Most website projects that go wrong were set up wrong at the start. The deposit gets paid on the strength of a nice portfolio, and the awkward questions (who writes the words, who owns the domain, what an edit costs in a year's time) only come up when something breaks.
Whether you hire us or someone else in Edinburgh, these are the nine questions worth asking on the first call. A good designer will answer all of them without hesitating.
1. Who will own the domain, the site and the code?
The domain (yourbusiness.co.uk) should be registered in your name, on an account you can log into. The same goes for hosting, if you're paying for it. Ask what happens if you part ways: can you take the site to another designer, or is it locked to their platform?
A good answer: "The domain is yours from day one. If you ever leave, we hand over everything."
2. Is the price fixed, and what does it include?
Get the scope in writing: the pages, the features, the number of revision rounds, and the launch date. Fixed prices protect you from a bill that keeps growing. Hourly billing is fine for small jobs but risky for a whole build.
3. Who writes the words?
This one stalls more projects than anything else. If you're expected to supply the text for every page, you need to know that before you start, because writing a full website takes longer than most people expect. Ask whether copywriting is included, and whether they'll interview you and write it, or just tidy up what you send.
4. What happens after launch, and what does it cost?
Websites need small changes: new prices, a new team photo, an extra service. Ask how edits are handled and priced. Some designers charge per hour, others offer a monthly plan. Either is fine as long as you know the number before you need it.
Also ask: "What will this cost me in year two if I change nothing?" That covers hosting, the domain, and any licences or plugins the site depends on.
5. Can I make simple edits myself?
Some owners want to change their own opening hours or add a blog post. Others never want to log into anything. Both are reasonable. Tell the designer which camp you're in, and ask them to show you what editing looks like before you commit.
6. How fast will it load on a phone?
Most people will see your site on a phone, often on mobile data. Ask the designer to run one of their past sites through Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool while you're on the call. A designer who cares about speed will be happy to. A slow site loses visitors before they've read your first line.
7. What will you actually do for SEO?
"SEO-friendly" can mean anything. The basics every new site should get are:
- a unique title and description on every page
- proper headings and readable page addresses
- fast loading and a mobile-friendly layout
- a sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
- structured data, so Google understands your business name, location and services
If you want to show up for searches like "electrician Leith" or "physio Morningside", ask how they'll plan pages around those searches. One homepage can't rank for everything.
8. Can I see sites you've built that are live right now?
Screenshots and mock-ups are easy to make. Live sites are proof. Ask for three links, open them on your phone during the call, and click around. If you can, ask one of those businesses how the project went.
9. Can we meet in person?
If you're in Edinburgh, there's no reason a local designer can't come to you for the first meeting. Sitting in your shop, clinic or office for an hour tells a designer more about your customers than any brief. It also tells you whether you can work with them for the next few weeks.
A quick checklist for the call
Copy this into your notes before you speak to anyone:
- Domain and site owned by me
- Fixed price, scope in writing
- Copywriting included (or I know I'm writing it)
- Edit costs and year-two costs known
- Past sites load fast on my phone
- SEO basics listed, not just promised
- Three live sites I can check
How we answer these at Sitewright
We're an Edinburgh web design studio, and we'll come to you if you're local. Our websites are a fixed £1,800, live in 14 days, with copywriting and SEO setup included. The domain is yours, the site is yours, and there's no monthly contract you're tied into. You can see the sites we've built on our homepage, all live today.
If you'd like to put these nine questions to us directly, book an intro call.
