Forum advice can surface questions, but it cannot prove that a builder fits your business.

1. Ask for live sites. 2. Ask who does the work. 3. Get scope, timeline, access, and ownership in writing. 4. Ask what happens if the work pauses.

Do not hire from a screenshot gallery alone or hand over control of the domain to a vendor account.

• Whose name is on the domain and the website account? The answer should be the business, with the designer added as a user. Here is how to own your domain name.
• Who fixes things after launch, and is that care written into the contract?
• Who owns the design, words, and photos made for us? See below before you accept a vague answer.
• How do you check accessibility? ADA.gov lists basics such as color contrast, alt text on images, video captions, labeled forms, and text that still works when zoomed. More in our guide to website accessibility.
• What results do you promise? Google says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, and to beware of anyone who claims to.

The U.S. Copyright Office says the person who creates a work is ordinarily its author. A commissioned work counts as “made for hire” only if it fits one of nine listed categories and both sides sign a written agreement saying so.

If the work does not pass every one of those tests, the designer keeps the copyright unless they transfer it. The Copyright Office says a transfer generally must be in writing and signed by the owner of the rights, which here means the designer. So the contract, signed by the designer, should say what the business owns once paid: the design, the words, photos made for you, and the right to edit or move them. Ask which parts come from a template, font, or stock photo service, and whose account pays for each.

This is not legal advice. If the ownership section is unclear, have a lawyer read it before you sign.

Hiring a solo freelancer? City law may already require a written contract. NYC’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act says contracts worth $800 or more must be in writing. That includes agreements with the same person that add up to $800 in any 120-day period.

The contract must spell out the work, the pay, and the payment date. If it has no payment date, the city says the business must pay within 30 days after the work is done. Both sides must keep a copy. The city also publishes a model contract with the required terms. This is not legal advice; if a term is unclear, ask a lawyer.

Freelancer or agency, also get these in writing: the page list, who supplies words and photos, and rounds of changes. Add the launch date, the handoff items (logins, final files, editing notes), and how either side can end the work.

• Open three live sites they built on your own phone. Tap the phone number, the booking button, and the form.
• If they offer a search audit, give read-only access. Google advises granting only read access to Search Console, its report on how your site shows up in search, at that stage.
• Ignore cold emails promising page one. Google says to be wary of SEO firms and web consultants or agencies that email you out of the blue.

You may not need a designer at all. Google says a small local business can probably do much of its own search work. If the job is one page with hours, phone, and a booking link, a builder may be enough. Weigh Squarespace against hiring a web designer first.

Bring one sentence about what the website must do and compare how each builder responds.

Either can fit. Clear ownership and accountable work matter more than the label.

At minimum, its domain and the access needed to run the public site.

Want it handled? Custom Local Websites — Need a clearer public path? We can map the page around the action customers need to take.

Product features and rules can change. Use the linked source as the current word.

• Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO? — Google’s own advice on hiring outside search help, guarantees, access, and cold emails; last updated 2026-06-05. Checked October 19, 2026.
• U.S. Copyright Office: Circular 30, Works Made for Hire — When a hiring party, not the creator, owns copyright in commissioned work; revised 08/2024. Checked October 19, 2026.
• NYC DCWP: Freelance Worker Rights — NYC Freelance Isn’t Free Act: written contracts, payment timing, model contract. Checked October 19, 2026.
• ADA.gov: Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA — Justice Department guidance for businesses open to the public, with examples of accessible website features. Checked October 19, 2026.
• U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright Basics (Circular 1) — Who owns the copyright in commissioned work and how it is transferred. Checked October 19, 2026.