Questions to Ask a Web Agency Before Signing
By CodexierPublished 6 min read
Agencies are good at presenting. The way to see past the presentation is to ask questions whose answers are specific and checkable: who exactly will build this, what do I own at the end, what does the price exclude. This is the list we would want a client to ask us, with the answer that should reassure you and the one that should not.
Process and who does the work
- Who exactly will work on our project, and will we have direct contact with them? Good: names and a direct channel. Bad: an account manager relays everything.
- What are the steps from signing to launch, and what do you need from us at each one? Good: a written plan with your deliverables and dates. Bad: we will keep you updated.
- How do you handle changes to scope during the project? Good: a written change process with prices. Bad: we are flexible, which means unpriced.
- What do you do if we do not like the first design? Good: a defined number of revision rounds and how disagreement is resolved. Bad: silence.
- Which parts do you subcontract? Good: a clear answer, often copy or photography. Bad: none, from an agency of two people offering everything.
Ownership of domain, code and content
Ownership is where the most expensive surprises live, and they surface only when you try to leave. The mechanism is simple: whatever is registered, hosted or licensed in the agency's name is theirs to hold until you negotiate it back. Get these answers before signing, then get them into the contract:
| Question | Good answer | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Who registers and owns the domain? | You, in your own registrar account; we help configure it | We handle it for you |
| Whose name is the hosting account in? | Yours, or a transferable account you can take over | Ours, bundled in the monthly fee |
| Do we own the code or theme at the end? | Yes, full rights, delivered in a repository you control | Licensed for as long as you are a client |
| Do we get the design source files? | Yes, Figma or equivalent, on final payment | Not included |
| Can we move to another provider? | Yes, here is what handover includes and costs | It is built on our platform |
| Who owns the content and images? | You; stock licences are registered to you | Licences are in our name |
A platform-locked site is not automatically bad; some builders are excellent. It is bad when the lock is a surprise. The question is whether they tell you plainly.
What happens after launch
Launch is the middle of a website's life, not the end. The agency's answers here tell you whether they think so too.
- Is there a warranty period for bugs, and how long? Good: a defined period with response times. Bad: bugs are billed hourly from day one.
- What does your maintenance plan include, and what does it cost? Good: updates, backups, monitoring, a restore test and a number of hours, at a listed price; ours is on the pricing page. Bad: we can discuss that later.
- Can we update content ourselves, and will you train us? Good: yes, with a walkthrough and a written guide. Bad: send us the changes.
- How fast do you respond when the site is down? Good: a stated time and a contact route. Bad: as soon as we can.
- What analytics and tracking are set up at launch? Good: a list, with consent handled. Bad: we can add that.
References you can actually call
A portfolio shows the agency's best day. A reference call shows an ordinary project. Ask for two clients whose projects were similar in size to yours and launched at least six months ago, and ask them three things: was the process as described, what went wrong and how was it handled, and would they hire the agency again for the same job. An agency that cannot produce two such clients is either very new or has a reason.
When you do not need to run this whole list: for a small fixed-price package with published scope, like our business website launch, most of the answers are already written down and you can check them against the service page in a few minutes. Reserve the full interview for larger or custom projects. And if an agency, including us, gets impatient with these questions, that is itself an answer. The selection process around them is in how to choose a web agency, and you are welcome to test the list on us in a short call.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single most important question to ask a web agency?
What do we own when the project ends, and is it in the contract? Domain, hosting, code, design files and content. Everything else can be fixed later; ownership problems only surface when you want to leave and are expensive to resolve then.
Should I ask for a fixed price or an estimate?
Ask for a fixed price against a written scope whenever the project is well defined, and ask what is excluded. Estimates are appropriate for genuinely open work, such as an exploratory redesign, but then insist on a cap and regular reporting. Published fixed prices are the easiest to compare.
Is it rude to ask an agency for references?
No. Any established agency expects it and has clients who are happy to talk. Ask for projects similar in size to yours and at least six months old, so the reference can speak about what happened after launch, not just the excitement of delivery.
Want to put these questions to us?
Book a fifteen-minute call and ask anything on this list. You will get names, what you own, what is excluded and the references, and we will tell you if a package of ours is the wrong fit.
Book a free 15-minute call