What questions should I ask a web designer?

Essential questions to ask: Can I see examples of sites you've built for similar businesses? What's your design and development process? What's included in the price and what costs extra? Who owns the website, domain, and hosting after launch? How long will the project take? How many revision rounds are included? Do you handle SEO and content? What happens after launch - do you offer maintenance? What CMS will you use, and can I make my own updates? How do you handle project delays? Ask for a written proposal that answers all of these before signing anything.