The short answer: Choose a website design company that has built sites like the one you need, explains its process and pricing in writing, plans for SEO from the start, and makes sure you own your domain, content, and website. Talk to two or three options, ask the same questions of each, check references, and pick the team you trust to stick around after launch.
What should you figure out before you contact a web design company?
Before you contact anyone, figure out what your website needs to do for your business, what you can spend, and when you need it. Those three answers will save you hours of sales calls and make every quote easier to compare.
Jot down quick answers to these:
- The main job of the site. Generating leads, selling products online, booking appointments, recruiting employees, or helping distributors find your info?
- Must-haves versus nice-to-haves. E-commerce, online forms, a store locator, blog, or integrations with your CRM or inventory system.
- Your budget range. Even a rough number helps a good partner recommend the right scope.
- Your timeline. Is there a product launch, trade show, or busy season driving the date?
- Who will update it. Will your team edit pages, or do you want the company to handle updates?
You do not need a formal brief. A one-page list is plenty, and any decent partner will help you sharpen it.
Should you hire a freelancer, use a DIY builder, or hire an agency?
The right choice depends on how complex your site is and how much help you want after launch. Each option is a good fit for somebody, and an honest agency will tell you when you are not their somebody.
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace) | Very small budgets and simple sites you will maintain yourself | Your time, limited flexibility, and harder moves to another platform later |
| Freelancer | Straightforward sites with a clear scope | Capacity, backup if they get busy or move on, and gaps in SEO or copywriting |
| Full-service agency | Businesses that want strategy, design, development, content, and marketing under one roof | Higher upfront cost and making sure you are not paying for services you will not use |
If you are just starting out, a DIY site can be a perfectly reasonable first step. If your website is a real sales tool, especially for e-commerce, multiple locations, or a brand you are trying to grow across the Midwest, a team with design, development, and marketing skills usually earns its keep.
What should you look for in a website design company?
Look for relevant work, a clear process, real SEO and content skills, honest communication, and a plan for life after launch. Pretty portfolios are the easy part. The rest tells you what working together will actually be like.
A portfolio with results, not just screenshots
Look for sites similar to yours in size and purpose, and ask what happened after launch. A good partner can tell you how a site performed. For example, when we built The Barrel Mill a new site that combined four websites into one, its new online store grew from $0 to $280,000 in sales in its first 18 months. Not every project has numbers like that, but a company should be able to talk about outcomes. You can browse our work to see how we present ours.
A process they can explain
Ask them to walk you through discovery, sitemap, design, content, development, testing, and launch. Who does each step? When do you review? How many rounds of revisions are included?
SEO built in, not bolted on
Your new site should keep the search traffic your old one earned and be set up to earn more. That means redirects, page titles, headings, schema, speed, and mobile layout are part of the plan. We explain why in our post on how SEO and website design work together.
Someone who can help with words
Many website projects stall waiting on content. Find out whether the company writes copy, provides photography, or expects you to deliver everything.
Support after launch
Websites need software updates, security monitoring, backups, and occasional fixes. Ask what ongoing support costs and what is included.
What questions should you ask a web design company before hiring?
Ask questions that reveal how they work, what you will own, and what happens after launch. Ask every company the same list so you can compare answers side by side.
- Can you show me two or three sites you built for businesses like mine, and tell me how they performed?
- What is your process, and how long does a project like mine usually take?
- What exactly is included in your quote, and what would cost extra?
- Who writes the content, and who provides photos?
- How do you protect my current search rankings during a redesign?
- What platform do you build on, and why?
- Will I own the domain, the website files, and the content?
- Where will the site be hosted, and who controls that account?
- Will my team be able to update pages without calling you?
- What does support cost after launch, and what does it cover?
- Can I talk to two or three current or past clients?
Who should own your website, domain, and hosting?
You should own your domain, your website content, and your website files, and you should have admin access to your hosting account. If a company holds any of those hostage, leaving them later becomes expensive and painful.
