Hiring a web designer is a high-stakes decision disguised as a routine one. The result will represent your firm online for years, handle your first impression with every prospective client who finds you, and either work quietly in the background or require ongoing expensive maintenance. Here are eight questions that will tell you whether a designer is right for your firm before you sign anything.
Have you built websites for firms like mine before?
Web design for a law firm is different from web design for a restaurant. Not because the technical skills differ — most competent web designers can build either — but because the strategic decisions are different. A law firm website needs to communicate trustworthiness, convert prospective clients into consultation requests, and serve existing clients with document access and information.
A designer who has built professional services websites understands the content decisions, the conversion elements, the compliance considerations, and the client experience issues that matter for your type of business. One who has not built them before will be learning on your project.
Ask to see examples. If they do not have portfolio examples from professional services firms, ask how they would approach the unique needs of your practice. A thoughtful answer is acceptable. A blank look is not.
We build primarily for professional services firms — law practices, accounting firms, HR consultancies, and similar businesses. We understand what clients in these industries need from a website and what converts visitors into consultations.
Who actually does the work?
Web design proposals often come from a salesperson or account manager and then get handed off to a junior designer or outsourced to a subcontractor. The person you met with may have no involvement in building your site.
Ask directly: who will be designing the site, who will be developing it, and will you have direct access to those people? The best working relationships are ones where you talk to the person doing the work, not an intermediary who relays messages.
You work directly with us — no account managers, no handoffs, no junior staff learning on your project. The person you contact is the person building your site.
What is included in the price and what is not?
Web design quotes are famously ambiguous. A $5,000 quote from one designer and a $5,000 quote from another might include completely different things. Common items that are sometimes included and sometimes not:
- Copywriting (the words on the page)
- SEO setup (meta tags, page titles, sitemap submission)
- Photography or stock images
- Hosting setup and ongoing hosting
- Domain registration and management
- Mobile optimization
- Contact form setup and testing
- Training on how to update the site yourself
- Revisions after the initial design is presented
Get this in writing before you sign. The most expensive surprise in web design is paying for the build and then discovering that everything you assumed was included is actually a separate line item.
We give you a clear scope before any work begins. If something is not in the scope, we say so. If the scope changes, we tell you before doing extra work. You approve everything before we move.
What happens if something breaks after launch?
Every website will eventually have something go wrong — a plugin conflict, a form that stops working, a hosting outage, a security issue. The question is what your designer's responsibility is when that happens and what it will cost you.
Some designers walk away after launch. Others offer ongoing support at an hourly rate. The best ones offer a maintenance plan that covers routine updates, monitoring, and bug fixes for a predictable monthly fee.
We offer a $175 flat-rate Quick Fix for single issues that arise after launch, with a two-business-day resolution window. Emergency fixes for urgent situations get a response within four business hours. Monthly support plans start at $300/month and cover ongoing updates, maintenance, and priority access.
Who owns the website when it is done?
Some web designers and agencies build sites on proprietary platforms that you cannot move without rebuilding from scratch. Others retain ownership of the design or code and license it to you on an ongoing basis.
The right answer is that you own the domain, the content, and the ability to take your site elsewhere if you ever choose to. Ask specifically: if I wanted to move this site to a different designer or host in two years, what would that process look like?
You own your domain and your site. We build on platforms (WordPress, Squarespace) where the content and assets belong to you. If you ever want to move, you can take everything with you.
How do you handle SEO?
"We build SEO-friendly websites" is a phrase that means almost nothing. Ask specifically what SEO work is included in the build.
The baseline every professional build should include: clean URL structure, fast load times, properly formatted heading tags (H1, H2, H3), meta title and description fields you can edit, a submitted sitemap, and a properly configured robots.txt file.
Beyond the baseline: keyword research, local SEO setup, Google Search Console verification, and a content strategy are typically separate services. Know what you are getting.
Every build includes the SEO technical baseline. For professional services firms, we configure local SEO signals — your location, service area, and practice-specific keywords — as part of the standard setup. Advanced keyword strategy and ongoing SEO is a separate service we offer.
Can I see examples of sites you have built that rank well locally?
Portfolio screenshots show design quality. Google rankings show whether the sites actually work.
Ask for the URLs of sites the designer has built and run a quick search for the keywords those businesses should rank for. Does a law firm they built appear when you search "divorce attorney Birmingham"? Does an accounting firm appear for relevant local searches?
You are not looking for proof that they can guarantee rankings — nobody can. You are looking for evidence that SEO is something they think about and build for, not just mention in sales conversations.
What do your clients say after working with you?
References and reviews. Ask for two or three clients you can contact directly. Look for Google reviews. Check if there are any patterns — either consistently positive or consistently concerning — in the feedback.
Pay specific attention to reviews that mention communication, timeline adherence, and what happened after launch. Design quality is easy to assess from a portfolio. Working relationship quality only shows up in what clients say after the project ends.
How Sparks Motion Answers All Eight
We build professional services websites. You work directly with the person doing the work. We give you a clear scope and a clear price. We tell you what is and is not included before you sign anything. You own your site and can take it anywhere. Every build includes proper SEO setup. We offer maintenance plans so you are not left alone after launch.
That is what we would say in a sales conversation, and it is also what we actually do. You can verify it by asking for references. See our work and get a straight quote →
Sparks Motion is a web development studio based in Alabama specializing in websites for professional services firms. No account managers. No runaround. Just direct work at a fair price. Let’s talk about your project.