How to choose a web designer in Glasgow
Glasgow has hundreds of web designers, from one-person freelancers to large agencies, and most of them have a nice-looking website. Here is how to tell them apart: twelve questions worth asking before you sign anything, and what a good answer sounds like.
Before you start: know what you need
Write down, in a few lines, what the website is for. More enquiries? Online bookings? Selling products? Looking established so people trust you? Designers can give you a far more accurate price, and a better site, when they know what success looks like.
The twelve questions
- Can I see sites you have built for businesses like mine? Look at the real sites on your phone, not just screenshots.
- Who will actually build my site? Some agencies sell the project and pass it to someone else. Knowing who does the work matters.
- Is it a template or designed for me? Templates are not always bad, but you should know which you are paying for.
- What platform do you use, and why? WordPress, a site builder or hand-written code all have trade-offs in speed, security and upkeep.
- Is the price fixed, and what exactly is included? Ask for it in writing, including the number of pages and rounds of changes.
- Who owns the domain, design and code? You should. Make sure the domain is registered in your name.
- How long will it take? A clear timeline with milestones is a good sign.
- How fast will it load on a phone? Ask how they test it. Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool is a quick check you can run yourself.
- Is it accessible? A site everyone can use, including people with disabilities, is better for every visitor and for search.
- What do you do for SEO? At minimum: proper page titles and descriptions, a sitemap, local business details and fast pages.
- What happens after launch? Who updates it, who fixes it, and what does that cost each month or year?
- Is there a minimum contract? Especially with pay-monthly websites, check how long you are tied in and what you keep if you leave.
What to send a web designer first
A short brief gets you faster, more accurate quotes, and makes it easier to compare them like for like. It does not need to be formal; a few lines on each of these is plenty:
- What your business does and who your customers are.
- What the website must do: enquiries, bookings, sales, or simply look established.
- Roughly how many pages you think you need, and whether you have text and photos ready.
- Two or three websites you like, and what you like about them.
- Your budget range and any deadline.
Red flags
- Guaranteed first place on Google. Nobody can promise that honestly.
- The domain registered in the designer’s name, not yours.
- A price that changes once work has started, without you asking for anything new.
- No portfolio of live sites, or only mock-ups.
- Vague answers about who you contact when something goes wrong.
Local or remote?
You do not need a designer on your street; most projects run perfectly well over video calls and email. But a designer who knows Glasgow understands how local customers search, which areas you serve and what your competitors look like online. That local knowledge shows up in a better site.
It also helps to be able to reach a real person in your time zone when something goes wrong. Ask where the team is based and who does the work.
How we answer these questions
We are a small team working with businesses across Glasgow and Scotland from our base in Paisley. Every site is designed for you and hand-coded, the domain is always yours, and you get one fixed price in writing before we start. Websites start from £199, and the same people who build your site can host and look after it afterwards.
If you would like to put these questions to us, get in touch. For a feel of the costs involved, read how much a website costs in Glasgow.
Need a hand with this?
From a sharp one-pager to a full online shop or booking site. Designed for you, hand-coded, quick on every phone.