The 12 questions to ask before hiring an Austin website designer — and the red flags that separate great agencies from expensive time-wasters.
Quick answer: The 12 questions to ask before hiring an Austin website designer — and the red flags that separate great agencies from expensive time-wasters.
Freelancer ($1K-4K): fast, cheap, limited follow-through. Small agency ($4K-15K): balanced quality and price, best fit for most small businesses. Full-service agency ($15K-60K+): comprehensive strategy, best for larger businesses or complex builds. Match tier to project scope, not budget alone.
1) Can I see 5 recent projects for businesses my size? 2) Who owns the code and hosting? 3) What CMS do you use and why? 4) How do we handle SEO from day one? 5) What's your Core Web Vitals average? 6) What happens after launch — support terms? 7) What's your revision process? 8) How do you handle scope creep? 9) Do you write copy or do I? 10) How do you track conversion? 11) What's your typical timeline? 12) What went wrong on your last project?
1) 'We can do it in 2 weeks' for anything beyond a landing page. 2) No portfolio in your industry. 3) Refuses to explain their SEO strategy. 4) Locks you into their proprietary hosting. 5) No written contract or vague scope. 6) Won't share client references. 7) Under $1,500 total for a full business site (you'll get a template).
Portfolio includes measurable outcomes ('doubled leads for X'). Strong Core Web Vitals scores across recent work. Clear process document. Written contract with milestones. References who will actually pick up the phone. Understanding of local SEO. Post-launch support terms in writing.
Landing page (1 page): $1,500-4K. Small business site (5-10 pages): $4K-12K. Custom design + local SEO foundation: $8K-25K. E-commerce: $10K-40K+. Ongoing SEO/content post-launch: $800-4K/mo. These are Austin-specific — offshore is cheaper but riskier.
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Short answers first, then the detail. Skim what you need.
$4,000-12,000 for a professional design with basic SEO.
Under $3K, you're getting a template. Over $15K, make sure the extra investment is going into custom design, integrations, or strategy — not just markup.
6-10 weeks for a full custom site with copywriting, SEO foundation, and 2 rounds of revisions.
Faster than that = corners cut; longer = scope or process issues.
Local for strategy, offshore for pure design/development if you have someone managing it.
Offshore alone without a strategist typically produces sites that look good but don't rank or convert.
Most designers won't write great copy.
Budget separately for a copywriter (or an agency that includes both). Bad copy kills conversion more than bad design.
Ask for: proper URL structure, unique title/meta on every page, schema markup, XML sitemap, robots.txt, alt text on all images, and Core Web Vitals score of 85+ on mobile before launch.
Get this in writing.
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