What it costs
7 questions to ask a web designer before you pay a deposit
Before a web design deposit, get the domain in your name, the code assigned in writing, a written scope, and a refund tied to approval of the finished site.
Ask a web designer 7 questions before you pay a deposit. They cover the domain, the code, the scope, the refund, the speed, changes after launch, and proof from live work. Get every answer in writing.
A deposit is the point where walking away starts to cost you money. For what the price itself should look like, start with how much a website costs in Canada.
The short version
- Get the domain registered in your name. Changing the registrant later can trigger a 60-day transfer lock on generic domains like .com (DNSimple, citing ICANN policy).
- Get the code and design assigned to you in writing. In Canada, the author owns the copyright first (Copyright Act, s. 13).
- Ask for the scope, the refund terms, and the monthly fee as written lists before any money moves.
- Ask for proof of speed. Only 48% of mobile websites had good Core Web Vitals in 2025 (HTTP Archive).
- The strongest refund answer ties your money to your approval of the finished site, not to a date.
1. Whose name will the domain be registered in?
The right answer is yours, in a registrar account you log into. The domain is your address, your email, and every link pointing at your business. If it sits in the designer's account, they hold your name.
Fixing it later is slow. Under ICANN policy since December 2016, a registrant change on a .com can lock it against a registrar move for 60 days. Some registrars offer no opt-out at all (DNSimple).
Ask for 3 things before the deposit:
- The domain registered in your legal name or your company's name.
- Your own login at the registrar, with the renewal on your card.
- Access granted to the designer from your account, never the other way around.
2. Who owns the code, the design, and the content after the final payment?
You should, and the contract should say so: paying for a website does not move the copyright to you by itself. Under Canada's Copyright Act, the author owns the copyright first. An assignment is valid only in writing, signed by the owner (Copyright Act, s. 13, current to September 2026).
US law points the same way. A commissioned work is "work made for hire" only if it fits 1 of 9 listed categories. All parties must also sign a written agreement (US Copyright Office, Circular 30). Otherwise, the person who made it is the author.
So ask for a single contract sentence: on final payment, copyright in the code, design, and content is assigned to you. Then ask what you receive if you leave, whether that is the files or access to the repository. Exact wording for your province or state is a question for a lawyer.
3. What exactly does the price include, line by line?
Ask for the scope as a list of deliverables: pages, forms, integrations, copywriting, photos, and a launch date. Two quotes that both say "custom website" can hold very different amounts of work. A written list is the only way to compare them.
Every line on that list is labour. A web designer in Canada earns a median of $33.65 CAD an hour. The range runs from $20.00 CAD to $57.69 CAD (Job Bank Canada, updated November 2025).
An agency's billed rate sits well above that wage, for reasons covered in why agencies quote $5,000 to $15,000 CAD for a website. A quote that cannot say which lines hold the hours is a number someone chose.
Then ask what costs extra. Copywriting, stock photos, a booking tool, a second language, and extra revision rounds are the usual ones. Our breakdown of what one small business website scope includes shows a scope written out line by line.
For more to ask before signing, see hiring a web design agency.
4. What is refundable, and until when?
Ask at what point your deposit stops being refundable, and get it in writing. The strongest answer ties the refund to your approval of the finished site. Weaker answers tie it to a date, a first mockup, or nothing at all.
Approval matters because it is the first moment you see the real thing. A mockup is a picture; the finished site runs on your phone, with your forms and its real speed.
Ask 3 follow-ups:
- How many revision rounds come before approval?
- What happens to the money paid if the project stalls on their side?
- Who decides the site is finished, you or them?
5. Will the site pass Google's speed tests on a phone?
Ask for a yes, and ask to see the test on a site they already built. Google's Core Web Vitals set 3 pass marks. Main content loads within 2.5 seconds, a tap gets a response in 200 milliseconds, and layout shift stays at 0.1 or less (web.dev, October 2024).
Most sites still miss them on a phone. Only 48% of mobile websites had good Core Web Vitals in 2025, up from 36% in 2023 (HTTP Archive Web Almanac, January 2026).
Put accessibility in the same question. In Ontario, businesses with 50 or more employees must make public websites meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA (Ontario.ca). In the US, the Department of Justice says the ADA applies to the web content of businesses open to the public (ADA.gov, March 2022).
