Who should build your website? A guide to choosing a developer

Hire a developer who can show a live project with similar tasks, breaks the quote down by stage and registers the domain, hosting and accounts in your name. Whether that is a freelancer, studio or agency matters less.

Choose a developer to match what the site has to do. A catalogue with payments, stock sync and several languages calls for a much wider skill check than a single service page with an enquiry form.

Freelancer, studio or agency?

A freelancer can run a small project end to end or own one part of it. Agree in advance who covers for them if they become unavailable. With a studio, ask who is on the team and whether a designer, developer and tester are all involved. With an agency, check which work its own staff do and who is accountable for subcontractors.

• A freelancer fits a landing page or changes to an existing site, when the task is clear and you have time to manage it.
• A studio fits a company website or store that needs design, development and testing together.
• A full-service agency fits when you will also need SEO, Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns and GA4 analytics after launch, and want one team accountable for results.

Company size says little about quality on its own. Ask to see a working project with similar requirements and have the developer explain their specific contribution.

How to check a developer's portfolio

• Open the portfolio sites on your phone and check that menus, forms and filters work.
• Run them through PageSpeed Insights; Core Web Vitals take a minute to see.
• Search Google for the client's service, beyond the brand name, and see whether the site shows up.
• Ask for a client contact, or at least the developer's role on the project: design, build, promotion.

How to compare quotes

• Send everyone the same brief: audience, pages, languages, forms, integrations and materials.
• Ask for the quote split into planning, design, development, content, testing and launch.
• Check the running costs: hosting, licences, subscriptions, updates and support.
• Agree acceptance criteria and how extra work will be paid for.
• Ask which platform the site will run on (WordPress, MODX, Shopify, Laravel, Next.js) and why.

The price follows the scope. Quotes are only comparable when they are based on the same brief.

How long should development take?

In our experience, honest timelines are: a landing page within 3 working days, a small business or corporate website within 10 working days, and an online store within 15 working days. The clock starts once the brief is agreed and the materials are in: copy, photos, logo, access details. Projects with integrations (CRM, payment providers, marketplace feeds) are quoted after the specification.

If someone quotes two or three months for a ten-page site, ask what the time is made of. Often it is waiting for materials and approvals, which you can shorten on your side.

Warning signs

• The developer registers the domain or hosting in their own name.
• A one-line quote with no breakdown of work.
• Promises of specific Google rankings by a fixed date.
• No contract, or a contract without deadlines, acceptance terms and handover of source files.
• A portfolio of mock-ups with no links to live sites.

What you should receive at handover

Register the domain, hosting and working accounts (Google Search Console, GA4, Google Tag Manager) to the business owner. The handover list should include source files, access details, a backup, editor instructions and the agreed support terms. Accept the site by running real scenarios: a visitor sends an enquiry, a staff member receives it, an editor updates a page.

Related services

For a small company site, start with our small business website page. A company with several lines of business and a team usually needs a corporate website. The full process, from brief to launch, is on our website development page.

Portfolio. Live sites we have built for law firms, a real estate agency, charities, online stores and companies in Canada and Finland are collected in the Marketing MIX portfolio.

Frequently asked questions

Should I hire a freelancer or a studio to build my website?

A freelancer suits a landing page or small changes when the task is clear and you can manage the work. A studio suits a company website or store that needs design, development and testing, plus cover when someone is off sick or on holiday.

How long does it take to build a website?

In our experience: a landing page within 3 working days, a small business or corporate site within 10, and an online store within 15 working days once the brief is agreed and materials are in. Projects with integrations are quoted after the specification.

What should a website development contract include?

Scope of work, deadlines, acceptance procedure, rates for extra work, handover of source files and access to the owner, post-launch support terms and confidentiality.

Whose name should the domain and hosting be in?

The business owner. A developer can help with registration, but access and ownership must stay with you, or you may have to buy the site back or migrate it when you change contractors.

How do I compare prices from different developers?

Send everyone the same brief and ask for a stage-by-stage quote: planning, design, development, content, testing, launch. Ask separately about running costs for hosting, licences and support.