Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Designer (UK Guide)

Most problems with a web designer come from something nobody asked at the start: who owns the domain, what the price actually covers, or what happens once the site is live. This guide groups the questions that matter by what they protect you from, explains what a good answer sounds like and when to be wary, and finishes with the red flags worth walking away from.

Will I own my website, domain and hosting?

Ask this first. A beautiful website is of little use if you cannot get into it, move it or hand it to someone else later.

There are three things to own:

• The domain name (your web address). The person or business a domain is registered to is called the registrant, and under the .uk registry Nominet’s rules it is the registrant who is responsible for it. That should be your business, not your designer.
• The hosting account, where the website files live. Either in your name, or with a clear written agreement about how you get your site out if you leave.
• An administrator login to the website itself, so you can always get in, even if your designer is unavailable.

A good answer sounds like: “The domain will be registered to your business, you will have your own admin login from day one, and if you ever move on we will help you take everything with you.”

Be wary if: they register the domain in their own name “to keep things simple”, or will not give you a login until the final invoice is paid and then keep finding reasons to delay.

This is one of the most common problems we see when owners come to us after working with someone else. The design is not the issue. Nobody can get into the domain or the hosting, and untangling that takes longer than the work they actually wanted done.

What exactly is included in the price?

Ask for a written list, not a total. Two quotes for “a five-page website” can include very different things, and the gaps tend to appear as extra invoices later.

Things to check are covered, or priced separately:

• Number of pages, and what counts as a page.
• Copywriting. Are they writing the words, editing yours, or expecting you to supply everything?
• Photos. Stock images, your own, or a photographer?
• Rounds of changes. How many are included before extra charges start?
• Search basics. Page titles, descriptions, headings and a site that works properly on phones.
• Cookie banner and privacy notice. UK sites that use non-essential cookies, such as most analytics and advertising tools, need visitors’ consent first. The ICO’s guidance on cookies explains the rules. A designer should set this up, not leave it to you.
• Hosting, domain and email for the first year, and what they cost after that.
• Ongoing costs. Updates, backups, security and small changes once the site is live.

A good answer sounds like: a clear breakdown, with anything not included named and priced, so you can compare quotes like for like.

Be wary if: the quote is a single number with no detail, or the answer to “is that included?” is often “we can sort that out later”.

For a sense of what affects the overall price, our guide to how much a small business website costs breaks it down.

Can I see sites like mine, and talk to the owners?

Ask for live websites, not screenshots, ideally for businesses similar in size to yours. Then do two quick checks yourself.

1. Open them on your phone. Do they load quickly? Can you find the phone number and contact form easily? Most of your customers will judge your site on a phone.
2. Look past the homepage. Click into a service page and the contact page. A portfolio shot of a homepage tells you little about how the rest of the site works.

If you can, ask whether you could speak to one or two past clients. A designer with happy clients will rarely mind.

A good answer sounds like: “Here are three live sites for businesses like yours, and here is what each one needed to do.”

Be wary if: the portfolio is only mock-ups, every site looks like the same template, or none of the sites are still live.

How does the process work, and how long will it take?

Ask them to walk you through it from first call to launch, step by step. You want to know what happens, in what order, and what they need from you at each stage.

Useful follow-up questions:

• When can you start, and once you start, how long does the work itself take? A long quoted timeline can mean a waiting list rather than more work.
• What do you need from me, and when? Content, photos and logins are the usual hold-ups.
• Who will I deal with day to day, and how quickly do you usually reply?
• What happens to my old site while the new one is built, and on launch day?

A good answer sounds like: a clear set of stages with rough timings, and an honest note that the timeline depends partly on how quickly you supply content and feedback.

Be wary if: they promise a date without asking what you need, or cannot describe their process beyond “we design it, then build it”.

Our guide to how long it takes to build a small business website explains where the time goes and how to speed things up.

Can I update the site myself, and what happens after launch?

Ask both, because a website is never really finished. Prices change, services change, and you will want to add news or photos without paying for every small edit.

• Can I change words and images myself? Ask them to show you how, on one of their existing sites.
• Will you show me how to use it? A short walkthrough or video at handover saves a lot of frustration.
• Who keeps it updated and secure? WordPress sites need regular updates and backups. Find out whether that is you, them, or nobody.
• What does ongoing support cost, and what does it include?
• What happens if you are unavailable, or decide to stop doing web design?

A good answer sounds like: “You will be able to edit any page yourself, we will show you how, and here is what our maintenance covers if you would rather not deal with updates.”

Be wary if: every small change has to go through them, or there is no plan at all for updates and backups once the site is live.

What should the contract and payment terms cover?

Ask for terms in writing before you pay anything. They do not need to be long, but they should cover:

• The scope, matching the list of what is included.
• The price and payment stages. A deposit to start and the balance at stages or on completion is normal. Paying everything up front, before any work, is not.
• Sign-off. How you approve the design and the finished site.
• Ownership at the end. That the domain, the website and its content are yours once paid for.
• What happens if either of you wants to stop, and what you would get for the money paid so far.

A good answer sounds like: “Here is our agreement. Have a read, and ask about anything that is unclear.”

Be wary if: there is no written agreement at all, or you are pressed to sign and pay the same day.

What red flags should your questions uncover before hiring a web designer?

Most of these come up naturally if you ask the questions above. Watch for:

• They do not ask you anything. A good designer interviews you back: who your customers are, what they search for, what you want people to do on the site, and how you measure whether it is working. Someone who jumps straight to colours and fonts is designing a picture, not a website for your business.
• A price far below everyone else’s, with no explanation of what is left out.
• The domain or hosting in their name, with no clear way for you to take it over.
• No live sites to show, or only screenshots.
• Pressure to decide quickly, such as a discount that disappears tomorrow.
• Vague answers to direct questions about ownership, costs or timescales.

And one honest point: you may not need a designer yet. If you are just starting out, testing an idea, or only need a simple page with your contact details, a DIY website builder can be a perfectly sensible first step. Hire a designer when the website needs to win you work, not before.

If you already have a website and are being told to replace it, our guide on whether to fix or rebuild your website covers the questions to ask before agreeing to start again.

How we can help

Ask us anything on this list. We have spent over ten years building Elementor and WordPress websites, across more than 500 sites, and we will tell you honestly when a cheaper option or a fix to your existing site is the better call.

You always own your website. Most of our new websites go live in around three weeks, and we can work faster if you have a deadline. Our new website design page explains how we work and shows current pricing.

If you already have a site and want a straight answer on what it needs, start with a free website audit.