Guide · Buying a website
10 questions to ask before you hire a web developer.
Most websites look fine on the day they launch. The difference shows a year later: in speed, in Google rankings, in security and in how easy the site is to change. Ask these ten questions before you sign.
1. Who will own the domain, the code and the accounts?
The domain, hosting, analytics and code should be registered to your business, with the developer given access, not the other way round. Otherwise, changing provider can mean losing your site or your address.
2. How fast will the site be on a phone?
Ask for a target, not a promise. Google's Core Web Vitals are a good one: the main content should appear within 2.5 seconds (LCP), the page should respond to taps within 200 milliseconds (INP), and the layout should stay stable (CLS no higher than 0.1).
3. Can Google read every page?
Pages should be delivered as complete HTML, each with its own title, description and clean address, plus an XML sitemap and structured data. Sites that only appear after heavy JavaScript runs are often indexed slowly or incompletely.
4. How will each language be handled?
Each language needs its own pages and addresses, linked together with hreflang tags so Google shows the right version. A translation widget layered on top of one page is not a multilingual site.
5. Is accessibility included?
If you sell online to consumers, the European Accessibility Act may already apply to you. Read our guide. Accessibility is far cheaper to build in from the start than to add later.
6. How is the site secured and backed up?
Ask about HTTPS, security headers, updates, two-factor logins for the admin area, backups and how a restore is tested. A site that is not updated is a site that will be hacked eventually.
7. What exactly is included in the price?
Get the pages, languages, features, number of revision rounds and launch date in writing. Fixed prices per milestone protect both sides better than an open-ended hourly rate.
8. How will results be measured?
Agree on what success means, such as enquiries, bookings or sales, and how they will be tracked in a GDPR-compliant way. Visits alone are not a business result.
9. What happens after launch?
Ask who updates the software, fixes problems and makes small changes, how quickly, and at what cost. A clear monthly plan avoids surprises.
10. Who will you actually work with?
Find out who designs, builds and maintains the site, and whether that person will be the one answering your emails. Fewer hand-offs mean fewer misunderstandings.
At Rizon Lab, the answers are in our web development page: you own everything, prices are fixed per milestone, and you work directly with the founder who builds your site.
Common questions
Answers before you ask.
Who should own a website's domain and code?
Your business. The domain, hosting, analytics and code should be registered to you, with the developer given access.
How fast should a business website be?
A good target is Google's Core Web Vitals: main content visible within 2.5 seconds, responses to taps within 200 milliseconds and a stable layout (CLS no higher than 0.1).
Is a translation plugin enough for a multilingual website?
Usually not. Each language should have its own pages and addresses, connected with hreflang, so search engines can index and show each version.
Let's talk about your project.
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