Choosing a studio is harder than it looks, because most proposals look alike. Same stock phrases, same “responsive, SEO-friendly, modern” promises, a price, and a timeline. The differences that matter only show up later: when you cannot log in to your own hosting, when the old pages vanish from Google, or when the site takes eight seconds to open on a customer’s phone.
So if you are working out how to choose a web design company, don’t compare portfolios first. Compare how each studio answers the twelve questions below. We run a studio ourselves, so we have tried to keep these fair: they are useful whoever you end up hiring, including someone else.
Ownership and control (questions 1 to 3)
1. Who owns the domain, hosting and code when we are done?
Why it matters. Some agencies register your domain under their own name, host you on their own server and keep the source files. Leaving them later becomes a negotiation. This is the most common horror story we hear from founders.
A good answer sounds like: “The domain is registered in your company’s name. Hosting is in your account, or we hand over credentials in writing. You own the final design files and code once the invoice is paid, and it’s in the contract.”
2. What happens if we part ways in a year?
Why it matters. Relationships end. What matters is whether the site can move with you.
A good answer sounds like: a clear handover: a full backup, admin access, documentation of how the site is built, and a named period of support for the transition. Be wary of anything that says “it would be rebuilt from scratch.”
3. What are we paying for, and what will cost extra later?
Why it matters. The price in the proposal is rarely the price you pay. Extra rounds of changes, stock photography, premium plugins, extra pages, a payment gateway integration and annual renewals all arrive as separate lines.
A good answer sounds like: an itemised quote in rupees, with GST shown separately, a stated number of revision rounds, and a list of recurring costs (domain, hosting, SSL, plugins, maintenance) with renewal dates. If a studio won’t itemise, assume the surprises are coming.
Content and structure (questions 4 and 5)
4. Who writes the content, and who approves it?
Why it matters. Studios routinely build beautiful empty shells and then wait weeks for the client to supply text. Launches slip, and then the gaps get filled with filler copy. Content is usually the biggest cause of delay on any website project.
A good answer sounds like: “We write the first draft from interviews with your team, you review every page, and nobody on our side publishes a sentence that hasn’t been read by a person who understands your business.” If your clients speak Hindi, Tamil or Marathi, ask who reviews the vernacular pages. A native reader, not a machine translation.
5. How will you decide the structure before you design anything?
Why it matters. Pages should follow how your prospects decide, not how your org chart looks.
A good answer sounds like: a short discovery phase (who you sell to, what they ask before choosing you, the three actions the site must produce) and a page map you approve before design starts.
SEO, speed and devices (questions 6 to 8)
6. How will you protect our existing Google rankings if this is a redesign?
Why it matters. A redesign that changes URLs without redirects can quietly erase years of search visibility. Google’s own guidance on site moves is specific: use server-side permanent redirects such as 301 or 308, map each old URL to its closest new equivalent rather than sending everything to the home page, and keep the redirects for as long as possible, generally at least a year.
A good answer sounds like: “We’ll crawl your current site, list every URL that gets traffic or links, build a redirect map, test it before launch, and check Search Console for errors in the weeks after.”
7. How will you test speed, and on what devices?
Why it matters. Most of your visitors are on a mid-range Android phone, often on 4G that drops to 3G in a lift. A site that feels instant on the studio’s laptop and office broadband may not feel that way for them. Google publishes the Core Web Vitals targets: the main content should load within 2.5 seconds, interaction should respond in 200 milliseconds or less, and layout shift should stay at 0.1 or below, measured at the 75th percentile of real visits.
Speed also touches revenue. A Google-commissioned study with Deloitte of 37 European and American brand sites found that a 0.1 second mobile speed improvement lifted conversion by 8.4% for retail and 10.1% for travel. It is a 2019 study of Western brands, so treat it as a direction rather than a promise for your site. The direction is still clear.
A good answer sounds like: “We test on real mid-range Android phones and a throttled 4G connection, not just in a desktop browser. We agree the targets in writing, and we show you the report before launch.” Ask them to name the devices.
8. What does the site do when things go wrong, and who can see it?
Why it matters. Forms silently fail. Payment redirects break after a plugin update. WhatsApp click-to-chat buttons point at an old number. These problems cost leads for weeks because no one is looking.
A good answer sounds like: analytics and form tracking set up before launch, a test of every enquiry path (form, call, WhatsApp, payment) on the launch checklist, and alerts when something stops working.
