What should I look for in a website design company?

• –They ask how you sell. A good provider wants to know who your customers are, what they ask before buying and what a good enquiry looks like, before discussing colours and layouts.
• –Design and build quality both count. The site should load quickly, work well on phones, be usable with a keyboard and screen reader, and have the SEO basics in place: sensible page titles, descriptions, headings and a clean structure.
• –They handle launch. Connecting the domain, deploying the site, setting up analytics and testing every form are part of the job, not extras you discover at the end.
• –Ownership is clear. You should know who owns the site's code and content, who controls the domain and hosting accounts, and where the site lives. Get this in writing before work starts.
• –They can connect the site to your tools. Enquiry forms should reach your CRM, email or scheduling tool without someone copying details by hand. See how a website should connect to a CRM.
• –They explain what happens after launch: who fixes problems, who makes changes, and what ongoing costs such as hosting or maintenance look like.

Ask who will design the site, who will build it and who you will speak to week to week. At some firms the person in the sales meeting hands the project to people you never meet. That is not always a problem, but you should know in advance.

It also helps when design, development and integrations sit with one accountable team. When a designer, a developer and a separate systems contractor each own a piece, gaps between them tend to become your problem to manage.

Freelancer

Often a good fit for a simple site with a clear scope. You work directly with the person doing the work. The risk is capacity: one person may not cover design, development and integrations equally well, and cover during holidays or illness can be thin.

Agency or studio

Usually covers more skills and can take on larger or more connected projects. The tradeoff can be more layers between you and the people building the site, so ask who your day-to-day contact is.

The label matters less than the fit. A small, founder-led team can offer direct contact with the people doing the work and a broader skill set than a single freelancer.

1. 01What do you need to understand about our business before you start designing?
2. 02Is the design custom, or adapted from a template or theme? Either can be fine, but it should be stated.
3. 03Who owns the finished site, the domain and the hosting account, and whose name are they registered in?
4. 04How do you test speed, mobile layouts and accessibility before launch?
5. 05Where will form submissions go, and how will they reach our CRM, inbox or calendar?
6. 06What is included in launch, and what happens if something breaks the week after?
7. 07Who will we be speaking to during the project?

For example, a Toronto accounting practice choosing a website development company might ask each shortlisted provider these same questions and compare the answers side by side. Vague answers to the ownership and launch questions usually tell you more than the portfolio does.

• –A template or theme sold as a custom design without saying so.
• –The provider registers your domain or hosting in their own name and you have no login.
• –A vague scope with no list of pages, features or integrations, which makes it hard to tell what you are paying for.
• –No mention of testing, analytics or what happens after launch.
• –Pressure to decide quickly, or reluctance to put ownership and support terms in writing.

If cost is part of the decision, what drives the cost of a custom business website explains what to prepare so quotes are comparable. Our own approach is described on the website design and development page.