5 Things to Check Before You Pay for a New Business Website

Paying for a website is easy to get wrong if you don’t know what to ask before you hand over a deposit. Here are five things worth checking first, whoever you’re working with.

1. Do you actually own it?

Ask directly: once it’s built and paid for, is the code and the domain yours, fully? Some cheaper “website builder” style services keep your site locked into their platform, so if you ever want to leave, you can’t just take it with you. A proper build should hand you full ownership, including access to the source code.

2. What does hosting actually include?

“Hosting” can mean anything from a shared server with no support, to a proper setup with SSL, backups, and someone who’ll actually fix it if it goes down. Ask what’s included in any monthly fee, and what happens if the site breaks at 6pm on a Friday.

3. Is it actually mobile-friendly, not just “responsive”?

Almost every site claims to be mobile-friendly. Ask to see an example on an actual phone before you commit, not just a screenshot. More than half of local searches happen on mobile, so if the buttons are too small to tap or the text runs off the screen, you’re losing customers before they’ve even read your page.

4. Is basic SEO included, or an extra?

A website that nobody can find on Google isn’t doing its job. At minimum, basic SEO should mean: proper page titles and descriptions, a fast-loading site, and your business correctly connected to Google Maps and Google Business Profile. If this is quoted as a separate add-on, factor that into your comparison.

5. What happens after launch?

Ask what support looks like once the site is live. Is there a bug-fix window included? Can you make small text or image changes yourself, or does every change cost extra? Getting this answered upfront avoids awkward surprises three months in.

If you want a straight answer to all five without having to ask, that’s exactly how the local business website packages are put together.