Judge live websites, not screenshots
A portfolio image proves someone can produce a picture of a website. It does not prove the site exists, loads quickly or works on a phone.
Ask for links to live sites and open them yourself, on your own phone, on mobile data. Notice how long the first content takes to appear. Try the menu. Tap a phone number and see whether it dials. Scroll to the bottom and check nothing overflows sideways.
This five-minute test tells you more than any pitch. It is also why every project in our portfolio links to the live site rather than only showing an image.
Look for relevant thinking, not just relevant industries
People often look for a designer who has worked in their exact sector. That helps, but it matters less than whether the designer understands the decision your customer is making.
A dental practice and a law firm are different industries with a similar problem: a nervous person deciding whether to trust a stranger with something that matters. A furniture store and a construction supplier are different industries with a similar problem: helping someone compare options and get a price.
Ask a designer to explain the reasoning behind a project rather than describing how it looks. The answer reveals whether there was any strategy behind it.
Ask about what happens after launch
The launch is the beginning of the relationship, not the end. Ask who hosts the site, who renews the domain, who applies security updates, who makes content changes, and how quickly you can reach a human when something breaks.
Also ask, plainly: will the domain be registered in my name? If the answer is anything other than a clear yes, treat it as a serious warning. Businesses regularly discover they cannot move their own website because the domain sits in someone else’s account.
Check that search visibility is part of the build
A website nobody finds is an expensive brochure. Ask how the site will be structured for search: whether each page gets its own address, title and description, whether a sitemap will be submitted to Google, and whether your Google Business Profile will be set up.
Be equally alert to the opposite problem. Anyone guaranteeing you the first position on Google is either misunderstanding how ranking works or hoping you do. Search results depend on competition, content, authority and time. A good designer will explain that honestly and still do everything technically possible.
Warning signs
- Guaranteed rankings, or vague promises of “SEO” with no explanation of what that includes.
- No live links — only images of past work.
- Reluctance to register the domain in your name.
- A quote with no scope: no page count, no list of what is included.
- Full payment demanded up front.
- Slow, unclear communication before you have even paid. It rarely improves afterwards.
- A price far below everyone else with no explanation of what has been left out.
Good signs
Clear questions about your business before any mention of design. A written scope. A fixed price agreed before work begins. Live examples you can inspect. Plain language instead of jargon. A named person you can actually reach.
And a willingness to tell you when you need less than you asked for. A designer who talks you out of unnecessary work is usually one worth keeping.
Written by Magicweb, a web design and development studio in Kampala, Uganda. Read more about our process and studio, or the full range of services we offer.