Questions to Ask a Web Designer: An Irish Guide

Before hiring a web designer in Ireland, the questions that matter most are these: what exactly is included in the scope, when will the site be finished and how many rounds of revisions are covered, who owns the text, photographs and source files, who holds the domain, hosting, CMS and analytics accounts, what is actually being done for search visibility, how the site will perform on a phone and for visitors using assistive technology, what happens after launch, and what the written contract says. A designer who answers those questions clearly in writing, before any deposit changes hands, is generally a safer choice than one who answers them vaguely on a phone call. The same list applies whether the job is a one-page brochure site or a lead-generation site built through local web design services.

Scope: what is included, and what is not

Start by asking for a written list of what the designer will deliver, item by item. A useful answer names the number of pages or templates, whether the design is custom or adapted from an existing theme, whether copywriting and photography are included, whether forms, booking, payments or a mailing list sign-up form part of the build, and whether email accounts, logos or brand assets sit inside or outside the job. Ask what happens at handover: is there training, a short written guide, or nothing at all?

Equally important is the reverse question: what would cost extra? An online shop, a second language, a members' area, a booking system, pages added after the build and extra image editing often sit outside a headline scope. Ask for those to be listed so no surprise invoice arrives later. If no list is offered and the answer stays broad, the scope was probably never pinned down.

Timeline, milestones and revisions

Ask for a start date, a launch date and the two or three milestones in between, each with something specific attached, such as a design sign-off or a content deadline. A single "about six weeks" answer is not a schedule. Ask what happens if the designer falls behind, and what happens if the text and photographs arrive late from your side, because the second case is far more common.

Then define a revision. Ask how many rounds are included and what one round means in practice: usually all comments collected and sent together once, rather than a steady trickle of small changes. Ask whether work requested after the build starts, or after launch, is treated as new work. Also ask how the site will be tested on a phone, a tablet and more than one browser before it goes live, and who signs it off. A design approved only on a desktop screen tends to develop problems on mobile later.

Content, images and who owns what

Someone has to write the text, gather or take the photographs and supply the logo. Ask which of those the designer handles and which fall to the business owner. If text or images are being copied from another website, a supplier's brochure or a social media page, ask the designer what proof of permission they need. Copying another business's wording or photographs without permission is not something a designer can fix by handing over a file, because the rights usually stay with the original creator.

For photographs, ask whether the images end up owned outright or are simply licensed for a set period, and whether that licence covers print, social media and any future website. Ask the same about fonts, icons and stock imagery, since some licences are limited to one site or one year.

Then ask about source files. A designer may reasonably keep their working files, but the buyer should know what arrives at handover: logo files, image originals, any custom graphics and a description of how the site is built. If the business later moves to another designer, files that cannot be accessed make that move much harder. Ask also who owns the finished design and whether the designer intends to display it in a portfolio.

Ownership and access to domain, hosting, CMS, analytics and other accounts

This is where the most expensive mistakes happen. Ask, in writing, whose name and email address sits on the domain registration, who receives the renewal reminder, and what the renewal date is. The same questions apply to hosting, the content management system administrator account, the analytics account, any search console or business profile listing, and any payment or booking service attached to the site. The safest arrangement is that every account sits in the owner's name, on the owner's email address and card, with the designer added as a user. The riskiest is that everything sits inside the designer's account and the client is merely granted access to it.

Ask directly: if the working relationship ended tomorrow, what would be handed over, and how quickly? A good answer covers a content or database export, the domain transfer and the analytics history. A poor answer suggests the site is only portable if the designer cooperates.

Ask too which platform the site will be built on, because that choice follows the business.

Search basics, and how to compare quotes that include SEO

"SEO included" means very different things at different designers, so ask which tasks are actually performed: page titles and descriptions, heading structure, image file names and alternative text, a sitemap, the settings that keep search engines away from unfinished pages, redirects from an existing site, and the business profile listing. Ask whether keyword research is part of the job and whether ongoing work such as fresh content or link building is separate. Then ask who holds the search console and analytics accounts and whether the historical data stays with the business.

