21 questions to ask a web designer before you sign
Most lists give you the questions and stop, which is no help if you cannot tell a good answer from a bad one. Here is each question, the reply that should reassure you, and the reply that should worry you, plus our own answer to each.
Section one
Ownership: domain, hosting, logins
The rest of this list is about getting a good website. This part is about still having one in three years. First, check what you own before you move.
Whose name goes on the domain registration?
Whose name is on the hosting account?
Do I get every login at launch, in writing?
Who owns the copyright once I have paid?
Section two
Price: what is fixed and what is not
The gap between a quote and an estimate is where most projects go wrong. See also UK website costs explained.
Is that figure fixed, or is it an estimate?
What exactly would trigger an extra charge?
What are the ongoing costs, and who do I pay?
When do I pay, and how much before I see anything?
Section three
The build: template, theme or drawn from scratch
A well chosen theme is not a scandal. What matters is being told which one you are buying.
Drawn from scratch, or built on an existing theme?
What is it built on, and could another developer take over?
How will it perform on a mid-range phone?
Who writes the words?
Section four
Search: included, or sold to you later
Building a site so search engines can read it is part of building it. Ranking for competitive terms is a different job with its own price.
What search work is inside the build price?
What search work is not included?
Will Search Console and analytics sit in my own account?
Section five
After launch: changes, updates, who answers
Small business sites are rarely hacked. They are neglected. A form quietly stops sending and nobody notices for five weeks.
How do I change a phone number, and what does that cost?
What does maintenance actually cover?
If it goes down on a Friday, who do I contact?
Section six
Paperwork: revisions, cancellation, the date
Nobody enjoys this part. It is the difference between a disagreement and a dispute.
How many rounds of revisions, and what counts as one?
What is the delivery date, and what if it slips?
If I cancel halfway, what do I owe and keep?
One honest thing first
If your business is genuinely simple and you have more time than money, Squarespace or Wix is a sensible answer. About £12 a month buys software that works.
Two things to weigh. The price is not yours to control: Squarespace raised UK plan prices by up to 26 per cent in July 2026 at renewal, with no announcement. And the fee buys the tool, not the decisions about what to say and what goes first.
Our answers
All twenty one, answered in public
CDF Design is new, with no client list, so we will not win this on reputation. Instead we publish our answers where you can hold them against the other quotes.
- Domain. Registered in your name, on your account.
- Hosting. Your account, your card. We are a user, removed on request.
- Logins. All of them, in a written handover at launch.
- Copyright. Assigned to you on final payment. Ask for the clause.
- Price. One fixed figure, agreed before work starts, from £470+VAT.
- Extras. Only what you request outside scope, agreed first.
- Ongoing costs. Domain and hosting, paid by you at supplier rates.
- Payment. Nothing until the site is built and you have seen it.
- Templates. Drawn for your business. We do not resell themes.
- Platform. Standard technology any competent developer could take over.
- Speed. Mobile first, measured on Core Web Vitals. Test this page.
- Copy. Included on most projects, or write it yourself.
- Search, included. Titles, headings, sitemap, schema, speed, search-led copy.
- Search, extra. An ongoing campaign. Separate job, separate price.
- Analytics. Your Google account, us as a user. The history stays yours.
- Changes. Small edits yourself, anything else at a stated rate.
- Maintenance. Updates, certificates, off-server backups, bot protection. A defined job.
- Contact. The designer who built it. No account manager, no queue.
- Revisions. A stated number in the quote. Our mistakes are free.
- Delivery. A real date in the quote, two to four weeks. See how our three steps work.
- Cancellation. You have not paid, so you can leave owing nothing.
Section eight
Three answers that should end the conversation
Most weak answers deserve a follow up. These three do not.
We register the domain on our account, it is simpler
Simpler for them. It turns your web address into something you rent from a supplier you may leave.
We build on our own platform, so you cannot host it elsewhere
Not a technical constraint, a commercial one. It removes any chance of a second quote.
We cannot put a delivery date in writing
Every other trade manages it. A supplier who will not name a date has a diary belonging to somebody else.
Ask us all twenty one.
Email hello@cdfdesign.co.uk or use the form, and a designer calls you back within 48 hours. If we are not right for you we will say so.
No obligation, and nothing to pay until you have seen your site working.
Keep reading
Also worth a look: every article on the blog, the rest of our answers, and one fixed figure, agreed before work starts.