9 questions to ask before you hire a web designer

Hiring a web designer is uncomfortable if you're not technical. You can't judge the code, you often can't judge the design, and the vocabulary is designed to make you nod along.

You don't need to become technical. You need nine questions and the patience to listen to how they're answered. A vague answer is itself an answer.

01Whose name will the domain be in?

The correct answer is yours. Your domain is your property, the way your shop signboard is. If it's registered in the designer's account, you cannot move it, sell it, or work with anyone else without their cooperation.

Worry if: "Don't worry, we handle all that." That is not an answer to the question that was asked.

02Who has the hosting login?

Same principle. You should have the account, or at minimum your own credentials to it. It's fine for the designer to manage it day to day — it's not fine for you to be locked out of it.

If the designer hosts the site on their own server, that can work well, but then ask the next thing directly: if we part ways, do I get a copy of my site and my domain, and how long does that take?

Worry if: there's no clear exit. Ask before you're in, not when you want out.

03What exactly is in the price, and what isn't?

Get it in writing. Number of pages. Logo, or not. Does it include the domain and hosting for the first year, or is that extra? Is the Google Business Profile setup included? How many rounds of revisions?

The point isn't to catch anyone out. It's that "website — ₹X" is not a scope, and every gap in the scope turns into an argument later.

Worry if: a verbal quote with no written breakdown, or a number that keeps moving.

04What do changes cost after launch?

Your prices change. Your menu changes. A festival offer needs to go up. Ask what happens then: is there a free window, is it per change, is it a monthly plan?

Also ask how long a change takes. A designer who takes three weeks to update a phone number is a problem you'll feel every month.

Worry if: "Small changes are free" with no definition of small.

05Can I see something you built that's live right now?

Not a screenshot, not a design mockup — a working URL you can open on your own phone. Then actually open it: does it load quickly, does it work at your thumb's width, does the call button work?

One real live site tells you more than a folder of portfolio images, because images can come from anywhere.

Worry if: only mockups, or links that are down.

06How will you make the site load fast on mobile?

You're not testing for a technical lecture. You're testing whether they've thought about it at all. A reasonable answer mentions compressing images and keeping the page light.

An answer that treats speed as an afterthought usually produces a site where a single uncompressed photo is heavier than the rest of the page put together.

Worry if: "It'll be fine, everyone has 4G now."

07What will you do about Google?

Good answers are specific and modest: submit the site to Search Console, add a sitemap, write proper page titles and descriptions, add structured business details, set up or fix the Google Business Profile.

Then listen for what they don't promise. Nobody can guarantee a ranking. Competition, category and location decide that, and none of those are under a designer's control.

Worry if: a guaranteed first-page result, especially with a deadline attached.

08What do you need from me, and by when?

This one flips the table, and it's revealing. A designer who has done this before will immediately list what they need: photos, your service or menu list, logo files if you have them, business hours, address, phone number.

It also tells you where the delays will come from. Most projects that run late run late because the content never arrived, not because the design was hard.

Worry if: "Just leave it to us." Then the content gets invented, and it won't sound like your business.

09How do I reach you after the site is live?

Ask for the actual channel and the actual expectation. Phone, WhatsApp, email? Within a day? Within a week?

A website is a thing that keeps needing small attention. The difference between a good experience and a bad one, a year in, is almost entirely about whether someone picks up.

Worry if: you've only ever dealt with a salesperson and never met whoever builds it.

Before you pay anything

Get four things in writing, even if it's just a WhatsApp message you both agree to:

1. The total price, and what's included and excluded.
2. The timeline, and what you owe them to keep it.
3. Who owns the domain and hosting.
4. What post-launch changes cost.

A designer worth hiring will be relieved you asked. Clear expectations make their job easier too.