Human in the loop: speed scores and automated audits are useful, but a person has to hold a real phone, tap through the enquiry form and the payment flow, and decide whether it feels right. Tools find problems. People decide whether the site is ready.
After launch (questions 9 and 10)
9. Who looks after the site after launch, and what does that cost?
Why it matters. A website is not finished at launch. Software updates, security patches, expiring certificates and broken integrations need attention, and unmaintained sites are the easiest to compromise. “We’ll fix anything that breaks” is not a plan.
A good answer sounds like: a written maintenance scope (updates, backups, uptime monitoring, small content changes), a monthly or annual fee in rupees, a response time for urgent issues, and a clear statement of what is not covered.
10. What can we change ourselves, without calling you?
Why it matters. If changing a phone number needs a ticket and a three-day wait, the site goes stale.
A good answer sounds like: a content system your marketing person can use after a short training, plus a recorded walkthrough, with layout and code kept separate from everyday edits.
Data, privacy and AI (questions 11 and 12)
11. How will the site handle our visitors’ personal data, under the DPDP Act?
Why it matters. Almost every business site collects personal data: names, phone numbers, email addresses, sometimes more. India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Rules were notified by the Government in November 2025, with an 18-month phased period for compliance. That window is running. A form that collects numbers with no clear notice, no consent record and no plan for deleting old enquiries is a problem you would be building in on day one.
This is not legal advice, and a web studio is not your lawyer. But a studio should know the basics and design for them.
A good answer sounds like: “We’ll show a clear notice at each form, collect only what you need, store consent where relevant, keep enquiries in a system you control, and tell you which third-party scripts (analytics, chat, ad pixels) receive visitor data. For anything beyond that, your legal adviser decides.” Also ask where the data is stored, who at the studio can access it, and what happens to it when the engagement ends.
12. Where do you use AI, and who signs off the work?
Why it matters. Almost every studio uses AI now, and that is fine. It can speed up layouts, first-draft copy, image variations and testing. What you need to know is where, and who is accountable for the result. AI-generated pages tend towards the generic, and AI-written text can be confidently wrong, including about your own products. There are also questions about what you feed in: your brief, pricing and client details may be going into third-party tools.
A good answer sounds like: “We use AI for first drafts and variations. A named senior person reviews and signs off every page. We don’t paste your confidential material into public tools without your agreement. We’ll tell you where AI was used, and everything you pay for is checked by a person.” Be cautious of two opposite answers: “we don’t use AI at all” (likely untrue or slow) and “AI does everything” (nobody is accountable).
Human in the loop: the useful question is not whether a studio uses AI, but who signs off. A named person should be able to say “I reviewed this, and it is right for this client,” and be willing to put their name on it.
How we work, briefly
At Cannyworx we use AI for the heavy lifting on drafts and variations, and a senior person signs off every decision, from structure to copy to launch. You are welcome to put the twelve questions above to us as well. We would rather you hire the right studio than the wrong us.
How to choose a web design company using these answers
You don’t need perfect scores. You need honest ones. Ask the questions in writing, give every studio the same brief, and notice who answers plainly and who changes the subject.
Prefer the clear “no” to the vague “yes”: a studio that says “we don’t do vernacular pages, here is who does” is more trustworthy than one that says “of course.” Ask for a past client you can call. And put the key answers in the contract: ownership, handover, redirects, speed targets, maintenance and data handling belong on paper, not in a call.
Where to start
Most disappointing website projects begin with a vague brief. Before you contact any studio, write one page: what the site must achieve, who it is for, what you already have (content, brand, current site and traffic), what systems it must connect to, your budget range and your deadline. With that, quotes become comparable, and the twelve questions above get sharper answers.
If you’d like a template for that page, the free project brief below walks you through it in about fifteen minutes.
Questions people ask
How much should a business website cost in India?
It depends on scope more than on the studio's name: a few pages of marketing content costs very differently from a site with a catalogue, payments and integrations. Ask for a written, itemised quote that separates design, development, content, hosting and annual maintenance, then compare like with like.
Who should own the website, domain and hosting?
You should. The domain should be registered in your company's name, hosting accounts should be in your control or handed over in writing, and the contract should state that you own the final design files and code once paid.
How long does a website project take?
A focused marketing site usually takes six to twelve weeks, and most delays come from slow feedback and late content rather than from the build. A good studio gives you a dated plan and tells you which of your inputs it depends on.
