Questions to Ask a Web Designer Before Hiring Them

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Questions to ask a web designer before hiring them aren’t always obvious, especially if you’ve never gone through the website design process before.Hiring a web designer is a pretty big investment, but most business owners don’t know what they’re actually supposed to ask before signing a contract. It’s easy to compare portfolios, prices, and the number of pages included, but what about the things you don’t even know to ask about? Before you hire a web designer, there are a handful of questions I’d ask to make sure you’re getting more than a pretty website. And because I’ve had a LOTTTTT of clients come to me after spending thousands on a website that was missing important pieces (oof), I’m also going to show you what questions to ask, what to look for in their answers and how you can cross-check their work in some cases. You don’t need to know how to build a website to know whether someone knows how to build one. You just need to know what to ask.

So, let’s get into it.

1. When you say “basic SEO” is included, what does that actually mean?

This is probably the first question I’d ask.

And don’t just ask, “Do you offer SEO?” because the answer is probably going to be yes.

Instead, ask:

“When you say basic SEO is included, what does that actually mean?”

I have a bit of a bone to pick with this one because “basic SEO” has become such a buzzword in the website design industry. I’ve seen it listed in package after package, and then I’ve had a LOT of clients come to me after spending thousands of dollars on a brand-new website only to find that the most basic on-page SEO wasn’t actually set up.

And, look, I don’t expect every website designer to be an SEO expert. That’s not what I’m saying. BUT there is a huge difference between offering ongoing SEO strategy and making sure a website has a solid SEO foundation before it launches. But if the web designer isn’t offering the on-page or technical SEO, you’re wasting your time. And be wary, because I have seen this listed on almost every designers site and SO many don’t actually do this at all, let alone correctly (which is wild to me, but alas).

So, what should “basic SEO” or “on-page SEO” actually include?

At a minimum, I’d expect a website designer offering basic SEO to address the foundational on-page elements of your website.

That means every important page should have a unique page title and meta description. These are the pieces that help search engines understand what each page is about and can influence how your page appears in search results. Your page title shouldn’t just say something generic like “Home | Jane Smith.” It should communicate what the page is actually about and, when appropriate, include the terms someone might search to find it.

Your website should also have a logical heading structure. Your main page topic should have an H1, with H2s and H3s used to organize the sections underneath it. This isn’t about cramming keywords into headings or obsessing over having exactly one H1 because Google says so. It’s about creating a clear hierarchy that makes sense to both the person reading the page and the search engine trying to understand it. But also, don’t have 15 H1’s that are all irrelevant on your homepage!? Generally, you’re usually shooting for ~ONE H1 per page and it should be the key thing you want that page to represent/be found in search for.

There should also be some thought behind your URLs, image alt text, internal links, and using relevant search terms naturally in the content. Your URLs should be concise and descriptive rather than a string of random characters. Images should have appropriate alt text when the image conveys meaningful information. Relevant pages should link to one another where it makes sense. And your important search terms should be incorporated naturally into your content rather than added as an afterthought.

Then there are some of the more technical basics that should at least be checked before launch: indexability, your XML sitemap, canonical tags when appropriate, redirects if you’re replacing an existing website, and whether your important pages are actually available for search engines to crawl.

And if your designer is setting up your website from scratch, I’d also want to know whether they’re connecting or checking Google Search Console and whether they’re looking at things like mobile performance and basic structured data where it makes sense for the site.

Does that mean all of this needs to be some huge, complicated SEO strategy?

No. This is “basic SEO”.

But here’s where I’d take it one step further.

Don’t just take their word for it. Check their work (because they be out here lyin’!!!!!)

This is something you can do yourself, even if you know absolutely nothing about SEO.

Install the free Ahrefs SEO Toolbar and run it on the designer’s own website.

Then pick one of their portfolio websites and check that, too.

You’re looking for some of those same basics we just talked about. Are there page titles? Are there meta descriptions? Does the page have a clear heading structure? Are the pages indexable? Are images using alt text? Are there obvious issues that make you wonder what they meant when they said “basic SEO”?

Because unfortunately, I’ve seen this so, so, so much in this industry. A designer knows SEO is something they’re supposed to mention, so “basic SEO” gets added to the services page. But when you actually look at the websites they’re building, the implementation tells a completely different story.

I’ve had clients come to me after paying thousands for a website that was developed without these basic on-page pieces in place. They thought they were getting a website with SEO included because that’s what the package said.

