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

A website is one of the bigger checks a small business writes, and most owners hire a designer only once or twice. That makes it hard to know what to ask. This guide covers what to prepare, the questions that matter, and the red flags that show up before a project goes wrong.

If you're still working out a budget, start with our guide to what a small business website costs.

Prepare before the first call

A designer can give you a real quote only if you can answer these:

• What the site is for: calls, booked appointments, quote requests, or online sales. Pick the one that matters most.
• Who it's for: the customers you want more of, and what they search for when they need you.
• What pages you need. A typical service business needs a home page, a page per service, an about page, a contact page, and pages for the areas you serve.
• What you already have: logo, photos, existing text, and your current domain and hosting logins.

10 questions to ask a web designer

1. Can I see sites you've built for businesses like mine?

Ask for live sites and open them on your phone. Are they fast? Is it obvious what the business does and how to contact it?

2. What platform do you build on, and why?

WordPress, a custom build, or a builder like Squarespace can all be the right answer. The designer should be able to explain why their choice fits your business. Our WordPress vs. custom website guide covers the trade-offs.

3. Who owns the site when the project ends?

You should own your domain, your content, and the site itself, with hosting and admin logins in your name or handed over at launch. Some providers keep the site on their own platform, so leaving means starting over.

4. What exactly is included in the price?

Get a written scope: number of pages, who writes the text, stock photos or yours, number of revision rounds, forms, and integrations. Most disputes come from a scope nobody wrote down.

5. How do you set the site up for search?

A good answer covers page titles and headings, fast load times on phones, schema markup, a page for each service, and connecting the site to your Google Business Profile. If the designer says SEO is a separate service entirely, ask what the site will have at launch.

6. If I'm redesigning, how do you protect my rankings?

The answer should include a map of your old URLs and redirects to the new pages. Without them, a redesign can drop pages that have ranked for years.

7. How long will it take, and what do you need from me?

Small sites take a few weeks once content is ready. Ask what they need from you and when. Content from the client is the most common cause of delay.

8. What happens after launch?

Ask about hosting, updates, backups, and small changes. Get the monthly cost in writing. A site that nobody updates gets slower and less secure over time.

9. Can I edit the site myself?

If you want to change hours, photos, or a service description without calling anyone, make sure the site is built for that and that you'll get a walkthrough.

10. Who will I work with?

At an agency, ask whether the person on the sales call is the person doing the work. At a freelancer, ask what happens if they're unavailable.

Red flags

• No live examples, only mockups or sites that are no longer online.
• The designer registers the domain in their name. Register it yourself if you have to.
• A price with no scope, like "$2,000 for a website" with nothing in writing.
• No plan for redirects on a redesign.
• A proprietary platform with no way to export your site.

Freelancer, agency, or DIY?

A DIY builder costs the least and works for a business that just needs to be findable online. A freelancer is a good fit for a straightforward site when you can see strong past work. An agency makes sense when the site is a main source of leads and you want a team behind it. In every case, judge them on past work and support after launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose a web designer for my small business?

Look at sites they have built for businesses like yours, ask who owns the site and domain when the project ends, get a written scope with the page count and number of revisions, and ask how the site is set up for search. Compare quotes on what is included, not only the price.

What questions should I ask a web designer?

Ask to see similar work, what platform they build on, who owns the site and hosting accounts, what is included in the price, how many revisions you get, how long it takes, how the site is set up for SEO, and what ongoing maintenance costs.

Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?

A freelancer is often cheaper and you work directly with the person building the site. An agency brings a team and more process. For a small business site, the deciding factor is usually the quality of their past work and whether they will support the site after launch.

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VeloRank builds websites for Minneapolis and Twin Cities small businesses. See our Minneapolis web design packages and recent work, or ask us for an estimate.