Before you hire anyone to build your website (including us)

Most bad web deals aren't scams, they're vague. Seven questions, one phone call, and you'll know exactly what you're buying. Use them on us too; here's how to run the call and what a good answer sounds like.

Use this on every web designer, agency, freelancer, or cousin's friend you talk to. Use it on us; we'll enjoy it. Most bad web deals aren't scams. They're vague deals, where nobody wrote down what "a website" includes, and the owner finds out in month seven when a price change costs $150 and takes three weeks. Seven questions, one phone call, and you'll know. This article gives you the questions, what a good answer sounds like for each, how to run the call so you get answers in writing, a worked comparison of two typical quotes, and the flags to watch for.

The seven questions

What's the total first-year cost, in one number? Build, hosting, domain, email, plugins, "extras," and any required monthly plan. A good answer is a number and a breakdown. A typical New York custom site runs $2,500 to $10,000; a budget studio is around $499 plus $25 a month. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you're buying. If the number changes when you ask a second way, that's your answer.
Who owns the domain and the site? The only right answer is: you do, in your own accounts, from day one. A good answer includes "we'll hand you every login at launch." Anything else is a hostage situation waiting to happen.
Can I see it on a real phone before launch? Not a mockup, not a screenshot. The actual site, on your phone, over cell data. A good answer is "yes, and we test on real phones ourselves." Most customers will see it that way and nowhere else.
Who writes the words? "You send us the text" means you're doing the hardest part of their job at night after closing, and the site launches late because you never got to it. A good answer is "we write it after visiting you, and you approve every line."
Who takes the photos? If the answer is "we have a stock library," picture your dental office represented by a man in a lab coat. A good answer is "we come to you and shoot them," or at least a clear price for it. Real photos should be part of the deal.
What happens when I need a change in month seven? A price change, a new hire, a holiday schedule. A good answer is a specific price (or "included in your plan, up to X a month") and a turnaround ("within the week"). "Just email us" is not an answer.
What happens if we part ways? A good answer: "You keep everything: domain, files, accounts, photos, and we'll help you move." Ask what the exit looks like in writing, including any notice period or fee.

Two of these matter more than the rest. If you only get answers to the first-year total and who owns the domain, you can already rule out most bad deals. The other five decide between the good ones.

How to run the call

Before the call, write one paragraph describing what you need: type of business, number of pages, booking or menu, languages. Read it out at the start so every seller is quoting the same thing.
Ask the seven in order and write the answers down while they talk. Don't fill silences; let them answer.
End with this sentence: "Thanks. Could you send me those same answers by email, with the first-year total as one number, by Friday?" The gap between what someone says on a call and what they'll put in writing tells you more than either answer alone.
Send the identical request to three sellers. Comparable answers only come from identical questions.
Build a four-column table: build price, monthly price, first-year total, who owns what. Add a fifth column for "writes and shoots." Blank cells are answers too.
Open one site they built on your phone, over cell data, and run our 30-second check. The portfolio on a laptop tells you nothing.

What a good written answer looks like. You're looking for an email you could show a friend and have them understand in a minute. Something like: "Five-page site, $X build. Hosting and domain included in year one, then $Y a month. You own the domain and all accounts; we'll send logins at launch. We write the text after a visit and take the photos; you approve everything on your phone before launch. Changes: up to N a month included, done within the week. If you leave, you keep everything and we'll help you move, with 30 days' notice." If what you get back is a PDF with a cover page and no numbers on the first page, ask again.

Anyone who gets offended by these questions has just answered them.

Red flags and green flags

Some patterns show up in almost every bad deal we hear about:

Quotes that need three meetings before you see a number.
Contracts with no exit, or exits that cost more than the build.
"Trust me, it's technical." Anything about your site can be explained in plain words. If they won't, they can't or they don't want to.
Guaranteed Google rankings. Nobody can promise that. See why the basics beat SEO tricks.
A portfolio of sites that all look identical with different logos.
Hosting, domain, or email "included" in their account rather than yours.

The good ones share habits too. They give you a price list before you ask. They show you sites they built on their own phone, not a laptop. They talk about your customers more than about design trends. They tell you what they won't do and what they're not good at. They answer question seven without flinching, because they expect to keep you by doing good work, not by locking the door. And they tell you plainly what tools they use, including AI, and what those tools cost.

One more distinction worth making before the calls. A freelancer is one person: usually cheaper, often better at listening, and a risk if they get busy or move, so question seven matters most. An agency is a team: more expensive, slower, and less likely to vanish, but you may never speak to the person doing the work. A small studio like ours sits between the two, and the honest answer is that any of the three can be right, provided the seven answers are clear and in writing.

