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Picking a web developer without getting burned comes down to a few checks you can run before you sign anything. Clients have come to us after a developer took the deposit and stopped answering, after a site took six months to launch, and after code so bad it had to be scrapped. Every one of those had a warning sign up front.
01Can You Visit the Sites They Built?
Do not settle for screenshots. Open the live sites on your phone. Are they fast? Do they look like businesses? Can you find the phone number? A developer who cannot show you live sites is your first red flag, and mockups do not count, because a design is not a launched website.
02What Should You Ask Before You Sign?
What are you building on? What happens when I need a change after launch? How long will it take? What do you need from me? What is in the monthly fee, and what is billed on top? A good developer answers all five plainly. A bad one gets vague or defensive.
03What Should the Quote Contain?
How many pages, which features, how long, what happens after launch, and what the monthly covers, all written down before work starts. A one-line quote with nothing behind it is a red flag. A written scope is how you avoid a surprise invoice and the "oh, that wasn't included" conversation.
Ask how payment is structured too. Most developers take a deposit up front, with the rest at launch, and that is fair. Make sure the milestones, the deliverables, and the maintenance terms are in writing before any money moves.
04What Does Their Own Website Look Like?
This is the easiest check. If a developer's own site is slow, ugly, or broken on a phone, yours will be too. Their site is their resume, and the effort they put into it is the effort you will get.
05Can You Work With Them?
Do they reply within a reasonable time? Do they explain things without talking down to you? The most skilled developer in the world is no use if every conversation is a chore. Find someone who treats you like a client they want to keep. We answer within the hour, and every job starts with a written plan and a price, so you can run these checks on us first.