Choosing a web agency: 7 questions before you sign
Do you own the code? What does a change cost in two years? Seven questions that reveal more about an agency than any portfolio — and the answers that mean you walk.
This article was translated from Danish. Read the original.
Most people choose a web agency on two things: the price and how nice the other clients’ sites look. Both are poor indicators. The price says nothing about what you end up paying over three years, and the portfolio shows you what the agency chose to put on display.
Here are the seven questions we would ask ourselves. Some of them are uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of — we answer them ourselves at the end anyway.
1. Do I own the code and all the files?
The most important question, and the one with the most evasive answers.
Some agencies build on their own closed platform. The site is cheap, but it can never be moved. If you want to change supplier, you start over — and after three years you have paid for the site twice.
Good answer: “Yes, you get access to a Git repository or a zip with all the files, and the site can be hosted anywhere.”
Walk-away answer: “You don’t need to worry about the technical side” or “it lives on our platform”.
2. What does a change cost in two years?
Everyone is cheap in year one. The question is what happens when you need a price changed or an employee added in 2028.
Ask for a concrete number — an hourly rate or a fixed price per task — and get it in writing. “We’ll figure that out” is a no.
Pay particular attention if there is no ceiling. An hourly rate with no estimate means you don’t know what anything costs until the invoice arrives.
3. Who writes the copy?
This question reveals how realistic the whole project is.
Writing good sales copy for ten pages takes 15–25 hours. If the agency is doing it, it has to be in the quote — otherwise it shows up as an extra invoice. If you are doing it, be honest about when you will actually get around to it. We have seen projects sit still for four months because nobody had written the “about us” page.
The most common reason a website is delayed is not technology. It is copy.
4. What happens if you close down?
Not to be grim, but agencies close and people change jobs. If your domain, your hosting and your code are registered in your name, that is an annoyance. If everything is registered in the agency’s name, it is a crisis.
Check it concretely: are you listed as the owner of the domain at DK Hostmaster?
5. Can you show me a site you built three years ago?
The portfolio shows new projects. What’s interesting is how the old ones are doing.
Are they still up? Have they been kept updated? If you ring that client, you get a far more honest picture than any testimonial on the agency’s own site.
6. How do you measure whether the site works?
A website is not a work of art. It has to bring in enquiries.
Ask what gets set up from day one: Google Search Console, some form of analytics, tracking of how many people fill in the contact form. If the answer is just “we do SEO”, ask to be told what is actually being done and how it is followed up.
Without measurement, neither you nor the agency knows whether the money worked.
7. Who codes it — and can I talk to them?
At larger agencies you talk to a project manager, who talks to a designer, who writes to a developer. Every translation costs time and precision.
That isn’t wrong in itself — big projects need coordination. But for an ordinary business website you are paying for a link in the chain that doesn’t make your site better.
What you should get in writing
Whoever you choose:
- A fixed price or an estimate with a ceiling — not an open hourly rate
- What is included, and what is not
- A delivery time with a date
- Who supplies copy and images
- Ownership of code, domain and content
- What ongoing operation costs, and what is included in that price
If one of these is missing from the quote, ask for it. The reaction to that request is an answer in itself.
Our own answers
It would be cheap to ask seven questions and not answer them ourselves:
- Ownership: you get all code and all files. The site can be hosted anywhere.
- Changes: a fixed price per task, agreed in advance. Never an hourly rate without a ceiling.
- Copy: we are happy to help, and it says so in the quote when we do.
- If we close: the domain is in your name, the code is with you. You can carry on without us.
- Old projects: we are happy to show them — including the ones where the client has taken over.
- Measurement: Search Console and cookie-free analytics are set up from the start. No consent banner.
- Who codes it: one of the three of us. You talk to the person building the site — there is nobody in between.
We are based in Nørresundby and work for clients across the country. Being local matters when you need to meet in person; it makes no difference at all to how good the site turns out.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose a local agency? Not necessarily. It makes sense if you need to meet in person, or if you want to be able to knock on the door. Otherwise the seven questions above weigh more than the distance.
What is a normal price? From around DKK 5,000 for a simple site to DKK 40,000+ for custom-built with a webshop. See the full breakdown in what a website costs, and our own numbers on prices.
How long does it take? 1–2 weeks for an ordinary business site, provided the copy is ready. If it isn’t, it takes exactly as long as it takes you to write it.
Why us
Cheaper than most, and not worse for it
We are three developers. No project managers, no salespeople, no open-plan office downtown. That overhead is what you would otherwise be paying on top of the work itself, and it is why we can keep the price down on websites, webshops, web apps and mobile apps alike. Every price is published and fixed in writing before we start — from DKK 375 a month or DKK 3,995 one-time. See prices.
Cheaper does not mean less. We build and run our own products: NBS Booking, NBS Food and the KalorieTracker app, which is live in the App Store and Google Play. So we have already paid for the mistakes we advise you about. You talk to the person writing the code, and you own the code afterwards. If you want to move on without us, you can.