What to ask a freelance web developer before you pay a deposit
Most bad website projects were bad from the first call. These are the questions that tell you early, written by the person on the other side of the call.
I’ve been the freelancer on plenty of first calls. Almost every project that went sideways showed the warning signs in that first conversation. Nobody asked the right questions, so nobody noticed.
Here’s what I’d ask if I were the one hiring.
Can I see something live that’s close to what I need?
Not a screenshot, not a mockup. A working site you can open on your own phone right now. Ask for something close to your project, and ask what part of it they built. “I worked on it” can mean anything from the whole thing to one button.
If you’re hiring for something with live data, like a dashboard or a leaderboard, ask to see one under real use. A demo with three fake rows tells you nothing about how it behaves when it’s busy.
Who will own the code, the domain and the hosting?
This is the question people regret not asking. The domain should be registered in your name, on your account. You should be able to get a full copy of the code. If the developer hosts the site, you should know where, what it costs and how you’d move it if you parted ways.
A good developer will answer this happily. One who gets vague here is telling you something.
How will it work on a phone?
For most businesses, most visitors arrive on a phone. Ask whether they design for mobile first or shrink a desktop design down afterwards. Then check their past work on your own phone: tap the menu, fill in a form, scroll a long page.
How will I update it myself?
Find out what you’ll be able to change without calling anyone. Prices, opening hours, menu items, blog posts, photos. If every small change goes through the developer, that’s either a support cost or a site that slowly goes stale.
What happens after launch?
Sites break in small ways: a form stops sending, a certificate expires, an update breaks a page. Ask who notices, who fixes it, how fast, and whether that’s included or billed separately. “We’ll figure it out” is not an answer.
What do you need from me, and by when?
Most delays aren’t the developer’s fault. They’re waiting for copy, photos, logins or a decision. A good developer tells you up front exactly what they need and when, so the timeline is something you both control.
What won’t you do?
This one’s underrated. Someone who says yes to everything is either very senior or hasn’t thought about it. A clear “I don’t do that, but here’s who does” is a good sign.
Red flags
- A price before they understand what you need.
- No live work they can point to.
- They want full payment up front for a large project.
- They can’t explain their plan without jargon.
- Speed promises that sound too good. They usually are.
Green flags
- They ask more questions than you do on the first call.
- They push back on something, with a reason.
- They talk about your customers, not their tools.
- They tell you what can go wrong.
Where I fit
I’m a full-stack developer in Chandigarh, India. I build real-time apps, license systems, bots and fast websites, and most of my clients come through referrals from people I’ve already built for. Here’s my work, and if you’ve got a project in mind, send me the details. I usually reply within a day, and I’m happy to answer every question on this page.
