Choose the person. Understand the proposal.

Start with the job your website needs to do.

Write one sentence about who should visit and what they should do next. For example: “Help homeowners understand my fitted-storage service and request a conversation.” This is a more useful brief than a list of visual effects.

Ask each provider how they would support that job. The answer should connect the page structure, information and contact route to your customers. A shop with payments, a booking service and a simple enquiry website have different requirements.

Look at the work, then ask what it demonstrates.

Open examples on your phone. Can you understand the offer, read the text and find the next step? Ask which parts the provider designed or built and whether the example is a working customer website, their own site or a concept.

A concept can demonstrate visual thinking. An operating website can show working navigation and contact behaviour. Neither establishes sales results without supporting evidence. If a provider is new, look for a clear explanation of the work and an achievable scope rather than an implied track record.

WebLevitation is a new independent studio. The portfolio currently contains my own business website and two fictional design concepts. You can inspect those examples and the reasoning behind them before deciding whether my approach suits your business.

Compare the same scope, not just the final number.

Two quotes for “a website” may cover very different work. One might include writing, several service pages and a connected form; another might expect finished content and provide a single page with an email link. Clarify the differences before comparing prices.

• Pages: which pages and language versions are included?
• Content: who supplies, writes and approves text and images?
• Functions: is booking a link, an embedded service or a custom system?
• Feedback: how are design review, revisions and additional requests handled?
• Launch: who connects the domain and checks the agreed contact route?
• After launch: what costs recur, and who handles changes?

Use a small comparison exercise.

Imagine a new consultant who needs a homepage, a service explanation, an introduction and a contact form. The consultant has a logo but needs help with the text. Write that same brief to each provider and ask them to distinguish the initial build from optional ongoing care.

If one proposal includes copy refinement and another does not, request clarification. If a booking subscription is suggested, ask what it adds to the customer journey and what the external provider charges. Choose from comparable information rather than assuming the lowest number covers everything.

Agree on how you will work together remotely.

Working across countries is practical when responsibilities are clear. Agree on the working language, the contact channel, when you can review work, and how feedback will be gathered. A public website being available at all hours does not mean its designer provides immediate support at all hours.

For a multilingual site, decide who supplies and checks each translation. For payments, booking or other external services, confirm the required accounts and availability in your market before choosing an implementation.

At WebLevitation, project communication is in English. I am based in Oslo and work remotely with clients worldwide. Websites in other languages are possible with translation and language review agreed in the scope.

Ask what will be checked before you approve launch.

Request a review link and try the most important journey yourself, including on a phone. Check the business facts, service information, spelling, links and what happens after an enquiry. Confirm who receives the message and what the visitor is told.

Ask what “SEO included” covers. Descriptive page titles, accessible content and an indexable website are foundations. They are different from a continuing content or marketing service. No provider can promise that a new site will rank first or be recommended by every AI search tool.

Five questions to take into your first conversation.

Use these questions with any provider. You do not need technical vocabulary to ask for clear answers.

• What would you build first for my customers, and why?
• What do I need to supply before work starts?
• What exactly is included, excluded and charged separately?
• What will I be able to review before launch?
• What access, responsibilities and costs will I have afterwards?

See whether my approach fits.

My first website proposal is free and has no obligation to continue. It gives us a concrete direction to discuss. The website itself is paid work, with the scope and one-time price agreed before we start; ongoing care is optional.

Tell me about the business you are building and what your customers need. You can review the proposal and decide whether to take the project further.