What Should I Ask Before Hiring Someone to Build My Website?

Ownership and access

• •When this is finished and paid for, do I own the website? Get a yes or a no.
• •Whose name is the domain registered in? It should be yours. See using a domain you already own.
• •Will I have logins to everything, including the domain and any accounts created for me?
• •If we part ways, what can I take with me and what stays behind?

Scope and revisions

• •What exactly is included — how many pages, and which ones?
• •Who writes the content, and who supplies photos?
• •How many rounds of changes are included, and what does a change cost after that?
• •What's explicitly not included?

How it works

• •Will it work properly on a phone? Ask to see one of their sites on your own phone.
• •Where do form submissions go, and how will we test that they arrive?
• •Are the search basics handled — real page titles, descriptions, headings, and a sitemap? See basic SEO for small business.
• •Does anything need to connect to tools I already use?

Money

• •What's the total, and what's due when?
• •What will I pay monthly or yearly, and to whom? See do I have to pay monthly.
• •Is maintenance required or optional?
• •What happens if I stop paying a monthly fee — does my site go down?

After launch

• •Who can make changes — just you, or me too?
• •Are backups kept, and are platform updates handled?
• •How do I reach you, and what's a realistic response time?
• •If you're unavailable long-term, can another builder pick this up?

Two answers worth listening for

First, nobody can guarantee Google rankings or a number of new customers. If someone promises that, walk. If the answers make you wonder whether to hire anyone at all, see building it yourself versus hiring someone. Second, watch how they answer questions you don't fully understand — if the reply is jargon instead of plain English now, that's what support will feel like later.

For reference, my own answers: you see the site before you pay, the finished paid site is yours, care is optional at $50/month, and prices are published on the homepage. If you want a straight answer about your own project, send me what you have.