---
title: "Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Design Agency in Canada"
description: "Twelve questions to ask a Canadian web design agency before you sign, and why each matters: HST, ownership, .ca domains, AODA, privacy and SEO promises."
category: "Platforms"
question: "What questions should I ask before hiring a web design agency in Canada?"
datePublished: 2026-10-17
dateModified: 2026-10-17
readingMinutes: 8
status: published
author: "UXPro Design Studio"
authorType: "Organization"
editorialProcess: "Prepared with AI assistance and checked against the listed sources."
authorUrl: https://uxpro.ca/about
canonical: https://uxpro.ca/blog/questions-to-ask-before-hiring-a-web-design-agency
image: https://uxpro.ca/covers/questions-to-ask-before-hiring-a-web-design-agency.webp
license: "Quote freely with a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Design Agency in Canada

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Ask about money | Is HST included or extra, and is the business registered for it? What are the payment instalments? |
| Ask about ownership | Whose name are the domain, hosting, analytics and code in, and is copyright assigned in writing? |
| Ask about rules | Which WCAG level, whether AODA applies to you, and where form data is stored |
| Ask about promises | Deliverables and acceptance criteria, never guaranteed rankings |

**Before hiring a web design agency in Canada, ask twelve questions in writing. They cover who builds the site, what you own, whose name the domain and accounts are in, HST, payment stages, accessibility, where form data is stored, redirects, editing, support after launch, what is promised, and what they need from you.** UXPro is a design studio in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, for small businesses, practices and startups: websites, apps, brand, pitch decks, SEO and marketing.

Each question below comes with why it matters and what a useful answer sounds like. Where a law or regulator is involved, we link the source; none of this is legal or tax advice.

## What is a web design agency, for the purposes of these questions?

> **Web design agency:** a business that plans, designs and usually builds a website under contract, as a team rather than one person, and hands it over to run in your name.

If the "agency" turns out to be one person, most questions still apply; add one about who covers if they are unavailable. For product and app work, our [guide to choosing a UX design agency](/blog/how-to-choose-a-ux-design-agency) has a version of this list written for that job.

## Which questions should you ask, and why does each matter?

| # | Ask | Why it matters | A useful answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who designs it, and who builds it? | Problems appear in the gap between the two | Named roles, and a handoff if they differ |
| 2 | What will I own at the end? | Ownership is cheap to agree and expensive to recover | Design files, code, content and licences, listed |
| 3 | Whose name are the domain, hosting and analytics in? | Whoever holds the logins controls the site | Yours, from day one |
| 4 | Is HST included, and what is your GST/HST number? | A price without the tax line is not the price | Stated plus HST, with a number you can check |
| 5 | How is payment staged? | Staging shows when each side carries risk | Fixed instalments tied to milestones |
| 6 | Which WCAG level do you test to, and how? | Accessibility is a legal duty for some Ontario organizations and good practice for all | A level, and a method |
| 7 | Where is form data stored, and who can see it? | Enquiry forms collect personal information | A named service and location |
| 8 | How will my existing URLs be handled? | Lost URLs can mean lost search traffic | A redirect map before launch |
| 9 | Who edits content after launch, and how? | A site you cannot update goes stale | A demo of the editing, before you sign |
| 10 | What support follows launch, and what does it cost? | Something always needs fixing in the first weeks | A stated period, then a monthly option |
| 11 | What exactly are you promising? | Outcomes nobody controls are not deliverables | Deliverables and acceptance criteria |
| 12 | What do you need from me, and when? | Most delays are content and approvals | A list with dates |

The sections below go further on the six that carry Canadian specifics.

## Is HST included, and is the agency registered?

Ask for every quote "plus HST" or "including HST", explicitly. Tax may sit outside the headline price; a mandatory setup or platform fee should not, and our guide to [red flags in agency proposals](/blog/red-flags-in-agency-proposals) explains why the Competition Bureau treats the two differently.

If the agency charges you HST, ask for its number and check it on the CRA's [GST/HST registry](https://canada.ca/gst-hst-registry), which lets you "confirm that the business charging you GST/HST is registered." That protects your input tax credits.

