Choose a web design agency by: (1) checking 3+ recent client references, (2) reviewing live work in your sector, (3) asking who specifically will do the work (not the salesperson), (4) confirming fixed-price scope with documented change-order policy, (5) asking about ongoing support model and ownership of code/assets/accounts, (6) vetting their own site for the patterns they'll apply to yours, (7) walking away from any agency that won't quote without a 'discovery workshop' fee.
1. Who specifically does the work? — you want senior makers, not account managers passing briefs to juniors.
2. Can I speak to 3 recent clients? — references from completed projects, not just current ones.
3. Show me 3 live sites in my sector. — if they can't, they don't know your sector well enough yet.
4. What's the change-order policy? — written change orders, agreed in advance, separately priced.
5. Who owns the code, designs, accounts? — you should own everything, not be locked in.
6. What's the post-launch support model? — clear options (one-off bug fix, retainer, training your team).
7. Can I see your own site's code? — if their site is built on a template, they outsource. If it's bespoke and well-coded, that's the level of work you'll get.
"Agencies that charge for 'discovery workshops' before quoting are usually trying to anchor you into a higher price. Free discovery and free fixed-price proposal in 5 days is industry standard for serious studios."
London mid-tier brand site: £1,500–£6,000. London premium agency identity-led site: £6,000–£30,000. Below £1,500: freelancer territory. Above £30,000: enterprise programme territory.
Watch for: agencies that quote before scope discovery (lowballing), agencies that won't quote without 6-month retainer commitment (lock-in), agencies whose pricing isn't on the website (anchoring negotiation).
Bait-and-switch: senior designer in pitch, juniors doing the work. Asking for case-study clients you can't actually call. Refusing to commit to fixed price. Owning your code / Webflow account / Shopify account. Surprise change-orders mid-project. Long-term contracts with break-clause penalties. No clear PM contact.
Most of these are common across mid-tier agencies. The fix is your contract: names of who's doing the work, fixed price documented, change-order process written, asset ownership confirmed at signing.
Bring: the URL of your current site (or absence of one), 3 reference URLs you like, a one-paragraph description of your business and audience, your timeline, your budget range (a real range, not 'depends'), your decision criteria.
Skip: requests for free design work, requests for free strategy decks, requests for 'pitches'. Serious studios deliver paid strategy work; the only free thing is the first 30–45 minute call.
Single-discipline single-deliverable work (logo, landing page, one Webflow build, business plan) under £5k. You have project-management capacity in-house. You can manage replacement risk if the freelancer fails.
Agency wins for multi-discipline (web + brand + copy + ongoing SEO), retainer-based work, or when business-criticality means reliability matters more than cost.