How to Choose a Web Design Agency: 12 Questions to Ask

Most bad website projects were bad before the first line of code. The owner picked an agency on a nice portfolio and a friendly call, paid half upfront, and found out later who owned the domain, what "one round of revisions" meant and why the old Google rankings disappeared. None of that is bad luck. Each of those problems is answered by a question you can ask on the first call.

This guide is for hotel, restaurant, clinic and shop owners hiring an agency in Manila, in India or anywhere else. We are an agency ourselves, based in Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines, so under each question we also say how we answer it. Hold us to the same standard you hold anyone else to.

Which 12 questions should you ask a web design agency?

1. Is the price fixed, and is the scope written down?
2. What exactly is included, and what costs extra?
3. How much do I pay upfront, and when is the rest due?
4. Will the code be handed over to me?
5. Will the domain be registered in my name?
6. Can I open live websites you have built, and which ones are demos?
7. Can I see a design for my own business before I commit?
8. How long will it take, and what could delay it?
9. How fast will the site load on a phone?
10. If you are replacing my old site, how will you keep my Google rankings?
11. What happens after launch, and what does ongoing care cost?
12. Who will I actually talk to, and when are you available?

A good agency answers each of these in a sentence or two, without needing to "get back to you". The rest of this guide takes them in groups.

Is the price fixed, and what does it actually cover?

Questions 1 to 3 are about money. A fixed price only means something when the scope behind it is written down: the number of pages, the features, the number of revision rounds and who supplies the words and photos. Without that, a "fixed" quote turns hourly the first time you ask for a change.

Ask for the payment schedule in writing too. Paying everything upfront leaves you with no leverage if the project stalls. A deposit followed by the balance on delivery keeps both sides honest.

How we answer: our starting prices are published in USD, from $349 for a landing page, $499 for a hotel website, $599 for a business or restaurant website, $999 for an online store and $1,299 for a multi-page corporate site. The scope is agreed in writing before work starts. Add-ons such as bookings, payments or extra languages are listed line by line on our pricing page. One round of revisions before launch is included. You pay a 25% deposit only after you have seen and liked a free homepage sample, and the remaining 75% on delivery.

Who will own the website, the code and the domain?

Questions 4 and 5 are the easiest to skip and the hardest to fix later. If the agency keeps the code, or builds on a page builder account in its own name, you cannot move the site without starting again. If the domain is registered to the agency, your web address belongs to them.

ICANN, the body that coordinates domain names, puts responsibility for a domain on its registrant: "You will assume sole responsibility for the registration and use of your domain name." That registrant should be you or your business, with your own email address on the record, so renewal notices and transfer codes reach you.

How we answer: the code is handed over to a repository in your name and the domain is registered to you. You can move the site to another host or another agency whenever you want. There is no page-builder subscription holding it hostage.

Can you see real work, and a sample of your own site, before you pay?

Question 6: ask for live links, not screenshots, and open them on your phone while you are still on the call. Ask which sites were built for paying clients and which were built to show off. Demo sites are fine, but they should be labelled as demos.

Question 7: a portfolio shows what an agency did for someone else. A sample of your own homepage shows whether they understood your business. It is the cheapest way to find out before any money moves.

How we answer: our portfolio links to live websites you can click through, including Hotel Vagmi in Varanasi, LC Godoy in Manila, Highlights Taal Lakeview Resort in Batangas and the travel agency Rang Travels in India. Demo builds are marked as demos. Before any deposit we make a free custom homepage sample in 24 to 48 hours.

How long will it take, and how fast will it load?

Question 8: ask for a timeline by website type and ask what usually causes delays. The honest answer is almost always content: text, photos, menus, room lists and feedback that arrive late.

How we answer: a landing page takes 3–4 days; a business, hotel, portfolio or restaurant site 5–7 days; a booking or SaaS marketing site 7–10 days; and an e-commerce or corporate site 2–3 weeks. Your actual dates are confirmed in the quote and depend mostly on how quickly content and feedback come back.

Question 9: speed is not a feeling, so ask what the agency measures. Google's web.dev sets "good" Core Web Vitals as the main content loading within 2.5 seconds (LCP), responding to a tap in 200 milliseconds or less (INP) and a layout shift score of 0.1 or less (CLS). web.dev recommends measuring them at the 75th percentile of page loads, with mobile and desktop counted separately. Ask the agency to show you these numbers for a site they have already launched.

How we answer: every site is built mobile-first on Next.js and deployed on Vercel. We test on every build and tune until the site is fast on a mid-range phone, not just on a desktop.

What happens to your Google rankings in a redesign?

Question 10 matters whenever you already have a website. Every old page that ranks, or that other sites link to, has an address. If the new site changes those addresses and nobody redirects them, visitors and search engines land on "page not found" and the ranking that page earned is lost.

Google's own site-move guide tells you to list your old URLs and "decide where each one should redirect to", to use permanent server-side redirects (301 or 308), and to keep them "for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year". Ask the agency to show you that redirect map before launch, not after.

How we answer: we review your current site, content and rankings first and agree what to keep. Moving off WordPress, Wix or Squarespace is a $299 add-on; we migrate your content and redirect your old URLs to the new ones, so you keep the search equity you have already built.

What happens after launch, and who will you talk to?

Question 11: a website needs updates, security patches and the occasional new page. Ask what support is included, what it costs afterwards and whether you are forced into a monthly plan to keep the site running.

How we answer: you get a handover with the code, the domain and the analytics accounts in your name, a walkthrough, and 2 weeks of free post-launch support. After that, care is optional: a $49/mo maintenance plan covers security monitoring, small content updates and uptime alerts, and extra work is $25/hr. Our $99/month Basic plan is a separate marketing retainer, not website maintenance.

Question 12: find out who you will speak to day to day and in which hours. An agency in another country is not a problem if its hours overlap with yours and it answers on the channel you already use. How we answer: one point of contact, on WhatsApp, 9am–9pm IST (11:30am–11:30pm PHT).

What are the red flags when hiring a web design agency?

• A guaranteed Google ranking. Google's own hiring advice is blunt: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google."
• Full payment upfront, before you have seen any design.
• No written scope, or a scope that says "website as discussed".
• The code, hosting or domain staying in the agency's name.
• A portfolio of screenshots with no live links, or demos presented as client work.
• No plan for your old URLs when replacing an existing site.
• Vague answers about what happens after launch.

How does Digiocular answer the 12 questions?

Does it matter whether the agency is in Manila or India?

Less than you would think. What matters is that the agency knows the tools your customers use. In India that means UPI and Razorpay; in the Philippines it means GCash, Maya and PayMongo; everywhere it means the messaging apps your customers already use. It also matters that its working hours overlap with yours and that it prices in a currency you can plan around.

We work with businesses in the Philippines, India and further afield. All prices are published in US dollars; local currency is available on request for India. Whoever you hire, ask the twelve questions, write the answers into the contract and keep a copy.