15 Red Flags to Watch For When Hiring a Web Developer (UK Business Owner's Guide)

Hiring a web developer is one of those jobs every business owner has to do eventually, and almost nobody feels qualified to do it. You're spending real money on something technical you can't fully judge, handing it to someone you met two weeks ago, and hoping the website that comes back actually helps your business rather than sitting there looking pretty and doing nothing.

I've been building websites for UK businesses for over a decade, and I've lost count of the number of clients who came to me after a bad experience with someone else. A half-finished site. A developer who vanished. A "£500 website" that turned into a £3,000 mess they couldn't even log into. Almost every one of those disasters showed warning signs early, and almost every client told me afterwards: "I had a feeling, but I didn't know what to look for."

So this is the guide I wish those clients had read first. These are the red flags when hiring a web developer that actually predict trouble, written from the side of the table that builds the things. None of this requires you to understand code. You just need to know what good looks like, and what should make you pause before you pay a deposit.

TL;DR

The biggest red flags when hiring a web developer are: no real portfolio, vague pricing, no written contract or scope, poor communication before you've even paid, refusing to give you ownership of your own site, and a price that's suspiciously cheap. If you spot two or more of these, slow down. A good developer makes the process clear and calm. A bad one keeps you confused, and confusion is where your money quietly disappears.

Quick reference: the 15 red flags at a glance

• No portfolio or only template demos: They may not have built much, or much that's theirs
• No testimonials or references: No track record with real clients
• Vague "website design and development" pricing: You can't tell what you're actually buying
• A price that's far too cheap: Template-and-logo job, or a hook for upsells
• Slow or sloppy communication before payment: It only gets worse once they have your money
• No written contract or scope: Nothing to hold either of you to
• Won't explain things in plain English: Jargon is often used to hide gaps
• Refuses to give you ownership / logins: You'll be held hostage later
• No mention of revisions: Endless extra charges incoming
• Promises #1 on Google "guaranteed": Nobody can promise that. It's a lie
• No questions about your business: They're building a brochure, not a tool
• Pressure to decide today: Manufactured urgency hides weak value
• No plan for after launch: The site rots the day it goes live
• Huge upfront deposit (50%+): Cash-flow risk sits entirely with you
• Bad-mouths every other developer: Deflection, usually covering their own gaps

The rest of this post explains each one, what to ask instead, and how to protect yourself.

Why this matters more than people think

A website isn't a one-off purchase like a logo. It's a living thing you'll log into, update, rely on for enquiries, and (hopefully) keep for years. When you hire the wrong person, the damage isn't just the wasted fee. It's the months you lose, the leads that never came in, the rebuild you end up paying for anyway, and the genuinely horrible situation of not being able to access or change your own website.

The good news is that the warning signs are remarkably consistent. After this many years I can usually tell within one conversation whether someone is going to have a good experience or a painful one. You can learn to spot the same things.

Red flag 1: No real portfolio (or it's all templates)

This is the first thing to check and the easiest to fake, so look closely. A developer should be able to show you sites they've actually built, ideally for businesses a bit like yours. Click through to the live sites. Do they load fast? Do they work properly on your phone? Do they look like distinct businesses, or like the same template with different logos pasted on top?

Be wary of a portfolio stuffed with half-finished demos, generic templates, or work that's clearly borrowed. "I'm just starting out so I don't have much to show" is honest and forgivable, but it should come with a lower price and a clear conversation about risk, not a premium quote.

Ask instead: "Can you show me three live sites you've built for businesses like mine, and tell me what your role was on each?"

Red flag 2: No testimonials, reviews or references

Anyone can claim to be brilliant. The question is whether real clients agree. If a developer has no reviews, no testimonials, and goes quiet when you ask for a reference you can actually contact, that's a gap worth worrying about. It doesn't always mean they're bad, but it means you're taking a bet with no information.

You're not being difficult by asking. A confident developer will happily point you at their Google reviews or put you in touch with a past client.

Red flag 3: Vague pricing you can't make sense of

If a proposal just says "website design and development" with one number at the bottom, that's a problem. A good developer can tell you how many pages, what functionality is included, what the design phase covers, how many rounds of revisions you get, and what happens after launch.

"Websites cost somewhere between £1,000 and £10,000" isn't pricing, it's a placeholder. Real pricing tracks to something concrete: the number of pages, the features you need, the hours involved, the platform being used. If you can't tell what each pound is buying, neither can they, and that gap always gets filled with surprise invoices. I wrote a whole separate guide on fixed price vs quote-based web design if you want to understand the pricing models properly, and my own pricing page shows what transparent tiers actually look like.

Red flag 4: A price that's far too cheap

Everyone loves a bargain, but a £79 or £149 "professional business website" almost always means one of two things. Either it's a free template with your logo dropped in and set up in a way you can't maintain, or the low headline price is a hook and the real money comes from upsells, monthly lock-ins, and "that's not included" charges later.

Good work has a floor. A properly built small business site from a UK freelancer realistically starts around £399 for something simple and rises from there. If a quote is dramatically below everyone else's, ask yourself what's being left out, because something always is.

Red flag 5: Poor communication before you've paid a penny

Pay attention to how someone communicates while they're still trying to win your business, because that is the best behaviour you will ever see from them. If emails take a week, calls go unreturned, or answers are vague and confusing now, it does not improve after they've got your deposit. It gets worse.

You want someone who replies in a sensible timeframe, answers the question you actually asked, and makes you feel clearer after the conversation, not more confused.

