Choosing a web designer in Kenya: evidence to check before hiring

Write down who the website serves and what they should do after visiting. A Nairobi architect may need to explain services and show projects before an enquiry; a retailer needs product information, payment and delivery decisions. A supplier who understands that journey can explain why a page or feature is necessary rather than copying a design from a different business.

Share the project brief with every shortlisted designer. Include your current domain, target customers, content status and editing needs. If you are replacing an existing site, explain which pages already bring enquiries and which functions must continue. That makes a proposal more useful than a request for a modern website with no operating context.

Open relevant projects on your phone and try to find a service, understand what is included and contact the business. Check navigation, readable text, image loading and whether the enquiry button works. A staged screenshot can show design quality but does not demonstrate a working mobile journey.

Ask what the designer was responsible for and whether the live site has changed since handover. Existing work is not automatically evidence of every capability listed in a proposal. Use our portfolio to explore relevant projects and ask about the scope behind them. Request client references through agreed introductions rather than treating a list of logos as independent verification.

Ask each supplier to identify deliverables, responsibilities and exclusions. Differences in scope can explain price differences; a price alone cannot show that one proposal is better.

SEO work should be described as tasks you can review: descriptive page titles, useful service content, internal links, indexable pages and migration redirects where needed. A promise to add keywords does not explain how the site will help customers. Ask which pages target which distinct intent so the website avoids repeating the same sales pitch across many thin pages.

Google's guidance emphasises useful, reliable content rather than a preferred word count. A developer cannot guarantee that a new site will outrank every competitor. Request a measurement plan using relevant queries, landing pages and suitable enquiries after launch. Distinguish technical launch checks from an ongoing content and promotion service.

List the pages, photographs, product information and policies needed for launch, then assign responsibility. Genuine business images and approved project descriptions can communicate more than generic pictures. If stock or AI editorial imagery is used, it should not misrepresent real staff, clients or completed work. Ask how image rights and factual claims will be handled.

Have the supplier show how staff will update the information that changes most often. WordPress's block editor is one possible editing workflow; a custom site may use a different CMS or a developer-managed process. Neither is automatically right for every business. Judge the proposed setup by who will use it, what they can change and what training is included.

Record who controls the domain, hosting, email, CMS and analytics accounts. Explain the permissions you need at handover and any third-party licences that remain the supplier's responsibility. Ask whether another developer can take over using the documentation and rights you receive. Ownership should be a written agreement, not an assumption based on who paid the invoice.

Maintenance should identify backups, updates, content changes and incident handling separately. WordPress documentation describes an ongoing updating process; other platforms also have operating responsibilities. Ask for renewal costs, covered hours and exclusions. A monthly support charge is easier to evaluate when the work and response arrangements are clear.

Use the scorecard below and record unanswered questions. Compare the first release, recurring costs and handover over the same evaluation period. Ask how milestones are approved and how changes affect the quotation. Treat an unusually low quote as a scope question before assuming either excellent value or poor quality.

For a hypothetical professional-services firm, a smaller launch with strong service pages and a reliable contact route may be more useful than an elaborate portal nobody will maintain. Discuss your priorities with our website design team and use the website budget guide to prepare your quotation request. The objective is a website suited to your customers and your team.