Question 1

Who writes the copy, and how do you decide what to write about?

Accepted Answer

This is the most commonly skipped part of an offer and the most common reason a finished site sits empty for months. A good answer from a provider: Names a specific person, states how many pages the price covers, and explains where the topics come from: your customers, search demand, the questions you get on the phone.

Question 2

What platform will the site run on, and can I move it to another provider?

Accepted Answer

Some providers build on their own in-house system, which does not exist outside their company. That is not theft, but it means you can never change provider without paying for a new site. A good answer from a provider: Names a platform that exists publicly, and confirms that on termination you receive the files and the database.

Question 3

Whose name will the domain and hosting be registered under?

Accepted Answer

The domain is the one thing you cannot recover if the relationship breaks down. Everything else can be rebuilt. A good answer from a provider: The domain is in your name and your account, with technical access for the provider. Hosting may sit with them, as long as you get access on request.

Question 4

How will we know whether the site works, and who sets up the measurement?

Accepted Answer

A site without measurement is a site nobody can say anything about six months later. Including you. A good answer from a provider: Says they will track the specific actions you care about: form submitted, phone tapped, quote downloaded. Not just visits.

Question 5

What does support include, and what does a change cost after launch?

Accepted Answer

This is where the difference between the quote and the real first-year cost hides. A €900 site with changes at €80 an hour is not a €900 site. A good answer from a provider: Clearly separates maintenance from development: updates and security monthly, versus an hourly or package rate for new work, with example prices.

Question 6

How many rounds of design revisions does the price include, and what happens after them?

Accepted Answer

Without a written number of rounds the project either stalls at the design stage, or every further change becomes a dispute and an extra invoice. A good answer from a provider: Names a number, usually two or three rounds, explains what counts as a round, and states the price of changes beyond them.

Question 7

Who prepares the mandatory legal texts: terms, privacy, cookies?

Accepted Answer

These pages are a legal requirement, not decoration, and they are almost never included in the price without that being said. A good answer from a provider: States clearly that the legal texts come from a lawyer, yours or a recommended one, and that the site will have working cookie consent if data is collected.

Question 8

Which devices and browsers will the site be tested on before launch?

Accepted Answer

Most of your visitors will arrive on a phone, and testing at one desk in one browser misses exactly them. A good answer from a provider: Lists specific devices and browsers, including an older phone, and says who runs the tests and when.

Question 9

How fast will the site load, and who is responsible if it is slow?

Accepted Answer

A slow site loses visitors before they see anything, and speed is decided during the build, not after it. A good answer from a provider: Commits to a measurable value, for example a score in Google’s free test, and says what they do if it is not reached.

Question 10

What does the post-launch warranty cover, and how long does it last?

Accepted Answer

Bugs appear after handover too, and without an agreement every one of them is a new invoice. A good answer from a provider: Gives a period, usually one to three months, in which discovered defects are fixed for free, and distinguishes a defect from a new request.

Question 11

Who will actually do the work: you or subcontractors?

Accepted Answer

There is nothing wrong with subcontractors, but the person in the meeting and the person writing the code are often different people with different quality. A good answer from a provider: Answers honestly who does what and who your contact is when there is a problem.

Question 12

What are all the first-year costs beyond the build itself?

Accepted Answer

Hosting, domain, theme and plugin licences, email service: the small amounts add up and nobody has stated them in one place. A good answer from a provider: Gives a list of the yearly costs in numbers, and says which are paid to them and which directly to the vendors.

Question 13

Whose are the photos and illustrations, and are the rights cleared?

Accepted Answer

An image taken from the internet without a licence can bring a claim years later, and it arrives at your door, not the builder’s. A good answer from a provider: Says where the images come from and under what licence, and that the list of sources stays with you.

Question 14

Will I see a working version during the build?

Accepted Answer

A project shown only at the end gets reworked at the end, when changes are most expensive. A good answer from a provider: Gives you the address of a staging version and interim points where you approve what is done.

Question 15

What do you need from me and by when, so the project does not stall?

Accepted Answer

A large share of late projects are waiting on the client: texts, photos, access, approvals, without anyone having said so in time. A good answer from a provider: Gives you a list of your tasks with deadlines before the start, and says what happens to the end date if you are late.

Question 16

If we are redesigning an existing site, what happens to the old page addresses?

Accepted Answer

Even an ordinary site accumulates search presence over the years, and a new face with changed addresses erases it overnight. A good answer from a provider: Asks what pages exist now, which of them get visits, and plans a redirect from every old address to its new equivalent.

Website build: The questions

Ask these before you pay