Read more: see what a flat-fee rebuild includes.
What we found. Out of 28,046 sites checked, the broken ones disproportionately came from designers who had moved on. The pattern is consistent: a small business pays a designer, the site works for a year or two, the designer stops responding, and the site rots.
The 10 questions
Ask these in order. If the answer to any of them is "we will get back to you," walk away.
- Who owns the files when the project is done?
- Who owns the domain?
- What happens to the site if your company stops trading?
- How much is the monthly fee, and what does it cover?
- What is not in the monthly fee?
- Can I move the site to a different host without losing it?
- How long does it take to get a change made after launch?
- What is the renewal cost for the domain?
- Do I get a backup of the site?
- Is the price in writing?
Why this list exists
A lot of the broken sites in our study were not bad sites when they were built. They were good sites, built by someone who has since stopped answering the phone. The owner paid $1,500 up front, the site worked for two years, and then it did not, and the designer was not reachable.
The list above catches that pattern before the money changes hands.
Questions we get about this
What if the designer is a friend?
The questions still apply. The friend is the one who will be most embarrassed when the answer to "who owns the files" turns out to be ambiguous.
Is it normal to pay the full amount up front?
No. A 50/50 split is standard. The last 50% is paid when the site is live.
What if the designer answers everything correctly?
Then you have probably found a good one. Pay them.
Ready to 10 questions to ask before you pay a web designer?
Email shoaib@localsiteshop.com and tell us about the site. We will reply same day with a fixed quote and a date.
Email usOr first, run your site through the free checker and see the verdict in 10 seconds.