How to choose who builds your website: 10 questions to ask before you sign

Choosing who will build your website is harder than choosing the website. The offers look alike, every portfolio is beautiful, and prices run from one extreme to the other. These ten questions help you understand, before you sign, who you’re about to work with.

Freelancer, agency or studio: who should you pick?

The label doesn’t matter; the way they work does. In short:

• a freelancer can be a great choice for simple projects; check that they cover everything you need (design, development, copy, SEO) or can tell you who will;
• a large agency has more people, but often more hand-offs: ask who will actually work on your project;
• a small, specialized studio brings different skills together with a single point of contact.

In every case, the right questions are the same.

The 10 questions to ask before you sign

1. Can I see sites you’ve built that are live right now? A real site opens on your phone, can be browsed and measured. Portfolio images can’t.
2. What’s included in the quote, line by line? Pages, features, copy, SEO, mobile layout, privacy and cookies, languages.
3. And what’s excluded? Surprises almost always come from what isn’t written down.
4. Who writes the copy? The copy decides whether visitors get in touch. If you have to write it, it’s best to know right away.
5. How do you handle SEO? A serious answer talks about structure, speed, copy written for real searches and structured data, not "guaranteed rankings."
6. How long will it take, and is there a launch date? Be wary of vague timelines: an organized method has phases and deadlines.
7. Whose name will the domain, hosting and content be in? They should be yours. If you change providers one day, the site stays yours.
8. How do I update the site myself? Ask to see the tool you’ll use to edit copy and photos.
9. What happens after launch? Who answers you, how fast, and what changes and updates cost.
10. Can I talk to one of your clients? Or at least read or hear a real testimonial, with a first and last name.

What are the red flags?

Some lines should make you stop and think:

• "We guarantee you the first page of Google." Nobody can guarantee it: Google itself states that you can’t pay for a better ranking in local results.
• "We’ll tell you the price later." A quote can be tailored, but it should arrive in writing, in detail, before work starts.
• "We’ll register the domain in our name." The name of your site should be yours.
• A portfolio without links, or with sites that are no longer live.
• No contract, or only verbal agreements on timelines and content.

How do you compare two different quotes?

Put the offers side by side and compare the same line items, not the totals. The cheapest offer often leaves out copy, SEO or support, and adding them later costs more.

How we work, openly

Since we suggest asking everyone, here are our answers. At OVERS MEDIA:

• the sites we show are live right now: you can visit them and judge for yourself;
• the proposal is a single one with everything included: design, development, SEO for Google and AI engines, privacy and cookies, FRAME to manage content and inquiries, support after launch;
• the process usually takes four weeks, with a clear date set before we start;
• we reply within 24 hours.