Most business owners I meet who need help with a website, SEO, or digital marketing fall into one of two groups.
The first group tried doing it themselves to save money. Then they found out how complicated it gets and how difficult it is to keep up with while running a business.
The second group already hired someone. Sometimes several people. They’ve been disappointed, charged more than they expected, left confused, taken advantage of, or ghosted. In the worst cases, they’ve been completely screwed over or had their website held hostage.
I hear these stories far too often.
After more than 20 years in this industry, I’ve seen a lot. As a business owner myself, I know how much you depend on people to do the job you hired them to do. I also know what it feels like when that trust gets shaken.
I’ve worked hard to be honest and transparent with my clients, explain what I’m doing, and do the best work I can within their budgets.
But that doesn’t mean everyone reading this is a good fit for Truman Web. If you need a complex ecommerce website, you need someone who specializes in that. If my services don’t fit your budget right now, you still deserve good information and someone you can trust.
I’m protective of business owners in this situation. Whether we work together or not, I want you to find someone who knows what they’re doing and treats you well.
If you need an informational website and want an experienced person to help with your website and marketing over time, let’s talk. I’m based in Dickson, Tennessee, and work with American businesses anywhere in the United States.
Whoever you’re considering, ask these questions before hiring them.
What will you use to build my website, and why?
Your designer should name the platform and explain why it fits your business, your budget, and the way you’ll use the site.
My preference is WordPress. It gives us control over the website and room to add content and features over time. A self-hosted WordPress website can also move to another hosting provider.
I don’t recommend Wix for the kind of long-term website relationship I offer. It comes with several limitations not appropriate for most businesses.
Squarespace can make sense for someone who wants a simpler editing experience and plans to handle frequent changes themselves. A restaurant owner updating menu items is one example. But ask for a demonstration of those exact edits before choosing a platform. WordPress can also be set up for straightforward editing.
If someone proposes an entirely AI-generated website, run. Someone selling an unchecked AI output they don’t understand is a reason to walk away. Plus, 100% AI-designed web designers are popping up everywhere because with a few clicks, they can provide something that looks pretty. But many of these designers lack the experience needed to successfully manage your site long term.
How Truman Web Works: I build websites in WordPress using a theme that is 100% customizable, not a template to drop text and images in. I have full control over every pixel and back-end setting.
Will I own my website and have access to my accounts?
You should have owner-level access to your domain registration and hosting account, or the website-platform account if hosting is included. A login to your site that lets you edit text is not necessarily access to the account that controls your website.
Ask directly: “Whose name and email address will be on these accounts? Will I have my own login? What happens if we stop working together?”
You should also understand what transfers with you, including website files, content, and any software licenses that may need replacing.
Action Item: If you already have a designer and don’t know whether you have hosting access, message them today. Ask where your website and domain are held and whether you have owner-level access. If they’re inside the designer’s account, ask them to arrange a transfer into accounts you control and provide your own login. Coordinate the transfer so your website and email keep working.
Your designer can still have access to do their job. But they should not be the only person who can control whether your website stays online.
How Truman Web Works: Your hosting, domain, and recurring accounts stay under your ownership, with your billing information. If a site is inside another provider’s shared account, I require it to be moved into your own account before taking over, but I can help make this happen if we work together.
Do you charge by the project or by the time you spend?
Ask how the price is calculated, what the estimate includes, and what happens when the work takes longer than expected.
In my experience, project-based pricing often includes a substantial cushion in the price and strict limits on revisions. You might get two rounds of changes, then pay extra for anything beyond that. What sounded like a fixed price can grow once you start asking for adjustments.
Ask what counts as billable time, how revisions are handled, and whether additional work needs your approval. With hourly billing, ask how you’ll track spending. With project billing, ask what falls outside the quoted price.
How Truman Web Works: I charge $150 per hour and track my work by the minute. If something takes seven minutes, that’s what I bill. I prefer this because clients pay for the actual time spent, and we can adjust priorities around the budget. My invoices include notes explaining the work. New websites generally start around $2,000, but estimates depend on the project.
