How to choose a web designer who delivers more than a pretty page

Most businesses pick a web designer because of a portfolio that looks slick. Six months later, they're stuck with a site that doesn't work for their actual business—slow to load, impossible to update, or leaking money because no customer can find what they need. The problem is rarely that the designer isn't talented; it's that the wrong person was hired for the wrong reasons.

Choosing a web designer is not about hiring the prettiest designer. It's about finding someone whose strengths match what your site needs to accomplish and whose way of working fits how you operate.

Does their working method match your capacity?

A designer who builds custom code from scratch produces beautiful, unique results—but they're expensive and slow. If you're a small business owner who needs to update pricing or add a blog post yourself, custom-built sites often trap you. You'll pay the designer every time you want to change anything. Other designers use templated platforms or builders that cost less upfront but limit what your site can eventually do.

Before you compare portfolios, be honest about what happens after launch. Will you hire a marketer to manage the site? Will you learn to edit it yourself? Do you need it live in eight weeks or can you wait three months for a bespoke design? A designer who excels at fast, template-based builds is the wrong fit if you need flexibility in a year's time. Conversely, a developer who codes everything from scratch is wasted if you just need a fast, professional online shop.

Ask each candidate: What platform would you recommend for this project and why? Listen for whether they're explaining the tradeoff between cost, speed, maintainability and customisation, or just pushing the tool they know best. Ask them to walk you through how you'd update your own site after they hand it over. If the answer is vague or requires you to pay them every time, probe further.

Also ask how they handle revisions. Some designers include two rounds of changes; others charge per revision. If you're uncertain about your vision—and most people are—a designer who builds in feedback loops will save you money and frustration, even if their day rate seems higher.

Who will actually own your relationship and your site?

When you hire a freelancer, you know exactly who you're talking to. When you hire an agency, you need to know who your day-to-day contact is and who'll fix your site in two years when the original designer has left. Ask the agency: Will the same person quote, design and hand over the site? What happens if they get ill or leave? Can I contact them directly, or do I always go through a project manager?

Also clarify who owns what. You should own your domain name, your content, and the site files themselves. Some designers claim ownership of bespoke code or restrict where you can take your site. Others use platforms where the files are locked in and you can't move your site to another designer without rebuilding it. Ask directly: If I want to move this site to a different designer in three years, what can I take with me and what stays yours?

Check references, but ask the right questions. Don't just ask if the client was happy; ask if the site still works the way it was supposed to, if the client can update it themselves, and if the designer was responsive when problems came up after launch. A designer can produce beautiful work but disappear the moment you need support.

The designer you choose should be able to explain why they'd build your site the way they would, should work within your timeline and budget without pretending constraints don't exist, and should be reachable after the project ends. On Strove, you can check their reviews, see how clients describe the experience of working with them, and compare how each one approaches these questions before you book a consultation.

Pretty pages are easy to find. Designers who deliver sites that actually work for your business are less common—but they're worth the effort to find.