Hiring a web designer in Nairobi is easy. Hiring a good one is harder, because most quotes look alike until something goes wrong. The site is slow. Nobody can log in to change a price. The domain turns out to be registered in the designer’s name. These ten questions help you compare quotes properly before you pay a deposit.
If you remember only three things
- Your domain, hosting and files should be in your name.
- Get the scope and price in writing, with a list of what is included.
- Ask for a handover plan before you pay anything.
85.5M
Mobile connections in Kenya, Oct 2026
2.5 s
Google’s target for the main content to load
10
Questions to compare any quote
Why this matters more in Kenya than in many markets: your customers are on their phones. DataReportal counted 85.5 million cellular mobile connections in Kenya in October 2026, equal to 145 percent of the population. That figure counts connections, not people, because many Kenyans hold more than one SIM. It still tells you that a site that works badly on a phone loses customers before they ever message you.
Can I see live websites you built, and speak to the owners?
Screenshots prove nothing. Ask for live links, open them on your phone, and ask for the contact details of at least one client you can call. A good designer will not mind. If every example is “under NDA” or “being updated”, be careful.
Who will own the domain, the hosting account and the website files?
This is the question that causes the most pain later. Your domain should be registered in your name, with you as the owner on the registrar account. A .co.ke domain costs roughly KES 400 to KES 2,300 a year depending on the registrar, with first-year promotions and sometimes higher renewals, so there is no reason for anyone else to hold it. Ask for the same clarity on hosting and on the website files. If you ever want to change designers, you should be able to take everything with you.
What exactly is included in the price, and what costs extra?
Get a written list. At minimum, check these items:
- Number of pages, and who writes the text
- Photos and logo work
- Domain, hosting and SSL (the padlock), and for how long
- Contact forms, a WhatsApp button and Google Maps
- Business email addresses
- Rounds of revisions
- Training so you can update the site yourself
For a feel of typical figures, see our guide to website design prices in Kenya.
How long will it take, and what do you need from me?
Most delays come from missing text and photos, not from the designer. Ask for a written timeline with milestones, and ask what you must supply and by when. A designer who says “two weeks” without asking about your content is guessing.
How will the site look and work on a phone?
Design for the phone first, then scale up to the desktop, not the other way round. Ask to see the mobile test result for a site they built, and check buttons, forms and the call or WhatsApp link with your own thumb.
What speed target do you work to?
“Fast” is not a number. Google’s published targets for a good experience are a Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or less, an Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less, and a Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less, measured on real visitors. You do not need to understand them in detail. You do need a designer who knows them and can show you the results. Our guide to Core Web Vitals in Kenya explains them in plain language.
What search setup is included?
A new site should launch with proper page titles and descriptions, a sitemap, Google Search Console set up, and guidance on your Google Business Profile. Nobody can honestly guarantee a number one ranking, because Google decides. If someone promises it, treat that as a warning sign, not a bonus.
Who looks after security, backups and updates after launch?
Websites are not finished when they go live. Software needs updates, and sites get attacked. Ask how often backups run, where they are stored, who applies updates, what that costs each month, and what happens if the site is hacked. “You can call us” is not a plan. A written maintenance policy is.
What happens if we part ways?
Ask for the handover in writing: admin logins, a full backup, and the files. A designer who is confident in their work does not need to hold your site hostage.
How do payment and the contract work?
Insist on a written scope, payments tied to milestones rather than all upfront, receipts for every M-Pesa or bank payment, and clear refund and cancellation terms. If your site collects names, phone numbers or emails through a form, you also need a privacy policy and sensible data handling. Our guide to the Kenya Data Protection Act explains what that means for a business owner.
🚩 Red flags that should slow you down
- A guaranteed number one ranking
- No live examples, or examples that do not load
- A price with no list of what it includes
- Reluctance to give you admin access or put the domain in your name
- A very low first-year price with unclear renewal costs
- Samples that are clearly one template with different logos
💡 How to compare quotes side by side
Write the ten questions down the left of a page and each designer’s answers across the top. The cheapest quote often leaves gaps in domain ownership, maintenance or handover. The best value is the one with the fewest gaps, not the lowest number.
WHERE METRIDATA FITS
Ask Us All Ten Questions
We build mobile-first, WhatsApp-ready websites for businesses in Nairobi and across Kenya, with packages from KES 25,000. Look at our website design services and our portfolio of real projects, then put us to the test.
Sources: DataReportal, Digital 2027: Kenya (mobile connections, October 2026); Google and web.dev Core Web Vitals thresholds; recent .co.ke registrar price listings.
