What to ask a web designer
Ask these before you sign. The useful answers are about ownership, writing, and what happens when you leave.
A portfolio shows taste. It does not show who writes the pages, who owns the domain, or what you owe if you stop at month six. Those answers belong in the first conversation, while you can still walk away. Ask them of a freelancer, an agency, and of us. A polished proposal that skips them is a proposal about the picture, not the arrangement.
Artol's answer is on purpose narrow. $0 down and $249/mo hosting. 12-month ownership terms: 12 months of hosting at $249/mo, then month to month. Leave earlier and the remaining hosting or a buyout of the build is due. We write, design, build, launch, and host it. If a designer will not say their version of that in one place, you do not have a price yet. You have a guess.
How to use the list
Send the questions in writing and keep the replies. A price in a text message, with the rest promised on a call, is how scope disappears. You are not looking for a perfect vendor. You are looking for a vendor who can name what is included, what is extra, and what you keep if the relationship ends.
Trade pages such as website cost for electricians and website cost for remodelers add the questions that belong to that work. This page stays vendor-shaped: the same questions fit a salon, a law office, or a one-truck plumbing company. The cost calculator shows builder, freelancer, and agency figures only where a source published them. Empty cells stay empty.
Money and scope
- Is this a project fee, a monthly hosting term, or both?
Ask what is due before anyone starts, what is due at launch, and what repeats. A monthly fee that does not say whether it includes the build is not comparable to $0 down.
- What would I pay if I leave early?
Month-to-month hosting of a finished site is a different product from a build that is recovered over a term. Get the early-exit sentence in writing. Ours is the sentence in the introduction.
- What is outside this price?
Common gaps: a logo, a photoshoot, copywriting, an online store, a booking product you already pay for, and extra pages after the first set. At Artol, stores, custom apps, and large multi-section sites are quoted on packages, not folded into $0 down.
- Who pays the domain renewal, and in whose account?
The name of the business should be in an account you can open. A designer who registers it in their own account can hold the name if you part ways.
- Which changes are included after launch, and which are a new invoice?
Artol hosting includes two small content updates a month. A new paragraph or a new town is that kind of change. A new catalog is not.
Who does the work
- Who writes the sentences, and do I approve them before the design is treated as final?
If the answer is you, block real time for it. If the answer is them, ask what happens when a sentence describes a service you do not offer. We write the pages after a deep business audit. You still correct facts.
- Is the design drawn for this business, or a template with the logo swapped?
Templates are a fair product if the price matches. They are a poor surprise. Artol sites are fully custom. Competitive market research is how we decide what the competitors' sites fail to say.
- Who is on the team, and where do they work?
A freelancer is one calendar. An agency may be a bench. We are 100% US-based, made in the USA, in Yardley, PA. Ask who replies when that person is away.
- How fast do you answer, and what counts as a business day?
We reply within one business day. A designer who answers only after the launch is a different service from one who answers during the draft.
- What does the schedule assume from me?
Our sites are live in less than a week when we have the facts and the photos. A week of silence on your side moves the date. Ask what the designer is counting on you to send.
Ownership when you leave
- Can I keep the words and the photos if I move the site?
You should be able to leave with the copy and the images you supplied or paid for. A builder layout usually does not export as a working design. That limit should be said up front. The migration guides explain it for Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy.
- What happens to email if the website host changes?
Mail records and the website can be separate. Ask the designer not to replace every DNS record as a habit. If they look blank, read DNS and business email before you let them edit the registrar.
- Will old addresses redirect, and who keeps that list?
Redirects protect rankings as far as a redirect can. They are not a promise that you stay in the same place on Google. Someone should own the list of old URLs.
- Who owns the Google account on the Business Profile?
Setup can be included, and it is included with Artol. The profile should still live on a Google account the business controls. See the Google Business Profile term and the profile websites guide.
Reading the answers
A good answer is specific and a little dull. It names the monthly amount, the term, the pages, and the person who writes. A weak answer praises the brand, promises the first page of Google, or says the rest will be clear once you hop on a call. Rankings are not something a designer can assign you.
Compare the written answers with Artol vs a freelancer and Artol vs an agency. Use the zero-down calculator if you already have a project fee in hand. Do not treat a blank cell in the cost calculator as zero. It means nobody published a figure we were willing to copy.
Put the answers next to the offer
Three common ways to get a small business website, side by side.
| Compare | Artol Web Studio | Typical agency | DIY website builder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0 down | A build fee, often partly due before work starts | No build fee, but you pay with your own time |
| Monthly cost | $249/mo hosting with 12-month terms | Hosting and maintenance are often billed separately | A plan fee, plus paid add-ons |
| Time to launch | Less than a week | Depends on the agency's schedule and your revisions | Depends on how many evenings you can give it |
| Who does the work | We write, design, build, and launch it | The agency, with you managing the project | You do |
| Design | Fully custom | Custom or template, depending on budget | A template you adapt |
| Business audit and market research | Included | Sometimes, often as a paid discovery phase | Not included |
| Backups and updates | Daily backups and two small content updates a month | Depends on the maintenance plan | Depends on the plan, and updates are on you |
| Google Business Profile | Setup included | Sometimes, as an add-on | Not included |
| Support | Reply within one business day from a 100% US-based team | Depends on the agency | Help center and support tickets |
Ask any provider, including us, for the full terms in writing before you sign.
Questions we get asked
Should I ask for a fixed day rate?
Only if you are hiring hours. For a finished small-business site, ask what the finished thing costs and what repeats. We do not publish a day rate because the offer is $0 down and $249/mo hosting, not an hourly shop.
Is a cheap monthly builder the same question?
No. A builder quote is a software plan you operate yourself. Ask who writes, who launches, and what your time is worth. Those plans are described, with dates and links, in the Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy comparisons.
What if the designer will not explain the early exit?
Treat that as the price being unfinished. You can still hire them, but you cannot compare them with a term that says what leaving costs.
Do I need a lawyer to read the replies?
This page is not legal advice. It is a list of practical questions. If the contract is long, or the business is a law practice buying a site, have the person who usually reads your contracts read this one too.
