Questions to Ask a Webflow or Framer Agency Before You Hire Them

The short answer

Before you hire a Webflow or Framer agency, ask who will own the site and its accounts, how the CMS will be handed over, how SEO and redirects are handled, what accessibility and performance standards they build to, who actually does the build, and what support looks like after launch. Get the answers in the contract, not just on a call. The questions below cover each area and what a good answer sounds like.

Ownership, hosting and accounts

This is the area most often left vague, and the hardest to fix later.

• Whose account will the site live in? A good answer: yours, or theirs during the build and then transferred to you. Webflow lets agencies on Freelancer or Agency workspace plans transfer a site with its paid site plan and custom domain to a client's workspace. Framer's Project Transfers move ownership to the client while the site stays live and the custom domain keeps working.
• Who pays for hosting and plans? You should hold the billing for hosting, the domain and any add-ons, so nothing lapses if you stop working together.
• Who controls the domain and DNS? Always you. The agency can have access; it should not be the registrant.
• Which other accounts will be created? Analytics, Search Console, form tools, fonts, stock media. Ask for a list, all in your name.

CMS and handover

• What will be in the CMS? Blog, case studies, careers, changelog, integrations. Anything you'll update monthly belongs in the CMS, not hard-coded on a page.
• Can our team build new pages without a developer? Ask to see how page sections or components are set up for reuse.
• Who migrates existing content? Get the number of posts or pages included, and who checks formatting and images afterwards.
• What does the handover include? A recorded walkthrough, short written guide and a session with the people who will edit the site.

SEO and redirects

• How do you handle URL changes? The only good answer is a redirect map: every old URL matched to its new one with a permanent redirect, tested before and after launch.
• Who sets titles, meta descriptions and Open Graph images? Ask whether CMS templates generate them automatically for new posts.
• How do you handle headings, sitemaps, canonicals and indexing? One H1 per page, a working sitemap, correct canonical tags and staging sites kept out of search results.
• Do you add structured data? Organisation and article markup at a minimum, matching what's visible on the page.
• What happens in Search Console on launch day? Expect them to submit the new sitemap and watch for errors.

For the full process, see our Webflow vs Framer comparison, which covers SEO features on both platforms.

Accessibility

• Which standard do you build to? WCAG 2.2 AA is the current reference most teams use. An agency should be able to say which checks they run.
• How do you check colour contrast, focus states and keyboard navigation? Ask whether they test with a keyboard and a screen reader, not only an automated scanner.
• Who writes alt text? Agree whether it's the agency or your team, for both static images and CMS images.
• Is motion respectful of reduced-motion settings? Heavy animation should calm down for visitors who ask for less.

Performance

• What targets do you aim for? Google's Core Web Vitals are a sensible yardstick: Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less and Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less.
• How do you handle images, video and fonts? Look for compressed formats, lazy loading, sensible video hosting and a small number of font files.
• Which third-party scripts will be on the site? Chat widgets, trackers and embeds slow sites more than the platform does. Agree a list.

Who does the build

• Is the design and build done by your team, or subcontracted? Both can work, but you should know.
• Who is our day-to-day contact, and who signs off quality? Get names.
• Do the designer and developer work together, or is it a handover? Close work between the two is what keeps a site faithful to the design.
• Can we see live sites you built, not just designed? Open them on your phone and check speed and layout yourself.

Proof should be easy to check. Adopt AI, whose brand, website, Webflow build and launch video we made for its $6M seed, was featured on the Webflow Blog, and the Itilite redesign and Webflow build is live for anyone to test.

Timeline and process

• What are the stages and review points? Typically sitemap and wireframes, design, build, content entry, QA and launch.
• How many revision rounds are included at each stage?
• What do you need from us, and by when? Copy, assets and access are the usual delays.
• How long will it take? Most marketing sites we build take 2 to 6 weeks. Ask any agency what would make theirs longer.

Post-launch support

• Is there a bug-fix period after launch? Ask how long, and what counts as a bug versus new work.
• How do we request changes after that? A retainer, a block of hours or ad hoc quotes. Know which before you sign.
• How fast do you respond if the site breaks?

Contract and IP

• When do we own the design and code? Usually on final payment. It should be written down.
• Are fonts, images, templates or plugins licensed in our name? Some licences can't be transferred, so check before they're used.
• Can you show the work in your portfolio? Fine for most startups, but agree timing if your launch is confidential.
• What happens if we end the project early? Look for clear terms on payment and handover of work done so far.

A quick scoring checklist

• The site, domain and billing will be in our name.
• There is a written redirect map and SEO checklist.
• Accessibility and performance targets are stated.
• We know who designs, who builds and who leads.
• Handover and post-launch support are defined.
• Ownership and licences are covered in the contract.

FAQ

Should a Webflow or Framer agency also design the site?

It helps. Design and build from one team avoids a handover and keeps the build true to the design. That is how we work on most of our sites.

Is it a red flag if an agency keeps the site in its own account?

Only if there's no plan to transfer it. Building in the agency's workspace is common; the contract should say when and how it moves to you.

How do we compare agencies' answers?

Send the same questions to each in writing and score the replies side by side. Our lists of the best Webflow agencies and best Framer agencies are a starting point for a shortlist.

Do we need ongoing support after launch?

Not always. If your team is confident editing the CMS, ad hoc help may be enough. Fast-growing teams usually benefit from a small retainer.

Want straight answers to these questions for your project? Book a call with our team and see how our Webflow & Framer Development work is set up.