Most clients ask the wrong questions on agency calls — questions about timelines and price, when the answers that actually predict project success are about process, ownership and post-launch reality. Here's the list I'd hand any London business owner before they sign.
1. Who is the most senior person on this project, and how much of their time do we actually get?
You want a number. "Strategic oversight throughout" is meaningless. "8 hours a week for the first month, 4 hours a week thereafter" is real.
2. Will the people who pitched be the people who build?
The single biggest gap between agency pitch and agency delivery. Get the names. Get them on the next call. Insist they're written into the contract.
3. How many revision rounds are included, and what counts as a revision?
A "revision round" can mean anything. Pin it down: "Three rounds per design stage, defined as written consolidated feedback within five working days. Sketched changes within scope are unlimited."
4. What happens if the project runs over?
Three possible answers:
- "We absorb it" — best, but rare and usually means the quote was padded
- "We bill T&M for overrun caused by us, you absorb scope changes from your side" — fair and normal
- "We bill T&M for any overrun" — risky; tightens the brief or walk away
5. What platform will you build on, and why that one?
A good answer references your specific business needs — content editing capability, integrations, traffic patterns, team skills. A bad answer is "we always use X". For most London SMEs the right answer in 2026 is [Wix Studio](/services/wix), Shopify, or a [custom React build](/services/custom).
6. Who owns the code, design files, hosting accounts, domain and analytics at the end?
The only acceptable answer is "you do, by default, and we'll transfer everything within 30 days of final payment". Anything else is vendor lock-in.
7. What's your accessibility commitment?
A senior agency will reference WCAG 2.2 AA, audit tools, manual testing, and bake it in from structure stage. A junior agency will treat it as a launch checklist. See our [accessibility guide](/blog/web-accessibility-wcag-uk-small-business) for what good looks like.
8. What page-speed target are you committing to?
You want a number. "Sub-2-second LCP on mobile 4G" is real. "We optimise for performance" is fluff.
9. How do we handle content?
Most projects stall on content, not design. Ask: who's writing? Who's reviewing? Who's loading it into the CMS? What's the deadline for first draft? Without these answers locked, every project drifts.
10. What's the post-launch support period — and what happens after?
- Standard: 14–30 days of bug fixes included
- Then: hourly rate for ad-hoc work, or [maintenance subscription](/services/managed-services) for ongoing support
- Insist on knowing the monthly cost before launch, not after
11. Can I speak to a client who launched 18+ months ago?
Anyone can ship a pretty site. What matters is whether it still performs, ranks, converts and is editable 18 months later. The client who launched yesterday tells you nothing.
12. What would you push back on in our brief?
The most revealing question on the list. A senior team will have two or three specific challenges. A junior team will tell you the brief is great. The first answer is worth £10k of agency value; the second is a warning.
Bonus question for London specifically
"Do you actually work face-to-face, and what's your office setup?"
Many London "agencies" are now distributed teams renting a Soho mailbox. That's fine — but be clear what you're paying the London premium for. If face-to-face workshops and stakeholder sessions matter to you, get the address and confirm where meetings actually happen.
How to use this list
Send the 12 questions ahead of the final pitch call. Two things happen:
1. Weak agencies dodge or generalise
2. Strong agencies come prepared with specific answers — and often surface things you hadn't considered
Either way, you learn what you needed to know before you sign.
For more on hiring, see our [how to choose a web design agency in London](/blog/how-to-choose-web-design-agency-london-2026) and [agency vs freelance](/blog/freelance-web-designer-vs-london-agency) guides.
If you'd like to test these questions on me, [book a call](/contact) — I'll answer all 12 on the call, in writing if you want.
