Most people hire someone to build a website roughly once a decade, which means they have no idea what to ask. The uncomfortable part is that the things which cause problems later are almost never mentioned in the sales conversation, and they are rarely about design at all.
Here are the questions worth asking before you sign anything, and what a good answer sounds like. Ask all ten of anyone quoting you, including us.
1. Will the domain be registered in my name?
The single most important question on this list. Your domain should be registered to you or your business, with your email as the contact, even if someone else manages it. If it is registered to the developer, you do not own your own address and moving away from them becomes a negotiation.
Good answer: "It goes in your name, you get the login, and we manage it for you."
2. If I leave, what can I take with me?
Ask this while everyone is still friendly. You want to know whether you can take the domain, the content, the images and ideally the site itself. Some platforms are genuinely proprietary and the answer is honestly "the content but not the build", which is fine if you know it upfront. What is not fine is finding out later.
Good answer: A clear, specific list, offered without hesitation.
3. What is included in the price, and what recurs?
Get the difference between the one-off and the ongoing in writing: build, domain, hosting, maintenance, email, any licences. Then ask what happens in year two, because that is where surprise costs live. Our breakdown of the real annual cost of running a website lists what should be on that invoice.
4. Who applies updates and security patches, and how often?
Somebody has to. If the answer is that the site is handed over and it is then your responsibility, that is a legitimate model, but you need to know so you can plan for it. An unmaintained site is the one that gets compromised, as covered in why your website says Not Secure.
5. What happens when I need a change?
You will want to change prices, add a service, swap a photo. Ask whether that is included, charged hourly, or something you can do yourself. This one question predicts whether your site will still be accurate in two years, because if every small edit costs money, you will stop making them.
6. Where will it be hosted, and how fast will it be?
Ask where the site lives and ask them to show you a speed score on mobile for a site they have built. Vague answers here usually mean cheap shared hosting. Speed affects both rankings and enquiries, as covered in why a slow website is costing you customers.
7. What SEO basics are included?
Not rankings, basics. Proper page titles and descriptions, a sitemap, Search Console set up, sensible URLs, and help with your Google Business Profile. These take a competent developer very little time and make an enormous difference to whether you are findable at all.
Warning sign: anyone guaranteeing a position on page one. Nobody can guarantee that.
8. Will it work properly on a phone?
Everyone says yes. Ask them to open one of their existing sites on your phone while you are sitting there. Look at whether the phone number dials with one tap, whether text is readable without zooming, and how quickly it appears.
9. Can it be multilingual, and done properly?
Only relevant if you need it, but on this coast many businesses do. The right answer involves separate pages per language and hreflang tags, not a translate widget bolted on top. The difference is explained in do you need a bilingual website on the Costa del Sol.
10. What about the legal requirements?
A business website in Spain needs a legal notice, a privacy policy and a cookie banner that genuinely complies, and your contact form needs to handle consent properly. A developer who has not thought about this is leaving you exposed. The full list is in what your website legally needs in Spain.
Red flags
- No written scope. If nobody has written down what you are getting, you will disagree about it later.
- Everything upfront, no milestones. A deposit is normal. The full amount before you have seen anything is not.
- Guaranteed page one rankings. Nobody controls Google.
- Reluctance to give you access to your own domain, hosting or analytics.
- Jargon instead of answers. A good developer can explain what they are doing in plain language. If you feel confused rather than informed, that is data.
- No examples you can visit. Screenshots are not evidence. Ask for live sites.
What they should be asking you
The conversation runs both ways, and a developer who asks nothing about your business is about to build you something generic. Expect to be asked who your customers are, what you want the site to actually achieve, which services matter most, what area you cover, and who your competitors are. If nobody asks, that tells you what kind of job you are about to get.
Frequently asked questions
Should I pay the full amount upfront?
No. A deposit to start and the balance on completion is standard and fair to both sides. Larger projects are often split into stages.
Who should register my domain?
It should be registered in your name and your business's name, with your email as the contact. Someone else can manage it day to day, but ownership should sit with you.
How long should a small business website take?
Typically one to three weeks for a straightforward site, once your content and photos are ready. The delay is almost always waiting for material from the client rather than the build itself.
Do I need a contract?
You need something in writing that covers what is included, what it costs, what recurs, and who owns what. It does not have to be lengthy, but a verbal agreement helps nobody if there is a disagreement.
What if I do not like the result?
Agree upfront how revisions work and how many are included. Any decent process shows you a preview and refines it before launch, so there should be no unpleasant surprise at the end.
Ask these ten questions and you will very quickly tell the difference between someone building you an asset and someone selling you a template. If you want to put them to us, get in touch and we will answer every one straight, or see what is included in our websites.