How to choose a web design agency in Singapore

To choose a web design agency in Singapore, judge each one on four things: whether they ask good questions about your business before quoting, whether their live sites work well on a phone, whether they can say exactly what's included, and whether you'll own the domain, accounts and content when the work is done. These tell you more than a polished portfolio. Below are the questions to ask, the warning signs to watch for, and what the contract and handover should cover.

Writing a one-page brief

Before contacting anyone, write down what you need. It doesn't have to be long or technical, and it makes every conversation and every quote more useful.

• what the business does and who your customers are
• what the site must achieve: enquiries, bookings, calls, or being credible when a referral looks you up
• the pages you think you need (what pages a small business website should have is a good checklist)
• features: online booking, payments, a second language, a members' area
• who will write the copy, and whether you have a logo, brand colours and usable photos
• any deadline that's real, such as a new branch opening
• a budget range, even a rough one

The last point feels awkward, but without it an agency has to guess the scope. A range lets them propose the right project, and how much a website costs in Singapore explains what moves the number. A brief also tests the agency, since the good ones come back with questions.

Questions to ask a web design agency

Google's guide to hiring an SEO recommends asking providers to explain their work and to share every change they make. The same habit works for web design. Ask these in a call or by email, and pay attention to how clearly they're answered.

The people and the process

• Who will design, write and build the site, and who is my contact day to day?
• Is any of the work passed to subcontractors?
• What will you need from me, and by when, to keep the project on schedule?
• How many rounds of feedback are included, and what happens after the last one?

The build

• Which platform will you use, and why is it right for my business? (The trade-offs are in WordPress vs website builders vs custom.)
• How will I change opening hours, add a team member or publish a new service page myself?
• How do you test speed on mobile phones, and what do you aim for? (See Core Web Vitals, explained.)
• Which accessibility standard do you build to?
• What search groundwork is included: page titles and descriptions, structured data, Search Console setup?
• If you're replacing an existing site, how will you keep the pages that bring visitors now?

After launch

• What does ongoing website maintenance include, and what happens if I don't take a plan?
• If the site goes down or a form stops sending, how do I reach you and how quickly do you respond?
• If we stop working together, what do I receive and how?

Reading a portfolio

Look at the live sites themselves. Load a few on your phone over mobile data, tap through to the contact page, and run one or two through PageSpeed Insights. Check they're still live and still look like the portfolio. Then ask what the agency did on each one, because "we built it" and "we wrote, designed and built it" are different claims. If you run a clinic, a law firm or another regulated business, look for work that shows they understand the constraints of your field.

Who should own the domain, hosting, accounts and content

Ownership is where the most expensive problems tend to start, usually years later when you want to change provider. Anything that identifies your business should be in your business's name, and the agency should be given access to it.

Asset	Whose name it should be in	Why it matters
domain name	your business, as registrant	whoever controls the domain controls the site and often the email
hosting account	yours, or a documented transfer	you can move without a rebuild
Google Search Console	you as owner, agency as a user	owners decide who else has access
Google Business Profile	you as primary owner, agency as manager	managers can edit but can't remove owners
analytics and tag manager	your accounts	the history stays with you
copy, photos, design files and code	assigned or licensed to you in writing	see copyright below
paid plugins, fonts and stock images	licences that cover your use	some licences belong to whoever bought them

A few specifics are worth knowing:

• Domains. A .com.sg name is for entities registered, or registering, with ACRA, Enterprise Singapore or a Singapore professional body, per SGNIC's rules. Ask to see the registrant record as well as a login.
• Search Console. Owners can add and remove users. Google notes that a removed owner whose verification token is still on the site can re-verify ownership, so tokens should be cleaned up when people leave.
• Business Profile. Managers have mostly the same access as owners but can't add or remove users or remove the profile, according to Google's page on owners and managers. Keep the primary owner role in the business.
• Copyright. Under the Copyright Act 2021, the creator is the default copyright owner of commissioned content unless the contract says otherwise, as IPOS explains for businesses. If the contract is silent, you may only be able to use the work for the purpose it was commissioned.
• Personal data. If the agency hosts your site or handles enquiry form data for you, it may act as your data intermediary. The PDPC's advisory guidelines on key concepts say your organisation keeps the same obligations for data processed on its behalf, and recommend making the scope of work clear in the contract. The PDPA website checklist covers the rest.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Contracts and handover

Before you pay a deposit, make sure a signed contract or agreement covers:

• scope: the page templates, features and integrations included, and what's explicitly excluded
• what you'll supply and when, and what happens if content arrives late
• revision rounds and the sign-off point for each stage
• payment milestones tied to deliverables
• ownership and licences for the domain, accounts, design, code, copy and photos
• hosting and maintenance terms, notice periods and how prices can change
• how bugs found after launch are handled
• what you receive if either side ends the project early

Then use this checklist at launch, and again if you ever change provider:

1. An admin login for the site in your own name, separate from any shared agency account.
2. Access to the domain registrar account, with your business shown as registrant.
3. The DNS records written down, including the ones for email and verification.
4. Access to the hosting account, or a clear plan to transfer it.
5. A recent full backup that you hold yourself.
6. Owner access to Search Console, analytics, tag manager and your Business Profile.
7. A list of every third-party service, whose account it's on and when it renews.
8. Short notes on how to make the edits you'll make most often.

Red flags when choosing a web design agency

• Guaranteed rankings. Google states plainly that "no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google" in the same guide to hiring an SEO.
• The domain in the agency's name "to make things easier", with no written way to transfer it.
• No questions about your customers before a quote arrives.
• Vague scope. They can't say who does the work, what a "page" is, or what's excluded.
• Portfolio sites that are slow, broken or offline on your phone.
• Lock-in you only discover later, such as a proprietary platform nobody else can edit or hosting you can't leave without a rebuild.
• Secrecy. Google's guide warns to be careful if a company "is secretive or won't clearly explain what they intend to do".
• Pressure to sign quickly to keep a discount.

None of these is proof of bad faith on its own, but two or three together are a reason to keep looking.

If render is on your shortlist, put the same questions to us through contact. How we work and our web design page answer some of them already.