How to Choose a Web Development Agency: 12 Questions to Ask

Every web design company has a nice portfolio. That's the easy part. What you really need to know is how they work, what you'll own at the end and what happens after launch. These questions will tell you far more than a portfolio page, and a good agency will be happy to answer all of them.

About the project

1. What do you need to know before quoting?

If they send a price after one email with no questions, be careful. A proper quote needs to understand your goals, pages, features, content and timeline.

2. Which platform do you recommend, and why?

Listen for reasons tied to your needs, not just what they always use. A good answer mentions who will edit the site, how it will grow and what it costs to maintain. We compare two common options in Next.js vs WordPress.

3. Who writes the content?

Content delays most projects. Find out whether copywriting is included, and if not, when they need your text.

4. What does the process look like, step by step?

You want clear stages, approvals and a realistic timeline, not "we'll send it when it's ready".

About quality

5. How do you handle SEO during the build?

Look for specifics: page titles and descriptions, heading structure, clean URLs, schema, sitemap, redirects from the old site and Search Console setup. "SEO-friendly" on its own means nothing.

6. How fast will the site be?

Ask how they measure speed and whether they'll share PageSpeed or Core Web Vitals results at launch.

7. Is the site accessible and mobile-first?

Most visitors are on phones. The site should be designed for mobile first and follow basic accessibility practices like readable contrast and keyboard navigation.

About ownership and cost

8. Will I own the domain, hosting, code and content?

Website ownership should be yours. Domains registered in the agency's name and code you can't take elsewhere are common problems and hard to fix later.

9. What's included in the price, and what isn't?

Ask for an itemised quote. Check revisions, stock images, plugins or licences, hosting, email and training. It makes comparing website development cost across quotes much fairer. Our guide to what a business website costs explains typical ranges.

10. What are the ongoing costs?

Hosting, domain renewal, licences, maintenance. You should know the yearly cost before you start.

About after launch

11. What happens if something breaks?

Is there a warranty period? What does support cost after that? How quickly do they respond?

12. Can my team update the site?

You should be able to change text, images and blog posts without calling a developer. Ask for a short demo or training.

Agency red flags

• Guaranteed first-page Google rankings.
• No written contract or scope.
• They won't tell you which platform or hosting they use.
• Very low price with no clear list of what's included.
• Every portfolio site looks like the same template.
• Slow, vague replies before you've even paid.

One more tip

Ask to speak to a past client, or at least check that the portfolio sites are live, fast and still working. How an agency's work holds up a year later tells you a lot.

If you'd like to ask us these questions, we're happy to answer every one. Start with our web development services or send us your project details.