Before You Hire a Web Designer: A Checklist

Quotes for what sounds like the same website can differ wildly. Work through this list before you pay a deposit and you will know what you are comparing, and who owns what when it is finished.

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Quick summary

1. Decide what the site needs to achieve, sketch the pages and set a budget before you approach any designer.
2. A standard small business website often takes four weeks to three months to build, and busy designers may have a waiting list.
3. Registration gives you the right to use a domain name, not ownership of it, so keep it in an account you control from day one.
4. Copyright in the code and design stays with the creator unless it is transferred to you in writing.
5. Get the scope, timeline, payment stages and post-launch support written into the agreement before you hand over money.

A website is one of the larger purchases a small business makes, and it is hard to compare because you are buying something that does not exist yet. Quotes for what sounds like the same job can differ wildly, and the contract terms matter as much as the design. Work through this checklist before you pay a deposit and you will know what you are comparing, and who owns what when the site is finished.

Work Out What You Actually Need Built

• Write down what the site needs to achieve. Government small business guidance puts this step first: a site built without a clear goal tends to collect expensive extras. You can have more than one goal, such as acting as a digital shopfront while taking bookings.
• Sketch the pages and how they fit together. A simple sitemap showing which pages sit under which helps you and the designer quote on the same job.
• List the tasks customers need to do. Finding your phone number, booking a job, buying a product. Pages that support those tasks matter more than pages that just look impressive.
• Decide who supplies what. Some quotes include copywriting and photography; others assume you provide everything. Knowing your half of the deal changes the price.
• Understand the two broad build types. Cloud-based platforms use templates with drag-and-drop editors and suit simpler sites. Self-hosted systems are more flexible and customisable but take more work to set up and maintain.
• Set a budget and a realistic timeline. A standard small business website often takes four weeks to three months, and designers with full books may have a waiting list.

What a Portfolio Can and Can’t Tell You

A portfolio proves a designer can make attractive pages. It cannot tell you whether those sites won customers, loaded quickly or were delivered on time. Treat it as a filter rather than a decision.

• Look for work for businesses like yours. A designer who mostly builds for large corporates may not understand what a two-person trade business needs.
• Open their sites on your phone. Mobile devices account for over half of the world’s internet traffic, so a design that only works on a desktop screen is a real problem.
• Ask which projects were templates and which were custom. Both are legitimate choices, but the answer tells you what your money is buying.
• Ask how they research a client before proposing anything. A designer who starts with your customers and your content is a better bet than one who opens with a sales deck.
• Check for range as well as a signature look. A distinctive style is fine, provided it suits your brand rather than theirs.

Getting and Comparing Written Quotes

• Ask for an itemised quote. How many pages, what is included, and what counts as an add-on. A price with no breakdown cannot be compared with anything.
• Ask whether revisions are capped, and what happens when you go over the limit.
• Ask what is in and what is out. Copywriting, image sourcing and basic search setup are commonly charged separately, so find out before you compare prices.
• Ask what platform they would build on and why, including the pros and cons for your business. “This is what I always use” is not an answer.
• Ask whether the designs are responsive and whether your domain will have an SSL certificate, the technology that encrypts traffic and shows the padlock in the browser.
• Ask what they need from you, and by when. Waiting on content from your side is a common reason projects stretch out.
• Compare quotes on the same scope. If one designer has priced a five-page template site and another a fifteen-page custom build, the two numbers tell you nothing.

Ask Who Owns the Domain, Hosting and Content

This is the section most people skip, and it causes more trouble than any design disagreement.

• Know that a domain is rented, not owned. Registration gives you the exclusive right to use the name for the period you pay for. Our guide to getting started with domain names covers how this works in Australia.
• Keep the domain in your own account. If the designer registers it under theirs, they control your address, its renewal and the DNS records that point it where it needs to go.
• Find out whose account the hosting sits in. Hosting is leased space on someone else’s servers, and you want the account in your name. Our first-timer’s guide to website hosting explains what you are paying for.
• Understand the default copyright rules. Copyright in the code and design belongs to whoever created them. Ownership only changes hands with a written transfer, so a verbal assurance that you own everything is worth little.
• Check who holds the licences for stock images and fonts. Many developers license these in their own name, which means the licence leaves with them if the relationship ends.
• Note that content you supplied stays yours. Photos you took and text you wrote remain your property, but say so in the agreement anyway.

• Diary the renewal dates. Domains lapse quietly, and when one does your website and email stop with it. Our checklist on what to do before your domain name expires covers the timing.

What Belongs in the Written Agreement

Once you have a shortlist, these are the points to get in writing. A designer who resists putting them on paper is telling you something.

• Ownership. A clause stating that on final payment, rights in the design, code and custom work transfer to you, plus a list of who holds the domain, hosting and image licences.
• Scope. The number of pages, the features and the number of revisions, and what counts as a change request rather than part of the job.
• Timeline. A start date, a target launch date and what happens if either side causes a delay.
• Payment. The total price, the deposit, when the balance is due and what happens to payments if the project is cancelled partway through.
• Handover. A list of everything you receive at the end: logins, files, and documentation or training so you can update the site yourself.
• Support. What help is included after launch, for how long, and what it costs once that period ends.

Ongoing Costs and Support After Launch

• Budget for the running costs. Hosting renews on a recurring basis, the domain renews on the period you chose, and a self-hosted setup means paying for hosting and maintenance yourself.
• Confirm you can make small updates yourself. Changing text, swapping images and adding a blog post should not require an email to your designer. Ask whether training is included.
• Ask what happens when you have a question six months after launch. A clear handover process and a defined support period are good signs.
• Ask who maintains the site. Content management systems and plug-ins need updating, and an out-of-date site is an easier target for attackers. Our guide to why software updates matter explains the security side.
• Keep a record of every login. Domain registrar, hosting account and content management system, stored in a password manager rather than an email thread.

Start with the first section this week, then take the ownership and contract questions to your first meeting; the answers will tell you more than any portfolio.

Your questions answered

Q: How much should a small business website cost?

A: Prices vary enormously with scope, from simple template builds to fully custom projects. Ask for itemised written quotes so you can see what each price actually includes.

Q: Do I own my website once I have paid for it?

A: Not automatically. The designer usually holds copyright in the code and design unless the contract transfers those rights to you in writing. Content you supplied yourself stays yours.

Q: Should the designer register my domain name for me?

A: It is simpler, but make sure the registration sits in your name and in an account you control. If the designer holds it, they control your address, its renewal and the DNS settings.

Q: Can I update the site myself after launch?

A: Usually yes on most platforms, but ask before signing and check whether training or documentation is included. A site you cannot edit leaves you dependent on the designer for every small change.