» Why the choice is so hard
It is not you. It is that this decision is genuinely hard to compare.
First, all portfolios look good. Everyone shows their three best projects, freshly built and photogenic. What you do not see: whether the site brought in enquiries, whether it took two weeks or five months, and whether the client could still reach anyone afterwards.
Second, the prices are not comparable. A quote at €900 and one at €6,000 can both be fair – if one is a template being filled in and the other includes structure, copy, technology and support. Without a list of what is included, you are comparing two numbers that have nothing to do with each other.
Third, the words confuse. Responsive, Core Web Vitals, headless, CMS, hosting, SSL. You do not need to understand all of it. But you should notice whether the person across from you can explain it to you.
» Eight checks before you commit
Go through these eight points before you say yes. They cost you half an hour and can save you four months of grief.
1. Fixed price or hourly rate – and what is inside it? Either can be legitimate. What is not legitimate is a number with no content. Get it in writing: how many pages are included, how many revision rounds, whether copy, image editing, setup and launch are part of it. With an hourly rate: how many hours are estimated, and what happens if it takes more?
2. Who writes the copy? This is the most common reason website projects sit still for months. Many quotes include design and build but no copy – and then the project waits for you. Settle it beforehand: do they write, do you write, or do they write based on a conversation with you? All three work. Only „we’ll sort that out later“ does not.
3. Who owns the files, the domain and the hosting at the end? Your domain should be registered in your name, not theirs. You should get access to hosting and to the site. And you should be able to take your files with you if you part ways. Ask exactly that, in those words, in the first call. The reaction tells you more than any reference.
4. What does a change cost after launch? You will need changes. New price, new offer, new testimonial. Ask for an hourly rate or a flat price for small adjustments – and for the usual response time. „Just get in touch“ is not an answer, it is a later invoice.
5. How long will it really take? Serious answers give a range and the conditions: what does the date depend on? Usually on you – on content, photos and decisions. If somebody names a date without saying what they need from you for it, the date is a guess.
6. Is findability part of the job? A beautiful site nobody finds is an expensive business card. Ask what is done for search – page titles, descriptions, structure, loading time – and whether AI search is considered too. ChatGPT and Perplexity now answer a meaningful share of the questions that used to go to Google. Anyone who replies „we’ll do SEO later“ has not thought about it. What that looks like in practice is a separate topic in itself.
7. What does their own website look like? The most honest test there is. Open it on your phone. Does it load fast? Is it comfortable to use on a small screen? Can you work out in thirty seconds what they offer and roughly what it costs? Someone who cannot manage a fast site for themselves will not build you one.
8. Do they answer plainly or in jargon? Ask a deliberately simple question: „Why is that necessary?“ Good providers explain it in two sentences without technical words. Anyone who buries you in terminology is doing it either out of habit or on purpose. Both will make the work together hard going.
» Five warning signs
A price only on request, with no guidance at all. An individual quote is normal. But „from €X“ or a range should be somewhere. Anyone refusing every number is negotiating on instinct – and yours is rarely the one that decides. Why I handle it differently myself is worth a read.
Built-in dependency. Sentences like „only I can maintain that“ or „I’ll keep the domain under my account, it’s easier“ are not a service. They are a brake on ever leaving.
Monthly contracts with no named deliverable. Ongoing support can be very sensible – if the contract says what you get for it: updates, backups, support, so many changes a month. If all it names is a figure and a twenty-four-month term, that is financing, not support.
Overblown ranking promises. „Position one on Google, guaranteed“ is something nobody can commit to. Nobody controls Google’s results. Anyone promising it anyway is selling you either a fairy tale or a keyword nobody searches for.
Nothing in writing. No quote with a scope, just a nice call and an invoice. If you disagree later there is no common ground. Insist on one page of text saying what will be done.
» The questions to ask in the first call
Take these with you. Copy them into your notebook and work through them in order:
- What exactly is included in the price – and what is not?
- Who writes the copy, and what do you need from me for it?
- Is the domain in my name? Do I get all the access details?
- What happens to my website if we stop working together?
- What does a small change cost in six months?
- How long will the project take – and what does the date depend on?
- What do you do so that I am found on Google and in AI search?
- Can I speak to a client you have done this for?
- What typically goes wrong in projects, and how do you handle it?
The last question is my favourite. Anyone who answers it honestly has actually done projects.
» What good collaboration asks of you
The uncomfortable half: most website projects do not fail because of the designer. They fail because the content never arrives.
Deliver your content. Logo, photos, references, prices, services. Collect them in one place before you start. That is the difference between a week and a quarter of a year.
Make decisions. Given two colour options you pick one – not „maybe mix both, what do you think?“ Your provider can advise you, but the decision is yours.
Bundle your feedback. Not seventeen messages over three days, but one list. Point by point, specific: „heading on page 2 is too long“ instead of „something bothers me“. That saves both sides time and saves you money in the end.
» Honestly: I am not right for everything either
I work at a fixed price, in seven days, with static HTML and no page builder, and you have me as your contact throughout. That is a deliberate choice – and it rules some projects out.
My approach fits well if you are an established solo professional who needs a clear, fast website with convincing copy. If you like predictability: fixed price, fixed timeframe, one person to talk to. If loading time and findability matter more to you than effects. What exactly is included is openly listed on my offer page.
My approach does not fit if you need a large online shop with hundreds of products, stock synchronisation and payment processing. Nor for complex portals with login areas, booking systems or databases. And not if several authors are meant to publish daily – that needs an editorial environment, not my setup.
In those cases I tell you so in the first call. Taking on a project that does not fit is expensive for both sides. And that, by the way, is something you may expect from any provider: that they can say no.
» What this means for your decision
You do not need to find the best web designer in Europe. You need to find the one who fits your project, your budget and the way you work – and who will put that in writing.
Take the eight checks, have two or three conversations, and pay less attention to the pictures than to the answers. If somebody talks openly about prices, ownership and limits, that is a better sign than any portfolio.
Common questions
What should I look out for when hiring someone to build my website?
Four things above all: exactly what the price includes, who writes the copy, who owns the files, domain and hosting at the end, and what a change after launch costs. Answered in writing and in plain language, your risk is small. Left vague, it gets expensive later.
Fixed price or hourly rate – which is better?
For a clearly defined website a fixed price is usually better: you know the cost in advance and carry no risk if it takes longer. An hourly rate suits open, growing projects. Either way you want a written scope – a fixed price without a list of inclusions is just as unclear as an hourly rate without an estimate.
What does it cost to have a website built?
Serious quotes for a solo professional’s website usually sit in the low to mid four figures. Well below that, something is almost always missing – copy, structure, findability or support. Well above it should have a visible reason. What matters more than the number is what is inside it. The full breakdown is here.
How do I recognise a dubious offer?
Five signals: no price guidance at all, deliberately built dependency („only I can maintain that“), monthly contracts with no named deliverable, guaranteed Google positions, and a missing written scope. One signal alone is not a reason to walk away. Two or more is.