What to ask a web developer before hiring them?

Most people go into a developer conversation focused on price and timeline. Those matter, but they are not the questions that tell you whether someone is the right fit.

Here are the ones worth asking.

What platform do you build on and why? A developer who can explain their platform choice clearly, not just name it, understands what they are building and what tradeoffs they are making. Vague answers here are a signal worth noticing.

What does your process look like before you start building? A developer who jumps straight to design or code without understanding your business, your buyers, and what the site needs to accomplish is optimizing for speed, not outcomes. The strategy work at the beginning is what makes the build useful.

What happens at handoff? You should walk away from a project with a site you can manage independently, documentation of what was built, and credentials organized in one place. If handoff isn't a defined step in their process, ask why.

What does ongoing support look like after launch? Not every business needs a maintenance retainer, but knowing what your options are before something breaks is better than finding out after.

Who owns the site when the project is done? The answer should be you, your hosting, your domain, your files. If the answer is complicated, that is worth understanding before you sign anything.

These questions won't guarantee a good outcome. But they will tell you quickly whether a developer has thought carefully about their work or is just ready to start billing.