Choosing the Right Website Professional

The right questions cut through marketing hype and reveal whether you’re dealing with a professional or someone who will waste your time and money.

Business-Focused Questions

True professionals understand your website is a business tool, not just a design project.

Ask This: “How will you measure the success of my website?”

• Good Answer: “We’ll track three essential metrics: unique visitors, total leads, and qualified leads. We’ll set up proper analytics during development to ensure you can monitor these KPIs from day one. Even if we’re not handling your ongoing marketing, we build websites with conversion tracking in mind so you can measure ROI.”
• Bad Answer: “We’ll create a beautiful site with interactive elements that represents your brand in the market.” (Any answer focusing on aesthetics over function misses the point – small local businesses need websites that generate results, not just look pretty.)

Ask This: “How will your design help my business convert visitors into customers?”

• Good Answer: “We’ll use strategic placement of simple contact forms on every service page, prominent phone numbers that are clickable on mobile, and clear calls-to-action tailored to your services. We’ve found minimal, professionally designed forms with 3-4 fields maximize completion rates for service businesses like yours.”
• Bad Answer: “Our designs are very appealing and professional looking with beautiful interactive elements.” (No mention of how design choices actually impact business results.)

Technical Questions (No Tech Knowledge Required)

You don’t need to understand technology to ask smart questions.

Ask This: “How will you make my site mobile-friendly?”

• Good Answer: “We design websites mobile-first, meaning we optimize for phones before desktops since most of your customers will visit on mobile devices. We test on various screen sizes to ensure buttons are easily tappable, forms work smoothly on touchscreens, and navigation is intuitive on smaller screens.”
• Bad Answer: “All our sites are responsive” or “We use a responsive framework that utilizes adaptive viewports for cross-platform compatibility.” (Technical jargon without explaining what this actually means for your business.)

Ask This: “What’s your approach to website security?”

• Good Answer: “We use security plugins and regulalry update all software regularly, and follow best practices like strong passwords and limited login attempts. Most importantly, we maintain multiple off-site backups and can restore your site within hours if anything happens. No security is perfect, but we prepare for worst-case scenarios.”
• Bad Answer: “WordPress is pretty secure these days” or “Security is built into our platform.” (Vague and dismissive of a critical business concern.)

Process and Timeline Questions

Professionals have clear, established processes that they can explain without hesitation.

Ask This: “What will you need from me and when?”

• Good Answer: “We’ll need your logo, business information, and service descriptions by next Friday. We’ll provide a simple content questionnaire to make this easy. If you have existing photos of your work, we’ll need those by the same date, or we can use professional stock photos appropriate for your industry.”
• Bad Answer: “Just send over whatever content you have whenever you can get to it.” (No clear expectations or timeline.)

Ask This: “What happens if we fall behind schedule?”

• Good Answer: “Our contract clearly outlines responsibilities for both parties. If either side misses deadlines, the launch date adjusts accordingly. We build a one-week buffer into projects and send reminders to help keep things on track. We’re realistic about delays and communicate timeline impacts immediately.”
• Bad Answer: “Don’t worry about it; we’re pretty flexible with deadlines.” (Translation: “We have no actual process.”)

Contract and Payment Questions

Clear agreements prevent surprises and disappointments.
Ask This: “What happens if I’m not satisfied with the design?”

• Good Answer: “Our process includes client approval at key milestones. You’ll review and provide feedback on designs before we proceed to development. Our contract clearly outlines two rounds of revisions and defines what constitutes a revision versus a major change. We involve you throughout the process to ensure satisfaction.”
• Bad Answer: “That’s never happened before” or “We’ll make it work somehow.” (Avoiding a direct answer to a reasonable question.)

Ask This: “What ongoing costs should I expect?”

• Good Answer: “You’ll need to maintain your domain ($15/year), hosting ($10-20/month), and we recommend our maintenance plan ($200/month) to keep everything updated and secure. There are no hidden fees beyond these three costs.”
• Bad Answer: “We’ll discuss ongoing costs after the site is built” or “It depends on what features you end up needing.” (Deliberately vague to hide potential high ongoing costs.)