Because so much of this is technical, the fairest way to compare quotes is to send every designer the same written question list and ask for it to be answered line by line. Silence on a line item is not the same as inclusion, and a lower quote that leaves out content, image sourcing and account setup may look different once those are added. Typical price bands are in website design cost. The same discipline is worth applying across the wider design and creative services a small business buys, from logos to print.

Mobile performance and accessibility

Ask how the site will behave on a mid-range Android phone on a mobile connection, not just on a desktop monitor. Useful questions cover image sizes and formats, the number of fonts and third-party scripts loaded, cookie and consent banners, and how quickly the first screen appears. Ask to see the site tested live on a phone before launch, or a comparable site the designer has built.

Accessibility is a set of practical questions too: can the whole site be used with a keyboard, is text contrast strong enough, do images carry alternative text, do forms have proper labels, and are headings in a logical order? It is worth asking a designer from the outset how they handle these points, because fixing them after launch costs more.

Support, maintenance and what happens after launch

Ask what happens in the first month after launch and who fixes anything that breaks. Then move to the routine work: security and platform updates, backups, uptime monitoring, renewals for the domain and hosting, and small content changes. Ask whether support is included for a period, charged per change or bought as an ongoing arrangement, and what the response time is if the site goes down.

Ask who owns the email addresses, and what would happen if the designer retires, changes business or becomes uncontactable. Request the login details and a short handover document listing every account, its owner, its renewal date and what it does; that single document prevents most future difficulty. Ask also how a simple change would be made in-house, such as swapping a photograph or updating a phone number.

Written terms

Ask for the terms in writing before any payment, and read the clauses on scope, payment stages, revisions, ownership, confidentiality and how either side ends the agreement. Terms that let one side change the scope, the price or the timeline without agreement, or that hand the designer permanent rights over the business's content, deserve a question rather than a signature.

Ask specifically what happens to the domain, hosting and accounts if the relationship ends, whether the designer carries professional indemnity insurance, and how disputes are handled. Keep everything in writing: the brief, the quote, the answers to the question list and any agreed change to the scope.

Asking the questions before committing

The pattern is the same throughout: get the answers in writing, keep account ownership in the business's own name, and compare designers on one identical written list rather than on a warm first conversation. On ShamFix, posting a job and listing on ShamFix is free and there is no commission, and a subscription is planned for the future. ShamFix does not check or certify tradespeople and profiles are filled in by tradespeople themselves, so homeowners should check registrations themselves and read reviews. More on how it works is on the ShamFix home page.

FAQ

Whose name should the domain be registered in?

It should be registered to the business, with a contact email address the business actually controls, so renewal notices arrive where they can be seen. Ask the designer to add themselves as a user rather than registering it in their own name, and keep the registrar login details somewhere the business can reach them. A domain held in someone else's account is effectively out of the owner's hands, even if the site itself is finished and paid for.

What counts as one round of revisions?

One round normally means all comments gathered and sent together once, then applied by the designer, rather than a series of messages spread over weeks. Ask whether a round is measured in hours, in pages or simply as one batch of feedback, and whether rewriting a whole page counts as one change or several. Have the agreed number written into the quote or contract, along with how further rounds are requested.

Can the search work be checked after launch?

Yes, and it is worth doing. Search for the business name and for a service plus a town, then look at the wording that appears in the search result and whether the page title reads sensibly. Check that any old web addresses redirect properly and that the business profile listing matches the site exactly. Knowing who holds the search console and analytics logins makes all of this possible without asking the designer first.

What should a handover document contain?

It should list every account connected to the site, who owns it, what it is for and when it renews, together with the logins, the domain registrar, the hosting provider, the platform behind the site and how backups are taken. Add the names of anyone with access, so access can be removed later if needed. A short page like this, handed over at launch, is the difference between a site the business controls and one it merely uses.