8 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Agency or Freelancer

Before you hire whoever will build your website, ask eight things: whose name the domain will be in, who owns the files and the copy, who will have access to your measurement accounts, what the upkeep includes, what happens if you want to leave, how long it takes, how many changes are included, and what the contract says. If the answers are clear and arrive in writing, you can move forward. If they are vague, that is already information.

They work the same for an agency as for a freelancer. The size of the provider matters less than its answers.

What will be yours

1. Whose name will the domain be in?

Yours, or your company’s. The policies of the .mx registry state that the registrant contact is the holder of the domain and responsible for it, and recommend that it be the end user. Ask to see the registration under your name or company name. If the domain sits in the provider’s account, you depend on them to move. Ask also who renews it each year and which email address receives the expiry notices: a domain that is not renewed in time can become available for someone else to register.

2. Will you receive the files, and who owns the copy and the images?

Make sure ownership is in the contract. Mexico’s Federal Copyright Law says that, unless agreed otherwise, whoever commissions a work holds the economic rights to it (article 83). It also requires that any transfer of those rights be in writing, or it is void (article 30), and that the terms of a commissioned work be clear and precise (article 83 bis). In practice: do not leave it to good faith. Ask the contract to say what you receive, and ask that stock images come with a license. This is general information, not legal advice.

3. Who will be the administrator of Analytics and your other accounts?

You. According to Google Analytics help, the administrator role is the one that can add and remove users. If the account is created under the provider’s name, removing their access or taking your history with you depends on them doing it. The healthy approach is to create the account with your email and give the agency a user permission.

What happens after launch

4. What exactly does the upkeep include?

“Maintenance” can mean very different things. Evarian Dev, a Mexican web studio, places maintenance at 1,500 to 4,000 MXN a month in its 2026 price guide, a wide market range precisely because each provider covers something different. Ask for the breakdown: how many changes a month, whether there are backups and how often, how quickly they respond, and whether you receive any report.

5. What happens if I want to leave?

Ask in writing whether they hand over the complete files, the domain and the access; how soon; and whether they charge for it. Ask also whether there is a minimum term. A monthly fee that does not let you leave without a penalty completely changes the math of what your site costs. If there is a minimum term, it should say how many months and what you pay if you leave sooner, and the answer should not be “we’ll see later”.

Timelines and changes

6. How long does it take, and from when does the clock start?

A deadline without a starting point is useless. According to Linkink, a Mexican provider, most delays come from a lack of definition, incomplete content and slow approval processes, not from the technical side. Ask what they need from you, when, and from what moment the days count. And ask what happens if the delay is theirs: whether they tell you, and how far in advance.

7. How many rounds of changes are included, and what counts as a change?

Moving a button is not the same as redoing the structure. Ask for it in writing: how many rounds are included and what happens if the direction is wrong. It is far cheaper to correct course before building than at the end. Also define what a minor change is, such as fixing a phone number, an opening hour or a photo, and what counts as new work, such as a different section or a feature that was not planned. If the provider does not distinguish between the two, the argument will arrive after you have already paid.

The contract

8. Is there a written contract, and what does it say?

If the provider is a freelancer, the same applies. A good website contract, even a one-page one, says:

• What is delivered, with the sections and features listed.
• The total price, whether it includes IVA, and how it is paid.
• The deadline and from when it runs.
• How many rounds of changes are included.
• Who owns the domain, the files, the copy and the images.
• What the monthly fee includes, if there is one, and how to cancel it.

It does not have to be a twenty-page document. A sheet signed by both parties, with the provider’s details and the date, already gives you something to go back to if there is a disagreement. What does not work is a WhatsApp conversation with no closing: “yes, that’s what we agreed” does not say how much, until when, or who owns what.

Signs to stop and ask for an explanation

None of these signs proves bad faith on its own. But each one is a reason to pause and ask for a written explanation before you pay:

• They promise you a spot on Google. Google is clear in its guidance on hiring an SEO: no one can guarantee a number one ranking, and you should be wary of anyone who claims a “special relationship” with Google or a “priority submit”. A serious provider gives realistic estimates and explains the work involved.
• They ask nothing about your business. They quote without knowing what you do, who your customer is, or what you want a visitor to do on the site.
• They resist putting anything in writing. Price, scope, deadline or ownership: if everything stays verbal, there is nothing to claim later.
• The price does not say what it includes. A number with no breakdown cannot be compared with another.
• There is a rush to pay today. An offer that ends tonight is rarely the best moment to understand what you are buying.

The simplest test is to ask that every important answer reach you by email. Whoever works clearly does so without a problem, and you keep a record you can read again.

How we answer

You should be able to ask us these questions too, and these are our answers. The domain stays in your name and we hand over the complete files of the site. The monthly fee is paid month to month with no minimum term; to cancel it you tell Adrián and he confirms from which date it takes effect. The timelines are published for each package and run from when you give us the information we ask for at the implementation call. And each package has a defined number of rounds of changes, from one to three. We write the copy ourselves.