Orla Spa in Lekki used to take its bookings through Fresha.
Fresha is a good product. But every booking, every client record and every reminder lived on someone else’s platform, under someone else’s rules and someone else’s pricing.
When we built orlaspa.com, we moved bookings onto the spa’s own site, with an AI assistant that answers questions and online gift cards. The bookings now live on a site the spa owns.
Now look at your own business. Your domain. Your ad accounts. Your customer list. Your booking system. Whose name is on each one? If the honest answer is “the agency” or “some app”, you’re renting your own business.
With a website, that question usually gets settled in the first week of the project, by the developer, without anyone asking you. So ask first. (For what a website should cost, read the website cost guide.)
Write the Brief Before You Call Anyone
Before you speak to a single developer, write down what the website has to do. Take bookings, bring in enquiries, sell products, or answer the questions your staff answer all day.
Then add the pages and features that job needs, who will update the site and how often, what it must connect to (WhatsApp, a payment gateway, your CRM, analytics), and your budget and deadline. Half a page is enough.
Skip this and three developers will quote for three different websites, and you’ll end up comparing prices for things that aren’t the same. The agency brief template works for developers too.
Freelancer, Agency or DIY
A freelance developer suits a smaller site. You deal with the person doing the work, and it often costs less. Ask yourself what happens when they travel, fall ill or stop picking up.
An agency suits bigger or more complex projects and brings design and marketing with it. It costs more, and you may spend more time with an account manager than with whoever is building your site.
A website builder you run yourself suits a simple site on a small budget. Accept the limits on speed, flexibility and ownership, and count your own hours honestly.
If it’s marketing help you need rather than a developer, read the guide to hiring a marketer.
Check the Work Yourself
Ask for links to live sites they built. Screenshots prove nothing.
Open each site on your phone, on mobile data, the way your customers will. Run one through Google PageSpeed Insights. Fill in the contact form and see whether anything arrives. Look for placeholder text and broken links. They tell you how much care went into the finish.
Then ask for two or three past clients and actually call them. Was the project on time and on budget? How were problems handled? Do they still work with the developer?
End every call with the question that matters most. Do you own all your accounts? If a past client has to phone the developer to renew their own domain, expect the same treatment.
Walk away if a developer registers your domain or hosting in their own name. Walk away if there’s no written contract, if they want full payment upfront, or if half the portfolio links are dead. Be wary of anyone who promises guaranteed rankings, won’t give you admin access to your own site, or goes vague when you ask who owns what. A price far below everyone else’s usually means the shortcuts arrive later.
Eight Questions to Ask
| Question | A good answer |
|---|---|
| Who will own the domain, hosting and all accounts? | You will, registered in your business’s name, with the developer given access |
| What platform will you use, and why? | A clear reason matched to your needs, not just their habit |
| Can I update the content myself? | Yes, with training or documentation included |
| How will you make it fast on mobile? | Specific steps, like image optimisation, caching and careful use of plugins |
| How will you handle SEO basics and, for a rebuild, old URLs? | Titles, descriptions, sitemaps, and redirects from old pages |
| What happens after launch? | A clear warranty period, and an optional maintenance plan with a stated price |
| How are backups and security handled? | Automatic off-site backups, updates and basic security measures |
| What will I receive at the end? | All logins, files and documentation |
Put Ownership in the Contract
Treat your domain like the One Ring. Whoever’s name it’s registered in controls your website, your business email and every link anyone has ever shared to you. And like Gollum, some developers find it very hard to hand back.
So the contract has to say, in writing, that you own the domain, content, design and code once they’re paid for, and that every account sits in your name with full admin access for you. Around that, it should cover:
- The scope, with pages, features and integrations listed one by one
- Dates for design, build, review and launch
- Staged payments tied to those dates, never everything upfront
- How many rounds of changes are included
- A warranty period when bugs are fixed free
- Whether maintenance is included, what it covers and what it costs
- Everything you receive at handover, and what you receive if the project stops halfway
Have a legal adviser read it before you sign, especially on bigger projects.
The Handover
While the site is being built, send your text, photos and logo on time. Late content is one of the most common reasons a site launches late. Put feedback in writing, in one batch, not ten WhatsApp messages. Review every page on a real phone, and run through the website launch checklist before launch.
Then collect everything on this list before the final payment leaves your account.
- ☐ Domain registrar login, in your business’s name
- ☐ Hosting account login, in your business’s name
- ☐ Website admin login, with full administrator rights
- ☐ Email, analytics and Search Console access
- ☐ Licences for any paid themes and plugins, in your name
- ☐ A full backup of the site
- ☐ Documentation or training on updating content
- ☐ A list of plugins, integrations and any recurring costs
Test every login yourself before you pay.
The One Question
If you ask a developer only one thing, ask whose name the domain will be registered in. The answer tells you most of what you need to know about the developer.
If you’re about to invest in a website, it’s worth knowing first whether the website is really your weakest wall. The free 2-minute diagnostic will tell you.
P.S. If you spend ₦1M or more a month on marketing, you also qualify for a free 30-minute Leak Check. No logins required.
This is general business information, not legal advice. Have a qualified legal adviser review contracts before you sign. For typical costs, read the website cost guide.
This article covers one part of a bigger system. Our guide to digital marketing in Nigeria shows how the four walls fit together, and the order to build them in.
