What to look for when hiring a web development agency
Hiring the wrong agency is expensive and demoralising. Here's how to spot the good ones and avoid the rest.
Choosing a web development agency is a significant decision. You're committing budget, time, and trust, and if it goes wrong, you're left with a half-finished project, a strained relationship, and the prospect of starting over with someone else. I've been on both sides of this: as a developer at an agency, and as a consultant who's reviewed agency work for clients. Here's what I've learned.
Look at their own website
This seems obvious, but it's surprisingly revealing. An agency's website is their showpiece, it's the best they can do when they have unlimited time and no client constraints. If their own site is slow, poorly designed, has broken links, or doesn't work well on mobile, imagine what your site will look like when they're juggling ten projects at once.
Run their site through PageSpeed Insights. Check it on your phone. Try to find actual case studies, not just logos. If they claim to build fast websites and their own scores are poor, that tells you something.
Ask about their process
A good agency will have a clear process they can explain: discovery, design, development, testing, launch, handover. They should be able to tell you who you'll be working with, how often you'll get updates, and what happens when things need to change.
Be wary of agencies that skip discovery. If someone jumps straight to "I'll build you a WordPress site on Theme X" without understanding your business, your users, and your goals, you're getting a generic solution. Discovery might feel like you're paying for meetings, but it's where the actual thinking happens.
Check their technical depth
Ask what technologies they use and why. The answer doesn't need to be highly technical, but it should be specific and reasoned. "I use WordPress because it's the most popular CMS" is a lazy answer. "I use WordPress for this type of project because of X, but for your requirements we'd recommend Y because of Z" shows actual thought.
Ask how they handle hosting, security, and performance. If the answer is vague, "I use good hosting" or "security is built in", push harder. A competent agency will be specific about their stack and practices.
Look at case studies critically
Most agency portfolios show the flashy work, beautiful designs, big brand names. But look deeper. What was the problem the client had? What did the agency actually do? What were the results? A case study that says "we redesigned X's website" tells you nothing. A case study that says "X's site loaded in 6 seconds with a 70% bounce rate, we rebuilt it, got load times to 1.8 seconds, and bounce rate dropped to 35%" tells you something meaningful.
Also ask for references. Talk to actual clients, not just the ones the agency cherry-picks. Ask the clients: would you hire them again? Did the project come in on time and budget? How was communication? What would you change?
Understand the commercial model
Some agencies work on fixed-price projects. Some bill hourly. Some use retainers. Each model has implications.
Fixed price gives you budget certainty but incentivises the agency to limit scope. Every change is a change request. Hourly billing aligns incentives better (you pay for the work done) but means the final cost is uncertain. Retainers work well for ongoing relationships but can feel like you're paying for availability rather than output.
Ask how they handle scope changes, because they will happen. A good agency has a transparent change request process. A bad one either says yes to everything (and the quality suffers) or charges you for every email.
Red flags
No contract, or a vague one. Your contract should clearly specify deliverables, timelines, payment terms, IP ownership, and what happens if either party wants to end the engagement.
Ownership of your site. You should own everything, the code, the design, the content, the domain. If the agency retains ownership or hosts your site on their infrastructure with no exit plan, you're locked in.
Pushback on providing access. You should always have admin access to your own website, your hosting, and your domain registrar. If an agency is reluctant to provide this, that's a serious red flag.
If you're evaluating agencies and want an independent perspective on the proposals you've received, I'm happy to take a look. No strings attached, just honest feedback. Reach me at [email protected].
Chris Ryan
Managing Director
17+ years in full-stack web development, most of it leading teams agency-side across e-commerce, CMS platforms, and bespoke applications. Specialises in infrastructure, system integration, and data privacy, with hands-on experience as a Data Protection Officer. Founded Innatus Digital in 2020 to offer the kind of honest, technically-led partnership that he felt was missing from the agency world.