aideago"8 things to check when having a website built: a checklist for small businesses"
A business owner who wants a website built usually asks about the price first. Yet most of the problems after the site is built come not from the price but from questions nobody asked: Who owns the domain? How does it look on a phone? Who do I ask to add a product, and how long will I wait? The eight questions below work the same wherever you are; ask them before you take a quote from anyone.
1. In whose name will the domain and the site be registered?
The domain is your website's address on the internet (for example yourbusiness.com). It should be registered in your name and the content should be yours. Otherwise, when you part ways with whoever built the site, getting your address and content back becomes hard. Make sure the quote says this clearly.
2. Does the site work properly on a phone?
Google uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking. Google's documentation says: "Only the content shown on the mobile site is used for indexing." So content that does not appear on the phone may be ignored by Google. Open the site on your own phone first: can you read the text, can you tap the buttons, is the information the same as on the desktop?
3. Does the page open quickly?
Google publishes measurements called Core Web Vitals for loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability, and "highly recommend"s that site owners keep them good. One of the measures is that the main content loads within about 2.5 seconds. Ask whoever is quoting what they do to keep the site from slowing down.
4. Does every page have its own title and description?
According to Google's starter guide, a good title is specific to the page, clear and short, and describes the page's content accurately. A good description is also short and specific to the page. A site where every page says "Home" or only the business name gives neither Google nor visitors any clue.
5. Do you need to stuff keywords into the domain name?
No. Google's guide says keywords in the domain name have "hardly any effect" on ranking. Do not pay for addresses like cheapest-website-in-your-city.com; a short, memorable address that carries your brand name is enough.
6. Who will change the site later, and how?
It seems the job ends the day the site goes live, but the real work starts that day: a new product, a new price, a new branch, a new photo. Ask: "When I want to add a product, what do I do, how long do I wait, and do I pay extra?" If the answer is unclear, your site will be out of date within a few months.
7. When does Google find the site, and when do results show?
Google's guide says plainly that any change you make takes time to show up on Google's side; some changes take effect in hours, others in months, and it recommends waiting a few weeks before judging the effect. So a promise like "we'll be on the first page in a week" cannot be true.
8. Is anyone offering a "first place guarantee"?
If so, stay away. Google's own document says: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." It also warns about firms that contact you unprompted by mass email, do not explain what they will do, or guarantee rankings. The right question is not "which place will I get?" but "what will you do, what will you measure and what will you report to me?"
Quick checklist
- Are the domain and content in my name?
- Is it complete and fast on a phone?
- Does every page have its own title and description?
- When I ask for a change, how long do I wait, and do I pay extra?
- Is a measurement and a report promised, not a ranking guarantee?
aideago answers all of these like this: it builds the site or moves your existing one, the domain and content stay with you, it is measured and corrected every week, and you ask for changes by writing a message to your agent. For details see the website and SEO service page.