And they weren’t wrong for assuming that.

If a designer says SEO is included, you should be able to trust that the basics have actually been handled.

And if you open up one of their portfolio sites and discover missing page titles, missing meta descriptions, a completely chaotic heading structure, or 10 H1 tags on a single page?

🚩 RUN

(To be clear, having more than one H1 isn’t automatically an SEO disaster. Google doesn’t have a rule that says your page is going to be penalized because you have two H1s.) But if I’m looking at a typical small-business website and I see H1s everywhere, it tells me the person building the site may not have a strong understanding of heading hierarchy or how to structure a page.

And that’s exactly why I want you to look at their own website and their portfolio. Don’t just ask what they do. See what they actually do. You can do this before a discovery call/before you even reach out to them (and you should!!!)

Then, listen for the buzz words of what basic SEO is that we talked about earlier. Say you’re vaguely familiar so they don’t floof some response to you and just categorize it as basic SEO without even being able to tell you what that is.

BTW: basic SEO is not a promise that your website will rank #1 on Google. No legitimate web designer can guarantee that. SEO is an ongoing process, and your rankings depend on a whole lot more than whether your designer filled out your page titles. So, if they are promising you that without a long-term SEO strategy, I would run from that too lol.

But, what your designer can do is make sure your website launches with a solid foundation instead of making you go back and fix the basics months later.

2. What happens when the project is over?

This is another one I would absolutely ask before signing a contract.

Not because you should be planning your breakup with your web designer before you’ve even started working together lol, but because you need to know what happens to your website after the project is finished.

Ask:

“What does your offboarding process look like once my website is launched?”

And I don’t just mean, “You send me the final invoice and we’re done.”

What happens next?

Will you walk me through my website? Will I know how to make basic changes myself? Do you offer support after launch? How long does that support last? What happens if I need help six months from now? Can I hire you for updates?

And, probably most importantly, what happens to my website if I decide I don’t want to work with you anymore?

You want to know this stuff before you’ve already handed over thousands of dollars.

Let’s talk about ownership.

Different website platforms and hosting setups have different requirements, so there isn’t one universal answer here.

A Showit website, WordPress website, Squarespace website, Shopify site, etc. can all work differently when it comes to hosting, subscriptions, domains, accounts, plugins, integrations and what you actually take with you if you leave.

You don’t need to know what all of those things mean.

Your designer/developer should.

You should be able to ask:

“Who owns my website and the account it’s built in?”

“Who owns my domain?”

“Will I have my own login and access to the accounts I need?”

“If I decide to work with another designer in the future, what happens?”

And if you don’t understand the answer, ask them to dumb it down for you. It’s really not a complicated answer, and they shouldn’t be beating around the bush on this.

If they can’t clearly explain where your website lives, who owns the account, what you have access to, and what happens if you leave, that’s a problem.

You don’t want to find out six months after your website launches that your designer owns the account your website is sitting in, controls your domain, or is the only person with access to something your business relies on.

Your website is a business asset. You should understand what you own and what happens to it if the relationship ends.

Then there’s the actual handoff.

I’d also want to know what happens when your website goes live.

Will someone show you how to make basic updates? Do you receive training? Is there a recorded walkthrough you can refer back to? Do you get a certain amount of post-launch support? Are you expected to figure everything out yourself once the site is live?

There isn’t one right way to do this.

Some designers offer a training call. Some send a video. Some include a period of post-launch support. Some offer ongoing maintenance. Some hand everything over and you’re completely on your own.

The important thing is that you know which one you’re getting.

And this is another place where you can cross-check what you’re being promised.

Look at the contract before you sign it.

If your designer tells you during your discovery call that you’ll have two weeks of post-launch support, but the contract doesn’t mention it, ask about it. If they tell you they’ll train you on the website, make sure that’s actually included somewhere. If they say you’ll own everything, make sure you understand exactly what “everything” means for the platform they’re using.

Again, you don’t need to understand all of the technical stuff.

But you do want to hire someone who can explain it to you clearly, tell you exactly what happens when the project ends, and make sure you’re not left wondering what the hell you’re supposed to do with your website once they disappear into the sunset.

3. What exactly am I responsible for during the project?

This is another one I’d ask before you hire someone, especially if this is your first time going through a website project.

