10 Things to Check Before You Pay Anyone to Build Your Website
AI tools have made it fast to produce something that looks like a website. That is good news for price and speed. It also means anyone can sell you one, whether or not they know how to make it bring bookings. These ten questions tell the difference, and a good designer will answer all of them without hesitating.
1. Whose name is the domain in?
Your domain should be registered in your own account, with your email as the owner. If the designer registers it in theirs, they hold your address on the internet, and moving away later depends on their goodwill. Ask to see it.
2. Can you take the site with you?
Ask what happens if you stop working together. Do you get the files? Is the site on a platform you can log in to? A site you cannot move is a site you are renting, whatever you paid for it.
3. Is visitor tracking connected, in your account?
Without Google Analytics and Google Search Console you cannot know whether anyone visits, where they come from or what they search for. Both are free. They should be set up in an account you own, with the designer added as a user. Bruno Bonnier, a private chef in Barcelona and one of our clients, had paid €5,000 for his previous website. When we looked, no visitor tracking was connected at all, so he had no way to tell whether it was working.
4. What is the full price, in writing?
Get one number for the build and one for anything monthly, and ask what each covers: hosting, the domain renewal, changes, support. "It depends" is fine for unusual work, but a standard site for a private chef has a standard price. Prices vary enormously, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, and the higher figure does not guarantee the better site.
5. When do you pay?
Be careful with anyone who wants the full amount before you have seen anything. A deposit to start and the balance when you approve the site keeps both sides honest.
6. Is there a deadline, and what if it is missed?
"A few weeks" is not a deadline. Ask for a date, ask what you need to send for the clock to start, and ask what happens if they are late. A designer who is confident of the date will put it in writing.
7. Can you see sites they have built?
Ask for live links, not screenshots. Open each one on your phone. Is it fast? Is it clear what the business does? Could you make an inquiry in two taps? If you can, ask one of those clients how the work went.
8. What will they do so people can find it?
A site nobody finds does nothing. Ask how the page titles will be written, whether your menus will be real text or PDF files, and whether your Google Business Profile is part of the job. Walk away from anyone who promises first place on Google. Nobody can.
9. Can a guest actually book you?
The point of the site is inquiries. Ask where the inquiry form is, what it asks (date, number of guests and budget are the minimum) and where the message goes. Then send yourself a test inquiry before you approve anything.
10. What happens after launch?
Menus change and prices go up. Ask what a change costs, how fast it gets done and who you write to. If there is a monthly plan, ask how long you are committed and how you leave.
One more: who is doing the work?
Some agencies sell the job and pass it to someone you never speak to. Ask who builds the site and who you will talk to when something needs fixing.
How we answer them
These are the terms we work on at Aeternal Digital, so you can hold us to the same list. Your domain and content are yours at all times, and so is the site once it is paid for. The price is published: $800, with $100 to start and the rest only when you approve the site. It is live within 10 days of receiving your menus and photos, or it is half price. Google Analytics and Search Console are set up in your own account, with us added as a user. The monthly plan is optional, with a three-month minimum. You can see the sites we have built on our work page, and you deal with one person, Harvey, from the first audit to launch.