What to ask a website company before you pay

Before you pay any website company, ask about four things: who will own what, how changes get made, what it costs every year after the first, and how you would leave. The answers matter more than the design samples, because they decide what the site costs you over the years and whether you are stuck. Below are the questions to ask, what a good answer usually sounds like, and the answers that should make you pause.

How to ask

Ask by email, or ask on the phone and then send a short email repeating what you were told: "Just to confirm, you said...". Written answers are easier to compare and harder to forget. Ask every company the same questions so you can line the answers up side by side.

Pay attention to how they answer as well as what they say. A company that answers plainly and quickly before you pay is likely to do the same afterward. One that dodges, or says "don't worry about that", is giving you an answer too.

Ownership questions

1. Whose name will the domain be registered in?

Good: "Yours. We'll set it up with your email, or you can register it and give us access."
Worrying: "We register it under our account to make things easier." That makes leaving hard.

2. If I already have a domain, will I keep it where it is?

Good: "Yes, we just point it at the new site," or "You can move it, but you don't have to."
Worrying: a requirement to transfer the domain to them with no reason given. Keeping your domain where it is explains why that is usually unnecessary.

3. Do I own the text and photos I give you, and the ones you create for me?

Good: "Yes, all of it."
Worrying: any hesitation, or a claim that photos they supply can only be used while you are a customer, with no mention of that up front.

4. Can I get a copy of the finished website?

Good: a clear yes, or an honest "our sites run on our own system, so you can take your text and photos but not the design". Honest limits are fine, as long as you know.
Worrying: "Why would you need that?"

Questions about changes

5. How do I get a small change made, like new hours?

Good: a specific route. "Email us and it's done within a day," or "You type it into the editor yourself; we'll show you."
Worrying: "Just let us know" with no price or time attached.

6. What does a change cost?

Good: a number, or "included up to so many a month". Ask them to price three real examples from your business.
Worrying: "It depends." Everything depends; a company that has done this before knows its typical prices.

7. Can I see the site and ask for changes before I pay the full amount?

Good: "Yes, you'll see a working version first, and we revise it until it's right." Some companies show the finished site before you pay anything.
Worrying: full payment up front for something you have not seen.

Questions about money

8. What will I pay in total for the first year, everything included? Ask for a list: build, hosting, domain, email, any apps or plugins, any care plan.

9. What will I pay in year two, and in year three?

Good: the same list, with renewal prices.
Worrying: "Let's focus on getting you launched first." Renewal prices are where the surprises are. Hosting renewal price shock shows how introductory prices work.

10. Is there a minimum contract length?

Good: "No," or a short, clear term with a stated cancellation process.
Worrying: a multi-year commitment for a basic site.

11. Are there any fees I have not asked about? Ask it plainly. Setup fees, transfer fees, cancellation fees and charges for stock photos are the usual ones.

Questions about leaving

12. If I want to leave, what happens to my site, my domain and my email?

Good: "You take your domain and content, and we help with the handover."
Worrying: "Our clients don't leave." Everyone leaves eventually, including when a business is sold or retires.

13. What happens if your company closes?

Good: a straight answer about where your files and domain are and how you would get them. Small companies do close; the good ones have thought about it.
Worrying: the question is laughed off.

14. Who exactly will I deal with?

Good: a name, and a way to reach that person.
Worrying: only a general support address or a call center abroad, for a business that relies on quick local changes.

A few questions about the work itself

Ownership and money are the core, but also ask:

Can I see three sites you made for businesses like mine that are still online? Then open them on your phone and try the phone button.
Who writes the text? If it is you, budget your time for it.
Will my old page addresses keep working? If your current site brings in customers from Google, the answer must be yes. More in old page addresses and why forwarding them matters.
Will my email keep working on the day the new site goes live? A good company asks you about your email before touching your domain.

What to do this week

Copy the fourteen questions into an email and send the same email to every company you are considering.
Make a sheet with one column per company and paste in their answers.
Cross off anyone who will not answer the ownership or year-two questions in writing.
Call your favorite and ask one follow-up question by phone, to see how they explain things.

If you want one answer you can see rather than read, you can see your site rebuilt first and judge the actual work, then put the company's answers to these questions next to it.