Key questions to ask when hiring Webflow agencies

Hiring a Webflow agency for your next website project can be daunting. We’ve discussed why places like Upwork are not ideal when hiring freelancers or agencies, but where are the right places to look? And what are the right questions when hiring Webflow agencies or freelancers?

This article aims to help you on your journey to hiring a Webflow agency for your next project and to save you the headache of hiring and firing bad developers. We’ll give you a few key questions you should ask prospective Webflow agencies and where to look when hiring.

Where to look for Webflow agencies or freelancers

Before you can ask a prospective Webflow agency any questions, you must find one first.

Well, you’re in luck because you’ve landed on the website of the best Webfow agency in the business! Grab a call with us, and ask all the questions we outline below.

If, for some reason, Peak isn’t right for you, then we highly recommend using Webflow’s platform to find an agency. They do a great job of vetting agencies and freelancers. They even have a matchmaking service connecting you to the right agency for the job.

We highly recommend avoiding platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. We’ve written about why, so we won’t get into details here, but you get what you pay for on these platforms, and finding a good Webflow developer there is like finding a needle in a haystack. You need to kiss many frogs before you can see that prince, and by the time you do, you’ve spent enough time, energy, and money that you’d have been way better served by finding a brand-name Webflow agency.

How to start reviewing agencies

Before interviewing a prospective Webflow agency or freelancer, consider a few things.

Portfolio, Testimonials, and References

Most agencies and freelancers will have case studies and testimonials on their sites. Look at their prior work and determine if it aligns with your design preferences and whether they tend to work with similar companies. Consider speaking with one of these clients to learn more about their experience with the developer.

When looking at portfolios, note things like interactions and animations. Do the sites they’ve built have those small touches that make websites stand out and create an engaging user experience?

Service Offerings

Do they offer ongoing maintenance? Is hosting included? What happens if something on the site breaks?

Here at Peak, we work on a subscription basis, so not only is design/development included, but we also provide ongoing maintenance, support, hosting, and improvements as part of the plan. Hence, your site is always up to date.

Also, do they offer services beyond just Webflow? You may need other web development or design work, such as branding. Could they help you with that as well?

Agency size

You can glean how big an agency is from the website or LinkedIn page. You might prefer working with a smaller agency where you get more of their attention or a larger one that can provide many different services. Agency size is a personal preference. Freelancers will likely have more limited skills than agencies with two or more people who can bring multiple skills.

Critical questions for Webflow agencies

Now that you know where to find them and what to look at before interviewing them, what questions should you ask Webflow agencies before hiring them? We’ll give you some key things you should ask prospective agencies before pulling the trigger on hiring.

Do you do design and development?

A critical question is if they do both the design and development side of things. Some Webflow agencies and freelancers are great at developing but lack design skills. Hiring a developer is great if you already have a designer, but if you need a site designed from scratch, then make sure they can do both.

Do you design from scratch, or do you use templates?

Related to the above question, ensure you understand if the developer is designing from scratch or if they take an existing template and customize it to your branding. Some issues can arise from templates, including needing more flexibility, bloat, poor class management, and more. Plus, you’ll want to know what you’re paying for. Am I paying for a custom or template website that’s just been re-skinned?

Do you use a framework like client-first design?

Client-first is a framework for organizing and managing Webflow sites. This keeps classes and folders scheduled and is used by many Webflow developers. The benefit of this system is that it makes it easy to pass the project on to another developer down the line. If your classes and organization could be more organized, passing the project on to someone else is more manageable.

Can you do SEO setup?

A Webflow developer doesn’t need to be an SEO expert, but they need to know the fundamentals of SEO and technical setup. This is important for submitting sitemaps and other specialized items and ensuring pages have meta descriptions, titles, and fields for filling those out when building out CMS items like blog posts or product pages. You want this set up correctly for whoever ultimately is doing your SEO.

Have you set up CMS/collection items before?

If your page will have a blog, shop, or other CMS/collection database, then the developer should be comfortable setting these items up. Some developers have only developed static pages - to ensure they know how collections work.

Can you do integrations?

Are you planning to have a membership portal? Take payments? Sync your forms to your CRM? Your developer should be comfortable setting up logic and integrations with Webflow to enable these extra features for your site.

How quickly can you turn around this project? When can you start?

One of the biggest issues clients have working with freelancers or agencies is being unsure when they can expect deliverables. Work to understand their timetables and how quickly they can work so you have clear expectations.

Summary

We suggest avoiding platforms like Upwork and Fiverr when finding Webflow agencies or freelancers because you generally have to kiss many frogs before finding a good developer. We’re a great option here at Peak Digital Studio, but if you don’t want to go with us, check out Webflow’s directory of agencies and freelancers.

Before interviewing an agency or freelancer, check out their portfolio to ensure it aligns with your design vision and understand their services, such as ongoing support and maintenance.

When you get to the interview stage, uncover critical information, such as whether they do both design and development, what frameworks they use, and their turnaround time.

Notably, make sure you gel with the agency or freelancer because you’ll be working together on a large project, and you’ll need to get along.