Posted: January 13th, 2025
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Designer
Reading Time: 8 minutes
If you put the title of this post on a Google search, odds are you’re going to get a lot of results and everyone has a slightly different take on this. This list comes from my nearly 30 years of experience now in graphic design and building websites for a wide variety of clients. If I were to put myself in their shoes and had to hire a web designer or design agency for my small business, this is the list I’d drop on them–and I would not really feel comfortable proceeding if they couldn’t answer these questions.
Before I get into it, I’ll also say that many web designers do not take into account that their clients are well, NOT web designers. As a client, you may be unfamiliar with terminology, programming or certain technology. So if the answers you get back have a lot of “lingo” or technical jargon, don’t hesitate to ask follow up questions for clarification. A great web designer will have no problem offering additional explanation (and if they DO have a problem with it, that does not bode well for working with them).
Hiring an individual or freelancer is also different from hiring an agency. Oftentimes, the freelancer will not be able to provide a full range of complementary services (for example: copywriting, search engine optimization, other marketing, graphic design, printing, website hosting, etc.) while the agency will. You’ll usually know if you’re contacting a freelancer or an agency, but sometimes not. Many individuals use a company name, but operate as a small agency and have a team of contractors they rely on (this is mostly how I roll). IMO, if they can’t do something, they absolutely should be honest about it or honest that they are leaning on an outside source to provide the service.
Also note that this isn’t an exhaustive list, but I have put the questions I feel are the most important.
The Questions
- Tell me a little bit about yourself…
(NOTE: This one will probably take a lot people off guard and it’s best delivered on a phone call or Zoom/Teams because it really is a conversation starter. I’ll tell you why it’s a good question though–at the end of the day, us web designers are human and we’re working for other humans. When initially meeting someone new, you want to get to know a little bit about them to see if you “vibe” with them. You can ask them how they got into web design, how much experience they have, what embodies a great client to them and what type of projects “light them up”. You can even modify this question in many ways. For example, let’s say you’re a non-profit who connects unhoused individuals with resources. You could ask questions such as how they feel about what your organization does. You absolutely want a web designer who is aligned with your mission and values, so finding out straight away if they will align with those I think is a very important question.) - What is your level of experience in working within my industry?
(NOTE: A really great web designer will apply expertise gained through all of the projects they’ve worked on, even if they might not have worked in your specific industry. When this is the case, they should be able to at least explain how prior experience relates to your project and/or how they may do additional research prior to the project kick off in order to immerse themselves in your industry and fully understand your goals and audience. If their answers to all of your other questions and the quality of their work checks out, don’t hold it against them if they haven’t worked in your specific industry.) - Who would be working on my project?
(NOTE: If there’s any doubt, this should answer the question of whether they’re an individual/freelancer or if they’re a company/utilize contractors.) - How do you work/what’s your process?
(NOTE: A great web designer will have an established process to ensure that projects run smoothly.) - Will the design for my site be original, or do you use templates or pre-made themes?
(NOTE: This is a tricky question because MANY web designers DO use templates and pre-made themes. I’m not rallying against that per se, but if they are, they need to be honest about it–that you are NOT getting something totally custom for you. You also need to understand the implications of that. If something truly bespoke is what you’re after, this will uncover that this person/company may not be the best fit.) - How will my site be programmed?
(NOTE: Here’s where a lot of the technical terminology can come in. Most websites, not all, but most, are built on what are called Content Management Systems– CMS for short. This means they are database-driven and offer a “backend” or “admin” area where content can be edited and updated. A huge CMS is WordPress. Many web designers also use 3rd party platforms that act as content management systems such as Squarespace or Shopify. Make sure to ask additional questions if anything in the provided answer isn’t clear.) - How do you handle accessibility/ADA compliance?
(NOTE: Over the years this has become more and more important, and rightly so. You can read more about accessibility on our post here.) - How do you handle Search Engine Optimization?
(NOTE: I’ll say this up front–Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, is a whole industry itself that requires experience and technical skill. It’s often too much to take on as a freelancer or even small agency. There are also NO GUARANTEES when it comes to SEO and anyone who guarantees specific results or placement is not being honest with you. That said, I truly believe that all web designers should at least have some knowledge of how SEO works. There is also a whole facet to it called “technical SEO” that absolutely applies directly to the website build and programming.) - What are my responsibilities when working with you?
(NOTE: I speak from experience when I say that the most successful projects are ones where there is collaborative effort. Very few small business owners will simply “hand over the reins” to the web designer and the ones who do, often do so reluctantly or because they feel forced to do so BY the web designer … and then often end up unhappy with the results of the project. So be prepared to at least be a little invested and spend time on tasks such as answering questions, providing feedback, selecting images, producing copy or other content, etc.) - What about after my site launches … am I responsible for making updates, or do you offer to do updates and if so, what are the costs of that?
