Hiring a Web Designer in Colorado Springs: 9 Questions to Ask First

A portfolio and a price are what most web designers lead with. If you're hiring one in Colorado Springs, those matter less than the answers to the questions below, because the problems that cost owners money show up after launch: a site they can't edit, a domain registered to someone else, a developer who stops replying.

Ask all nine before you sign anything. A vague answer is an answer too.

1. Who owns the website and the domain?

You should, with no conditions attached. The domain belongs in your name or your company's, and you should have the login to the registrar where it lives. Some builds are licensed rather than sold: the designer keeps the code or the theme, and you rent the result for as long as you pay. That can be a fair deal, but find out before you sign, not on the day you try to leave.

2. What happens if I leave?

Ask what gets handed over, in what form, and how long it takes. A good answer covers your pages, your images and help pointing the domain somewhere new.

Some platforms make leaving hard regardless of the designer. Wix offers no way to move a site or its blog to another host, so a business leaving Wix rebuilds rather than moves. NoFee, a Colorado Springs payments company, learned that when they came to us.

3. Who will I actually talk to?

At a larger agency the person who sells you the site, the one who designs it and the one who answers support requests can be three different people. At a one-person shop it's one person, which is simpler until that person is away. Either can work. Ask who picks up when the site breaks on a Friday afternoon, and how fast they usually reply.

4. What exactly does the monthly fee cover?

A monthly fee can mean hosting alone, or hosting plus updates, backups and a set number of hours for changes. Get the list in writing. Then ask what a change costs once those hours run out: a new page, a price update, a new staff photo. If the answer is "it depends," ask for the hourly rate.

For the wider picture on price, our guide to what a website costs in Colorado Springs compares one-time builds, DIY builders and monthly plans.

5. Is there a contract, and what does cancelling cost?

Some sites are sold on a 12 or 24 month term with the build cost spread across the payments, so leaving early means paying off the rest. Ask how long the term is, what you'd owe if you cancelled in month four, and whether the site stays yours afterwards.

6. What will it be built on, and could someone else take it over?

WordPress, a builder like Wix or Squarespace, or a newer system like EmDash can each suit a business. The question is whether another developer could pick the site up if your designer disappeared. Ask which platform, which theme or page builder, and whether any of it depends on a licence the designer holds.

Colorado Duct Doctors inherited a site built on a page builder with no valid pro licence and nobody keeping it up. Layouts broke and bugs piled up, and the fix was a rebuild.

7. Who handles updates and backups?

Every site runs on software that needs updating, and a site nobody updates is the easiest kind to break into. Ask who installs updates, whether they test them first, and what happens when one breaks something. For backups, ask how often they run, where they're kept and how far back a restore can go. "We have backups" doesn't mean much until you know those three things.

8. Can I see sites you built that are still running?

A portfolio shows what a designer can make. Sites they built a few years ago and still look after show what happens afterwards. Ask which portfolio sites are still their clients, then open two of them on your phone. Check how fast they load and whether the phone number and hours are current.

9. If you replace my current site, what happens to my Google rankings?

Your existing site has pages Google already ranks and addresses customers have bookmarked. A careful redesign keeps each of those addresses working or redirects it to the matching new page, and carries over the titles and descriptions people see in search. A careless one launches with every old address returning an error.

Ask how they handle redirects, and be wary of anyone who promises a ranking. Our page on website redesign in Colorado Springs walks through how we handle it.

What good answers have in common

They're specific. A designer who answers with names, prices and dates is telling you how the work will go. "Don't worry about it" means you'll find out later.

We'd rather be asked these questions than not. Bring all nine to a call about website design in Colorado Springs, or look over our monthly plans first and then ask us the same nine.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a web designer cost in Colorado Springs?

It depends mostly on whether you pay once or monthly, and on what the price leaves out, such as hosting and updates. Our 2026 cost guide lays out the ranges with sources.

Should I hire a local web designer or a remote one?

Either can build a good site. A local designer can meet you in person and usually knows the businesses you compete with. The answers to the nine questions above matter more than the distance.

What should I have ready before I contact a web designer?

Your logo, a list of the services the site should cover, and a few sites you like. If you have a site already, find the login for your domain registrar. Photos and page text ready up front shorten a build more than anything else: Footprint Decks & Design launched in under 30 days for that reason.