Website Vendor Checklist: 10 Questions Before You Sign

Questions 1–2: Ownership and asset control

Question 1: “After delivery, do I fully own the domain, hosting, source code, and admin access?” This is non-negotiable. Any “we manage it for convenience” or “source can’t be shared due to our framework” is future dispute bait.

Question 2: “If we part ways, what do you provide for migration—and what does it cost?” Good vendors give a clear handoff checklist; evasive answers are a red flag.

Questions 3–5: Strategy and content capability

Question 3: “Will you research my buyers and competitors first, or jump straight to design?” Vendors who lead with templates and aesthetics deliver decoration—not a lead asset.

Question 4: “Who writes the page copy?” “You fill our template” is the most common failure point—most teams can’t write conversion copy, and placeholder text ships.

Question 5: “Can I see two sites in my industry—and why was the page structure designed this way?” Anyone can show a portfolio; explaining design rationale signals real methodology.

Questions 6–8: SEO and technical foundation

Question 6: “What SEO basics ship at launch?” A passing answer includes meta data, structured data, sitemap, GSC submission, URL standards, mobile, and speed targets.

Question 7: “What’s the stack—and can we edit content and add pages ourselves?” Platform lock-in turns every change into a billable ticket.

Question 8: “What Core Web Vitals level can you commit to?” Vendors who’ve never heard the term rarely deliver acceptable performance.

Questions 9–10: Conversion design and post-launch service

Question 9: “Will form submissions, inquiry sources, and conversion events be tracked?” Without tracking, you’ll never know if the site works.

Question 10: “Post-launch, how are copy edits and new pages priced—and how fast do you respond?” Clarify maintenance in the contract; it’s cheaper than arguing later.