For most small businesses, the website is the first place a potential customer checks before they call, book or buy. That makes choosing who builds it an important decision, and an easy one to get wrong. If you choose the wrong website designer, you can end up with a site you cannot update, a bill that keeps growing, or a good-looking design that never brings in an enquiry.
This guide sets out a practical way to choose a website designer. It covers what to sort out before you contact anyone, how freelancers and agencies compare, the questions to ask, the warning signs to watch for and what a good project looks like.
Start with your goals, not the design
Before you look at a single portfolio, write down what the website needs to do for your business. A designer can only build the right thing once you have decided what “right” means for you. Spend half an hour on these questions:
- What is the website’s main job? Generating enquiries, taking bookings, selling online, or reassuring people before they phone you.
- Who are your customers? What they search for, and what usually stops them getting in touch.
- What must the site include? For example a contact form, an online shop, a booking calendar, a portfolio or a blog.
- What is your budget and timescale? Include ongoing costs such as hosting, domain renewal and maintenance as well as the build.
- Who will update it? If you plan to add news, products or posts yourself, ease of editing matters as much as appearance.
Put your answers on one page. A short brief like this speeds up every conversation and gives you a fair way to compare responses. At Strategic Site Solutions we begin every project with a similar questionnaire, because the answers shape everything that follows. You can see how this works in our website design process.
Freelance web designer vs agency: which suits you?
No single type of website designer is best for everyone. The right choice depends on the size of the project and how you like to work.
- A freelance web designer usually means you deal directly with the person doing the work. Communication tends to be quick and costs are often lower. Check how they cover holidays or illness, and whether they can handle copywriting, e-commerce and ongoing support.
- A small studio brings a few specialists together (for example a designer, a developer and a writer) while keeping the relationship personal.
- A larger agency can manage complex builds with many integrations, but you may pay for layers of account management and wait longer for small changes.
For most small and medium-sized businesses, the size of the supplier matters less than whether they understand your business and have done projects like yours.
How to judge a portfolio properly
Screenshots can make any website look good, so open the live sites instead and use them as a customer would. Load them on your phone and check they are easy to read without zooming. Note whether pages load reasonably quickly and whether it is obvious what each business does and how to contact it. Look for variety, too. If every client has the same template with a new logo, your site will probably look the same. You can browse our own work for charities, product brands, authors and service businesses on our portfolio page.
Questions to ask a website designer before you hire
Once you have a shortlist of two or three, arrange a call with each and ask them all the same questions. Their answers will tell you a lot, and so will how clearly they explain them.
- What platform will you build on, and why? A good designer explains why a platform suits your needs. WordPress, for instance, is flexible and widely supported, which helps if you ever change supplier. Our guide on how to choose the right CMS for your website goes into more detail.
- Will I own the domain, hosting and website files? The domain should be registered in your business’s name and you should have administrator access. If the relationship ends, you need to be able to take your site with you.
- What exactly is included in the price? Ask about the number of pages, rounds of revisions, copywriting, images and what counts as extra work.
- What are the ongoing costs? Hosting, renewals, premium plugins, security and maintenance should be listed up front.
- Will the site work well on mobile? Many visitors will see your site on a phone first, and Google mainly uses the mobile version of a page for indexing. See our article on mobile-first indexing and website design.
- How do you handle search engine basics? Page titles, meta descriptions, headings, image alt text, speed and a sensible structure should be part of the build, not an afterthought.
- Can I update the site myself? Ask whether training or a short guide is included, so you are not paying for every small edit.
- What happens after launch? Find out what support, backups and updates are offered, what they cost and how quickly problems are fixed.
Red flags to watch out for
Some warning signs deserve attention, even when the price looks attractive:
- No questions about your business. A designer who talks only about their tools is unlikely to build something that serves your customers.
- Vague quotes. A single figure with no breakdown makes it easy for extras to appear later.
- Guaranteed first-page rankings. Nobody can promise a particular position in Google.
- The designer keeps the domain or logins. This can leave you stuck if you want to move on.
- No written agreement. Even a short contract covering scope, timescales, payments and ownership protects both sides.
Compare value, not just price
The cheapest quote can hide costs. A site that is hard to update, slow to load or impossible to move may cost more over a few years than a properly planned build. Put the quotes side by side against your one-page brief and check that each one covers the same pages, features, content, search basics, training and aftercare. The most expensive quote is not automatically the best either. Choose the proposal that shows the supplier has listened to your goals, explains its process clearly and is honest about what is excluded.
What a good website project looks like
A well-run project usually moves through clear stages:
- Discovery: understanding your goals, customers and competitors.
- Planning: agreeing the pages, features and site map.
- Design: layouts that reflect your brand, refined with your feedback.
- Development: building a responsive site and adding your content.
- Testing: checking forms, links, speed and display on different devices.
- Launch and handover: going live, with logins, training and a support plan.
Throughout the project, you should know which stage you are at, what is needed from you and when the next milestone is due. Regular updates in plain English are one of the clearest signs that you have chosen well.
Your quick checklist
- Write a one-page brief covering goals, audience, features and budget.
- Shortlist two or three designers whose live sites you have tested on your phone.
- Ask each designer the same questions and compare the answers.
- Confirm that you will own your domain, hosting and website files.
- Get a written quote and agreement covering scope, costs and aftercare.
- Choose the designer who understands your business, not just the lowest price.
Ready to talk about your website?
Choosing a website designer is much easier once you know what you need and what to ask. If you would like a friendly, no-obligation chat about a new website or improving your current one, take a look at our website design and development services or get in touch with Strategic Site Solutions. We will listen first, ask the right questions and give you a clear, honest proposal.