You need a website. You've decided to hire someone to build it. Smart choice—your time is worth more than wrestling with website builders.
But here's the problem: how do you know if you're hiring the right person?
Plenty of business owners have paid thousands of dollars for a website, only to end up with something that doesn't work on phones, loads slowly, or worse—a freelancer who disappears mid-project.
Before you sign anything, ask these five questions. The answers will tell you a lot about whether you're making a good investment or setting yourself up for frustration.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Your website isn't just a digital brochure. It's often the first impression potential customers have of your business.
75% of people judge a company's credibility based on their website design. That judgment happens fast—in about 50 milliseconds. That's faster than you can blink.
If your website looks dated, loads slowly, or doesn't work properly, people assume your business operates the same way. They leave. They call your competitor instead.
And once they leave? 88% of web users won't come back after a bad experience. You don't get a second chance.
That's why choosing the right person to build your website isn't just about getting pages online. It's about getting it right the first time.
Question 1: What Happens After the Website Goes Live?
This is the most important question—and the one most people forget to ask.
Building a website is just the beginning. You'll need updates. Hours change. New services get added. Photos need swapping out. Something breaks.
What happens then?
With many freelancers, the answer is: you're on your own. Some freelancers drop projects when the work becomes overwhelming. They move on to new clients, get overwhelmed with other work, or simply disappear. Suddenly you can't reach the person who built your site, and you're stuck. (This pattern is so common we wrote an entire post about why web designers disappear.)
With agencies, you'll often get an answer—but it involves hourly rates. Need to update your phone number? That'll be $150. Want to add a new service page? Start a new project scope.
What to listen for: Ask specifically about ongoing support. Is there a maintenance plan? What's the response time? Is support included, or does every change cost extra? Get this in writing before you start.
Question 2: Who Owns the Website and Domain?
This sounds obvious, but it catches a surprising number of business owners off guard.
Many web design contracts actually give the designer legal ownership of the content they create. That includes your website design, sometimes even your text and images.
The domain name—your actual web address—is another trap. If your designer registers it in their name, they control it. There are real cases of IT professionals holding business domains hostage for thousands of dollars.
This isn't hypothetical. It happens all the time to small businesses who trusted the wrong person.
What to listen for: The designer should clearly state that you own everything—the domain, the design, the content. The domain should be registered in your business's name, with you as the registrant. If they're vague about this, walk away.
Question 3: Will the Site Work Well on Phones?
More than 61% of website traffic now comes from mobile devices. For local businesses, that number is often even higher—people searching "plumber near me" or "best coffee shop in Arroyo Grande" are almost always on their phones.
If your website doesn't work well on mobile, you're invisible to most of your potential customers.
"Works on mobile" isn't just "displays on mobile." The site needs to load fast, text needs to be readable without zooming, buttons need to be easy to tap, and your phone number needs to be clickable.
Mobile users are 5x more likely to abandon a task if the site isn't optimized for phones. And 85% of adults expect a mobile site to be as good or better than desktop.
What to listen for: Any professional designer will build mobile-first (or at least mobile-responsive) today. Ask to see examples of their work on your phone. Open their past projects on your own device and test them. If things feel clunky, they probably will on your site too.
Question 4: How Long Will This Take?
Time matters. Every day without a professional website is a day potential customers are going elsewhere.
Working with a web design agency typically takes 2 to 6 months. That's not because the work takes that long—it's the back-and-forth, the meetings, the revisions, the waiting.
Freelancers can sometimes be faster, but often get pulled in multiple directions. Your project might sit idle while they finish someone else's emergency.
A simple small business website shouldn't take months. If someone is quoting you 8-12 weeks for a 5-page site, something's off.
What to listen for: Get a specific timeline, with milestones. When will you see a first draft? How many revision rounds are included? What's the target launch date? A professional will have clear answers. Vague timelines often mean vague accountability.
Question 5: What Happens If Things Go Wrong?
Websites break. Hosting goes down. Security issues pop up. It's not a matter of if—it's when. (We cover the full breakdown in what happens when your website breaks.)
When something goes wrong at 10 PM on a Friday, who do you call?
Small business website maintenance typically costs $35-$500 per month if you're paying separately for it. That's on top of what you already paid to build the site.
Many businesses end up in a frustrating spot: their freelancer is gone, they don't know how to fix things themselves, and they're scrambling to find someone new who can figure out what the last person built.
What to listen for: Ask specifically about security, backups, and hosting. Who handles it? What's included? If something breaks, what's the process? The more concrete the answer, the better. “We'll figure it out” is not a plan.
The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong
When you hire the wrong web designer, you don't just lose money. You lose time. You lose confidence. And you might end up starting over.
The business owner who paid $3,000 for a site that looks dated within a year. The contractor whose freelancer disappeared and left them locked out of their own domain. The restaurant that can't update their menu because they don't have login credentials.
These stories are common because most business owners don't know what questions to ask upfront. Now you do.
What YouGrow Does Differently
We built YouGrow specifically to answer these questions the right way:
- After launch? We manage your site forever. Updates via email or phone, most completed within a business day. No extra charges for normal changes—it's all included.
- Ownership? You own your content, period. If you ever leave, we give you everything.
- Mobile? Every site we build works beautifully on phones because that's where most of your customers are looking.
- Accessibility? Every site we build works for all your customers—readable text, keyboard-friendly navigation, screen reader compatible. It's how you treat people.
- Timeline? Most sites go live in 3-7 days. Not months. Days.
- When things go wrong? You call a local number: 805-439-6288. I'm in Arroyo Grande. I pick up the phone.
$79/month covers everything: the website, hosting, security, updates, support. No setup fee for founding members. Month-to-month, cancel anytime. Plus, we refresh your design every 3 years with our Everfresh Guarantee—included.
We don't disappear. We don't charge hourly for updates. We're your web team for life—or until you decide you don't need us anymore.
Ready to Ask the Right Questions?
Whether you end up working with us or someone else, you now know what to look for. Ask these five questions. Don't accept vague answers. Get everything in writing.
And if you'd like to see what working with YouGrow looks like, get your website. No pressure—just a conversation about what you need and whether we're a good fit.
Call 805-439-6288 or get started today. We're local, we're direct, and we answer questions honestly—even if the honest answer is that you don't need us.
Onur builds and manages websites for SLO County small businesses at YouGrow.pro. Based in Arroyo Grande. $79/month, everything included.