By Mo Hussein

1 min read

Why the questions matter more than the pitch

Every agency's website says they're collaborative, transparent and passionate. Ours probably does too. The answers to a few plain questions tell you far more, and a good agency will be glad you asked.

About the people

  • Who will actually build this? Can I meet them before we sign? Watch for a senior person who sells the project and then disappears.
  • Who's my day-to-day contact, and how quickly do they usually reply?
  • What happens if someone on the project leaves partway through?

About the work

  • Can I see something you built that's live and in use today? Screenshots are easy. Working software is harder to fake.
  • How will I see progress? Look for regular demos of working software, not just status reports.
  • What happens when I change my mind halfway through? You will, and that's normal. You want to know how it's handled before it happens.

About the money

  • Is this a fixed price, or paid by time spent? What's not included? Both models can be fair. What matters is knowing which one you're on and where the edges are.
  • What will it cost to run each month after launch, and who'll be paying those bills?

About the ending

  • Who owns the code and the data when we're done, and is that written into the contract?
  • If we part ways, what do I get to take with me, and could another developer pick it up?

Ask us too

Bring this list to a discovery call and work through it with us. If any of our answers are vague, you've learned something useful either way.