The five questions to ask an agency before you pay anything

Most agencies are perfectly pleasant until you need something that wasn't written down. That's the problem — and it's yours to prevent before you sign.

Asking the right questions before you commit costs you nothing. Skipping them can cost you the project.

Who owns the accounts when it's done?

Not the site — the accounts. Domain registrar, hosting panel, Google Analytics, every third-party login.

Some studios register these in their own name as a matter of habit. Others do it deliberately, because ownership is leverage. Either way, you're the one who loses if the relationship ends badly.

The answer you want: every account is created in your name, with your email, from day one. You get every login detail on launch.

The answer that should worry you: we handle all that for you, with no clarification of what that means.

What is actually included in the price?

A quote is not a price until it has a scope list attached. A number without a list of what it covers is a starting point, not an agreement.

Ask the agency to send you, in writing, every page, every feature and every integration the price includes. Then ask what's not included — specifically: content writing, photography, third-party service fees, mobile testing, revisions beyond a certain number.

If they can't send a list, they haven't thought it through. That's your money they're being vague about.

At PrimeVibers, the scope list goes into a written agreement before we take a deposit. The fixed price is tied to that list. If the scope doesn't change, the price doesn't change.

What happens if I want a change mid-project?

This is where studios split into two very different types of operation.

Some studios treat every mid-project request as a new invoice. One extra page, a different font, moving a form from the bottom of a page to the top — all billable, all at their discretion. That's how a €1,500 quote ends up costing €2,800.

Others — including us — build two revision rounds into the design stage specifically to catch this. Changes at design stage cost nothing extra. Changes after build starts are a different conversation, but a documented one.

Ask the agency: if I ask for a change after the build starts, how is that handled and what does it cost? If the answer is vague, treat it as a warning.

What does the timeline actually depend on?

Any studio can promise ten days. The question is: ten days from what?

From deposit? From receipt of your content? From design approval? From the client returning the first round of feedback?

Almost every project that runs late was waiting on something — usually content the client hadn't sent, or an approval that took a week to come back. That's not the agency's fault, but a good agency tells you this upfront and puts real dates in the agreement.

Ask: what do you need from me, and by when, for this timeline to hold? If they can't answer that, their timeline is a guess dressed up as a commitment.

Who do I contact if something breaks after launch?

This is the question nobody asks until they need the answer at 9pm on a Friday.

Some studios offer a care plan for ongoing support. Some offer a short warranty period. Some offer nothing — once the invoice is paid, you're on your own.

None of these is automatically wrong. A business that updates its own site and has technical help in-house might not need a care plan. But you should know what you're getting before you sign.

Our post-launch position: every project includes a 20-day warranty covering anything broken in our own work, free. After that, a care plan covers upkeep, updates and support from €19 a month. If you cancel the care plan, the code is still yours — nothing is held back.

Ask the agency for that same clarity.

What a good answer sounds like

It's specific. It can be written down. It doesn't change when you ask a follow-up.

A studio that can answer all five of these questions without hesitation has done this before and knows what they're doing. A studio that answers two of them and deflects the rest is telling you something.

If you want to go through all five on a call before committing to anything, we run a 30-minute intro at primevibers.com/intro — no presentation, no pressure, just straight answers.