How to choose a web designer or marketing agency: 12 questions to ask before you sign

Hiring someone to build your website or run your marketing means handing over things that are hard to get back: your web address, your Google listing, your ad accounts. Most providers are honest. A few plain questions will show you which kind you're talking to, and the good ones are glad to answer.

First, who holds the keys

1. Whose name will my domain be registered in? It should be yours. ICANN, the body that coordinates domain names, defines the registrant as the person or entity that holds the rights to a domain name. It warns that a developer you hired may have registered the domain using their own details, even if you paid for it, and it recommends against listing website designers or hosting providers as the registrant. You can look up any domain at lookup.icann.org.
2. Who will own my Google Business Profile? You should. Google's rules for agencies say customers must retain ownership or co-ownership of their profile at all times. If you end the relationship, the agency has 7 business days from your notice to let you take back exclusive control.
3. Will I have full access to my own analytics and ad accounts? Ask for the top level of access to your website analytics, Google Search Console, and any ad accounts, so you can add or remove people yourself.

Then, the money and the contract

4. What's included, and what costs extra? Pages, changes, copywriting, photos, hosting. Get the list in writing.
5. Is there a minimum term, and what does leaving early cost? Terms vary widely. Among the monthly website plans whose terms we've read, a 12-month minimum is common, and leaving early can mean paying the remaining months or a lump sum.
6. If I cancel, what do I keep? With some plans the provider keeps the website and you keep the domain. With others the site becomes yours after a set period. Neither is wrong. Know which you're buying.
7. If you run ads for me, is the ad spend separate from your fee? You should be able to see what went to the ad platform and what went to the provider.

Then, the work

8. Can I see work you've done for businesses like mine? Google's own advice on hiring an SEO starts here: ask for examples of previous work, what results to expect, and in what timeframe.
9. How will I know it's working? Ask what the reports will show. Calls, form requests, and bookings matter. A count of "impressions" on its own doesn't.
10. Who will I talk to, and who does the work? They aren't always the same person.
11. Will the site be fast, work on phones, and be usable by people with disabilities? In September 2026, 49.1% of US web traffic came from mobile devices. Google's guidance is for a page's main content to load within 2.5 seconds. On accessibility, the W3C encourages using the latest version of its guidelines, WCAG 2.2. It isn't an abstract concern: law firm Seyfarth Shaw counted 3,117 website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court in 2025.
12. What do you promise? The right answer includes the words "no guaranteed rankings."

Red flags

• A guaranteed number one ranking. Google's page on hiring an SEO says it plainly: no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google.
• A "special relationship" with Google. Google's rules bar agencies from presenting themselves as Google or as affiliated with it, and from guaranteeing top placement.
• Secrecy. Google advises being careful if a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what it intends to do.
• Your domain or profile in their name. See questions one and two.
• Urgent calls about your listing or your web address. The Federal Trade Commission's guide to small business scams describes callers who threaten that your business will lose its website address unless you pay immediately, along with phony invoices and bills for listings in fake directories. A Google Business Profile itself is free, and Google requires agencies to tell their customers so.
• No written scope. If it isn't written down, it isn't included.

Comparing two proposals

Line them up on four things: what's included, the total cost over three years, what you keep if you leave, and who does the work. The cheaper monthly number doesn't always win once you do.

Sources

• ICANN, frequently asked questions for domain name registrants
• ICANN, "Do You Have a Domain Name? Here's What You Need to Know," March 2018
• Google Business Profile Help, "Business Profile third-party policies"
• Google Search Central, "Do you need an SEO?"
• Federal Trade Commission, "Scams and Your Small Business: A Guide for Business," July 2023
• StatCounter, platform market share, United States, September 2026
• Google Search Central, "Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google search results"
• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, WCAG 2 overview
• Seyfarth Shaw, federal website accessibility lawsuit filings in 2025, March 2026
• Published terms of monthly-plan web design companies, read October 5, 2026