Here is what to confirm in writing:
- Domain. Registered in your business name, with login credentials you control.
- Hosting. It is fine if your agency manages hosting, but you should know where the site lives, what it costs, and how to move it if you ever need to.
- Admin access. You should have an administrator login to your own site.
- Licenses. Paid themes, plugins, fonts, and stock photos should be properly licensed, ideally to you.
- Analytics. Google Analytics and Search Console accounts should belong to your business, with the agency added as a user.
Some website builders and proprietary platforms make it hard to take your site with you. That is one reason we build most small business sites on WordPress. It is widely supported, flexible, and you can move it to another host or partner if you ever need to. Our post on why WordPress still wins for small business websites covers the pros and the trade-offs.
How much does a small business website cost?
A custom small business website from an agency usually starts around $8,000 to $12,000 at Moxie, based on our own published pricing. Sites with e-commerce, lots of pages, custom features, or integrations cost more, while DIY builders and some freelancers cost less.
What drives the price:
- Number of pages and templates
- E-commerce and product count
- Custom features, integrations, and forms
- Copywriting, photography, and video
- SEO setup and redirect planning
- Ongoing hosting, maintenance, and support
When you compare quotes, compare what is included, not just the total. A cheaper quote that leaves out content, SEO, or redirects can end up costing more. For a full breakdown of websites, branding, and ongoing marketing, read what marketing actually costs.
What are the red flags when hiring a website design company?
The biggest red flags are vague pricing, guaranteed rankings, and any arrangement where you do not own your site. If something feels slippery during the sales process, it rarely gets better once the contract is signed.
- No written scope. If they cannot put deliverables and costs on paper, expect surprises.
- Guaranteed #1 rankings. Nobody can promise Google results. Good SEO takes time and steady work.
- They own your domain or site. Or they say you can leave, just not with your website.
- No questions about your business. If they jump straight to colors and templates, they are designing for themselves.
- No plan for your old URLs. A redesign without redirects can wipe out years of search traffic.
- Slow or fuzzy communication. How they treat you as a prospect is how they will treat you as a client.
- No references. Any established company should happily connect you with past clients.
How do you make the final decision?
Make the final decision based on fit and trust, not just price. Narrow it to the two or three companies that answered your questions clearly, call their references, and pick the team you would be comfortable working with for years, because a good website is never really finished.
Location matters less than it used to, but working with a team nearby can make kickoff meetings, photo shoots, and on-site visits easier. Here in Central Minnesota, plenty of businesses like having a partner they can meet for coffee.
If you would like an outside opinion on your current site before you start shopping, our Website Assessment will show you what is working and what is not. And if we end up being a fit, great. You can learn more about our website design and development services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to build a small business website?
Most custom small business websites take a few months from kickoff to launch, depending on size, features, and how quickly content and feedback come together. Content is the most common cause of delays. Ask any company for a realistic timeline with review dates built in.
Is a website template bad for my business?
A template is not automatically bad. It can be a smart, affordable choice for a simple site, especially if it is customized to fit your brand. The bigger issues are whether the site is fast, easy to update, built for SEO, and owned by you.
Should my web designer also handle SEO?
Your web designer should at least handle SEO basics, including redirects, page titles, headings, mobile layout, speed, and schema. Ongoing SEO, like content and link building, can come from the same team or a separate one. Either way, SEO should be part of the website plan from the start.
What is included in website maintenance?
Website maintenance usually covers software and plugin updates, security monitoring, backups, uptime checks, and small fixes. Some plans also include content edits or monthly reports. Ask exactly what is covered and how quickly issues get fixed.
Can I switch web design companies after my site is built?
You can switch companies if you own your domain, hosting access, and website files. Sites built on widely used platforms like WordPress are much easier to move than sites built on proprietary systems. Confirm ownership in your contract before the project starts.
Want a straight answer about your website?
Tell us what your site needs to do, and we will give you an honest take on scope, cost, and whether we are the right fit.
