Short answer: before hiring a web designer, find out who will own the domain, the hosting account, and the site files. Ask what the process and timeline look like, what happens to the site if you part ways, and exactly what the ongoing costs are. A good designer answers all twelve of these questions without flinching. A bad one gets vague around ownership and money.

I have inherited enough broken island websites to know where the problems start. Here is the list I would want my own family to use.

Ownership

1. Who owns the domain name, and whose account is it in? The answer must be you. Your domain should be registered in an account you control with your own login. Designers who register domains in their own name, even with good intentions, create a hostage situation when they retire, move off-island, or stop answering email.

2. Who owns the hosting, and can I move the site somewhere else? Some platforms only run on the designer's system. If you leave, the site stays behind. Ask whether you get the actual files and whether the site can be hosted anywhere. I deliver source files on every project for exactly this reason.

3. Who owns the photos, logo, and copy? If the designer shoots photos or designs a logo, you should receive full rights to use them anywhere. Get this in writing.

4. What happens if we stop working together? The right answer is that you keep everything and can hire anyone else to maintain it. If the answer involves a fee to release your own site, walk away.

Process and timeline

5. What do you need from me, and when? Websites stall because owners do not know what to provide. A good designer gives you a short list up front: photos, text, logo, hours, and a decision maker. Ask for it before you sign.

6. What is the timeline, and what does it depend on? A realistic starter site takes two to four weeks once content is in hand. A full site with photography takes six to ten. If someone promises a full site in a week or asks for six months, ask why. On Nantucket, plan around the off-season build window.

7. Can I see sites you built for businesses like mine? Look for real client sites you can visit, not just screenshots. Click around on your phone. If the sites are slow or broken, yours will be too. Here is my work.

8. Who is actually doing the work? Some agencies sell locally and build overseas. That is not automatically bad, but you should know. Ask who you will be talking to and whether they know the island. More on this in Nantucket-made vs off-island agency.

Ongoing costs

9. What does it cost per year after launch? Get a written list: domain, hosting, email, any platform subscription, and maintenance. Compare it to the numbers in how much a website costs on Nantucket. Monthly fees that never end for a five-page site are a sign the pricing is built around the designer, not you.

10. What happens when I need to change my hours or menu? Either you can do it yourself in a few minutes, or the designer does it quickly for a stated price. "Send me an email and I will get to it" is not a plan in July.

Search and results

11. What will you do so people can find the site on Google? The answer should include page titles and descriptions, image alt text, structured data, a sitemap, a Google Business Profile that matches the site, and fast load times. If the answer is "SEO is extra" or "we submit it to search engines", that is a 2005 answer. My local SEO playbook lists what should be included.

12. How will we know it worked? Ask what they will measure. Contact form submissions, calls, bookings, search rankings for a few specific phrases. A designer who does not care what happens after launch is selling you a brochure.

Red flags

  • Vague answers about who owns the domain.
  • Refusal to show live client sites.
  • Pressure to sign today.
  • A quote with no breakdown.
  • No mention of phones, when most of your visitors are on one.
  • A portfolio of sites that all look identical.

Green flags

  • They ask more questions about your business than you ask about them.
  • They talk about your customers, not about design trends.
  • They tell you when a cheaper option would serve you fine.
  • Their own site is fast on your phone.

Ask me any of these. I would rather answer them up front than fix a mess later. Start the conversation here.