For reference, our own website prices are from $1,500, $3,500 or $7,500 CAD per project, plus HST, in two instalments: 50% to start, 50% at launch. Our [pricing page](/pricing) shows what each tier includes.

## Whose name will the domain and accounts be in?

Yours. Domain, hosting, analytics, Google Business Profile, email, and every font and plugin licence. For a .ca domain, the registrant should be your business, not the agency. Our [guide to owning your website](/blog/do-you-own-your-website) covers the account-by-account detail and why, under Canadian copyright law, the transfer of the code itself needs to be written down. Our own term is short: your code stays in your repository. You own it.

## Which accessibility standard will they test to?

Ask for a WCAG level and how they check it: keyboard, screen reader, contrast. In Ontario, the AODA website rule covers designated public sector organizations and businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees; our [AODA guide](/blog/aoda-website-compliance-ontario-businesses) sets out who it applies to and what it requires. Smaller businesses are not covered by that rule, but their customers still use keyboards, screen readers and small phones.

## Where will form data be stored?

A contact form collects personal information. Ask which service receives submissions, where it stores them, and who can read them. If the agency or a tool it uses processes that data outside Canada, the [Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/airports-and-borders/gl_dab_090127/) says the organization that transferred it "is accountable for the information", and that people should be told their information may be processed in a foreign country. For clinics, our [PHIPA forms guide](/blog/phipa-clinic-website-forms) explains what a first-contact form should never ask.

## How will my existing pages and rankings be protected?

If you are replacing a site, ask for a redirect map. Google's [site-move documentation](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes) says "It's important to map your old site's URLs to the URLs for the new site", with server-side permanent redirects. An agency that plans this before design starts is protecting the traffic you already have. Our [redesign guide](/blog/redesign-without-losing-rankings) has the full checklist.

## What should an agency never promise?

A ranking. Google's [guidance on hiring an SEO](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo) says no one can guarantee a number-one ranking on Google. Question 11 is there to get deliverables and acceptance criteria instead; the [red flags guide](/blog/red-flags-in-agency-proposals) shows what that looks like in a proposal.

## How should you send the questions?

In one email, to every agency on your shortlist, with your [one-page brief](/blog/how-to-brief-a-design-agency) attached. Written answers are comparable; recollections of a call are not. If an answer is vague, ask once more. If it is still vague, that is the answer. When the proposals arrive, our guide to [red flags in agency proposals](/blog/red-flags-in-agency-proposals) shows how to read them line by line.

## FAQ

### How do I check that a Canadian agency is registered for HST?

Ask for its GST/HST number and confirm it on the Canada Revenue Agency's GST/HST registry, which lets you check that a business charging you GST/HST is registered. That matters if you claim input tax credits.

### Should a web design agency register my domain for me?

It can do the paperwork, but the domain should be registered in your business's name, with you as the registrant and an account you can log in to. Ask for this in writing before the agency buys anything for you.

### Can a web design agency guarantee first-page Google rankings?

No. Google's own guidance says no one can guarantee a number-one ranking on Google. An agency can commit to technical foundations, content and deliverables, not to a position in results.

### Does my small business website need to meet AODA?

The AODA website rule applies to designated public sector organizations and to businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees in Ontario. Smaller businesses still benefit from an accessible site. This is general information, not legal advice.

### How many agencies should I ask these questions?

Two or three is enough for most small businesses. Send each the same questions in writing, so you compare answers rather than sales calls.

## Next step

Put these questions to us too: see how we run [website design and build](/services/website-design-build), with every figure on the [pricing page](/pricing). We work across [Canada](/locations/canada) on calls, and in person around Kitchener-Waterloo. For a written read of the site you have now, [request a free Redline](/redline).

*Reviewed for accuracy against the cited primary sources on 17 October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.*

## Sources

- [Do you need an SEO?](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo) (accessed 2026-10-17)
- [Confirming a GST/HST account number](https://canada.ca/gst-hst-registry) (accessed 2026-10-17)
- [Guidelines for processing personal data across borders](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/airports-and-borders/gl_dab_090127/) (accessed 2026-10-17)
- [Site Moves and Migrations](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes) (accessed 2026-10-17)