Avoid these 7 mistakes before choosing Custom Website Design

Hiring a vendor for Custom Website Design is a high-stakes decision for small and mid-sized businesses. Below are seven specific mistakes decision-makers commonly make, each with practical questions to ask vendors, concrete checks you can run, and short scoring cues you can reuse in procurement conversations.

1. Assume you own the site and code without confirming deliverables

Why it matters: ownership of source code, repositories, design files, images, fonts, and hosting credentials determines who can update, migrate, or sell your site in the future. Without explicit transfer terms you may be locked in or face extra fees to retrieve assets.

Key vendor questions

• Will you provide the source code and a copy of the production repository (Git) on final delivery?
• Who will own the domain and hosting accounts? Will credentials be transferred to my team?
• Which asset licences (images, fonts, plugins) are included and which require separate purchase?

Checks and red flags: ask for sample contract language that states transfer of code and credentials on final payment. A red flag is a vendor that refuses to share repository access or insists on being the only account owner. If you plan to host with another provider later, require a technical handover checklist that lists build steps, environment variables, and deployment scripts.

2. Let the CMS and handover be an afterthought

Why it matters: a custom site that relies on an obscure CMS or that provides no admin access can increase internal costs and make content updates slow. Your team should be able to edit common pages, manage products if ecommerce, and perform routine SEO tasks without developer support.

Key vendor questions

• Which CMS and version will you use, and why is it the best fit for our needs?
• What admin permissions will our team receive and which actions will remain developer-only?
• Will you supply editor training, written documentation, and editable templates for recurring pages?

Checks and scoring: request a short demo account or screencast of the CMS before you sign. Score proposals for maintainability on a 1–5 scale: 1 = vendor-only edits, 5 = full admin access with templates and training. Aim for 4 or 5 if you want to reduce ongoing development bills.

3. Overlook accessibility requirements and procurement checks

Why it matters: accessibility is both an ethical design requirement and an emerging procurement obligation. Public guidance suggests assessing whether off-the-shelf patterns meet accessibility standards or require custom modification before procurement decisions are final; this reduces last-minute rework and liability concerns. See the procurement checklist and barrier-identification steps at Accessibility Standards Canada for practical checks.

Key vendor questions

• To which WCAG level will the site conform (A, AA, AAA)? Who will perform accessibility testing and deliver test reports?
• Will keyboard navigation, semantic markup, ARIA attributes, and alt text be included in acceptance testing?
• Can you show evidence of previous accessibility fixes or a testing checklist you use for launches?

Checks and red flags: request a third-party accessibility audit or a vendor-run test report as part of the proposal. A vendor that treats accessibility as optional or that cannot point to a documented testing process should be treated cautiously.

4. Accept performance claims without measurable tests

Why it matters: page speed affects conversions, search visibility, and perceived professionalism. Vendors often promise “fast” sites without baseline metrics or a clear optimisation plan. Ask for measurable, repeatable performance evidence for both mobile and desktop.

Key vendor questions

• Can you provide Lighthouse or WebPageTest results for comparable projects, with mobile and desktop scores?
• What will you measure as acceptance criteria: TTFB, Largest Contentful Paint, total blocking time, and First Input Delay?
• Do you recommend local hosting, a CDN, or edge caching for Surrey and Vancouver visitors to improve latency?

Checks and scoring: demand a baseline performance report for the staging build and require the vendor to document the optimisation steps they will take. If your audience is local to Surrey or Metro Vancouver, confirm whether the vendor will use CDNs or regional hosting to reduce round-trip time. Vendors who cannot supply lab and field data or give vague answers about optimisation should be scored lower.

5. Confuse visual design with usable content and SEO

Why it matters: visuals that look great may still fail to help users complete tasks. Canada.ca guidance recommends designing content around user tasks and selecting templates or patterns that support those tasks, a principle that applies equally to commercial sites: information architecture, task-driven templates, and content ownership are the backbone of a usable site.

Key vendor questions

• How will you structure content so users can complete primary tasks? Can you show wireframes or template patterns that map to user journeys?
• Who will own metadata, URL structure, and canonical rules used for SEO? Will you deliver a content strategy document?
• How will the design support reusable templates to reduce future design and development costs?