What do you need from me, and what will you handle?
Your designer should explain who is responsible for writing, photos, page planning, and gathering information.
Will they write the content from your notes and conversations? Are you expected to deliver finished copy? Who chooses images? Who checks that the information is accurate?
They should also ask enough questions to understand your business. What do you sell? Which customers are a good fit? What questions do people ask before hiring you? If someone starts building without understanding those things, ask how they plan to represent your business accurately.
How Truman Web Works: After our initial call, if we decide we’re a good fit and want to work together, I usually spend at least an hour learning about your business. I ask how things work, who your customers are, what you offer, and anything else that will help me represent your business accurately.
I work with your information, photos, branding, and goals to organize and write the website. Before and during the design, I may ask you several questions and get your feedback to make sure I’m representing your business well. Having the information ready and responding to questions helps keep the project moving.
What SEO work is actually included?
“SEO included” should come with a specific explanation of the work. What types of optimizations come with a standard website upon launch?
After launch, do they offer ongoing SEO? What work would happen each month? How will you know what was done?
Be cautious if someone guarantees rankings or can’t explain their service beyond “getting you on Google.”
How Truman Web Works: New websites include basic on-page SEO within the project scope. Ongoing SEO is separate and optional. Depending on your goals and budget, that work may include technical fixes, service pages, blog posts, local search work, and reviewing what people search for to find you.
Will you maintain my site when you’re finished designing it?
There needs to be a clear maintenance plan before the website launches.
For WordPress, that means someone takes responsibility for software updates like plugins, themes, PHP, and WordPress, plus backups, security checks, and problems that can happen when software changes.
A designer who doesn’t offer maintenance on a WordPress site is a huge red flag.
How Truman Web Works: I require a basic $40 monthly maintenance plan for the WordPress websites I build. Maintenance keeps the site supported. It’s like never updating your smart phone or computer: it’ll just stop working if it’s not updated. (New content, design changes, and ongoing marketing are additional work.)
After launch, are you still involved?
Ask this plainly: “When you’re finished designing, are you done? If I need an update next month, will you do it?”
Some designers build the website and hand it over. Others stay involved. You need to know which relationship you’re paying for.
Ask how you request changes, what they cost, and how communication works. If you want to edit the site yourself, ask whether training is included.
Also ask what happens if the designer becomes unavailable. Your business should not lose access to its website because one person stops responding. I see this all the time! If you have your own hosting account access, this turns into much less of an emergency.
How Truman Web Works: I stay available to active maintenance clients for updates and additional work. You can send new photos, request a service-page change, or ask about your next marketing priority. Additional work is billed hourly. Email or text is preferred, and calls can be arranged.
Can you show me your work and explain your role?
Ask for live websites, examples of similar projects, and references you can contact.
Ask what the designer actually handled. Did they build the site, write the content, manage the SEO, or only contribute one part or use AI to make something pretty?
How Truman Web Works: You can review projects and case studies on my website, along with client feedback. I bring more than 20 years of experience, and I’m happy to explain my role in the work you’re considering.
Find someone you can trust with your business
You don’t need to become a web designer to hire one. You do need clear answers about your money, your accounts, and who will be responsible for the work.
If someone gets defensive about reasonable questions, avoids discussing access, or leaves you more confused every time you talk, take that seriously.
Truman Web is based in Dickson and works with businesses throughout Middle Tennessee, including Burns, White Bluff, Charlotte, Vanleer, Slayden, Fairview, Kingston Springs, Pegram, McEwen, Waverly, Centerville, Erin, and Ashland City. I also work remotely with American businesses anywhere in the United States.
If you need an informational website and want an experienced person to help maintain and market it over time, let’s talk about whether we’re a good fit.
And if we’re not, I hope these questions help you find someone who will take good care of you.
