To choose a web design company, check six things: who owns the domain, hosting and files at the end, whether the scope and dates are in writing, who does the work, how the site is built for phones and search, what happens after launch, and how clearly the company answers your questions before you sign.
None of the six needs technical knowledge to check. Each is a question with a concrete answer, and a company that is comfortable with the question will answer it plainly. The sections below take them in order of how much damage a wrong answer can do.
Who will own the website when it is finished?
Ask this first, because it is the one that is hardest to fix later. The domain name, the hosting account, the code and the analytics should all be registered in your name. If the company holds them, you are renting your own website, and leaving means starting again.
The test is simple. Ask whose name will be on the domain registration and who holds the login to the hosting account. A clear answer is yours, from launch. A vague answer, or a monthly fee that covers hosting without saying who owns the account, is the signal to keep asking.
Devodin's position is that the domain, hosting account, code repository and analytics property are registered in the client's name at launch. The Websites & Ecommerce service describes that handover in full, and it is a fair standard to hold any company to.
Is the scope written down with dates?
Yes, it should be. A written scope lists the pages, the features, the number of revision rounds and a date for every stage, agreed before design starts. It is the reference both sides come back to when a question arises, instead of two memories of what was promised.
Scope that drifts without being written down again is a common reason projects run late: PMI’s Pulse of the Profession 2024 puts average scope creep across the projects it surveys at 29 percent.
Ask to see the structure of a scope before you commit. It should name what is not included as clearly as what is. For a sense of what a realistic schedule looks like, read what determines a website build timeline.
Who does the work at a web design company?
Many web design companies sell the work and pass it to someone else. That is not always a problem, but you should know it. Ask who designs, who builds and who you speak to when something breaks, and whether those are the same team.
One team covering design, build and search means nothing gets handed between departments that quietly forget what the last one decided. Several vendors mean you become the project manager between them. Neither is wrong, but the second costs you time that is easy to underestimate at the start.
Will the site work on a phone and in search?
A site that looks good on the designer's monitor and breaks on a phone fails many of the people who visit it. Ask whether it is designed mobile first and tested on real devices, not just resized in a browser window. Ask what the build includes for search: page structure, speed, and a way for Google to find every page.
This matters because a beautiful site nobody finds earns nothing. The checks in why a website might not show up on Google are the ones a good company handles before launch, not after you notice a problem.
What happens after the site launches?
A website is not finished at launch. Software needs patching, backups need to run, certificates expire and contact forms stop working without anyone noticing. Ask what support comes with the launch, what an ongoing plan covers if you want one, and what happens if you decline it.
The right answer is that you can run it yourself, hand it to someone else, or keep the original company on a plan, and that the choice is yours because you own the accounts. A company that makes leaving difficult is telling you something about how it expects to keep clients.
Should you hire a web design company, a freelancer or build it yourself?
It depends on how much of the work you want to manage, and outsourcing is the common route. In Clutch’s 2025 survey of 406 US small business owners, 45 percent of those with a website used an outsourced partner, the largest single group.
Of the same owners, 37 percent built in house, 9 percent used freelancers and 8 percent were owner built. It is one survey of a few hundred owners, not a census.
- A website builder suits a simple page you are willing to maintain yourself, and WordPress, WooCommerce or Shopify suit a site or store that will grow
- A freelancer suits a defined job where you can manage the brief and the follow-up
- An agency suits a project that spans design, build, search and what comes after
The honest answer for a first site is often smaller than people expect. A five-page site that says what the business does, what it offers, how to reach it and that it is real covers the core job. Everything else can wait.
How long should a web design project take?
A straightforward business site takes three to six weeks from the first discovery conversation to launch, and an online store takes six to ten. Be cautious of a quote far outside those windows in either direction. The windows cover testing on real devices and a launch check, not only the design work.
A fortnight can mean the testing is missing, and six months can mean the scope was never fixed. The timeline post explains which four things move a launch date, and all four sit with the client.
Where does cost fit into the decision?
After the six checks, not before them. Two proposals at different prices are not comparable until you know what each includes, who owns the result and what happens after launch. Once those answers are equal, the figures on the pricing page let you compare like with like.
A company that will not explain its figures is worth a second question.
How do you read a portfolio when the work is not yours?
Look at the sites, not the screenshots. Open them on your phone. Check how fast they load, whether the contact details are easy to find and whether the site answers a question the way a visitor would ask it. A portfolio shows taste, not process.
Pair it with the questions in this post.
Be wary of results presented without a name, a date and a source. A claim you cannot check is decoration. The better signal is a company willing to explain what it did and why, and to say plainly when it has not done something before.
What red flags should you watch for?
Six warning signs matter most when you are comparing a web design company before you sign: missing scope, held accounts, guaranteed rankings, pressure, hidden staffing and discount-led proposals. Any one of them is reason to ask more questions before you go further.
- No written scope, or a scope that lists only the design and not the build
- The company holds the domain, hosting or files and will not move them
- A promise of a specific search ranking or an overnight result
- Pressure to sign before you have seen what you are agreeing to
- A refusal to say who does the work
- A proposal that leads with a discount instead of an explanation of the work
No honest company can promise a ranking, because search results depend on many things outside its control. What it can promise is a sound technical foundation, clear content and a monthly report showing what changed.
What should you ask in the first conversation?
Ask the six questions below, in this order, and listen for plain answers. They cover ownership, written scope, who does the work, testing for phones and search, support after launch, and what the company needs from you to keep the schedule.
- Who will own the domain, hosting, code and analytics at launch?
- Can I see the written scope structure, with dates, before I commit?
- Who designs, who builds and who answers when something breaks?
- How is the site tested on phones and prepared for search?
- What does support after launch cover, and can I decline it?
- What do you need from me, and by when, to keep the schedule?
That last question matters more than it looks. Content, photography and approvals move a launch date more than anything the company does, and a team that tells you so early is describing the work accurately.
Does the type of business change the answer?
The checks stay the same and the priorities shift. A restaurant needs a current menu and opening hours that are easy to update. An accounting practice needs secure document and contact handling. An ecommerce retailer needs a checkout tested with real payment methods before launch, which is why a store takes longer than a brochure site.
If you are still deciding whether you need a site at all, read do you need a website for your business. If the question is the logo and visual identity behind it, what to check before hiring for branding work covers the equivalent checks, and the Brand Identity service describes what is delivered. Other common questions are on the FAQ page, and the about page says who you would be working with and how the remote-first team operates.
To see how Devodin answers these six questions for your project, send a brief through the quote form. You get a reply within one business day, and the written scope follows the call within one business day.
More on positioning a business online is collected under Websites & Positioning.