6. What does a change cost after launch, and what does the monthly fee cover?
Ask for a price and a turnaround time for a typical change, like new holiday hours, a price change, or a new photo. Ask separately what a new page costs. Then ask what the monthly fee covers, line by line, and the date it starts.
The answer decides who does the work after launch. Many plans cover hosting and software but leave every edit to you, and time is what owners have least of.
66% of Canadian business owners say lack of time is their greatest obstacle to using or adopting digital tools (CFIB, December 2025).
If you will not make edits yourself, the change policy matters more than the design. Our list of hidden website costs in Canada prices each line. Monthly plan or one-time payment runs the math on both ways to pay.
7. Can you show me live sites you built, and can I test them?
Ask for 3 live sites you can open today, not screenshots. Google suggests the same check when hiring for search work: ask for examples of previous work and success stories (Google Search Central, June 2026).
Then test them yourself in about 10 minutes:
- Open each one on your phone, on cellular data, and try the main form.
- Run each address through PageSpeed Insights and check the 3 Core Web Vitals.
- Ask for 1 past client's phone number, and call to ask how the project went.
A designer who refuses these checks has told you something. Our builds are on the portfolio, each with a link to the case study or the live site.
The 7 questions at a glance
Send this table to every designer you are comparing. The right column is where to push back.
| # | Question | A good answer | Push back on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whose name is the domain in? | Yours, in your own registrar account | Registered in the designer's account |
| 2 | Who owns the code and design? | Assigned to you in writing on final payment | "You can use it while you pay us" |
| 3 | What does the price include? | A written list of pages, features, and a launch date | "A custom website" with no list |
| 4 | What is refundable, and until when? | Everything paid, until you approve the finished site | A deposit that is final before you see anything |
| 5 | Will it pass on a phone? | Yes, with a PageSpeed test of a live build | "Speed depends on your hosting" |
| 6 | What do changes cost? | A price and a turnaround time, in writing | "We quote each change as it comes" |
| 7 | Can I see live work? | 3 live sites you can test and a client you can call | Mockups or screenshots only |
How we answer the questions that cost the most
Samro Studios builds these sites, and our answers are short. Builds are quoted per project as a written list, and a redesign costs the same as a new build.
- Ownership: the code, the domain, and the content are yours.
- Timeline: most builds go live in 2 to 3 weeks once your content is ready.
- Changes: text, photo, price, and hours updates at a 24 to 48 hour pace, with no separate retainer. New pages are quoted separately.
- Hosting: a small monthly amount, quoted with your build, that starts 30 days after payment.
- Refund: you approve the finished site before it goes live, and everything paid is refundable up to that approval. Love your site or your money back.
Frequently asked questions
How much of a deposit should a web designer ask for?
There is no standard deposit in Canada or the US, so the terms matter more than the size. Ask what the deposit pays for, when it stops being refundable, and what happens if the project stalls on the designer's side. A deposit that stays refundable until you approve the finished site carries the least risk.
Who owns my website if a designer built it?
In Canada, the author owns the copyright first, and it moves to you only through a signed written assignment (Copyright Act, s. 13). US law also leaves copyright with the creator of most commissioned work unless it is transferred in writing. Ask for the assignment clause before paying, and keep the domain in your own name.
Can a web designer guarantee first place on Google?
No: Google states that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google (Google Search Central, June 2026). A designer can promise a fast, well-built site that meets Google's published speed thresholds. Treat a ranking guarantee in a quote as a reason to ask harder questions, not as a selling point.
What should a web design contract include?
At minimum: the scope as a list, the price and payment schedule, the launch date, revision rounds, and refund terms. Add the copyright assignment, domain ownership, the cost of changes, and what the monthly fee covers. If an answer to any of the 7 questions is missing from the contract, it is not an answer yet.
How long should a small business website take to build?
Our hand-coded builds usually take 2 to 3 weeks once your photos and text are ready. Ask any designer for a dated plan and a list of what they need from you, and when. Late content is the delay we see most, as our guide to how long it takes to build a website explains.
The decision
Send these 7 questions to every designer you are considering, and compare the written answers, not the deposits. Pick the one who answers all 7 in writing before asking for money.
To get our answers on your own project, tell us about it on the contact form and you get a written quote back.
Sami Bdeira is the founder of Samro Studios, which builds quoting agents and custom tools for service businesses in the United States and Canada.
