How to Choose a Web Designer for Your Small Business: 12 Questions to Ask

Hiring the wrong web designer costs more than money; it costs months. Ask these before you sign anything.

1. Will I own the website and domain? The answer must be yes.
2. How long until launch? Get a date, not "it depends."
3. Who writes the copy? If it's you, expect delays.
4. Will each service get its own page? Essential for SEO.
5. Do you build service-area pages? Essential for local search.
6. Do you add schema markup? Essential for AI search.
7. How fast will it load on mobile? Ask to see PageSpeed scores of past sites.
8. How do updates work after launch, and what do they cost? Hourly updates mean your site will go stale.
9. Do you set up Search Console, Bing and analytics?
10. Is ongoing SEO and content included or separate?
11. Is there a contract? Month-to-month protects you.
12. Can I see three live sites and talk to a client?

Red flags

They own your domain, long contracts, no examples, no talk of SEO, updates billed hourly, or "we'll figure out the content later."

Our answers: you own it, about a week, we write it, yes to service and area pages and schema, fast, unlimited updates on the $399 plan, all tools set up, SEO and content included, no contract. See details.