TL;DR: Before you sign with a web designer in Des Moines, ask eight questions: who owns the site and the code, what happens to your current Google rankings, how the site will work on a phone, whether each service gets its own page, whether the Spanish version is a real translation, whether the site is readable by AI assistants, what exactly changes the price, and who answers after launch. The answers tell you more than any portfolio. Most bad website projects were bad deals on day one: the owner just did not know which questions to ask. If you want to see where your current site stands first, run our free website check.

1. Who owns the site and the code?

This is the question that matters most and the one owners ask least. Many sites live inside a page-builder subscription: stop paying and the site disappears, because you were renting it all along. Ask directly: "If we stop working together, what do I keep?" A good answer is "the design, the content and the code." A vague answer is your warning.

2. What happens to my current Google rankings?

If your site already shows up on Google for some searches, a redesign can quietly throw that away. Every page has an address, and Google has learned those addresses. Ask how the designer handles the move. The answer you want: they review what your current site gets right before rebuilding, and every old address is redirected to its new page, so the visibility you already earned moves with you.

If you are not sure whether to redesign or start over, ask how they decide. A sensible process checks three things: does the current site get any visits from Google, can you edit it yourself, and does it load well on a phone.

3. How will it work on a phone?

Most of your local customers will meet your business on a phone, often while standing somewhere, with a slow connection and little patience. Ask whether the site is designed for the phone first, and whether they check every page on a real phone before launch. Slow pages are usually the first thing to fix: lighter images, less code, and a layout that appears before people give up.

4. Does each service get its own page?

A single "Services" page that lists everything in one paragraph is easy to build and hard to find. When someone in Des Moines searches for one specific service, the page that answers that exact service is the one that has a chance to show up. Ask whether each service you sell gets its own page that answers its own questions, and whether every page leads to one clear next step: a call, a booking, a quote request.

5. Is the Spanish version a real translation?

In central Iowa, a Spanish version can reach customers your competitors are not talking to. But a machine-translated copy can read badly and, without the right language signals, Google may treat it as duplicate content. Ask whether both versions are written to read naturally, and whether each one is set up with the correct language tags so it can rank on its own.

6. Can AI assistants read the site?

People increasingly ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI answers "who does this near me." Those assistants read websites too, and some sites are much easier for them to understand than others. Ask whether the site will include structured data (schema.org), clear summaries an assistant can quote, and clean HTML. A designer who has never heard the question is building for how search worked a few years ago.

7. What exactly changes the price?

A fair quote explains itself. Ask what moves the number. The usual factors are the number of pages, the design, whether you need two languages, whether the site takes bookings or payments, and how much content already exists. A five-page site for a service business and an online store are very different projects.

Then ask two follow-ups: "Will I get one clear number before any work starts?" and "What do I pay every month after launch, and for what?" Surprises usually hide in the second answer.

8. Who answers after launch?

Sites need small changes: a new service, a new photo, a holiday schedule. Ask who you will talk to after launch, how fast they respond, and in what language. Ask too whether you can make simple edits yourself, or take the site to someone else later if you want to.

Red flags to watch for

  • They cannot tell you what you will own if you leave.
  • They want to rebuild without looking at what your current site already gets from Google.
  • The quote is a single number with no explanation of what is included.
  • They promise first place on Google. Nobody can honestly promise that.
  • The portfolio looks great on a laptop and nobody has opened it on a phone.

How we answer these questions

Sinsajo Creators is based in Pleasant Hill and builds sites for businesses across Greater Des Moines, including West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale and Altoona. Our answers to the eight questions are on our page about web design in Des Moines: you own the site and the code, old addresses are redirected so your rankings move with you, every page is checked on a real phone, and the English and Spanish versions are written to read naturally. On price, it depends on pages, design, languages and features, and we quote after a free consultation, with one clear number before any work starts.

If your site has to keep its rankings through a redesign, it also helps to understand local SEO in Des Moines. And before you talk to any designer, including us, run the free website check on your current site. You keep the list of fixes even if you hire someone else.