25 questions to ask an agency before starting a project

The digital market is changing rapidly, budgets are getting more expensive, and risks are growing. Therefore, asking the right questions to the agency before signing the contract saves months of time and tens of percent of the budget. According to IAB Ukraine, in 2024, investments in online advertising increased, and the main traffic channels are focused on context and targeting. This means that mistakes at the start are becoming even more expensive.

“In 2024, the digital advertising segment in Ukraine grew by 22%, with contextual and targeted advertising accounting for more than 60% of the budget.” IAB Ukraine, 2024

Below is a structured list of 25 questions that will help you evaluate a contractor, set expectations, and avoid unnecessary costs. The questions are developed taking into account the real process of website development, SEO, design and paid traffic, as well as WonderWeb’s experience as a full-service team.

🧭 Road to the result: strategy and goal setting

Business goals and measuring results

Find out how the agency translates business goals into measurable performance. Clear KPIs prevent blurred expectations and help you make quick decisions.

• Goals and KPIs: What key metrics do you propose for my project and how will you track them on a weekly and monthly basis?
• Hypotheses: How do you form and prioritize hypotheses for conversion and average check growth?
• Analytics: What tools and analytics scheme are you implementing. Who is responsible for data quality?
• Forecast: Do you provide a preliminary forecast of traffic and results, taking into account niche and seasonality?
• Communication of goals: How do we set goals in the brief and contract, how often do we review them in sprints?

Methodology and processes

A reliable contractor has a transparent process. At WonderWeb, the work goes from brief and prototypes to design, programming, testing, and release with further support. This reduces risks and gives you control at every stage.

• Stages of work: What is your step-by-step scheme from brief to launch. How are the artifacts reconciled at each stage?
• Architecture: Who is responsible for the site structure and user scenarios? What are the criteria for readiness?
• Roles: Who will be my project manager and who is part of the cross-functional team?
• Quality: What testing checklists do you apply to the layout, speed, responsiveness, and SEO fundamentals?
• Delays: How do you prevent the risks of delays and how does escalation work if a deadline is in jeopardy?

“Clearly defined goals and standards of communication with the agency reduce project delays by 40%.” McKinsey, 2024

🛠️ Team, UX/UI, and technical implementation

Design and user experience

A strong UI/UX starts with quality analysis and prototypes. Check out how the team approaches research and design systems. You can see an example of the work performed and stages in the website design section.

• UX research: How do you research your audience and competitors before creating prototypes?
• Prototypes: At what level of detail do we agree on page prototypes and mobile scripts?
• UI system: Do you build a component library and guidelines for scaling the product?
• Content: Who is responsible for texts and microcopies, how do we agree on tone of voice?
• Adaptability: What breakpoints and tests do you use for different devices and fast networks?

If you are planning a short-selling format, clarify how the team approaches the creation of landing pages and checking conversions in the early stages.

Technologies and support

Stack, security, and transfer of rights are important for a long-term project. Agree on the requirements and format of technical support in advance.

• Stack and CMS: What technologies do you use and why are they optimal for my tasks and workload?
• Speed and SEO base: How do you ensure fast loading, structured data, and correct indexing?
• Integrations: How do you connect CRM, analytics, payment systems and pixels?
• Transfer of rights: Do I get full access to the domain, hosting, repository, and advertising accounts?
• Support: What are the SLA conditions after the release. How do we formalize improvements and changes?

📈 Traffic, SEO, and paid advertising

SEO strategy and content

Stable growth is ensured by a systematic SEO approach. Find out how the team collects semantics, optimizes pages, and creates a content plan. You can learn more about the approach on the SEO promotion page.

• Semantics: How do you collect and cluster queries, what metrics do you prioritize?
• On-page/Off-page: What technical and external work is included in the plan and at what frequency?
• Content plan: How do you create a content calendar and what types of content affect conversions?

Paid traffic accelerates hypothesis testing and scaling. Make sure your advertising approach is transparent and metrics-driven.

PPC, SMM, and targeting

Ask how the agency plans advertising campaigns, segments audiences, and optimizes budgets. Find out about the experience in Google Ads contextual advertising, smm promotion, and targeted advertising with Meta Ads.

• PPC strategy: How do you define campaign goals, structure your account, and set up conversions?
• Targeting and creatives: How do you test audience-creative-offer relationships? What are the criteria of winners in A/B?
• Budget optimization: How do you adjust bids and allocate your budget between search, display, and social media?
• Reporting: What is the format of reports and how often do you review the results with recommendations?
• Synergy: How do you coordinate SEO, content, and paid traffic so as not to cannibalize queries?

💼 Prices, terms, and risks

Estimates and transparency

Specify the scope of work and criteria for changing the estimate. It’s important to decide right away what is included in the fixed price and what is charged by the hour. If you are planning to create a turnkey website, ask for a breakdown of the stages to compare offers correctly.

• Decomposition: Do you provide a detailed budget by stages and roles to evaluate the website development price transparently?
• Changes to requirements: How do we handle change requests and how does it affect the timeline and cost?
• Payment schedule: What are the terms of upfront payment and checkpoints for deliverables?
• Comparison: How do you explain the difference in cost vs. template solutions and why custom development pays off?

Timeline, risks, and case studies

In addition to timing, precedents are important. Experience in related topics and risk management capabilities often decide the fate of a project. According to a Clutch study, most Ukrainian SMEs put this in the first place.

• Schedule: What are the timelines of the stages and what artifacts are the criteria for readiness?
• Risks: What are the main risks you see in my niche and how do you minimize them?
• Case studies: What relevant examples do you have with measurable results and customer recommendations?
• Onboarding: How quickly do you immerse yourself in the product, who conducts the kickoff session, and when can we order a website with the start of work?

When you have answers to all 25 questions, you have a better understanding of the competence and compatibility with the contractor. WonderWeb has a team of more than 20 specialists who cover the full cycle from strategy to technical support. We create customized solutions without templates and have more than 150 completed projects.

Do you want to discuss website development or evaluate the creation of a landing page for a quick launch? We are open to a brief and a preliminary consultation.

Final tip. Ask for examples of artifacts at each stage, clear KPIs, and a review calendar. This gives transparency and control even before the start.

A festive final accent. Many businesses are preparing promotions on the eve of Black Friday, so check if your future contractor has a plan to quickly launch promotional pages and advertising campaigns. If you’re considering seasonal updates or collecting orders from holiday sales, check out WonderWeb. We’ll show you how to boost traffic and conversions during Black Friday, capitalize on seasonal demand, and prepare for peak loads without stress. Find details and current favorable offers on our website. We will discuss your goals and select a turnkey solution 🎁

How to apply 25 questions in practice before starting a project?

Use them as a checklist during the briefing and the first strat session. Record the answers in the contract and review calendar to control the stages from prototypes to release.

What exactly reduces delays by 40% and how to implement it?

Clear goals, KPIs, and communication standards for both the agency and the client. Agree on them at the start and review them every 1-2 sprints. Source: McKinsey, 2024.

What is the difference between the approach to creating a landing page and a multi-page website?

A landing page focuses on a single offer and a quick hypothesis test. A multi-page website requires a deeper architecture, scalable design system, and SEO structure.

How to compare offers and website development prices correctly?

Ask for a detailed estimate with a decomposition of stages, roles, and artifacts. Compare not the total amount, but the scope of work, KPIs, and post-release support guarantees.

How long does it take to create a turnkey website on average?

It depends on the complexity. Usually, the basic cycle includes briefing, prototypes, design, development, testing, and launch. The duration is determined by a schedule with artifacts at each stage.