How to Choose a Web Designer in Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville or Indianapolis

Searching for a web designer in Fishers or Carmel turns up freelancers, studios, agencies, franchises and a handful of national companies with a local phone number. They all have a portfolio and a quote, and from the outside it is very hard to tell which one will still answer the phone in two years.

We are one of the options, so take this with that in mind. Lackey Designs has built websites from Fishers since 2006, and most of our clients came to us after a bad experience with someone else. Here are the questions that would have saved them, and the answers that matter.

1. "Who will own my domain, my hosting and my site?"

This is the question that matters most and gets asked least. The domain should be registered to your business in an account you control. The hosting account should be yours or clearly transferable. The admin login should be yours. Many designers register everything in their own name because it is convenient, and it is the reason that leaving them later becomes a rescue operation instead of a handoff. We wrote a whole guide to that rescue. Avoid needing it: insist on ownership in writing before any work starts.

2. "What exactly is included, and what does it cost?"

A good quote lists the pages, says who writes the content, names the features, states whether hosting and support are included and for how long, gives a launch date, and puts a number on it. A quote that says "website, $3,500" is a quote for an argument later. Our prices are published on the pricing page and the quote arrives in writing before anything is built. Ask for the same from anyone.

3. "Can I see three sites you built that are still live?"

Not screenshots. Live sites, for businesses something like yours, that you can open on your phone right now. Check whether they load fast, whether the phone number dials, whether they look like they were designed for that business or poured into the same template. Then ask what happened after launch: did calls go up, did the owner stay with them, is the designer still maintaining it. BMZ Law told us their new site brought 40% more inquiries, and we can point to Croix Area Fence, Merriment ABA and Epic Guide Service with the client's own words on our testimonials page.

4. "Who does the work, and who will I talk to?"

At an agency, the person who sells you the site is rarely the person who builds it, and the person who builds it is rarely the person who answers the phone a year later. At a studio like ours there is one answer: the person you meet on the first call plans the site, builds it and makes the changes after launch. Ask who will actually do each part, and ask what happens if that person leaves.

5. "What happens after launch?"

A website is never finished. Hosting renews, software updates, certificates expire, hours change. Ask what the designer does after launch and what it costs. Some build and vanish. Some charge by the hour for every change. Some include it: our hosting and maintenance is $200 a month with content changes made in under 48 hours and no contract. Whatever the answer, get it before you sign, because it is the part of the relationship you will live with longest.

6. "How will the site get found?"

A beautiful site nobody finds is a brochure. Ask what the designer does about search: whether the site is built so Google can read it, whether each service gets its own page, whether your Google Business Profile is set up and matched to the site, and what ongoing SEO costs if you want it. A designer who says "SEO is included" without explaining what that means is including the checkbox, not the work.

7. "What will it look like on a phone?"

Most visitors to a local business site arrive on a phone. Ask to see the designer's work on yours. If a site in the portfolio is hard to tap, slow to load or cut off at the edges on your phone, yours will be too.

8. "What do you need from me, and when?"

Most website projects run late because of the client, not the designer: the photos, the text and the approvals arrive slowly. A good designer tells you up front what they need and when, offers to write the content if you would rather not, and gives you a launch date that assumes you hold up your end. Most of our sites launch in 4 to 8 weeks for exactly that reason.

Red flags

• A multi year contract. A designer who needs to lock you in for 36 months is telling you something about what happens in month four.
• "Free website" with a monthly fee. Usually a template you do not own, on hosting you cannot leave, at a price that rises after the introductory period.
• A guarantee of page one on Google. Nobody can promise that, and the ones who do usually mean page one for your own business name.
• No prices anywhere. A designer who will not publish a starting price is planning to price by what you look like you can afford.
• The portfolio is all screenshots. Sites that are no longer live, or that were never theirs.
• They want your passwords before they want to understand your business.

Local or remote?

A local designer in Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville or Indianapolis can meet you, knows the competitors you are up against, and is accountable in the way a business down the road is accountable. A remote designer widens your choices. Both can do good work. The questions above matter more than the address, and any designer, local or not, who answers all eight clearly in writing is a designer you can hire with confidence.

Our answers

You own everything. Prices are published and the quote is in writing. The person you meet does the work. Hosting and changes are $200 a month with no contract. Most sites launch in 4 to 8 weeks. The studio has been in Fishers since 2006, and our work has won awards for mobile and responsive design. If you would like to compare us against the designers you are talking to, tell us about your business and Jason replies in under 24 hours. Before any of that, run your current site through the free website grader so you know what you are starting from.