Checks and scoring: ask the vendor to map three typical user journeys and show which templates serve those journeys. Look for a content-first approach that separates design from content strategy. Vendors that equate design with decoration, or that provide no IA or content ownership plan, are likely to create maintenance headaches. For guidance on choosing templates and patterns for web content, see the public design guidance on templates and patterns.

Learn more about the agency design approach and view examples in the design category on the Big Time IT Solutions site: design.

6. Ignore security, backups, and who manages hosting

Why it matters: websites that handle client data or ecommerce transactions must have clear security responsibilities, regular backups, and tested recovery plans. Knowing whether your design vendor provides managed hosting, or hands off to your IT team, affects SLA expectations and incident response steps.

Key vendor questions

• Will you implement HTTPS, encryption at rest where applicable, and firewall hardening? Who is responsible for security patching?
• What is the backup frequency and retention policy? Do you test restores regularly and provide written recovery steps?
• Do you offer managed hosting and integration with cloud backup or will you hand off hosting to our IT provider?

Checks and red flags: require vendors to list security controls, backup schedules, and a contact for incident response. If your organisation already uses managed IT or cloud backup, ask how the vendor will coordinate with those teams. Vendors that refuse to describe backup frequency, restore testing, or encryption practices should be deprioritised.

7. Assume QA ends at launch instead of asking about testing and ongoing support

Why it matters: launch is the start of the production lifecycle. You should agree on acceptance criteria, bug-fix windows, regression testing, and a clear support model for ongoing maintenance. Without this you will likely pay more for post-launch fixes and miss planned updates.

Key vendor questions

• What acceptance tests and environments will you provide (staging, UAT, pre-production)? Who signs off on final acceptance?
• What is your standard bug-fix window after launch, and how are post-launch support retainer rates calculated?
• Will you include regression and accessibility tests in future sprints or charge separately?

Checks and short checklist: require a testing matrix and a clear SLA for post-launch fixes. Negotiate a short warranty period for defect fixes in the contract and confirm how future feature work will be estimated and billed.

• Ownership: source code, Git repo, domain and hosting credentials transferred on final payment.
• CMS: admin access, editable templates, and editor training provided.
• Accessibility: WCAG target, test reports, and remediation plan delivered.
• Performance: baseline Lighthouse and field metrics and documented optimisation plan.
• Content and SEO: IA, URL structure, metadata ownership, and content strategy delivered.
• Security and backups: HTTPS, firewall hardening, backup frequency, and restore testing documented.
• QA and support: staging and UAT, acceptance criteria, warranty window, and ongoing support terms.

FAQ

Do I need a custom site or will a template-based site be enough for my business

Templates can be faster and cheaper for simple brochure or basic ecommerce needs. Choose custom design when you require unique workflows, deep integrations, industry-specific compliance, or a branded user experience that templates cannot provide. Use the seven checks above to decide which path reduces long-term cost and risk.

Who legally owns the finished website and how do I ensure I get full access

Ownership should be defined in the contract. Require explicit deliverables: source code, repository access, domain and hosting credentials, and asset licences. Insist the contract states transfer conditions so you receive full access on final payment.

What level of accessibility compliance should I require for a Canadian small business

Many organisations aim for WCAG AA as a practical baseline. For procurement and legal readiness, follow public procurement guidance to determine whether off-the-shelf patterns meet standards or require custom modification and request a testing report as proof. See Accessibility Standards Canada for procurement guidance and barrier checks: procurement accessibility checklist.

How are backups and disaster recovery usually handled for custom websites

Backups are commonly run daily with separate retention windows, and vendors should document restore procedures and test restores periodically. If you use managed IT or cloud backup services, confirm who will coordinate restore tests and incident response between teams.

What ongoing costs should I budget for after the site goes live

Budget for hosting, CDN, SSL renewal, CMS updates, security patching, backups, and a maintenance retainer for content edits or feature work. The precise ongoing cost depends on traffic, integrations, and whether you choose vendor-managed hosting or self-managed infrastructure.

Ready to vet proposals with a concise checklist or to discuss a Surrey-focused project? Request an initial vetting call or a proposal from Big Time IT Solutions Inc, a Surrey-based team that offers website design, ecommerce, managed IT, and cloud backup services and can help apply these seven checks to your RFP.