Ask three questions before anything else: who owns the domain, the website and the content; what the total cost is over three years rather than upfront; and what happens if you part ways. Get the answers in writing. Design taste is the easy part to judge and the least likely thing to hurt you. The expensive surprises are almost always contractual.
We build websites for a living, so treat this as an interested party's guide — which is exactly why we have started it with the questions we would want a prospective client to ask us.
First: Do You Actually Need a Web Designer?
Sometimes the honest answer is no, and it is worth ruling out before you spend anything.
You probably do not need to hire anyone if: you need a simple three-to-five page site, you have no complex functionality in mind, you are comfortable with software, and you have a spare weekend. A modern DIY builder will get you something respectable, and your money is better spent elsewhere.
Hiring usually pays for itself if: your website needs to generate enquiries rather than just exist; you need it to be genuinely fast and findable; you have booking, e-commerce or integrations in play; your time is worth more than the hours it would take; or you have already tried DIY and the result is not performing.
If you are on the fence, our comparisons with Wix and Squarespace lay out the trade-offs, and we have tried to be fair about where those platforms are the sensible choice.
The Ownership Questions (Ask These First)
This is where people get genuinely trapped, and it rarely comes up until the relationship ends.
"Who will own the domain name?"
The only good answer: you do, registered in your business name, with you holding the login. A domain registered in an agency's name is leverage over your business. If you ever want to leave and they are slow, obstructive or simply unreachable, your email and website are hostage.
"Who owns the website itself, and the content?"
Get specific. Do you own the design, the code, the copy, the photographs? Some arrangements are genuinely licence-based rather than ownership-based, and that can be fine — subscription models often work this way — but you need to know which you are buying. The problem is not licensing. The problem is discovering it later.
"What happens if we part ways?"
Ask directly: can I take the website with me? What do I get — a database export, the files, nothing? Is there an exit fee? How much notice? A confident answer here is one of the strongest signals of a decent operator.
The Money Questions
"What is the total cost over three years?"
Upfront price is the least useful number. Get the three-year total including hosting, domain renewal, maintenance, plugin or platform licences, content updates, and any support plan.
A $3,000 build with $50 a month of hosting and maintenance is $4,800 over three years. A $199-a-month subscription is $7,164. Neither is automatically better — the subscription may include ongoing work, support and updates that the one-off build charges separately or not at all. You just cannot compare them without doing the arithmetic. We have written about the trade-off in subscription versus upfront payment, and our own pricing is published rather than quoted on request.
"What is not included?"
Often more revealing than what is. Copywriting? Photography? SEO setup? Training? Post-launch changes? Ask what a typical small change costs after launch, and what the turnaround is.
"Is there a lock-in period?"
Understand the term, the notice period and the cost of leaving early. Lock-in is not automatically wrong — it can underwrite a lower monthly price — but it should be disclosed plainly, not buried.
The Capability Questions
"Who will actually do the work?"
You may be sold by one person and delivered by another, or by a subcontractor overseas. That is not necessarily a problem, but you should know, and you should know who you contact when something breaks.
"Do you use AI, and where?"
Ask it, and be suspicious of a flat denial in 2026 — most competent studios now use AI somewhere. What you want is a straight answer about where and with what oversight.
For our part: we use AI extensively in how we build, and we do not hide it. It is why we can ship modern, fast, well-structured sites at the price we do. What we do not do is publish AI-generated photographs of fake team members, invent testimonials, or pass off generated stock as our own work. The distinction we would encourage you to test in anyone you are considering is between AI used as leverage on real craft, and AI used to manufacture credibility that does not exist.
"Can I see comparable work, and speak to a client?"
Ask for live URLs, not screenshots — then open them on your phone and see how they feel. Ask to speak to one past client. Reluctance is informative.
Be sensible about portfolio size. A small studio with four genuine projects it can talk about in detail may serve you better than a large gallery of sites nobody involved can remember building. What matters is whether they can explain the decisions.
"How will this site be found?"
A beautiful site nobody finds is an expensive brochure. Ask what is included as standard: indexable structure, sensible titles, structured data, page speed, a Google Business Profile conversation. Then ask what is extra. Our SEO checklist is a reasonable list to hold an answer against.
"How will we know if it worked?"
The answer should involve enquiries, not compliments. If nobody mentions conversion tracking, they are not thinking about your revenue. Our guide on telling whether your website is working covers what should be set up.
The Practical Questions
- "What do you need from me, and when?" Projects stall on client-side content more than anything else. A good answer includes a specific list and specific deadlines.
- "How long will it take?" Beware both extremes: "two weeks" for a substantial site usually means a template with your logo on it, while "six months" for a small business site suggests you are not a priority.
- "Can I update it myself?" Be honest about whether you actually will. Some people want full control; many would rather send an email. Both are legitimate, but they lead to different builds.
- "What happens if the site goes down?" Who do you call, when, and what is the expected response time?
- "Is it accessible?" Increasingly expected, and it overlaps with SEO. See our accessibility guide.
Red Flags
- Guaranteed first-page rankings. Nobody controls Google's results. This single claim should end the conversation.
- Wanting to register your domain in their name. Non-negotiable. Yours.
- No written scope. "We will figure it out as we go" ends in a dispute about what was promised.
- Pressure and artificial deadlines. A price that vanishes today was never real.
- Vagueness about who does the work.
- A portfolio of sites that are all slow. Open three on your phone. If they crawl, that is the standard you are buying.
- No questions about your business. If they have not asked who your customers are and what an enquiry is worth, they are selling pages, not outcomes.
Do This Today
- Write down what you need the site to achieve, in enquiries rather than adjectives
- Decide honestly whether DIY would do the job
- Shortlist two or three providers and open their own sites on your phone
- Send all of them the same three ownership questions, in writing
- Ask each for the three-year total cost, not the upfront price
- Ask for two live URLs and one client you can speak to
- Compare the written answers side by side before comparing the designs
Where We Come In
We are one of the options, so we will not pretend to be the neutral referee. What we will say is that every question above is one we would answer directly, and the ownership answers are: your domain, in your name, with your logins. If you want to see the work rather than read about it, our portfolio is deliberately small and every project on it is one we can explain in detail, and our pricing is published so you can do the three-year arithmetic without booking a call.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should a small business website cost in New Zealand?
Enough range exists that the upfront figure alone is not meaningful — what matters is the three-year total including hosting, maintenance and changes, and what is included versus billed separately. We have broken the numbers down in how much a website costs in NZ.
Who should own my domain name?
You should, registered in your business name with you holding the login. A domain held in an agency's name gives them leverage over your website and your email if the relationship ends badly. This is worth insisting on before any work begins.
Should I choose a website subscription or pay upfront?
It depends on cash flow and on what the subscription includes. Do the arithmetic over three years and compare like with like: a subscription that bundles hosting, support, updates and changes can work out competitive against a one-off build that charges for each of those separately.
Is it a bad sign if a web designer uses AI?
Not in itself — most competent studios now use AI somewhere, and a flat denial is more suspicious than an honest answer. What matters is where and with what oversight. Using AI to build faster is reasonable; using it to fabricate testimonials, fake team photos or invented case studies is not.
Can anyone guarantee my website will rank first on Google?
No. Nobody controls Google's ranking systems, and results vary by location, device and personalisation. A guarantee of first-page rankings is the clearest single signal to walk away.
Next in this series: How to Make Your Website Accessible.