Short answer
What should I prepare before hiring a freelance web developer?
Prepare five things: the business goal the site must achieve, the pages and content you already have, a realistic budget range, access to your domain and hosting, and a clear way to judge success. With those ready, a good developer can quote accurately in a day and you avoid paying for discovery work you could have done yourself.
1. Start with the goal, not the design
"We need a new website" is a starting point, not a brief. Write down what the site must do for the business in the next twelve months: more enquiries, online bookings, fewer phone calls asking the same questions, or a store that takes payments while you sleep.
One sentence is enough, for example: "Get 20 qualified enquiries a month from homeowners in Pampanga." Every later decision, from page count to the contact form, gets easier once that sentence exists.
2. Gather what you already have
Most delays in a website project are waiting for content, not code. Before you contact anyone, collect:
- Your logo files, ideally as SVG or a high-resolution PNG
- Photos of your work, team and premises that you own the rights to
- Your current site's address and any pages that already bring in enquiries
- Service descriptions and prices, even rough ones
- Two or three websites you like, and one sentence on why
3. Set a budget range before you ask for quotes
A range lets a developer suggest the right approach instead of guessing. For reference, my published starting prices are ₱15,000 for a landing page, ₱45,000 for a business website and ₱90,000 for an online store (US$600, US$1,800 and US$3,800 for international clients). See all prices, or build an instant itemised quote.
If a quote comes in far below the market, ask what is left out: content entry, mobile testing, hosting setup and handover are the usual omissions.
4. Sort out access early
Find out who controls your domain name, hosting and email before the project starts. Recovering a domain registered by a former staff member or agency can take weeks. You should always own these accounts yourself and add your developer as a user, never the other way round.
5. Agree how you will judge the result
Decide in advance what "done" means: the pages that must exist, how the site should look on a phone, how fast it should load, and which actions you will track, such as form submissions or calls. Written acceptance criteria protect both sides and make the final payment straightforward.
Questions to ask any freelance developer
- Who will own the code, the domain and the hosting accounts?
- What is included after launch, and what does ongoing care cost?
- Can I update text and photos myself without calling you?
- How will the site be found on Google and by AI assistants?
- What happens if the project runs late?
Free download
Website Launch Checklist
35 checks to run before your website goes live: content, domain, SEO, speed, forms and privacy. A free PDF.