For those deciding to hire a web designer to make your website, do you know what you should be asking them? Here are a list of questions to ask:

• How much does it cost?

Seems obvious but is it within your budget? More importantly what is included in the price? It might be the price for only 2 pages when you want a 7 page website and they may charge a lot for each extra page. Be sure you know what you want and whether the price will cover it.

• What is the turnaround time?

This will help you plan any promotion activities actively. This is more important to know if you are building a brand new website.

• What is the monthly fee?

If you’re having them not only build the website but maintain it too, then know what the maintenance cost is you’re paying monthly. If you don’t plan on changing much then you can skip this step and would be better off learning how to make simple changes on your own.

• Do they have any samples?

You probably have already seen samples of their work if you found them online. But if it was a recommendation from a friend for example and they are a freelancer they may not have a website (funny I know). In this case ask to see samples of their work or active websites that they built.

• Can they provide drafts?

Usually a designer will make a first draft to see what you think and make any changes from there. If they can’t do this, they are probably a very cheap designer with poor coding skills. You’d probably be better off building the site on your own.