You don't need to know about design, SEO or code to hire the right people for your website.
What you do need is to know what to ask.
Two quotes can look almost the same and be selling completely different things. And many of the differences that matter don't show up on the first page of the proposal.
1. What does my website need to achieve?
I'd always start here.
Not with colours, style or technology.
A good answer steers the conversation towards your business: what you sell, who buys it, how customers find you today and what you want to happen when someone lands on the site.
Maybe you want them to call. To ask for a quote. To buy. To understand a complicated service before they talk to you.
If nobody tries to pin that down, it's hard to tell later whether the website worked.
2. What exactly is included in the quote?
"A website" can mean a lot of things.
Before comparing prices, check what's actually inside:
- how many pages will be prepared;
- who writes or edits the copy;
- what happens with photography;
- whether the structure is planned for SEO;
- whether there's more than one language;
- which forms or features are included;
- whether you'll be shown how to manage it;
- what happens once it's live.
Not everything has to be included. It just has to be clear.
Two €2,000 quotes can be impossible to compare if one covers strategy, content and structure and the other only design and development.
If you want to understand what makes the price go up or down, we explain it in how much a custom website costs.
3. How will we work together, and what will you need from me?
A website shouldn't disappear into a black box for two months and come back finished.
Ask what the stages are, when you'll need to review things and what they'll need from you.
There will usually be decisions about content, structure, photos, features and revisions.
It's also worth knowing who has the final say.
When five people review a website but nobody decides, the problem is rarely technical.
It's also better to talk about timelines once all of this is clear. A simple site with the content ready doesn't run on the same schedule as an online store, a site in three languages or a project where the services on offer are still being decided.
We go into more detail in how long a professional website takes.
4. If I want to switch providers in a year, what do I take with me?
This question saves a lot of trouble.
Check who controls:
- the domain;
- the hosting;
- the accounts;
- the content;
- any external tools;
- and, where it applies, the code.
There's nothing wrong with an agency managing some of this.
What matters is knowing what happens if you stop working with them one day.
If the answer is unclear now, it will probably be even less clear when you want to leave.
5. Why have you planned the website this way?
You don't need a twenty-minute technical explanation.
You need there to be a reason.
Why these pages?
Why this technology?
Why is there a separate page for some services?
Why use a CMS, or why not?
Why go after some Google searches and not others?
A good answer connects each decision to what the project needs.
"We build it this way because that's how we always do it" is a much less interesting answer.
6. What would you advise me not to do?
For me, this is one of the best questions you can ask.
A good provider shouldn't just add up everything you ask for.
Sometimes the best advice is to drop a feature, postpone a section, hold off on a blog for now or start with a simpler version.
Not because the project has to be small, but because everything in it should have a reason to be there.
If everything you suggest gets an automatic "yes", I'd ask what each part is really for.
Before you start, get five things clear
You don't need to turn up to the first meeting with a twenty-page brief.
This is enough to start well:
What you want to achieve. "I want to receive quote requests" is far more useful than "I want a modern website".
Who you need to convince. What that person is looking for, what doubts they have and what they need to see before getting in touch or buying.
What material you have. Copy, photos, logo, services, case studies, products. And what's still missing.
What the website needs to do. A contact form, bookings, an online store, a private area, several languages, integrations, or simply explain the business well.
What constrains the project. Budget, deadline, who needs to sign off, tools you already use or requirements in your sector.
You can copy this for your brief
What we do:
What we want the website to achieve:
Who needs to be convinced:
What content we already have:
What the website needs to be able to do:
Who makes the final decision:
Deadline or budget that shape the project:
Three websites we like and why:
It doesn't have to be perfect. In fact, knowing what you're still unsure about is useful information for whoever works with you.
With Somos Focus Media, for example, we started with a meeting and many of these answers already fairly clear: identity, services, references and tone.
That made it possible to decide quickly and have the website ready to publish in about two weeks, revisions included.
It isn't our standard timeline, and it doesn't mean every project can be done that way. It's simply a good example of how much it helps to start with context.
One last thing
If you're comparing providers, ask them all the same questions.
Us included, if you're looking for web design in Girona.
And if you can't answer the second half of this article yet, that's fine. Part of a good process should be helping you work it out.
You can see how we run a project from start to finish.
We write about decisions that come up in real projects: how to structure a website, how to capture demand and when technology can simplify a business.