(NOTE: Some web designers really are just that and they do not provide on-going support, website maintenance, or updating. So it’s good to know if they do, or if they basically “hand off” the site to you to maintain after launch. This also relates to question #6 on programming. If your site framework is something like WordPress and has a CMS, you’ll need to know if the project cost includes training on that CMS. Also good to know is how they would handle something actually going wrong with the site within a certain timeframe after launch (like if a legitimate “bug” in programming is uncovered.) - What about website hosting and a domain name?
(NOTE: If the potential designer mentions they provide hosting, ask them if they are a reseller and if so, ask them who that company is and if they or that company would be providing support services if something were to go wrong with your hosting. If they say they can recommend hosting (you sign up with and pay that host directly), it’s good to find out the name of the host. You could do some quick Google searches on that host to see if they have any issues or bad reviews. And when it comes to domain names, one of the hills I’ll die on is that I 100% recommend that YOU always own your domain name. It’s fine to have your web designer assist you with how to purchase that or set it up, but make sure it’s in your/your company’s name and not in your designer’s name.) - What is the typical cost for a project like mine?
(NOTE: This assumes you’ve explained what you need in some detail. Telling a designer you “don’t really know what you need/want” is NOT going to produce a very accurate cost. They will need to know more details. A great web designer will ask you additional questions. They could also say something like, “Our range for sites is ____”. And that could give you a little bit of an idea on whether they are within your budget or not. BONUS: Check out our resources section for things like figuring out who your audience is and a project plan and questionnaire.) - What is the typical timeline for a project like mine?
(NOTE: Same as above in that the designer will need some details from you in order to answer this. Like the question above, they could also say something like, “Site typically take ____ amount of time to complete.”) - How do you handle issues should they arise?
(NOTE: You could elaborate on issues, such as project delays, changes in project specs, etc. and see how they answer. A great web designer will have some standard procedures in place to handle things like this.) - How do we measure success after the new website launches?
(NOTE: Remember, you want to already have specific goals in mind. For example, you want a specific increase in sales, you want to reach a new target audience, you’re rebranding and want to change the image of your company, etc. What your goals are will dictate what tools can be used to track success. So give the potential designer your goals and they should be able to recommend ways to track success.) - Can you send me some examples of other projects that you’ve done that really enjoyed working on?
(NOTE: You can swap out “that you really enjoyed working on” with other things such as, “that delivered real results for your client”, “that were successful for your client”, etc.) - What are the terms of your agreement and how do payments work?
(NOTE: Yes, this is 2 questions in one because a great web designer will have a standard agreement to sign before starting and that agreement will have payment terms noted. Also, most will be able to easily answer the payment terms question before you get to the agreement stage.) - Do you mind if I contact some of your past clients to see how it was to work with you?
(NOTE: This is a good one to see how they respond. Someone who is honest and does good work should have no hesitation in providing you with some contacts–which you can then follow up with asking questions like, “How did the project go?”, “How was it like working with them?”, “Were you happy with the design process and launch of your site?”, “If there were any issues, how did they handle them?”, “Could you share the link of the finished project?”, and “Would you recommend them to a colleague or friend?” Additionally, you can check external review sources such as Google or ones specific to designers and programmers like Clutch.co (here’s my own listing on Clutch.co.)
Bonus questions:
These can come in handy if specific scenarios apply to your business.
- (For an ecommerce project) What shopping cart solution do you recommend and why–benefits and any downsides? (NOTE: Everyone’s got their favorites and that is something to consider. They should still be able to clearly illustrate what the benefits and downsides are to their favorite solution though.)
- (For sensitive or proprietary business) Will you sign a Non-disclosure agreement (NDA)? (NOTE: If you need one, we have an NDA over on our resources page.)
Answering questions yourself…
A really great and professional web designer will also have questions for you. This is how they can provide you with a well-thought out and documented proposal and cost for your project.
So be prepared to fully describe things like:
- who you are, what you do, how long you’ve been doing it and why you do it;
- who your audience is;
- what are your overall goals for your business and for this website;
- do you have established branding / a brand guide;
- if you have an existing website, be able to explain the “why” of the redesign;
- if you have an existing website and there is analytics data, be able to provide that data;
- will you be able to provide content (text, images, etc.) for your website (if this is not something the designer is also offering);
- will you provide professional photography and/or will you be able to deliver photos/images you have the rights to use (licensing from a photography or stock company);
- do you have any external or 3rd party services that need to connect to the website;
- will you be working with an external marketing company OR will you need additional services such as marketing, search engine optimization, copywriting, graphic design, printing;
You can find some resources here that might help with some of the above.
