A new website is a big decision for a small business. Pick well and it brings in enquiries for years. Pick badly and you can end up with a slow site, no access to your own domain, and a designer who has stopped answering the phone.
This guide covers what to check before you sign, whoever you end up hiring.
Start with what the website must do
Before you speak to anyone, write down the job the site has to do. Get phone calls? Take bookings? Sell online? Show your work to corporate buyers? A good designer will ask you this first. If they jump straight to colours and templates, be careful.
Look at real, live work
Ask for links to websites they have built that are live today, not just screenshots. Open them on your phone. Do they load quickly? Is the text easy to read? Can you find the phone number and contact form in a few seconds? Then ask one or two of those clients how the project went.
Make sure you will own it
This is where most problems start. Before you pay a deposit, get clear answers in writing:
- The domain (your .co.za or .com) is registered in your business name, and you get the login.
- You can get a copy of the website files and content if you leave.
- You get admin access to the website itself, not only the designer.
- Photos, logos and text you pay for belong to you.
A designer who registers your domain in their own name holds your business hostage, even if they never mean to.
Ask where the site will be hosted
Hosting decides how fast your site loads and how often it goes down. Ask who the host is, where the servers are, how backups work and who you call when the site is down. If most of your customers are in South Africa, local or nearby hosting usually means faster pages. Our guide to web hosting in South Africa explains the trade-offs.
Check they know POPIA
Your contact form collects personal information, so the Protection of Personal Information Act applies. A South African web designer should add a privacy policy, a clear consent line on forms and secure (HTTPS) connections without you asking. If they look blank when you mention POPIA, that tells you something.
Ask about Google from day one
A beautiful site nobody finds is an expensive brochure. Ask how they handle:
- Page titles and descriptions for each page.
- Speed on mobile phones and slower connections.
- Redirects from your old website addresses, so you keep any Google rankings you already have.
- Setting up Google Search Console and analytics, in your name.
Understand the quote
Quotes vary a lot, so compare what is actually included rather than the bottom line. Look for the number of pages, who writes the copy, who supplies photos, how many rounds of changes, hosting and domain costs, and what happens after launch. A cheap quote that leaves out copywriting and SEO often costs more in the end.
Ask what happens after launch
Websites need updates, security patches and small changes. Ask whether support is included, how quickly they respond, and what they charge for changes. Find out whether you can edit simple things yourself, such as prices, opening hours and blog posts.
Twelve questions to ask
- Can I see three live websites you have built?
- Who will I deal with day to day?
- Whose name will the domain be registered in?
- Will I get admin access and a copy of the files?
- Where will the site be hosted, and how are backups done?
- How do you handle POPIA on forms?
- What do you do for SEO before launch?
- Will you redirect my old pages?
- Who writes the content?
- How many rounds of changes are included?
- What does support cost after launch?
- How long will the project take, and what do you need from me?
Where we fit in
We design and build websites for South African businesses with these points built in: your domain in your name, fast hosting, POPIA basics and SEO from the first draft. If you are comparing options, we are happy to answer these twelve questions for you too.