A worked example: two quotes side by side

Here are two hypothetical quotes for the same five-page site, the kind an owner sees every week.

Quote A: $1,500 build, "hosting included for the first year," then $499 a month from year two. You send the text and photos. Domain registered by them. Changes at $75 each.
Quote B: $499 build plus $25 a month from day one. You write the text; stock photos included. Domain in your name. Two changes a month included.

Year one: A costs $1,500; B costs $499 + $300 = $799. Year two: A costs $49 × 12 = $588; B costs $300. Two years in, A is $2,088 and B is $1,099. Now add your own time. Both make you write the words; say that's 20 hours you'd otherwise spend earning $70 an hour behind the chair, or $1,400. Neither quote mentions it. And A's four price changes a year add $300, plus a domain you don't hold. On paper A looked "premium." On a table it's the worse deal in every column except the one that isn't on the invoice: how it made you feel on the sales call.

For comparison, ours is $1,200 to set up and then $499 a month on Essential: $7,188 in year one, then $5,988 a year if you stay, with the words and photos done, five languages, the Google listing run properly and five changes a month included. Pay twelve months up front and you are served for fifteen. After three months you can cancel with thirty days notice and keep everything. Our pricing guide shows all the plans.

Stretch it to three years, since that's how long most sites live before a refresh. Quote A: $1,500 + $588 + $588 = $2,676, plus $75 per change, plus a domain you don't hold. Quote B: $799 + $300 + $300 = $1,399, plus your evenings writing the text. Ours on Essential: $7,188 + $5,988 + $5,988 = $19,164, with the words and photos done, five languages, the Google listing run properly and five changes a month covered, every month, for three years. That is a different purchase from either quote, and the honest way to read the table is to ask what each column actually does for you, not which number is smallest. The three-year view is where a cheap-looking build with nobody behind it shows its real price.

The gap between what they say on a call and what they'll put in writing is the real answer.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Comparing build prices only. The monthly plan and the changes are where the money goes. Fix: first-year and second-year totals, always.
Skipping the email step. Verbal promises evaporate. Fix: "Could you send me that by Friday?" every time.
Being impressed by the deck. A beautiful proposal PDF is a sales document. Fix: judge by their sites on your phone.
Not asking about the exit. It feels rude on a first call. It's the most important question. Fix: ask it seventh, calmly, every time.
Agreeing to write the text "to save money." It costs your evenings and delays the launch by months. Fix: price your time honestly and ask for writing to be included or quoted.
Signing before you've seen one of their sites on your own phone. Fix: don't.
Taking "unlimited changes" at face value. Unlimited usually means slow, or means "within reason" defined later. Fix: ask for the number and the turnaround.

Your checklist before you sign

I have the first-year total in one number, in writing.
I know the year-two monthly cost.
The domain and every account will be in my name.
I know who writes and who shoots, and what it costs if it's not included.
I know what a change costs in month seven and how fast it happens.
I've opened one of their sites on my phone over cell data.
I know what happens if we part ways, in writing.
I've asked what the build price would be without the required monthly plan, so I know what I'm paying for each.
I've read the free website checklist so I know what "done" should look like.

Our answers

Since we are asking you to grill everyone, here are ours, the same as on the homepage. Full price list up front: $1,200 to set up, then a monthly plan at $499, $999 or $2,000, so the honest first-year total starts at $7,188. Three months minimum, month to month costs twenty percent more, and twelve months paid up front buys fifteen. You own the domain, the site, and every account; we hand you the logins at launch. We come to you for the photos and write every word, and you approve each line on your own phone before launch. Changes are inside the plan, five a month on Essential and no limit on Partner. After three months, cancel with thirty days notice and keep everything, as the guarantee says. The AI tools' usage cost is passed to you at cost, no markup, and we say so out loud. If another studio answers this clearly, they are probably good people too. Print the list, make the calls, and pick whoever answers best.

Questions owners ask

Is it rude to ask these on a first call? No. A professional expects them and has the answers ready. The only people who bristle are the ones who were hoping you wouldn't ask, and that's useful to know before you pay.

What if the cheapest quote answers all seven well? Then take it. Price isn't the red flag; vagueness is. A cheap, clear deal beats an expensive, clear deal and crushes a cheap, vague one.

Should I hire a friend or relative who "does websites"? Ask them the same seven. If they answer well, fine. If the answer to "what if we part ways" is awkward, that's the awkwardness you'll live with at every family dinner later.

How many sellers should I talk to? Three. Fewer and you can't compare; more and you'll never decide. Send the same email to all three and give them 48 hours.

What if I already signed a bad deal? Read the exit terms, get your domain into your own name first (that's the part that matters most), export your photos and text, and plan the move for when the term ends. Our ownership guide covers the domain part step by step.