Choosing a Web Designer on the South Shore

Before you hire a web designer, ask three things. Who will own the domain and the site? What will you pay every month after it goes live? Can you see the site before you pay for it? A good designer answers all three in plain words, without being asked twice.

Here is the full list, the red flags, and how to compare quotes. Use it on anyone you talk to, me included.

Before you call anyone

Know roughly what you need and what you can spend. What a small business website needs covers the first. What a website costs in Nova Scotia covers the second.

Ten questions to ask

Can I see sites you built for businesses like mine? Open them on your phone. Tap the phone number. Try the form.
Whose name will the domain be in? Yours is safest. A .ca address can only be held by a person or business with a Canadian presence, under the rules of CIRA, the body that runs .ca. It should be you.
What will I pay every month after launch, and what for? Hosting, backups, updates, changes? Get it in writing.
What happens if I want to leave? Can you take your domain and your site with you? How?
Who writes the words? If you do, ask for help with what to say. If they do, ask what it costs.
Who takes the photos? Your own photos almost always beat stock photos.
How do I make a change, and what does it cost? New hours, a new price, a new photo.
Will it work well on phones? Ask to see it on one, not on a big screen.
Will you set up my Google Business Profile, or is that on me? Either is fine. Just know which. Getting on Google Maps shows how to do it yourself.
When do I pay? Part up front is normal. All of it before you have seen anything is a risk.

Red flags

A promise of page one on Google. Nobody can promise that.
The domain in their name, not yours. If you part ways, your address goes with them.
A long contract you cannot leave.
No recent work to show.
A monthly fee nobody can explain.
Pressure to decide today.

Comparing quotes

Quotes rarely match line for line. Put them side by side and check each one says:

What you get, page by page.
What you pay now, and what you pay every month.
Who owns the domain and the site.
How long it takes, and what they need from you.

The cheapest quote is not always the best, and neither is the dearest. The best is the one that answers all four clearly. Hiring web help without getting burned goes deeper.

Local, or not?

A designer on the South Shore can meet you at your shop, knows the towns your customers live in, and is easy to find if something goes wrong. That counts for a lot.

But a good designer anywhere is better than a poor one down the road. Ask the same ten questions either way.

My own answers

I build websites for South Shore businesses, so hold me to the same list. My answers are on the offer page: what you get for $500, that there is no monthly fee, and that I build it first, so you see it before you pay.

Questions owners ask about hiring a web designer

How much should a web designer cost on the South Shore? From a few hundred dollars for a small site to several thousand for a large one. What a website costs in Nova Scotia has the ranges.

Is it normal to pay a deposit? Yes. Many designers ask for part of the price up front. Paying everything before you have seen any work is the risk to avoid.

Should I sign a contract? Yes, a short one. It should say what you get, what you pay, and how you leave.

Do I need a designer who lives nearby? No, but it helps. What matters most is clear answers to the ten questions.