Most people ask the wrong first question.
They ask:
How much does it cost?
That should be the last thing you ask.
The first question should be:
How much could it make me?
Because a website is not a cost. It is an investment. And like any investment, the question is whether it produces a return.
You can buy an old banger for a few hundred quid or a Formula One car for millions. They are both “cars”, but you know very well they are not the same thing.
Websites are no different.
If a web designer cannot give you a sensible idea of how a website could generate leads, support sales or help grow the business, I would be very cautious.
Because you are not hiring someone to make something that “looks nice”.
You are hiring someone to help you build a system.
1. Ask: How will this website make me money?
This is the big one.
Ask:
- How will this generate leads?
- What action do you want visitors to take?
- How many enquiries could a site like this realistically generate?
- What is the plan to help make that happen?
I am not saying anyone can guarantee results. They cannot.
But they should be able to explain how they intend to help the website become a lead-generating asset.
If they just say, “I’ll build you a website,” walk away.
That is not a strategy.
That is a brochure.
2. Ask: Have you built websites that convert?
Notice I did not say:
“Have you built websites for my industry?”
That is often the wrong question.
A good web designer does not need to have built a website specifically for plumbers, removals firms or accountants to understand how to help one generate leads.
What you need to ask is:
Have you built websites that convert visitors into enquiries?
Better still:
Have you built lead-generation systems for clients?
Because a proper website is not just pages.
It is:
- Search visibility
- User journeys
- Calls to action
- Enquiry systems
- Trust signals
- Follow-up pathways
It is a system.
3. Watch for red flags
There are some things that would make me stop the conversation.
If they ask:
“What colour do you want it?”
…alarm bells.
A decent professional should lead.
You are hiring expertise, not acting as creative director.
Other red flags:
If they price by number of pages
“Five-page website for £X.”
Walk away.
A proper website is not just pages.
Structure matters.
I use WordPress because it allows proper content structures using custom post types, dynamic content, reusable systems.
That matters.
If they use a proprietary in-house system
Avoid being locked in.
If you can never move away, it is not your website.
If they will not let you own it
That is a huge problem.
Which leads to…
4. Ask: Who owns the website?
Ask this explicitly:
- Who owns the domain name?
- Who owns the content?
- Who owns the website files?
- Can I move hosts?
- Can I leave if I want to?
- What happens if you disappear?
Ask it.
You should own your website.
It is the only place on the internet that is actually yours.
Not Facebook.
Not Instagram.
Not Google.
Yours.
If you are driving around with your domain on the side of your van and people cannot find a proper website behind it, you are wasting a huge opportunity.
I saw this with RT Seakins Removals.
Brand everywhere. No website.
Once they had one, leads started within an hour.
Later, with Google Business work, it became 20+ enquiries a month.
That is what ownership plus proper execution can do.
5. Ask how people will actually find the site
A website does not go live and announce itself to the internet.
People seem to assume it does.
It doesn’t.
Ask:
- How will this be found on Google?
- Will you help with Google Business Profile?
- Do you support local SEO?
- Is there a plan beyond launch?
- Do you support Bing as well?
- Is there a route to map pack visibility?
Because visibility is built.
It does not happen because you published a homepage.
6. Ask what happens after launch
A website is a living thing.
Or, if you prefer:
A machine.
And like any machine, without maintenance, it breaks.
Ask:
- Is hosting included?
- Is security included?
- Are backups taken?
- Is SSL included?
- Are plugin licences included?
- Are updates included?
- Is content updating included? (this catches people out)
- What happens when something breaks?
And ask whether updates are done properly.
I do not bulk-update everything blindly.
I update manually, site by site.
Because third-party tools break things.
That is reality.
And here is an easy test.
Go to the web designer’s own website.
Scroll to the footer.
Is the copyright year wrong?
If it is out of date, that tells you something.
That is a three-second thing to automate.
7. Ask who handles the words
Do not assume you should write all the copy yourself.
You know your business too well.
That is often the problem.
You forget what is not obvious to other people.
Use a copywriter.
Or work through messaging with a web designer who understands positioning.
Ask:
- Who writes the copy?
- Who decides what goes on each page?
- How do you decide what customers need to see before they act?
And before any of that:
Decide what you want the visitor to do.
Call you?
WhatsApp you?
Book?
Download something?
Fill a form?
That should shape the website.
Not the other way around.
8. Ask about technical performance
Please ask this.
People do not.
Ask:
- Will it be fast?
- Will images be optimised?
- Will it load properly on mobile?
- Is it accessible?
- What platform do you use and why?
- What builder do you use?
- Is it built with clean code?
I use WordPress with modern tools like Etch because it produces clean code and excellent performance.
And yes — I check PageSpeed scores.
You should ask whether they do too.
Because speed matters.
Google cares.
And when Google is happy, good things tend to happen.
9. Ask about GDPR and compliance
Almost nobody asks this.
They should.
Ask:
- Will there be a privacy policy?
- Will there be a proper cookie consent system?
- Is the site GDPR compliant?
- Are fonts hosted properly?
- Are tracking tools handled legally?
This is basic due diligence.
Know enough to ask.
If I were hiring a web designer tomorrow, I would ask these three questions
1. How will this website make me money?
Give me a realistic projection and explain how.
2. What tool are you going to use to build it — and why?
Tell me the platform, the system and why you trust it.
3. What do I own, what do I pay ongoing, and can I leave?
Ownership, licences, security, recurring costs.
Those three questions alone will tell you a lot.
Final thought
Do not hire someone to build you “a website”.
Hire someone to help you build a system that brings you customers.
There is a big difference.
And it matters.