Mental Models for the AI EconomyWeb & AI Search
How to Choose a Web Designer: 10 Questions to Ask First
Who writes the copy, what it costs after launch, how it will be found on Google and AI, and who owns it. Ten questions, five red flags, and how I answer them.
Short answer: choose a web designer on what the site will do for your business, not on how the portfolio looks. Ask who writes the copy, how the site will be found on Google and AI search, what it costs after launch, and whether you'll own it. The answers separate a designer from a business partner in ten minutes.
Ten questions to ask before you hire anyone
- Who writes the words? If the answer is "you do", budget the time — copy decides whether the site ranks and converts.
- What is the total price, and what's not included? Hosting, domain, copywriting, images, revisions, extra pages.
- What does it cost every month after launch? And is that optional?
- How will the site be found? Listen for specifics: page per service, title tags, schema, Google Business Profile, Search Console.
- What about AI search? Ask about AI-crawler access, llms.txt and FAQ content. Blank looks are an answer.
- Do I own the domain, hosting, code and content? In your name, from day one.
- How long until launch — and what do you need from me? A clear timeline with your homework spelled out.
- Can I see live sites you've built, and how they perform? Search for them. Do they come up?
- Who will I actually talk to? The person doing the work, or an account manager?
- What happens if I'm not happy? Look for a checkpoint early in the project, not a surprise at the end.
Red flags
- Guaranteed first-page rankings, or guaranteed placement in ChatGPT.
- The domain registered in the designer's name.
- A price that only appears after three discovery calls.
- No mention of copy, search or analytics — only design.
- A contract with a long monthly minimum just to keep the site online.
How I answer the ten
I write the copy. Builds start from around $12,500 and are quoted by scope, with no monthly fee, and you own everything. SEO, AEO and GEO are built in, and you talk to me the whole way through. The details are on the homepage, side by side with agencies and DIY builders. For price context, see what websites cost in 2026.
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Performance marketing and search leader who builds — 15+ years in digital growth and product (AT&T/DirecTV, Microsoft, Employbridge, Site Impact), now running his own properties with AI. These essays are field notes from that loop: what AI actually changes about work, product, and the economics underneath. Based in South Florida.
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