Website development FAQs: questions to ask before you commission a site
Process, cost, payment terms, timelines, platforms, content, images, code ownership, SEO and hosting: plain answers to the questions people ask about a new website.
These are the questions people most often ask before commissioning a business website, with answers that apply whoever builds it. For the full process, see the website development guide.
I am not technical. How does the process work?
Usually in five steps: a brief (what the site must do and for whom), a design stage with page layouts for you to approve, the build, a review period where you test on your own phone and computer, and launch. Ask for one named contact on the developer’s side and agree how often you will review progress.
What will it cost?
It depends on the number of page types, the features beyond plain pages (booking, search, member areas, a shop), who writes the content, and whether the design is custom. Ask for a quote that lists pages and features one by one and states separately what hosting and maintenance cost each year.
Do I have to pay everything upfront?
That is a contract term, and it is negotiable. One common arrangement ties payments to stages, such as approval of the design, delivery of the build and launch. Avoid paying the full amount before you have seen a working site.
How long does it take?
It depends mostly on scope and on how quickly content and feedback arrive: pages cannot be finished until their text and photos exist. Agree a schedule with dates for both sides.
Which platform should the site use?
Broadly, you choose between a hosted site builder, an open-source content management system, or a custom build. Builders are quick and need little upkeep; a content management system is flexible but needs updates and security patches; custom code suits unusual needs. Choose by who will edit the site and how often.
Can a different developer update a site someone else built?
Usually, if you hold the logins for the domain, hosting and content management system, and a copy of the code. Without them, the new developer may have to rebuild. Ask for all credentials at the end of any project.
Who writes the content and supplies the images?
Agree it in writing. If the developer supplies photos or illustrations, ask where they come from: IPOS advises getting the copyright owner’s permission, such as a licence, before using someone else’s work. Do not use images copied from other websites without the owner’s permission.
Do I own my website’s code?
Not automatically. IPOS explains that the author generally owns copyright even in commissioned work unless a written agreement says otherwise. Make the contract assign the design, code and content made for you, and note any third-party components with their own licences.
Will the site appear in Google?
Google’s SEO starter guide explains that it finds pages mainly through links from pages it has already crawled, and that a sitemap is optional. A new site appears faster when other sites link to it and when each page has clear titles and useful text. Search visibility after launch is ongoing work; be wary of anyone who guarantees rankings.
Does speed matter?
Yes. Ask for Google’s Core Web Vitals thresholds in the acceptance criteria: Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less, Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less.
Where will the site be hosted?
Ask which provider and which country. If the site stores personal data, such as enquiries or customer accounts, the PDPA’s transfer limitation obligation applies when that data goes overseas: the protection must be comparable to the PDPA’s.
Are backups included?
Ask how often backups run, where they are kept, and how quickly the site can be restored. A backup that has never been restored is not yet a backup.
What does hosting cost?
It varies widely with traffic, storage, the type of server and the level of support. Get the hosting price in writing and check whether it includes backups, security updates and an SSL certificate.