Because if you’ve never done this before, you probably have NO idea what to expect. You might assume you sign the contract, send over your logo and photos, answer a few questions, and then your designer disappears for a couple of weeks and comes back with a finished website.

But there’s usually a whoooooooole lot that happens before you ever see a design.

So ask:

“What exactly am I responsible for during the project, and what does your typical process look like?”

I’d want them to actually walk you through this. What happens after you book? Is there prep work before the design begins? Do they have a questionnaire, workbook or strategy process? Are you responsible for writing all of your own website copy? Do they provide copy guidance? Do you need to find all of your own photos, or can they help you source stock photography? When do they need your content? When will you actually see the first design? How do revisions work? How long does the whole process typically take?

Tbh, I think this is something a lot of first-time website clients don’t realize until they’re already in the middle of the project. There can be a LOT of work that happens before the designer ever opens up their design program (there is if we work together! But it’s good and fun and the majority of my clients call out my Branding Workbook in their review because of how great it is for their own business)

A good website designer should be able to explain what happens during that time and, more importantly, what they need from you during it.

For example, if their process involves a bunch of strategy and content planning before they design anything, great! That’s something I actually want you to know because it means you’re not going to spend the first two weeks wondering why you haven’t seen a homepage yet. If they need you to complete a questionnaire, provide your copy, gather photos, fill out a workbook or review a creative direction document before design begins, you should know that upfront so you can actually plan for it.

And this is where I’d get really specific about anything that sounds vague.

If they say “I help with copy,” ask what that means. Are they writing it? Editing what you already have? Giving you prompts? Helping you organize it? Making sure it’s the right length for the design? Reviewing it for SEO?

Same thing with photos. If they say they can “help with images,” does that mean they’ll source stock photography for you, give you recommendations, or simply tell you that you need photos?

There isn’t necessarily one right answer here. Different designers have completely different processes, and that’s okay. You just need to know what you’re signing up for.

I’d also ask about the timeline. How long does a typical project take? What can cause that timeline to change? What happens if you’re late getting them something they need? How much time will you have to review things and give feedback?

Because a website project isn’t just about how long the designer needs to build the website. Your timeline can also depend on how quickly you complete your prep work, provide content, give feedback and approve things along the way.

And I’d pay attention to how clearly they explain all of this to you.

You deff don’t need a 47-page project plan with every single day mapped out, but you should leave the conversation understanding what happens next, what they need from you and what you can expect from them.

You are responsible for your part of the project. You just shouldn’t have to figure out what your part is.

If you’re hiring someone for your first website and they can’t clearly explain what the process looks like before, during and after the design phase, I’d probably consider that a red flag (although I have had 60 minute calls where we yap and I don’t even go over the process (it’s in my Proposal, so they can see it) and I’m like welp, we’re besties now, but they have no idea what’s next until I send them this proposal). So forgetting it isn’t necessarily because they’re a bad designer, but because you don’t want to discover halfway through a $5,000 website project that you were supposed to have written 30 pages of copy and gathered 87 photos before they could even start.

Ask before you book. It will save you a LOT of confusion later.

Final thoughts

Hiring a web designer can feel a little overwhelming, especially when you don’t know what you don’t know.

And that’s really the point of this whole post. You don’t need to become a web designer before you hire one. You don’t need to understand SEO, hosting, DNS, responsive design, website platforms, or any of the other technical stuff that gets thrown around when you’re trying to build a website for your business.

But you should feel comfortable asking questions.

Ask what “basic SEO” actually means. Ask what happens when the project is over. Ask what you’re responsible for during the process. Ask them to explain the things you don’t understand instead of nodding along and hoping you figure it out later.

And then, where you can, look at their work.

Don’t just take someone’s services page at face value because it says “SEO included” or “strategic website design” or “fully managed website.” Look at their own website. Look at their portfolio. Read the contract. Read their reviews (REAL ones, on Google/Yelp/Directories, etc. – not just ones they put on their own website) Ask questions. Pay attention to whether their answers actually make sense.

Because you’re not just hiring someone to make your website look good. You’re hiring someone to build a HUGE and significant piece of your business. And IMO, you deserve to know what you’re actually paying for before you hand over the money.

You don’t need to know how to build a website to know whether someone knows how to build one. You just need to know what to ask. And if you read this and still have questions about the questions, comment below. I am more than happy to guide you in the right direction here – and it’s something I am passionate about after about 45 VIP Days spent fixing other designer’s work.

Still Have Questions?