Red flag 6: No written contract or scope

"We don't really need a contract, I'll just crack on" sounds friendly and relaxed. It's actually the single most expensive sentence in this whole post. A simple written scope protects both of you. It says what's being built, for how much, by when, what's included, what isn't, and what happens if things change.

Without it, every disagreement becomes your word against theirs, and you're the one with no leverage. No reputable developer will object to putting the basics in writing.

Red flag 7: They won't explain things in plain English

You should never feel stupid talking to your developer. A good one translates the technical stuff into language you understand, because they actually understand it themselves. When someone hides behind jargon, buzzwords, and "don't worry about the technical side", it's often because plain language would expose how little is really there.

You don't need to learn to code. You do need someone willing to explain why they're recommending something in terms that make sense to you.

Red flag 8: They won't give you ownership of your own site

This one ruins lives, and most business owners don't even think to ask. You should own your domain name, your hosting account, and the admin logins to your own website. If a developer sets everything up under their own accounts and won't hand over access, you don't really own your website. You're renting it from them, and they hold the keys.

I've had people come to me unable to change a phone number on their own site because the previous developer disappeared and nobody else could get in. Ask the ownership question early, and get the answer in writing.

Ask instead: "Will the domain, hosting and all logins be in my name, and will I get full admin access at the end?"

Red flag 9: No mention of revisions

Nobody gets a website perfect on the first try. You'll want changes. A clear developer tells you up front how many rounds of revisions are included and what happens after that. Silence on revisions usually means one of two unpleasant surprises: either you get one attempt and that's your lot, or every tweak becomes a billable extra you didn't budget for.

Red flag 10: They "guarantee" you'll rank #1 on Google

Run from this one. Nobody, anywhere, can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Google's results depend on hundreds of factors and competitors who are also working hard. A developer who promises guaranteed top rankings is either lying to win the job or doesn't understand SEO well enough to be selling it.

Honest professionals talk about improving your visibility, targeting realistic keywords, and building solid foundations. They talk in probabilities and timelines, not guarantees.

Red flag 11: They never ask about your business

If a developer takes your brief and starts talking layouts and colours without asking a single question about your customers, your goals, or how you actually win work, they're building you a brochure, not a business tool. The best result comes from someone curious about what the site needs to do: get phone calls, take bookings, sell products, build trust.

A developer who's genuinely interested in your business will push back occasionally and suggest things you hadn't thought of. That's not them being awkward. That's the value you're paying for.

Red flag 12: High-pressure "decide today" tactics

"This price is only good until Friday" and "I've got another client waiting, I need a yes today" are sales pressure, not project planning. A website is a considered purchase. A good developer wants you to choose them because you're confident, not because you panicked. Manufactured urgency is almost always there to stop you comparing options or thinking too hard, and that should make you think harder, not less.

Red flag 13: No plan for after launch

A website goes live and then... what? Software needs updating. Things occasionally break. You'll want small changes. If a developer treats launch as the finish line and has no answer for "what happens after?", you could be left stranded the first time something goes wrong.

You don't necessarily need an expensive monthly contract, but you do need to know the plan: who fixes things, what it costs, and how quickly. Ongoing care should be a clear, optional choice, not an awkward silence.

Red flag 14: A huge upfront deposit

A deposit is completely normal and fair. A demand for 50% or more upfront, with no milestones and no protection for you, is not. It loads all the cash-flow risk onto you before any work exists. A reasonable structure is a modest deposit to book the work, then a payment or two tied to actual progress, with the balance on completion.

If someone wants most of the money before you've seen anything, ask why, and be cautious about the answer.

Red flag 15: They bad-mouth every other developer

A little honesty about the industry is fine. But if someone spends your first call running down every other developer, every platform, and every previous person you've worked with, that's usually deflection. Confident professionals talk about what they do well and let it stand on its own. Constant trash-talk is often there to stop you looking elsewhere or asking awkward comparison questions.

The questions to ask before you hire anyone

You don't need to be technical to protect yourself. Work through these in your first proper conversation and the red flags tend to reveal themselves:

• Can I see three live sites you've built for businesses like mine?
• Can you talk me through exactly what's included in this price, and what isn't?
• Will I own my domain, hosting and all the logins?
• How many rounds of revisions are included?
• What's your typical timeline, and what do you need from me to hit it?
• What happens after launch if something breaks or I need a change?
• Can I speak to a past client, or see your reviews?
• Is the scope and price going to be put in writing before we start?

How someone answers these matters more than the answers themselves. You're looking for calm, clear, specific responses. Hesitation, vagueness, or irritation at being asked are themselves red flags.

What good actually looks like

It's easy to make hiring sound terrifying, so here's the reassuring part. A good developer makes the whole thing feel straightforward. The pricing is clear. The scope is written down. They ask smart questions about your business, explain things without making you feel daft, and they're as quick to reply before you've paid as after. You finish conversations feeling more confident, not more confused.

That's the real test underneath all fifteen red flags: does this person make things clearer, or murkier? Trust your gut on that, then back it up with the questions above.

Before you hire: a final word

Hiring a web developer doesn't have to be a gamble. Most bad experiences come from the same handful of warning signs, and now you know what they are. Take your time, ask the questions, get the important things in writing, and pay attention to how someone makes you feel during the process. Clear and calm is good. Confusing and rushed is not.

If you'd like a second opinion before you commit to anyone, or you've already got a site you're not sure about, I offer a free website audit with no pressure and no "we'll send across a proposal". And if you want to see how a transparent, no-surprises process is supposed to look, have a browse of my packages and pricing. Either way, you'll walk away knowing what to look for, which is exactly the point.