A Checklist for Choosing a Web Development Vendor (and the Red Flags)
Giattech
Web Application Studio
22 questions to ask before signing a website contract, plus the warning signs that show up most often in suspiciously cheap quotes.
Table of Contents
Choosing a web vendor is hard to judge from the outside. A portfolio can look great and still tell you nothing about whether projects ship on time, whether clients were happy, or whether those sites are still alive two years later.
This checklist is the set of questions we suggest you ask — including of us.
Before you contact anyone: prepare a brief
A good vendor will ask questions back. But you’ll get a far more accurate quote if you bring this from the start:
- The business goal — one sentence, with a number if you have one.
- Who the users are — customers, internal staff, or both.
- Example sites you like, and why.
- Existing content — copy, photos, logo, data.
- A budget range. This isn’t a negotiating weakness; it saves everyone’s time.
- A deadline, if there’s a business reason behind it.
A one-page brief is enough. If a vendor quotes without ever asking about any of this, that’s your first signal.
The 22 questions
About experience
- Can I see three projects similar to what I need?
- Are those sites still online today?
- May I speak to one of your past clients?
- Who will actually work on my project?
- Is any of the work subcontracted?
About process
- What’s the workflow from kickoff to launch?
- How often will I get updates?
- How do I see progress — is there a staging URL?
- How many revision rounds are included?
- What happens when I request something outside scope?
About the technical side
- What technology will you use, and why for my case?
- Will I be able to manage the content myself?
- What’s your approach to speed and Core Web Vitals?
- Which parts of technical SEO are included?
- Is the site tested on real phones?
About ownership — the most important section
- Who owns the source code once the project is done?
- Whose name is the domain registered under?
- Do I get full hosting access?
- If we stop working together, what do I walk away with?
About life after launch
- How long is the bug-fix warranty?
- What does monthly maintenance cost, and what does it cover?
- What’s the response time for a critical issue?
Red flags
Not all of these mean a vendor is bad, but every one deserves a question.
A price far below market with no explanation. Something got cut — usually testing, revisions, or support.
Unwillingness to show live projects. A portfolio made only of mockup images is a large question mark.
Promising “number one on Google” by a specific date. Nobody can guarantee that. What can be promised is a correct technical foundation and a content strategy.
Registering the domain in their own name. This becomes a problem sooner or later.
No written contract. Whatever the project value, there should be a scope and payment document.
All communication through one hard-to-reach person. If it’s hard now, it will be worse after the final payment.
Dodging technical questions. A competent vendor enjoys explaining their choices.
Saying yes to every feature. An experienced vendor will tell you what’s expensive and what you don’t need.
What belongs in the contract
- Specific scope, plus a list of what is not included
- A schedule with milestones and dates
- The number of revisions
- Your obligations — especially content delivery deadlines
- Payment terms (commonly 40% – 30% – 30%)
- IP ownership transferring on final payment
- Warranty period
- What happens if either side wants to stop
Your job while the project runs
Most website delays come from the client side, not the vendor. What you can do:
- Appoint one decision maker. Feedback from five people with different opinions kills schedules.
- Send content on time. This is the number one cause of delay.
- Give specific feedback. “Doesn’t feel exciting” isn’t actionable; “the heading is too small on mobile” is.
- Batch your revisions. One consolidated list beats a message every hour.
- Test it yourself before approving. Open it on your phone, submit your own form.
If you’re comparing several quotes
Don’t compare the bottom-line number alone. Build a small table of: scope, page count, revisions, code ownership, warranty period, and first-year maintenance cost. The cheapest quote is often the most expensive once year one is counted.
For market figures, see how much a website costs in Indonesia.
Closing
The right vendor answers every question above without getting defensive, and asks you questions you hadn’t thought of. That’s the most reliable signal we know.
If you want to see how we work, look at what we’ve shipped or put these questions to us directly.
NEED A HAND?
Have a project you want built properly?
Giattech builds web applications, admin dashboards, and high-performance sites for businesses in Indonesia and beyond. Tell us what you need — you get a plan back, not a brochure.
