How to Choose a Web Developer: 15 Questions to Ask
An impressive portfolio does not guarantee an on-time launch, a stable budget or full ownership of your website, source code and accounts after the project is completed.
Before signing a contract, you need to assess more than the visual quality of previous projects. You should understand how the contractor defines the scope, calculates the price, manages approvals, tests the website, prepares it for search engines and transfers the final product to your business.
The following 15 questions will help you distinguish a reliable development partner from a contractor selling an attractive presentation without clear responsibilities.
What to check before ordering a website
- The business goal
- Relevant experience
- The project team
- Live projects and reviews
- What the price includes
- Possible additional costs
- Stages, deadlines and approvals
- Technology and CMS
- Code, domain and account ownership
- Basic SEO preparation
- Performance and technical quality
- Content responsibilities
- Integrations and analytics
- Testing and acceptance
- Post-launch support
1. What business goal should the website achieve?
A professional team will not begin with colours, animations or the number of pages. It will first determine why the business needs a website: generating leads, supporting paid advertising, presenting services, selling products, automating a process or entering a new market.- Good answer: the contractor asks about your audience, offer, competitors, traffic sources and desired visitor action.
- Red flag: you are immediately offered a template, design or platform before the business goal is understood.
- How to verify: ask the contractor to describe the main purpose of the future website in one sentence.
2. Does the contractor have relevant experience?
Experience in your exact industry can be useful, but it is not always essential. It may be more important that the team has worked with a similar business model, such as local services, B2B sales, franchises, online booking, product catalogues or advertising landing pages.- Good answer: the team presents comparable challenges and explains which solutions could be adapted to your project.
- Red flag: the contractor claims that the same website structure works for every business.
- How to verify: ask which risks and opportunities the contractor sees in your particular market.
3. Who will actually work on the project?
An agency name does not tell you who will build your website. The work may be outsourced to a freelancer or a junior specialist you have never met.- Good answer: you are introduced to the responsible manager, designer, developer and quality reviewer.
- Red flag: the contractor will only determine the team after receiving the deposit.
- How to verify: ask who makes decisions, collects feedback and is personally responsible for deadlines.
4. Can you see real, live projects?
Portfolio screenshots do not prove that a website was developed, launched and delivered to a client. Ask for two or three active websites and a clear explanation of the work the contractor completed. Check whether the company distinguishes design concepts from genuine client work. The TimeKairos case studies, for example, present real projects together with the original challenge, technology and outcome.- Good answer: the contractor shares live links and accurately describes its contribution.
- Red flag: the portfolio contains only mock-ups without addresses of launched websites.
- How to verify: open the websites on a smartphone and test the menu, contact information, forms and loading speed.
5. What exactly is included in the price?
The phrase “website development” may describe very different scopes of work. One estimate may include only design and front-end development, while another includes research, structure, copy, programming, analytics, SEO preparation and launch. Ask whether the proposal includes:- business and competitor research;
- page structure and wireframes;
- custom visual design;
- responsive mobile layouts;
- front-end and back-end development;
- forms, integrations and analytics;
- basic SEO preparation;
- testing and deployment;
- account access and documentation.
- Good answer: the estimate is divided into stages and specific deliverables.
- Red flag: the proposal contains only one total price with no detailed scope.
- How to verify: request a list of the files, accounts and deliverables you will receive at the end.
6. What could lead to additional charges?
A price change is not always a sign of a dishonest contractor. Additional pages, new integrations or changes to approved functionality can reasonably increase the budget. The real risk is having no agreed rules for additional work.- Good answer: the team explains how many revisions are included and how new requests are estimated.
- Red flag: the price is described as approximate, with no agreed budget limit.
- How to verify: ask for three examples of situations that could change the final cost.
7. What are the project stages, deadlines and approval points?
Without a staged process, the client may see the website only near the end, when structural changes have become expensive. The project should normally be divided into research, structure, design, development, content, testing and launch.- Good answer: the contractor provides a project schedule showing when your approval is required.
- Red flag: the team promises to show everything only when the website is finished.
- How to verify: ask how the launch date changes when either the contractor or client delays an approval.
