Short answer to how to choose a web designer: ignore the portfolio for a second, ignore the pricing for two seconds, and ask six questions that reveal whether you're hiring a builder or a salesperson. If they fail any one of them, walk.
Question 1 — "Will I own the code?"
The single most important question. The right answer is "yes, on GitHub in your name". Wrong answers include: "we host it on our platform", "you can't really export it", "we use our proprietary CMS", anything about "your subscription".
If you don't own the site, you're renting forever. The day you want to leave, you start over. Anyone unwilling to put the code in your name is selling you a subscription dressed up as a website.
Question 2 — "What's the build process?"
You want a short, specific answer. "30-minute brief call, design draft in 5 days, build in 10 days, launch in 14 days" is the right shape. A long answer about "discovery sprints, ideation workshops, stakeholder alignment phases" usually means the process exists to justify the price, not to make the website better.
Real timelines for a small business website are 2–3 weeks for 5 pages, 4–6 weeks for 10. Anything quoted at three months is paying for someone's overhead.
Question 3 — "Show me a Lighthouse score for a recent project."
Lighthouse is Google's free speed audit. Any competent web designer can pull a score for any of their live sites in 30 seconds. A good build scores 90+ across performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO. A great build scores 95+.
If they hesitate, ask why. If they say "Lighthouse isn't important", run. Page speed is the foundation of every other digital outcome — bookings, leads, sales, SEO. Anyone dismissing it doesn't understand how to build for it.
Question 4 — "Who actually does the work?"
At a freelancer or small studio: the person you're talking to. At a small agency: the same designer and developer from start to finish. At a big agency: it'll be a junior, with the senior occasionally reviewing. That's fine — but you should know it before signing.
If the answer is "we have a 30-person team and you'll have an account manager", expect to pay 2–3× the freelance rate for the same output. The account manager isn't building your site; they're translating between you and someone else.
Question 5 — "What happens if I want to leave after launch?"
This is the question that flushes out lock-in. Good answers: "Cancel any time, take the code with you, transfer the domain and hosting to whoever you want." Bad answers: "There's an exit fee", "the site won't work off our hosting", "we'll need 90 days' notice", "the design is licensed to us".
Any builder who makes leaving expensive or hard is one you'll regret hiring the day you outgrow them.
Question 6 — "Can I see a quote breakdown by line item?"
Build, hosting, domain, email, ongoing — separately, with the numbers. If they wrap it into "£X/month all-inclusive", you're nearly always paying more than the parts cost. A real example we've seen: £450/month "small business package" that turned out to be £180 of actual hosting + edits, with £270 in margin.
The right quote should fit on one page and answer "what am I paying for and how does that compare to doing each piece separately?"
The bonus question — "Can I talk to a current client?"
Most legitimate web designers will say yes. Most won't have set this up in advance, so expect 24–48 hours for them to ask a client. If they refuse, or take a week to "find someone", that tells you something on its own.
If they fail any of these — walk
You don't owe a quote process. You don't need to be polite about it. If a web designer can't give straight answers to six obvious questions, the website they build for you will involve a lot of awkward emails six months in.
How Zebweb answers these six
1. Yes — code on GitHub in your name. 2. 30-minute brief, 14-day build. 3. 95+ Lighthouse across all live sites. 4. Louis (founder) builds every project. 5. Cancel any time after the 6-month care-plan minimum, full code export, no exit fees. 6. Itemised quote on the homepage calculator — no email required. 7. Happy to put you in touch with a current client.
See how Zebweb works UK-wide for the full pitch, or build a quote in 60 seconds.
