What you are actually buying
Before you pay for a website, ask for a written answer to seven questions. They show what you are really buying: a website that is yours and that you can maintain, or a service that is hard to leave. Do not look for a perfect answer, but for a clear and written one.
The seven questions
You can ask them by telephone or by email; what matters is that the answers end up in the quote or the contract.
1. Whose name are the domain and the accounts in?
In your name, and the logins to them are handed over to you. The domain is the address of the website, and the accounts (hosting, Google, mailboxes) are the keys to it; whoever holds them decides whether you can leave easily. A good answer sounds like this: "The domain is in your name, and we hand over the logins to you on acceptance." Be careful when you hear "we will take care of everything" without it being clear whose name is on the account. There are details in the guide on domain, hosting and email.
2. What exactly is in the price and what is not?
Ask for a list, not a total. Pages, rooms, languages, photos, texts, an enquiry form, training and maintenance are separate things, and each may be included or paid for separately. A good answer also lists what is not in the price. Be careful with "full package" and "everything needed" when there is no list behind them. What the price depends on is described in a separate article, and reference points from published prices in another.
3. What do you pay after the first year?
Ask about each annual sum separately: domain renewal, hosting, maintenance and licences for paid add-ons. The first year may be cheaper than the following ones, so ask for the sums for the second and the third year as well. A good answer says who issues the bill and when it is due. Be careful with a service that "renews automatically" when you do not know at what price. The foundations of a website — WordPress, a builder or a ready-made platform — are compared in a separate article.
4. Who prepares and enters the texts and photos?
For every task there should be a name: who writes the descriptions, who takes or selects the photos and who uploads them. If the materials are yours, ask what exactly is expected from you, by when and what happens to the deadline if you are late. A good answer also names who checks the text in each language. Be careful with photos downloaded from the internet and with a translation that nobody has checked. How to prepare the materials is described in a separate guide.
5. Can you change prices, photos and texts yourself?
Yes, and you should see it before you pay. Prices and photos change during the season. Ask them to show you how the price of a room is changed without waiting for the contractor. Then ask what help is included when you ask for a change: how many changes, within what time and at what price. A good answer: "You change prices and photos yourself, and for anything else we help you within an agreed time." Be careful if every small change goes through the contractor and is paid for separately.
6. What do you get at the end or if you change contractor?
You get the logins and a copy of your content, and the transfer of the domain is written down in advance. That way changing contractor does not leave you without the website. Also ask whose rights apply to the design, texts and photos, and ask for the answer to be written into the contract. A good answer: "The texts and photos are yours, you can use the design without us, and you get a copy when you part ways." Be careful with "the design is our property" when it does not say you may use it.
7. How is the website accepted and how is it paid for?
In stages, and the last instalment is after your approval. That way you pay for work you have seen. A good answer names the stages — draft, your review, corrections, publication — and the sum for each. Ask to see the draft before it is public, open it on your own phone and send yourself a test enquiry through the form: check that you receive it. Also ask what happens if the contractor is late, and what if you are late. Be careful with full payment in advance when nothing has been shown to you yet.
How to compare two answers
Compare on one sheet, not from memory. Draw seven rows, one for each question, and a column for each contractor. Write in the contractor's words and note whether the answer is in writing. If you hear "we'll see" or "to be agreed", write "no answer". Finally, compare the total for the first three years, not only the price at the start.
How it works with ISKA Website
ISKA Website is built to a brief for the property — as a new website or as a new look and new solutions for your current one. It is offered by individual quote, with no standard price. You maintain it yourself through ISKA: draft, review, publication and return to a previous version; it is not on WordPress and there are no plugins for you to maintain. The content and photos stay yours. A domain of your own is added on request; who registers it, how it is transferred and when the website is ready is agreed in the quote. Ask us the same seven questions.