By Bilal Hashimi ·
By Bilal Hashimi
Hiring a web designer for your business is one of those purchases where you don't know what you don't know — until you're paying for it. Before you hand anyone money, here are the questions I'd ask before hiring a web designer. The answers will tell you, fast, whether you're talking to someone who builds sites that book jobs or someone who builds pretty brochures.
1. Who owns the website when it's done?
Ask this first, and get the answer in writing. Who owns the domain name? Who owns the website files? Who holds the login credentials for the hosting? I've written about this before — read this breakdown of exactly what to lock down before you pay (opens in a new tab) — but the short version: if you pay for a website and can't take it with you when the relationship ends, you didn't buy a website. You rented one.
A straight answer sounds like: "You do. Everything is registered in your name, and you'll have full access from day one."
2. What does the total price cover — and what costs extra later?
Don't ask "how much is a website?" Ask what a specific website costs with everything included: design, build, copywriting (or do you write the words yourself?), photography, hosting, and any monthly fees. A quote of "$800" and a final invoice of "$800 plus $40/month hosting plus $200 for SEO setup" are two different deals.
Pin down the recurring costs too. Hosting, domain renewal, maintenance — get the annual number in writing. Before you sign anything, it's worth reading the real numbers behind builders vs. designers for contractors (opens in a new tab).
3. What will you do so my site shows up on Google?
A website Google can't find is a billboard in the desert. Ask specifically: will the site have a page for each service I offer, and for each area I serve? Will the page titles and descriptions be written for the searches my customers actually type — "roof repair Ottawa" — not "Excellence in Craftsmanship"?
You don't need to understand SEO. You need to hear a specific plan, not a shrug and "we'll add SEO."
4. Can I see sites you've built for businesses like mine — and are they still live?
Portfolios are easy to fake with mockups. Ask for live sites you can click through on your phone. Then do something most buyers never do: check whether those sites actually work. Load them on your phone. Is the phone number visible without scrolling? Does the contact form submit? Would you call them?
One more question that filters hard: "Can I talk to one of those clients?" Some clients genuinely ask to stay private, and that's legitimate — but most happy ones are fine being a reference.
5. What happens after the site launches?
A website launch is the start, not the finish. Ask who fixes things when something breaks, how fast, and what it costs. Ask whether you'll get help updating prices, adding services, or posting photos of new jobs. I've covered what happens after a website launches (opens in a new tab) in detail, but at minimum you want a plain answer to this: if my contact form breaks on a Friday, who do I call and how fast is it fixed?
6. Can I update the site myself?
Even if you'd rather never touch it, the answer tells you how the site was built. A good designer builds on something you could manage — and shows you how. A designer who wants to keep you dependent turns every small change into a new invoice.
Ask for a short training session at handover, written down or recorded. It should take thirty minutes, not a course.
7. How will I know it's working?
This is the question almost nobody asks, and it's the one that matters most. Ask what they'll measure and how you'll see it: calls, form submissions, "get a quote" clicks. A designer who builds to book jobs will talk about calls and leads. A designer who builds to win design awards will talk about how it looks.
At minimum, your site should have simple tracking so you can see how many people called from it each month. If the designer's eyes glaze over at this question, keep looking.
8. What's the timeline, and what do you need from me?
Delays kill projects. Ask for a written timeline with two dates: when the designer needs your content (photos, logo, service list) and when the site goes live. Most stalled projects stall because the content never arrived — but a good designer will chase you for it with a deadline, not go quiet for six weeks.
Ask all eight questions and you'll learn everything that matters about a web designer in one conversation: whether you'll own what you pay for, what it really costs, and whether the finished site is built to book jobs or just to look good in a portfolio. The best designer isn't the cheapest or the most artistic — it's the one with specific answers and no hedging.
We build websites for Ottawa-area contractors that book jobs — see what OneS Automation does (opens in a new tab).