Every week I talk to a business owner who’s been burned before. A website that took six months instead of six weeks. A “final” invoice that wasn’t final. A .ie domain nobody can find the login for anymore. It’s rarely because they picked an untalented designer – it’s because nobody asked the right questions before the deposit was paid.
I’m Tom, I run Fitbee, a small web design studio based in Dublin working with small and medium businesses across Ireland. I’ve built sites for cafés in Cork, tradespeople in Galway, and consultancies a five-minute walk from my own desk. Below are the nine questions I think every owner should ask any designer or agency they’re considering — Fitbee included. I’ve also answered them for myself, so you can see what a straight answer actually looks like.
Why ask questions instead of just judging the portfolio?
A portfolio shows you a finished result. It never shows you the eight weeks of emails, revisions, and decisions that got there. What actually determines whether a project goes smoothly is much less visible: who does the work, what’s included in the price, who owns the site afterwards, and what happens when something needs fixing next February. That’s what these questions are designed to expose.
1. Who is actually going to design and build my site?
This trips up more business owners than anything else. At larger agencies, the friendly account manager who sells you the project often has nothing to do with building it — the work gets passed to a design team, then a dev team, sometimes outsourced abroad, and details get lost at every step. Ask plainly: who will I be emailing during this project, and are they the same person doing the design work? At Fitbee, that’s me — one designer, start to finish, no handoffs.
2. Can I see live websites, not just images?
Screenshots hide a lot: slow load times, broken mobile menus, forms that don’t actually send. Ask for links you can open on your own phone, in your own browser, not a slideshow in a proposal deck. Then ask if you can contact one existing client directly. Any designer confident in their work will hand that over without hesitation.
3. What’s included, and is the price fixed?
Loose scope is where budgets quietly blow out. Before you agree to anything, get in writing: how many pages, what features, how many rounds of revisions, and whether the price is fixed or billed hourly. Open-ended hourly billing on a vaguely scoped project is how a €1,500 website becomes a €4,000 one. I quote every Fitbee project as a fixed price agreed before a line of code is written — no surprise invoices at the end.
4. Will I actually own my domain, my content, and my website?
This is the one that catches people out a year or two down the line. Some providers register your domain in their own name, or build your site inside a proprietary platform you can’t take with you if you ever want to switch. I’ve had calls from business owners who discovered, mid-argument with their old developer, that they had no access to their own .ie domain. Ask directly: if we ever part ways, what do I walk away with? The correct answer is everything — your domain registered under your own name, your content, and your website files. If the answer is anything less, you’re renting your own shopfront and someone else holds the key.
5. What platform do you recommend, and why?
You’re not testing their jargon, you’re testing whether they actually listened to your business. A good designer asks how often you’ll update the site, whether you need online bookings or e-commerce, and who’ll be maintaining it day to day — then recommends a platform based on that, not habit. If every client gets pitched the same system regardless of their needs, that’s convenience for the designer, not a fit for you. Fitbee sites are typically hand-coded or built on WordPress depending on the business, and I’ll explain exactly why one suits you better than the other.
6. How is SEO built in, not bolted on afterwards?
A beautiful website that nobody finds on Google is an expensive brochure. Fast load times, clean code, proper page titles, and local SEO basics — think Google Business Profile setup for Dublin-based searches — should be part of the build from day one, not an upsell three months later. One clear warning sign: anyone who guarantees a #1 Google ranking. No honest designer promises that, and Google itself is explicit that no one can guarantee search rankings.
7. What happens after the site goes live?
Websites need updates, security patches, and the occasional emergency fix — a plugin conflict, a form that stops working, a hack attempt. Ask who handles that after launch, what it costs, and how quickly they respond if something breaks on a Sunday evening before a big promotion. Too many designers disappear after the final invoice. I offer ongoing maintenance plans for Fitbee clients, and even those who skip one know I’m a phone call away, because I built the thing myself and I’m still here.
8. What do you need from me, and what’s the realistic timeline?
Projects slip for one of two reasons: an overpromised deadline, or content arriving late from the client’s side. A good designer will give you an honest timeline and, just as importantly, a clear list of what they need from you — photos, copy, logos, and who signs off on approvals. If a quote sounds impossibly fast, ask what happens to the price and deadline if revisions run long. Designers who’ve actually delivered projects before have a straight answer to that.
9. Do you understand GDPR and Irish data requirements?
This one is Ireland-specific and often skipped. If your site has contact forms, a newsletter signup, or cookies for analytics, it needs to handle personal data correctly under GDPR, with a proper cookie consent setup and privacy policy. A designer working with Irish small businesses should raise this without being asked — not leave you to discover a compliance gap after launch.
Red flags: any one of these is reason enough to keep looking
- Guarantees of a #1 Google ranking
- Only screenshots on offer, no live sites you can click through yourself
- They keep control of your domain or lock you into a platform you can’t leave
- Loose scope with open hourly billing and no cap
- No straight answer on who is actually doing the design work
- Pressure to sign today for a discount that “expires tonight”
Ask me the same questions
I’d rather you compare a few designers – Fitbee included – than commit to the first quote you get. Bring this list to every call. If you want to know where Fitbee stands on all nine: fixed pricing agreed up front, one designer from first sketch to launch, full ownership of your domain and content, SEO and GDPR handled from day one, and support that doesn’t vanish after the invoice is paid. Get in touch and ask me anything on this list, no sales pitch attached.
FAQ: Website Design for Small Businesses in Ireland
Most small business websites in Ireland fall somewhere between €800 and €5,000, depending on scope. A simple few-page site typically starts around €800–€1,200, a site you can update yourself (built on a CMS like WordPress) usually runs €1,500–€3,000, and an online shop with payments and stock management generally lands between €3,000 and €6,000+. Always get a fixed quote in writing before work begins.
It depends on the size and complexity of the project. Larger agencies suit bigger companies that want a full team and don’t mind an account manager sitting between them and the actual designer. A smaller studio or freelancer – like Fitbee – usually means direct contact with the person doing the work, lower overheads, and typically better value. The nine questions above will quickly tell you which fits your business better.
Most small business sites take somewhere between two and six weeks from kickoff to launch, depending on scope and how quickly you can supply photos and copy. A simple one-page site can move faster; an online shop or a larger multi-page site takes longer. Any designer worth hiring should give you a realistic timeline and a clear list of what they need from you to hit it.
A guaranteed top spot on Google. No one, including Google itself, can promise a specific ranking position — anyone who claims otherwise is either overselling or using tactics that risk getting your site penalised. A close second red flag: a designer who keeps ownership of your domain or builds your site somewhere you can’t take it if you leave.
Either can work well. A Dublin-based designer offers real advantages, face-to-face meetings, familiarity with the local market, and someone you can sit down with over coffee to plan the project properly. What matters more than location, though, is clear communication, real ownership of what you’re paying for, and a fixed, written scope – which is exactly what these nine questions are designed to surface.
It depends on the age and condition of your current site. If it isn’t mobile-friendly, loads slowly, or hasn’t been touched in five-plus years, a rebuild is usually more cost-effective than patching an outdated foundation. If the bones are solid but it looks dated or is missing features like online bookings, a redesign or partial upgrade may be all you need. A good designer will tell you honestly which situation you’re in rather than upselling a full rebuild by default.
Need a website in Dublin or anywhere in Ireland? Tell me a bit about your business and I’ll point you to the right option — no pressure, no obligation.
