GUIDE
How to choose a web development company.
Ten questions to ask a web development company — they separate a supplier who will finish from one who will disappear. The answers tell you more than the quote does.
WHAT SEPARATES THEM
Four differences you feel after launch, not before it.
Every portfolio looks good. The differences turn up in month six.
Who will write the code
An agency, a studio and a freelancer are not the same thing. Ask who exactly will work on it, and what happens if that person is away.
What they build it on
A bought theme with twenty plugins, a builder with a monthly fee, or their own platform. Each has a price — this year or the next one.
Who owns the result
Domain, hosting, data, ad accounts. If they are not in your name, you do not own your site — you own access to it.
What happens after launch
Who updates, who keeps backups, who answers on a Saturday. A missing answer here is the most expensive gap in the whole quote.
THE TEN QUESTIONS
The ten questions to ask a web development company. Compare the answers, not the prices.
| The question | A good answer | A worrying answer |
|---|---|---|
| Who exactly will work on this? | Names and roles; one person carries it. | “Our team” — with no name in it. |
| What will you build it on, and why? | A specific name, and a reason tied to your case. | “The best there is” — with nothing compared. |
| Whose are the domain, the hosting and the data once I have paid? | Yours, in your name, with the credentials handed over in writing. | “We keep those with us, it is easier that way.” |
| What exactly is in the price, and what is not? | A list you can put next to another quote. | One number and no breakdown. |
| Who writes the words, and where do the photographs come from? | A clear split, with a price against each part. | “We will figure something out” — at quoting stage. |
| How fast will it load on a phone, and how will we measure that? | A number, and the tool it is checked with. | “It will be fast.” |
| What do you do so I do not lose my rankings when the site changes? | Redirects, addresses and titles — a plan written before the build. | The question takes them by surprise. |
| Who maintains the site after launch, and what does that cost? | A monthly figure and a list of what it covers. | “Call us if something happens.” |
| Can I speak to a client you did the same thing for? | Yes — with a name and a phone number. | “Our clients prefer not to be bothered.” |
| What is the deadline, and what happens if you are late? | A date, the reasons it could slip, and what follows if it does. | A deadline with no date in it. |
Copy the table into the email you send each agency. Answers compare more easily than quotes, because they answer the same question.
OUR OWN ANSWERS
The same questions, asked of us.
A guide that ends in an advert is worth nothing. So this list includes the cases where we are the wrong choice.
Who works on it
The project team, with names and roles, is in the quote, and one person answers for it to the end.
What we build on
Our own platform: catalogue, admin panel, syncs and speed in one system. That is why the admin, multilingual support and the SEO basics are built in, not extras on the invoice; you pay for the translation, not the platform.
Whose everything is, once paid
The domain, the hosting, the data and the ad accounts are in your name. You own the data and the access; we answer for the code.
Speed, measured
We answer with a measurement, not a promise: we measure in PageSpeed before and after — same page, same device — and say what each change bought.
Replacing an old site
On every site change we plan the addresses, the titles and the redirects before launch. This site was replaced the same way: every old address still works or leads straight to the new one, and the titles Google knows us by were kept.
When we are the wrong choice
If you want the lowest price, you will find a lower one. If you need a site by tomorrow with no scope written down, likewise.
THE PROOF
Ask for the work, not the portfolio. Here is ours.
Alesimo: +220 % sales in 2 months
2024 Same shop. A new ad structure.
Demetra Shoes: an online store and over BGN 25,000 in the first month of ads
2023 First the store. Then the ads. Then December.
Radans: a B2B store synced with the warehouse twice a day
2023 Items are entered in one place. The store knows them.QUESTIONS
What people ask while they are still choosing.
What is the difference between an agency, a studio and a freelancer?
An agency has more roles and more margin, but also more people if someone drops out. A freelancer is cheaper while they are free and well. A studio sits between the two: the same people throughout, and more than one of them.
How many quotes should I collect?
Three is enough, if you compare them against the same scope. Ten quotes against ten different scopes do not compare — they just postpone the decision.
Is a portfolio enough?
No. A portfolio shows a picture; a case study shows what was broken, what was done and what changed afterwards. Ask for the second one.
Is price the most important criterion?
It is the easiest thing to compare, which is why it looks like the most important one. The dearer of the two is often the cheaper one in year two — through maintenance, rebuilds and lost rankings.
Ask us the same questions.
We answer in writing, the awkward ones included.