A surprising number of people come to me already a little bruised by their last website experience. They’ve paid someone to build a website before, sometimes more than once, and somewhere along the way things didn’t quite go as promised. The site looked fine when it launched, then the person who built it became harder to reach, and now they’re stuck with something they can’t easily update, don’t fully understand and quietly resent every time they have to deal with it.
I understand why people become wary. Web design is one of those industries where it can be difficult to know exactly what you’re buying until you’re already well into the project, and we’ve certainly produced our fair share of what I can only politely describe as digital goblins.
If you’re about to hire someone to build or rebuild your website, there are a few things I’d pay attention to before signing anything. Most bad experiences leave clues surprisingly early.
Most Bad Experiences Start the Same Way
Nobody hires a web designer expecting the relationship to go badly. Usually the beginning feels perfectly promising. There’s a confident conversation, the price seems reasonable, you see some previous work you like and everybody gets started with good intentions.
The problems tend to appear gradually. Communication gets slower. Small changes become more complicated than expected. You realise you don’t have access to something important, or you’re not quite sure where the website is hosted or who actually owns what. Eventually, you find yourself on your own with a website you never really learned how to control.
None of those problems are particularly dramatic at the beginning, which is exactly why they’re easy to miss. The good news is that once you know what to look for, there are some fairly predictable warning signs.
Red Flag One: Jargon Instead of Plain English
Pay attention to how someone explains things during your first few conversations.
Web design comes with plenty of technical terminology, and sometimes we genuinely need to use it. But if somebody can’t explain what they’re proposing in language you understand, that’s worth noticing. You shouldn’t need a second web developer sitting beside you translating what the first one just said.
A good web designer should be able to explain what they recommend, why they recommend it and what it means for your business. You’re not supposed to understand every technical detail. That’s part of what you’re paying someone else to handle. But you should understand the decisions being made about your own website.
If you leave every conversation feeling more confused than when you started, I wouldn’t mistake that for expertise.
Red Flag Two: You’re Not Sure What You Actually Own
This is one I care about quite strongly because I’ve seen the mess it can create later.
Before committing to a website project, ask what you’ll actually own and have access to when the work is finished. Your domain, hosting, website platform and important accounts shouldn’t become mysterious things controlled by somebody else.
There are legitimate situations where a provider manages hosting or other services on behalf of clients. I do that too. The difference is whether you understand the arrangement and retain appropriate control over your own business assets.
I don’t believe ongoing support should depend on making it difficult for you to leave. I’d much rather a client stays because having me involved is useful than because I’m the only person who knows where the keys are buried.
Ask about ownership and access before the project begins. A good provider shouldn’t be uncomfortable explaining exactly how it works.
Red Flag Three: Nobody Talks About What Happens After Launch
Everyone loves talking about launch day. There are considerably fewer glamorous conversations about what happens eighteen months afterwards.
A website needs ongoing attention. Software changes, security needs monitoring, content becomes outdated and your business itself evolves. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to pay your web designer forever, but somebody needs to understand what happens once the website is live.
Ask what support is available afterwards. Ask what happens if something breaks, how updates are handled and whether you’ll be shown how to make normal changes yourself.
This is one of the reasons I offer Website Support Plans, but I also want clients to understand their own websites. Support should give you somebody reliable in your corner, not create a dependency you can never escape.
The Questions I’d Ask Before Hiring Anyone
If I were sitting on your side of the table, one of the first things I’d want to know is who I’ll actually be dealing with. Will I work directly with the person designing and building the website, or will I meet a salesperson first and then be passed through several different people once the project starts? Neither model is automatically wrong, but you should know what you’re buying.
I’d also ask how much control I’ll have once the website is finished. Can I update basic content myself? Will I receive my own login? What happens if I eventually decide to move hosting or work with somebody else?
Then I’d move away from technology altogether and ask how they approach the business itself. Before somebody starts talking about colours, layouts and animations, are they asking what the website actually needs to achieve? Who are your customers? Why do they choose you? What are they looking for when they arrive? What do you want them to do next?
I’d also look through previous work, but not simply to decide whether I like the designs. Open the websites. Use them on your phone. Try to understand what each business does. See how easy it is to find important information and take the next step. A portfolio full of beautiful screenshots tells you something about design. Using the websites tells you considerably more.
Trust the Small Signals Early
The way somebody communicates while you’re still considering hiring them gives you a reasonable idea of what working together might be like.
I wouldn’t expect someone to reply within five minutes or be permanently available. People have other clients, meetings and, occasionally, lives. But communication should feel organised. Questions should actually get answered. You should know what happens next without constantly chasing for an update.
I’d pay attention to whether they’re genuinely curious about the business too. If every conversation immediately comes back to the package they want to sell you, regardless of what you’ve just told them, that’s useful information.
You’re not looking for somebody who agrees with everything you say, either. I think a good digital partner should occasionally challenge you. If I think something you’re asking for is going to make the website worse, I should be able to explain why rather than quietly build it, send the invoice and wish you luck.
Cheapest Isn’t Always the Cheapest
Budget matters, and I’m not going to pretend everyone should simply choose the most expensive proposal and hope sophistication occurs.
A lower-cost website can be exactly the right choice for a business with simple requirements. Equally, paying more doesn’t guarantee good strategy, good communication or a better result. There are expensive websites that are spectacularly good at being expensive.
The important question is what you’re getting for the money.
Does the provider understand your business? Is there thought behind the structure? Will the website be easy to maintain? Do you know what’s included? Will you own and control the important parts? Is there support afterwards if you need it?
That’s a much better way to compare proposals than putting three prices next to each other and assuming the middle one must somehow be sensible.
What a Good Web Designer Should Feel Like
I think this gets overlooked because everyone focuses on portfolios and technical capabilities, but you’re going to spend a fair amount of time talking to whoever builds your website.
You should feel comfortable asking questions without worrying that you’re asking something stupid. You should understand where the project is up to and why certain decisions are being made. You should feel listened to, but you should also feel that somebody experienced is guiding the process rather than simply waiting for you to tell them what to build.
That’s the difference I see between simply hiring someone to produce a website and having a digital partner who understands the wider picture.
It doesn’t mean you need your web designer involved in every decision you make for the next decade. It means that while they’re involved, they should be thinking about the business behind the website, not just the website sitting in front of them.
A Final Thought Before You Choose
Choosing a web designer isn’t just about finding somebody capable of making something attractive. You’re trusting someone with an important part of how your business presents itself, and potentially working with them for years after the initial project is finished.
Take the time to ask about ownership, access, support and how the process actually works. Look beyond screenshots when you’re reviewing previous projects, and pay attention to how clearly somebody communicates before you’ve paid them anything.
Most importantly, choose someone who helps you understand what you’re buying rather than making the whole thing feel deliberately mysterious. Websites are complicated enough without adding digital goblins to the arrangement.
If you’re considering a new website, you can read more about how I work or book a discovery call. We’ll talk about the business first, what you actually need and whether I’m the right person to help.
