What to Ask a Web Designer Before You Pay a Deposit
The questions before paying a web designer are worth more than every question you ask afterwards, because the deposit is the moment your leverage changes.
Before it, you are a prospect somebody wants to win, so questions get answered quickly and thoroughly. Afterwards you become a project in a queue, and the same questions take three days to get a reply.
That is not dishonesty. It is simply how attention works when money has already moved.
So the questions before paying a web designer matter far more than the questions you ask afterwards. This is the full list, grouped by what each one protects, along with what a useful answer actually sounds like.
Questions Before Paying a Web Designer About Ownership
Four of them, and they protect the asset itself. People forget these more than any others.
Whose name will the domain be registered in? A good answer names your business without hesitation. A bad answer explains why it is simpler to keep it on their account. Our post on who actually owns your website covers what goes wrong here.
Will the hosting account be in my name, and will I have the login? Managing it for you is fine. Being the only person who can access it is not.
Do I receive a full copy of the site files and database? Yes, at handover, without a fee attached.
What exactly will you hand over on launch day? The answer should be a list rather than a reassurance.
Scope: Four Questions
Four more questions before paying a web designer, and these protect you from the argument that happens in week four.
How many pages does this quote cover, and what are they? Named pages, not an approximate number.
Who writes the words? Somebody must. If the answer is you, that is a real commitment of your time, and it is the single most common cause of delay.
Who supplies the photographs, and are they licensed? Unlicensed images become your legal exposure once they sit on your site. See using images on your website legally.
What is specifically excluded? Ask this one directly, then wait. It surfaces more than any other question on this page.
Money: Four Questions
Money questions before paying a web designer should produce numbers rather than reassurance.
What is the total price, and what would make it change? A fixed price with named triggers for variation is workable. A figure with no explanation of what moves it is not.
What is the payment schedule? Half at the start and half before launch is the common Kenyan structure and a fair one.
What are the recurring costs after launch? Domain renewal, hosting, and any care plan. These should be stated as annual or monthly figures, not mentioned vaguely.
Is a care plan required or optional? Optional is the correct answer. A site you cannot keep without a monthly fee is a subscription wearing a website costume.
Time: Three Questions
What is the launch date, and what does it depend on? Any honest date depends on your content arriving. Our post on how long a website takes to build explains why.
When will I first see a design? Early is better, because changing direction on day two costs far less than on day twenty.
How many revision rounds are included, and what happens after that? Unlimited revisions usually means the price carries padding or the date will slip.
After Launch: Three Questions
What support is included, and for how long?
Can I update text and images myself, and will you show me how? If every small edit requires an invoice, factor that into the price you are comparing.
What happens if something breaks in month two? Ask what counts as a fault they fix and what counts as new work you pay for.
What a Good Answer Sounds Like
Content matters. However, when you put questions before paying a web designer, the manner of the reply tells you almost as much.
A good answer is specific. Numbers, dates, named items, and clear exclusions.
A good answer is comfortable with limits. Somebody saying that falls outside the quote and would cost extra is being straight with you.
A good answer arrives in writing without you having to ask twice.
A bad answer reassures instead of informing. Do not worry, we will sort that out, is not an answer to any question on this page.
A bad answer treats the question as suspicion. Asking who owns your domain is ordinary diligence, and anybody offended by it has told you something.
A bad answer keeps moving. If the price or the date changed twice during the sales conversation, it will change again.
Put the Answers in Writing
Answers given aloud fade. Verbal agreements are not dishonest. They are simply unreliable, because two people genuinely remember conversations differently three months later.
After your call, send a short message summarising what was agreed. Scope, price, payment schedule, launch date, revisions, and ownership. Ask them to confirm. That message costs you five minutes and becomes the document everybody refers back to.
For larger projects, use a proper contract and have an advocate review it where the sum justifies that.
One Question to Ask Yourself
Alongside the questions before paying a web designer, ask yourself one thing.
Am I ready?
Do you have your content, your logo files, your photographs, your testimonials, and a clear description of what you sell? Projects stall on the client side far more often than the developer side, so paying a deposit before you have gathered these simply starts a clock you are not ready to run.
Our guide to hiring a web designer in Kenya covers the wider vetting process.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions before paying a web designer is too many? There is no such thing. Anybody planning to do good work will answer them all, and anybody irritated by them has saved you a great deal of trouble.
Should I ask these by email or on a call? Discuss on a call, then confirm by email. You want both the manner and the record.
What if they refuse to answer in writing? Treat that as your answer and move to the next candidate.
Is fifty percent upfront normal in Kenya? Yes. Paying the full amount before any work begins is less so, particularly with somebody new to you.
Can I ask to speak to a past client? Certainly, and most will agree. A short question about whether the project finished on time and whether handover went smoothly is enough.
What if I have already paid and never asked any of this? Ask now. Request the domain registrant details, the hosting account name, and a written scope. Doing it late beats not doing it.
Ask Before, Not After
Every one of these questions before paying a web designer is easy to ask now and awkward later. That asymmetry is the whole point.
At Africa Web Experts the answers are published before you ask them. Fixed price, fixed date, domain and login handed to you on launch day, and a care plan you can cancel any month. Websites from KES 65,000, live in seventy two hours.
👉 Request a quote from Africa Web Experts
This article is general guidance rather than legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate about contracts or disputes involving significant sums.
