Insights
Nine questions to ask any web shop before you sign
Including us. A good shop answers all nine of these without flinching, and the flinches tell you as much as the answers.
Who owns the site when we're done?
The only acceptable answer is you. Domain, hosting accounts, code, content, all of it in your name or handed over cleanly. If the site only exists inside their proprietary platform, ask what leaving looks like, and watch the weather change.
Can my team edit it without you?
A good answer names the editor your staff will use and offers to show you. A bad answer is a maintenance plan that exists because every text change needs a developer.
What happens after launch?
Sites need updates, backups, and fixes forever. You want to hear who does that, what it costs, and what happens when something breaks at a bad hour. Vagueness here becomes your problem later, on a schedule you don't control.
What's the date, and what happens if you miss it?
You're not looking for a guarantee so much as a straight face. A shop that plans in writing and tells you the finish line before starting will treat the date like it matters. A shrug here is a shrug you'll see again.
Who actually does the work?
Some shops sell the meeting and subcontract the build. That can be fine, and it can be a game of telephone with your money. Either way you deserve to know whose hands are on it.
Can I talk to a client from a couple of years ago?
Anyone can produce last month's happy customer. The client from a while back tells you what the site was like to live with, and how the shop behaved when something went wrong. That's the review that counts.
What's not included?
Copywriting, photos, logo files, email setup, the small print that turns a quote into a bigger invoice. A good shop volunteers this list before you ask. You're asking to see whether they would have.
Why this platform for my project?
The answer should be about your project, not their comfort. If every client gets the same platform regardless of the job, you're buying what's easy for them to sell.
What happens if we part ways?
The professional answer is an orderly handoff, files, credentials, and documentation, because good shops keep clients with work, not with hostages. Any hesitation on this one is your cue to keep shopping.
What we'd want you to notice
Every one of these questions has a page on this site answering it for us, in writing, before you asked. That's not an accident. A shop that answers hard questions in public tends to behave the same way in private.