How to choose a web designer in Nigeria: what to check before you pay

Quick answer: how do you choose a good web designer?

A good web designer can show you live websites they built, explains their process in plain language, gives you a written scope and price, lets you own what you pay for and tells you what happens after launch. A risky one is vague about all of these.

Price matters, but it is rarely the main factor. The costly mistakes in website projects come from unclear scope, lost access, missed deadlines and sites nobody maintains, not from paying a fair price.

What should you decide before you contact anyone?

Designers can only quote accurately when you know what the site is for. Spend an hour on these before the first call.

1. Your goal. Do you want phone calls, WhatsApp enquiries, bookings, online sales, applications, or simply credibility? Pick one main goal.
2. Your audience. Who visits, on what device, and what do they need to find in the first ten seconds?
3. Your pages. A simple list such as Home, About, Services, Contact, plus anything specific like Shop, Gallery or Blog.
4. Your content. Who will write the text and supply photos and logos? Many delays happen because content is not ready.
5. Examples you like. Two or three sites, and what you like about each.
6. Your budget range and deadline, including whether you need things like online payments through Paystack or Flutterwave, bookings or a customer login.

With this list, you can compare quotes fairly because every designer is pricing the same thing.

How do you judge a web designer's past work?

Do not rely on screenshots in a portfolio. Open the actual websites.

• Open them on your phone, on mobile data, not only on a computer. Is the text readable, do the buttons work and do pages load without a long wait?
• Click through the pages. Check the menu, forms, links and images. Broken pages on a portfolio site tell you how maintenance is handled.
• Check the padlock beside the address. A business site without HTTPS looks careless.
• Look for variety. Are all the sites the same template with different logos? That may be fine for a simple site, but it is not custom design.
• Ask about their role. Did they design it, write the code, handle the content, set up hosting? Agencies sometimes show work done by others.
• Call a past client if you can. Ask whether the work came on time, whether the designer was reachable and whether they still support the site.

Good work is useful evidence. Work that is visible but cannot be explained is not.

What questions should you ask before you hire?

These questions separate professionals from people who build a site once and disappear.

• Who owns the domain name, the hosting account and the final files after I pay?
• What is included in the price, and what costs extra, such as extra pages, copywriting, logos, photos or revisions?
• How long will it take, and what do you need from me and when?
• Will the site work well on phones and be set up for search engines?
• Is it built on a platform like WordPress or custom code, and why do you recommend that for me?
• Can I update text and images myself, and will you show me how?
• What happens after launch? Is there a support period, what does ongoing support cost and how quickly do you respond?
• Who handles hosting, backups, security updates and renewals?
• Can the site grow later, for example to add online payments, bookings or customer records?

Notice how they answer. Clear, patient answers are a good sign. Defensive or evasive answers usually continue into the project.

What should a written scope and agreement include?

Do not start paying until you have something written, even if it is a short document or a clear email both sides accept. It should state:

• The pages and features, listed specifically.
• The total cost and the payment schedule.
• The timeline, with milestones and what happens if either side is late.
• How many rounds of changes are included.
• Who provides content, images and logo.
• What the designer provides: domain, hosting, email, SSL certificate, training.
• Ownership: that you own the domain, content and finished website, and will receive login details.
• Support and maintenance after launch, and whether it costs extra.
• What happens if the project is cancelled.

The point is not to create friction. It protects both sides, and it is how you avoid arguments such as I thought that was included.

How should you pay a web designer?

Staged payments tied to progress are fairer than paying everything upfront or at the end. A common pattern is a deposit to start, a payment when a working design or draft is approved and a final payment when the site is live and you have confirmed it works.

• Pay to a business account or a clearly identifiable person, and keep transfer receipts.
• Ask for a receipt or invoice that describes what the payment covers.
• Do not pay the final balance until you have tested the site on phone and computer, checked forms and links, and received your logins.
• Be cautious when someone asks you to pay everything first, or to send money to a different name each time.

Also ask about yearly costs that continue after launch, such as domain renewal, hosting renewal and any maintenance plan. These are normal, but you should know them before you start.

What are the warning signs when hiring a web designer?

Walk away, or at least slow down, when you see these.

• No live examples, or examples they cannot explain.
• A price far below everyone else with vague promises about what you will get.
• The domain and hosting registered only in the designer's name, with no plan to transfer them.
• No contract, no invoice, no receipt, or a contact method that is only a phone number.
• Guarantees of first-page Google rankings. Nobody controls Google's results.
• Pressure to pay today because of a special price.
• A site built from a pirated theme or plugin. These often contain hidden malicious code and leave you without updates.
• No mention of backups, security or what happens after launch.
• Refusal to share login details or hand over files after payment.

Any one of these can be a misunderstanding. Several together are a pattern.

Do you need a designer, a developer or a business system?

It helps to know what you are really buying.

• A designer focuses on how the site looks and feels: layout, colours, fonts and images.
• A developer builds how it works: forms, payments, bookings, logins and speed.
• A business system goes beyond a website to the processes behind it: customer records, invoices, inventory, student or patient records, reports.

A brochure site for a small business needs mostly design, content and sensible technical setup. A site that takes payments, bookings or customer logins needs real development. If you are already running your business from spreadsheets and WhatsApp, ask whether the designer can build the system behind the site too, or whether you will need two suppliers who must work together.

What happens after launch, and how do you protect yourself?

A website is not finished at launch. It needs hosting renewals, updates, backups, security checks and content changes. Agree who does what before you start.

• Keep a document with your domain registrar login, hosting login, site admin login and email accounts. Store it somewhere safe.
• Ask for a copy of the finished site files and database once the project is complete.
• Note your domain and hosting renewal dates, and put a reminder in your phone a month before.
• Test your contact forms and WhatsApp buttons yourself every few months to confirm that enquiries reach you.

The right designer wants you to feel in control, not dependent.

Frequently asked questions

Written by the ICT AccessPoint team

We repair laptops and build websites and business systems. Have a question this guide did not answer? Message us.

This guide is general advice. Every device and business is different, so if you are unsure, ask a technician before you act.