8. Which technology will be used, and do you need a CMS?
You do not need to understand every programming language. However, you should understand why the proposed technology suits the project, how much maintenance may cost and whether the website can grow with the business. A CMS can be valuable when your team frequently adds services, products, employees or articles. For a small presentation website updated only a few times a year, a complicated administration system may create unnecessary costs and technical risks.- Good answer: the contractor explains advantages, limitations and realistic alternatives.
- Red flag: one platform is presented as the best solution for every project.
- How to verify: ask how the website could be updated, transferred and expanded two years from now.
9. Who will own the code, domain and accounts?
Once the project has been paid for, the business should control its digital asset. The domain, hosting, analytics, corporate email, advertising accounts and code repository should not remain exclusively under the contractor’s accounts.- Good answer: the contract confirms that you receive the code, files, account access and the right to hire another specialist.
- Red flag: the website can operate only inside the contractor’s closed account or requires mandatory monthly payments with no transfer option.
- How to verify: request a written list of all credentials and assets that will be transferred after launch.
10. What is included in basic SEO preparation?
Basic SEO does not mean guaranteed rankings. It is the technical foundation that helps search engines crawl, index and understand your pages correctly. The basic scope may include:- a logical heading structure;
- editable page titles and meta descriptions;
- clear, readable URLs;
- canonical and hreflang tags for multilingual websites;
- robots.txt and XML Sitemap files;
- image alt text;
- Open Graph metadata;
- basic structured data;
- analytics and Search Console configuration.
- Good answer: the contractor lists specific actions and distinguishes technical setup from ongoing SEO work.
- Red flag: the contractor guarantees a number-one Google position immediately after launch.
- How to verify: ask to see the SEO checklist used before a website is released.
11. How will performance, mobile usability and technical quality be tested?
A design may look impressive on a large monitor while serious problems appear on smartphones: text is too small, buttons are difficult to press, layouts shift, images are heavy or forms respond slowly.- Good answer: the team tests key pages on different screen sizes and checks forms, console errors and performance indicators.
- Red flag: technical quality is assessed only by looking at the final design.
- How to verify: request a report listing the issues found and corrected before launch.
12. Who is responsible for preparing and uploading content?
Even a technically strong website cannot be launched without copy, images, prices, legal pages and translations. An unclear content process often delays a project more than development itself.- Good answer: the project clearly defines who writes, edits, translates and uploads each type of material.
- Red flag: content is postponed until after the design has been completed.
- How to verify: request a content table listing required materials, formats, owners and deadlines.
13. Which integrations and analytics systems will be connected?
A contact form should do more than display a “Thank you” message. You need to know where enquiries are delivered, whether they are copied to email or a CRM, how spam is filtered and whether conversions are recorded.- Good answer: the specification lists the CRM, analytics, advertising pixels, maps, payment systems, email tools and other required services.
- Red flag: integrations will supposedly be configured after launch without a separate testing process.
- How to verify: ask the contractor to demonstrate a test enquiry from clicking the button to receiving the lead in the correct system.
14. What criteria define a completed website?
The phrase “the website is ready” should refer to an agreed list of requirements, not the contractor’s subjective opinion. Acceptance criteria may include:- consistency with the approved design;
- correct mobile behaviour;
- tested forms and integrations;
- no critical technical errors;
- configured redirects and system pages;
- working analytics;
- a backup copy;
- transferred account access.
- Good answer: the project includes an acceptance checklist and time for final testing.
- Red flag: you are asked to approve the project immediately after publication.
- How to verify: agree on the definition of “completed” before development begins.
15. What happens after the launch?
Minor bugs, email delivery issues or device-specific problems may appear after publication. The warranty period and support process should therefore be defined in advance.- Good answer: the contractor distinguishes free correction of its own errors from paid new features and changes.
- Red flag: communication ends after the final payment, or every correction is automatically treated as additional work.
- How to verify: confirm response times, communication channels, warranty duration and ongoing support rates.
A short checklist before signing the contract
Before making the first payment, make sure you have:- a clear project goal and scope;
- a detailed estimate;
- a schedule of stages and payments;
- the number of included revisions;
- live links to real projects;
- technical acceptance criteria;
- code and account transfer terms;
- warranty obligations;
- rules for estimating additional work.
