How to Hire a Web Designer in Myrtle Beach: 12 Questions to Ask First

There’s no shortage of web designers on the Grand Strand. Between agencies, freelancers, friends-of-friends and out-of-town companies that run local ads, a business owner in Myrtle Beach or Carolina Forest has plenty of options. The hard part is telling them apart before you’ve spent the money.

These 12 questions will help. Ask every candidate the same ones, write down the answers and compare. A good designer will be glad you asked.

Questions about the work

1. Can I see sites you’ve built that are live right now?

Not mockups. Live sites you can open on your phone, click around and test. Check how fast they load, whether the forms work and whether they look good on a small screen.

Good answer: A handful of links, ideally including businesses similar to yours, and a willingness to put you in touch with a past client.

2. Who will actually do the work?

Some shops sell the project locally and send the build somewhere else. That isn’t automatically bad, but you deserve to know. You also want to know who you’ll talk to week to week.

3. What’s your process from start to launch?

Listen for clear stages: discovery, design, review, build, testing and launch. Vague answers like “we just get started and see where it goes” usually lead to missed deadlines and surprise costs.

4. How do you handle mobile, speed and accessibility?

Plenty of your customers will find you on a phone, often while they’re already in town. Ask how the designer tests on mobile devices and how they keep pages fast. Ask too whether they follow the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), so people using screen readers or keyboards can use your site.

Questions about money

5. Is the price fixed, or will it change?

Hourly billing with no cap is how a modest project turns into a much bigger bill. Ask for a written, fixed quote with the scope spelled out, and ask what happens if you want to add something halfway through.

For a sense of real numbers, see our breakdown of what a business website should cost in 2026.

6. What does it cost after launch?

Hosting, maintenance, software licenses, security and support all add up. Get the monthly or yearly costs in writing, along with what’s included and what isn’t.

7. How many rounds of revisions are included?

There’s no single right number, but there should be a number. “Unlimited revisions” sounds nice and often means nobody’s sure when the project is done.

Questions about ownership

8. Who will own the domain, the hosting and the code?

The domain should be registered to your business. You should have your own logins. And the contract should say plainly who owns the design and code when the project is finished. We explain each piece in who really owns your website.

9. If we part ways, what do I walk away with?

Ask it straight. A confident designer will tell you exactly what you’d get: files, database, logins and any licenses. If the answer is mumbled or involves a large “release fee,” take note.

Questions about results and support

10. What will you do for SEO, and what results should I expect?

Basic SEO, meaning proper page titles, descriptions, headings, site structure and analytics, should be part of any professional build. Be skeptical of anyone who promises specific rankings. Google itself suggests asking an SEO provider about their past work, what results to expect and in what timeframe, and how they’ll communicate with you.

For a Grand Strand business, ask too how they’ll handle local search: your Google Business Profile, pages for the towns you serve and making sure your address and phone number are consistent everywhere.

11. Who do I call when something breaks?

Get a name, a phone number and an expected response time. Ask whether support after launch is included and for how long.

12. Can I update the site myself?

Some owners want to post specials and change hours on their own. Others want to send an email and have it done. Either is fine. Just make sure the setup matches how you actually work.

Bring your own homework

The meeting goes better when you show up prepared. Before you talk to anyone, jot down a few things: the main thing you want the site to do (calls, bookings, sales, applications), two or three sites you like and why, the towns and customers you serve, and a realistic budget range. Designers can give you far more useful answers when they know what success looks like for you.

Red flags during the conversation

• Pressure to sign today for a special price
• No written proposal, or a proposal with no scope
• Guaranteed rankings or traffic numbers
• They want to register the domain in their name “to make things easier”
• They can’t show live work

Local vs. remote: does it matter?

You can get good work from anywhere. But a local team brings real advantages on the Grand Strand. They understand the seasonal swing, they know a Little River customer isn’t the same as a Pawleys Island customer, and you can sit across a table from them when something matters. If you choose a remote team, make sure communication is just as easy.

How Axiom answers these questions

Since we’re asking you to put designers on the spot, here are some of our answers. We give a fixed quote before any work starts, with no hidden fees. Our web development packages start with a Starter site at $2K+, a Professional site at $5K+ and an Enterprise build at $9K+, each with the scope spelled out. With fully custom builds, you own 100% of the code. We’ve been at this for more than 18 years, with over 1,000 projects delivered.

Ready to ask us?

Bring this list to a meeting and hold us to it. Axiom Design Group is at 5213 N Kings Hwy in Myrtle Beach, and we work with businesses all across the Grand Strand. Reach out here, call (843) 839-4113 or email frahm@axiomdesigngroup.com.