Website quote? 12 questions to ask first

Updated 23 October 2026. Written by a web studio that sells websites, so we say at the end how our own offer answers each question. Ask us the same questions.

The short version

The domain must be registered in your name, in an account you can log in to.
Add up the cost over two years, not the first payment.
Find out whether you ever own the site, and what leaving costs.
Walk away from anyone who guarantees a position on Google.

The four ways trades firms usually get a website

Do it yourself with a website builder. A monthly subscription, and you do the writing, the photos and the setup. Cheap in money, expensive in evenings.
One-off build by a freelancer or agency. You pay once for the build, then separately for hosting and any changes. You normally own the result.
Monthly plan with little or nothing up front. Hosting and changes are included. Read the contract closely: some plans let you own the site after a set time, many never do.
A directory profile only, such as a page on a trade directory. Useful, but it's their page, shown next to your competitors, and it disappears when you stop paying.

None of these is wrong. The questions below work for all of them.

Ownership

1. Whose name is the domain registered in?

The domain (yourbusiness.co.uk) is the single most important thing you will own online. It's on your van, your invoices and your Google profile. It should be registered with you as the registrant, in an account you can log in to. If the designer registers it in their own name, leaving them can mean losing your address. For .uk domains the registry is Nominet, and the registrar you use can show you who the registrant is.

2. Do I own the website itself, and when?

Ask in writing: "When do the site and its files belong to me?" Good answers: "Once you've paid for the build" or "After month 12". A worrying answer is anything that means you are renting forever, unless that's what you want and the price reflects it.

3. Can I take the site with me if I leave?

Owning a site you can't move is not much use. Ask whether you get the files, and whether they would run somewhere else. Sites built on a company's own closed system often can't be moved at all and have to be rebuilt.

4. Whose name are the Google Business Profile and other accounts in?

Your Google profile, Search Console, analytics and email should all be in your name, with the designer added as a user. You should be able to remove their access yourself.

Cost

5. What is the total over two years?

Ask for one number: everything you would pay in the first 24 months, including setup, monthly fees, hosting, domain renewals, email and any "optional" extras you would really need. That's the only fair way to compare a £0-upfront plan with a £1,500 build.

6. What does the monthly fee include?

Typical things it should cover: hosting, security updates, backups, keeping the site working, and some small changes. Ask how many changes, what counts as "small", and what a bigger change costs.

7. Is the price including VAT?

Many small studios aren't VAT-registered and charge none. Larger ones add 20%. If you are VAT-registered you can usually reclaim it, but compare like with like.

Contract and leaving

8. How long is the minimum term, and what does leaving early cost?

Get the exact figure. "You pay the remaining months" is clear. "An exit fee" or "the full contract value" can be far more. As a business customer you usually have no 14-day cooling-off right, so read this before you sign, not after.

9. What happens after the minimum term?

Does the plan roll on month to month, and with how much notice to cancel? Does the price go up? Is there an automatic renewal for another year? Look for the notice period in the contract.

The work itself

10. Who writes the text and takes the photos?

Text is where most website projects stall. If you are expected to write every page, budget the evenings. Ask whether they write it from a short call, and whether photos must be yours. Stock photos of other people's vans don't help.

11. Can I see sites you built that work on a phone?

Open them on your own phone, on mobile data. Do they load quickly? Can you find the phone number with your thumb? Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool gives a speed score for any address in a few seconds.

12. What do you promise about Google?

A good answer covers the basics: correct page titles, a page for each service, your areas, a fast site, and help with your Google Business Profile. A bad answer is "page one guaranteed" or "number one in Google". Google itself says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking. Treat that promise as a reason to leave.

Red flags

The domain is in the designer's name, or they won't say.
No written contract, or one with no figure for leaving early.
Guaranteed rankings, or a "special relationship" with Google.
You can't log in to anything: not the domain, not the Google profile, not the site.
The price changes when you ask what's included.

How we answer these

For fairness, here is our own offer against the same questions.

Domain and accounts: registered in your name. You pay the registrar directly.
Ownership: the site and its files are yours after the setup fee and 6 monthly payments. We help you move it if you want to.
Two-year total: £379 setup plus £59 a month is £1,795 over 24 months, plus your domain. Hosting is included. No VAT is added.
Monthly fee: hosting, updates, backups and up to 2 small changes a month.
Leaving early: you pay the months left of the 6, and the site is yours. After 6 months, keep full care, switch to Hosting only at £29 a month, or cancel with 30 days' notice.
Text: we write it from what you tell us. Photos of your own jobs help, but you don't need them on day one.
Google: we build everything in the "good answer" above. We don't promise rankings.

The full details are on our pricing page and in our terms.

Getting a website quote? 12 questions to ask first