Questions to ask before you sign with any web partner
Fifteen questions that separate a partner who will still answer in year two from one who will not. Ask them before the proposal, not after the invoice.
The short answer
A web partner gets chosen on the portfolio and the price. Both matter, and both tell you almost nothing about what the relationship will be like in month eighteen, when the form breaks, the domain is due, or you want to leave.
The questions below are the ones that predict month eighteen. Ask them before you sign, write down the answers, and put the important ones in the agreement.
Ownership
- Whose name will be on the domain, DNS, hosting and analytics accounts? The only good answer is “yours”. We work inside your accounts.
- Where will the source code live, and who controls that repository? A repository under your organisation, with the supplier as a collaborator.
- What exactly do I own on final payment, and is that in the contract? Code, design, content, and a perpetual licence for any reusable components.
- If we stopped working together next month, what would I need from you, how long would it take, and what would it cost? The exit question. Listen for hesitation.
Aftercare
- Who is responsible when something breaks after launch, and at what cost? Included in a monthly scope, or hourly and on request.
- What is monitored, and how would you know before I do? Uptime, forms, certificates, errors, Core Web Vitals.
- How are security updates handled, and how often? A routine with a cadence, not “when we get to it”.
- What does your monthly report look like? Show me one. If there is no report, there is no routine.
- What is your response time for an outage, and is it written down? Hours, not “as soon as possible”.
Build and quality
- How is the site built: template, page builder, content system with plugins, or custom code? Each has a different three-year cost and a different exit.
- What speed and accessibility targets do you commit to, and how will they be verified? Numbers, measured on mobile, with a named tool.
- How do you test changes before they go live? Preview deployments, a staging environment, a checklist.
- Can I see the repository and the setup of a project you delivered a year ago? Evidence beats assurances.
Relationship
- Can I speak to a client you have worked with for more than two years? Ask them about the aftercare, not the launch.
- What do you say no to, and why? A partner with no boundaries has no capacity when you need it.
How to read the answers
| Answer pattern | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Immediate, specific, and already in their standard contract | They have thought about it and been through it |
| ”Of course, no problem” without specifics | They have not been asked before, or the answer is no |
| ”That’s not how we normally do it” on ownership | Their business model depends on holding your accounts |
| Irritation | How they will react when something goes wrong |
What this means for you
Fifteen questions, most of them answerable in one sentence. A partner who welcomes them is a partner who has already built their way of working around them. Apply the list to us as strictly as to anyone else; we published it because we want to be judged on it. Several of our answers are in our terms with a clause number you can point at. Where an answer is not written down anywhere, it is not answered yet, and saying so is part of the exercise.
Frequently asked questions
Is it rude to ask these questions?
No. Serious suppliers expect them and are relieved when a client knows what to ask. A supplier who is irritated by questions about ownership or exit is telling you how they will behave when something goes wrong.
What if I already have a supplier?
Ask the questions anyway, in a friendly review meeting. The answers tell you whether to fix the arrangement, renegotiate it, or start planning a handover. Most gaps, such as accounts in the wrong name, can be fixed without changing supplier.
Which single question matters most?
The exit question: if we stopped working together next month, what would I need from you, how long would it take, and what would it cost? The answer reveals ownership, documentation and attitude in one go.