them in the proposal.

The portfolio already showed you their taste. The call is for who does what, who holds what and what happens when plans change.

A good answer names a person, a thing or a number. It also admits limits: "we don't write copy, but we can recommend someone" is more useful than a yes to everything.

Who will actually do the work?

The person on the call isn't always the person who designs or builds your site.

Ask who designs it, who builds it and whether any part goes to someone outside their team. Passing work on can be fine. Finding out halfway through isn't.

Then ask who your contact is and who covers if that person is ill for two weeks. Ask for a live site they made, and which part they did, then try its main button on your phone.

A good answer sounds like: "I design and build it. If you need booking, a developer I've worked with before sets that part up, and I stay your contact."

If you're still choosing between a small studio and a bigger team, our studio vs agency comparison covers that decision.

What does the price include?

A price only means something next to a list.

Ask for the list in the proposal: the pages, who writes the words, where the photos come from, what the forms do, any booking tools and testing on phones. Also ask what's left out, and which yearly fees, such as hosting, will be yours.

Ask how many rounds of design changes are included, what counts as one and what happens after the last.

A good answer sounds like: "Five pages, listed below. You supply the text, we edit it. Two forms that send to your inbox. Hosting is yours, about this much a year." Our guide to what a website costs explains why the list matters more than the page count.

Who handles the words, photos and editing?

Content can hold up a whole project, so settle who does it before the work starts.

Ask who writes the text, who finds the photos, when they need your material and what happens to the schedule if it's late.

Then ask which parts you'll change yourself after launch, such as prices, team members or blog posts. Ask to see the editor, even a demo from another project.

A good answer sounds like: "You'll edit text, photos and posts in the editor. Layout changes come to us. Here's what the editor looks like."

Our guides to briefing a designer and editing a live site safely help you prepare.

Who will own the site and the accounts?

Ownership is easy to skip, because everything works on launch day.

Ask whose name the domain, hosting, code and design files will be in. Each should be your business's, with the designer invited through their own login.

Ask about copyright too. In the UK, whoever creates commissioned work owns its copyright first unless you agree otherwise in writing, and US rules also depend on a signed agreement. So the contract should say when the site becomes yours.

A good answer sounds like: "The domain and hosting go in your name, and we use our own logins on them. You own the custom work once the final invoice is paid. Fonts and photos stay under their own licences, and we'll list them."

Our launch handover checklist lists every account worth asking about.

If you're about to hire someone for a new website, put these questions to us as well. Mihai leads the relationship and does most of the design and build himself, and we plan the site's structure before anyone designs a page. You own the custom work once the project is paid in full under your agreement. Anything we built that breaks in the first 30 days after launch is fixed free; later work runs as a project from $1,150 or through our monthly partnership. Bring your list to a free intro call that commits you to nothing, or send it to hi@aruno.studio, WhatsApp or Telegram @mihaipostelnicu.

What happens after launch?

Launch day starts a second relationship, and it needs its own terms.

Ask how long they fix problems in what they built, and what counts as a problem rather than new work. A form that stops sending is a bug. A new section is a change.

Then ask who you contact, how fast they reply, whether you'll get a walkthrough of the editor and which bills keep coming.

A good answer gives a period, a contact and a price rule for what comes after. If you expect a steady stream of work, compare a fixed project with a monthly partnership.

How are changes priced?

Changes happen during the project and after it, and both need a price rule.

Ask what happens if you want an extra page after approving the design. Then ask how a small change is priced after launch: hourly with an estimate first, a quote per request or a monthly fee. Ask about any minimum charge, so a five-minute fix doesn't surprise you.

A good answer sounds like: "New requests get a written quote before we start. Small changes have a minimum charge, and we'll tell you the amount now."

Which answers should make you pause?

Watch for friendly answers that leave the detail out.

Each of these deserves a follow-up question.

What you hear	Why it matters	What to ask next
"Don't worry, we handle all the technical side"	The domain and logins may end up in their name	"Whose name will the domain and hosting be in?"
"You'll get a full website"	There's nothing to check the result against	"Can you list the pages and features in the proposal?"
"Our team takes care of that"	You don't know who builds it	"Who designs it, and who builds it?"
"You can edit everything"	It may mean only some things	"Can you show me the editor?"
"Unlimited revisions"	Nothing defines a round or when design ends	"What counts as a round, and when is it approved?"
"We host it, so you never have to think about it"	Leaving may mean losing the site	"If we part ways, what do I get, and how?"

One vague answer isn't a reason to walk away. A designer who won't put the clear version in writing is.

The questions to paste into an email

Send these before the call or after it, so the answers come back in writing.

Before we go ahead, could you answer these in the proposal?

1. Who will design and build the site, and will any part go to someone outside your team? Who is my contact if you're away?
2. Which pages, features and content are included, and what isn't? Which yearly costs will be mine?
3. How many rounds of design changes are included, and what counts as one?
4. Who writes the text and supplies the photos, and when do you need my material?
5. Which parts will I be able to edit myself, and can I see the editor?
6. Whose name will the domain, hosting, code and design files be in? When does the work become mine?
7. How long do you fix problems after launch, and what counts as new work?
8. How are changes priced during the project and after launch? Is there a minimum charge?

Written answers can be compared between designers and checked against the finished site.

Frequently asked questions

Should I pay a web designer upfront? Usually a part, not the whole, with the rest tied to stages such as design approval and launch. Ask what the deposit covers and whether any of it comes back if the project stops early.

How long should a small business website take? It depends on the scope and on how quickly your content and feedback arrive. Ask for dated stages and what the designer needs from you at each one, rather than a single launch date. Our guide to how long a website takes shows where the weeks usually go.

Do I need a written contract with a web designer? Yes, or at least a signed proposal with terms. Ownership, scope and payment are hard to prove from memory.

Should I ask a web designer for references? Yes. Ask to speak to a past client whose project looked like yours, and ask them how changes and problems were handled after launch.

Take the list to Thursday's call. The designer you want will answer it plainly and put the answers in the proposal.