Choosing a digital agency is like choosing a builder: you don't need to know how to lay bricks, but you do need to know what to ask before signing. The bad experiences we hear about from clients coming from other providers would almost always have been avoided with these seven questions.
Use them as they are, with us too. A serious provider answers them gladly; a weak one, with evasions.
The seven questions
Ask them in writing and request answers in writing:
- ›1 · Are the price and the timeline fixed? What exactly happens if the scope changes along the way?
- ›2 · What will be yours once you've finished paying — the domain, the brand, the data, the content — and how do you take it with you if you ever leave? Get the answer in the contract, not verbally.
- ›3 · Who will be my point of contact? Am I talking to the person who decides and builds, or to a salesperson who translates?
- ›4 · What happens after delivery? Bug fixes, maintenance, evolution: terms and pricing, upfront.
- ›5 · How do I validate the work as it goes? A serious provider shows prototypes and deliverables every week — they don't disappear for three months.
- ›6 · Will my team be able to manage the website, and what training is included?
- ›7 · What results do they commit to, and which ones don't they? Distrust anyone who guarantees Google rankings; demand verifiable resources and metrics.
The answers that should make you suspicious
“The price depends, we'll see as we go” — that will mean cost overruns. “Your data and your content stay on our platform” — that means lock-in: the day you want to leave, you'll start from zero. “We guarantee you the number one spot on Google” — no serious provider can guarantee that. “The technical department handles that” — you'll never speak to the person who actually builds it.
None of these answers is illegal. All of them cost you dearly.
What to always demand in writing
A detailed scope, a price in writing, a calendar with dates, what's yours at the end — brand, domain, data and content, all exportable — after-delivery terms, and confidentiality (with an NDA if your project requires it). This isn't distrust: it's professionalism on both sides. The paperwork protects both signatures.
And one final test that never fails: ask to see a real demo of the type of project you're about to commission — not a portfolio of pretty screenshots, but a tool you can actually touch. Whoever builds well shows it off gladly.
You don't need to know about technology: you need clear answers, in writing, from someone who builds. With these seven questions, the decision practically makes itself.
