Portfolio: look at project logic, not pictures
The first thing a studio shows you is case studies. Usually these are nice screenshots with descriptions like 'developed a site for a furniture manufacturer.' That kind of portfolio tells you nothing about how the studio works.
Look for whether the studio describes the client's problem. A good case study starts not with design but with the issue: 'The client was losing leads because the old site didn't open on mobile' or 'They needed to automate order intake through Telegram.' If the entire case is a picture and two lines of text, the studio either doesn't understand business problems or doesn't think solving them matters.
Check the links to live work. Open a site from the portfolio on your phone, try filling out a form, see how fast it loads. If half the links are broken and the ones that work are slow, that signals the studio delivers projects and forgets about them.
Ask if you can speak to any clients. A normal studio will give you a contact - not necessarily all of them, but one or two for sure. If they refuse under any pretext, the reason is usually that there's no one to ask or it would be awkward to ask.
How the studio asks questions in the first meeting
If the first call immediately gives you a price and timeline, that's a bad sign. It means the studio works from templates and won't dig into your specific problem.
A good studio asks questions: who is your audience, what's the goal of the site, do you have a CRM, how do you currently take orders, what should change after launch. These questions aren't for show - the answers determine site structure, feature set, integrations.
If the manager writes down answers and says they'll come back with a proposal in a couple of days, that's normal. If they send a commercial proposal with pricing right after the call, they had it ready in advance without listening to you.
Another sign: the studio should explain why they're proposing a specific solution. Not 'we'll build a site on Tilda' but 'Tilda works because you need a simple landing page you can edit yourself; if you're planning CRM integration and a complex funnel, you need custom development.'
Quote: if you get one line with a total, it's not a quote
A quote is a list of work items with a price for each. For example: homepage design, services page design, markup, contact form programming, Telegram integration, hosting setup. From a quote you see what you're paying for and can remove what's extra or add what's needed.
If they send you 'website development - $2,000,' you have no way to verify what's included in the work. When it turns out mid-project that 'responsive design is separate' or 'CRM integration isn't included,' you'll have nothing to argue with.
Ask for itemisation. If the studio refuses or sends a quote with two lines like 'design' and 'development,' look elsewhere. A normal quote runs from half a page to two pages, depending on the project.
Pay attention to how revisions are described. It should specify how many design iterations are included in the price and what happens if there are more revisions. If that's missing, you'll start getting charged extra for every version during approval.
Who will manage the project - and will anyone at all
In large studios you communicate with a manager who passes the task to a designer, the designer to a developer, and so on down the chain. Each handoff is a place where meaning gets lost. By the end of the work the site may be solving not your problem but whatever was understood at the last stage.
Ask who will be your point of contact and whether that person makes decisions. Ideally you communicate directly with the project lead: they understand both the business problem and the technical implementation and can answer without a week of approvals.
Find out how the team is structured. If the studio only works with freelancers on projects, that's a risk. A freelancer can disappear, get sick, take another job. If the studio has a permanent team - even a small one - the project won't stop because of one person.
Another question: who will edit the code in six months if you need to add something. If the studio doesn't provide support after project delivery, you'll have to find new developers who will need to understand someone else's code - that's slow and expensive.
Contract and what should be written in it
The contract is not a formality. If something goes wrong, only the contract protects you from 'that's not what we agreed.'
Check whether the contract includes a technical specification or at least a description of work. If it says 'website development according to brief' and the brief is your answers to three questions in an email, that's not protection. The spec should be an appendix to the contract: what we're building, what sections, what features, how many approval iterations.
Timeline. There should be a project delivery deadline and what happens if the studio misses it. If there's no timeline or it's described as 'approximately 4-6 weeks,' you have no leverage.
Rights to code and design. The contract must explicitly state that after payment all source files, code, design mockups transfer to you. If that's missing, the studio can formally consider itself the rights holder, and moving to another host or having another team do updates will create problems.
Warranty terms. It's normal if the studio gives a warranty on code - usually one to three months. This means if a bug surfaces after delivery, they'll fix it for free. If there's no warranty, any error after project delivery will cost you new money.
Red flags: when to walk away immediately
Studio demands full prepayment. Normal arrangement is 30-50% advance, the rest by stages or after delivery. If they want 100% upfront, the studio either has money problems or isn't confident they'll finish the project.
No code examples or technical description. If you ask what the site will be built with and hear 'the most modern technologies,' that's empty talk. The studio should explain why they chose a specific stack and show they've worked with it before.
Studio promises 'top search ranking in a month' or '100% conversion.' These things cannot be guaranteed, and anyone who promises them either doesn't understand how SEO and advertising work or is knowingly lying.
Won't give access to hosting and source files. If the studio says 'the site will live with us, you don't need to understand this,' you become hostage. Any change, any problem - only through the studio, on their terms. Hosting and domain should be registered to you.
Studio refuses to show intermediate results. Normal process is approving design, then markup, then programming. If they tell you 'we'll show you when everything's ready,' by the time you see it, redoing will be late and expensive.
Green flags: what speaks in the studio's favour
Studio asks uncomfortable questions. For example, why you need a complex feature when the problem could be solved simpler and cheaper. Or says your idea won't work and explains why. This means the studio is thinking about results, not about selling the most expensive project.
There's a project handover process. The studio explains how you'll receive source files, how to deploy an update, where to turn if something breaks. If this process is described in advance, the studio has delivered projects and knows what clients need after launch.
Studio offers support but doesn't force it. It's normal if after project delivery the studio offers a support retainer - that's convenient if you need regular updates. Bad if support is mandatory and the studio won't take the project without it.
Contract is drawn up to the studio as a legal entity or sole proprietor, with stamp and signature. If they suggest working 'just by invoice' or through an individual, you'll have no guarantees, and if problems arise you'll have nowhere to turn.
Price: why cheaper doesn't mean better value
The price range for websites is huge: from a few hundred dollars for a landing page on a builder to tens of thousands for a complex web service. The temptation to take the cheapest offer is understandable, but it usually ends in rework.
A cheap site is either a template, work by a beginning freelancer, or a studio that takes many projects and does them as fast as possible. In any case you get a generic solution that doesn't address your specific problem.
An expensive site isn't always better. If a studio quotes well above market, ask what for. If there's no clear answer, the price may include brand recognition or unnecessary processes that don't affect results.
The EFIMOV DEV website shows price ranges by service - from landing pages to web services. The exact quote comes after a brief, because price depends on functionality, integrations, content volume. That's an honest approach: you can only quote after understanding the problem.
When you don't need a studio: solve the problem simpler
If you need a simple three-page business card site with no integrations, a builder like Tilda will handle it. A studio will charge several times more and the result will be the same.
If you don't have budget for maintenance and updates, think twice. A website isn't a one-time thing: it needs updating, bug fixes, new features. If money is only enough for launch, in six months the site will become dead weight.
If the task is non-standard and you yourself don't fully understand what's needed, a studio can help formulate requirements, but that's a separate service. Usually such projects start with analysis and prototyping, and development comes as a second stage. Factor that into the budget.
Choosing a studio isn't about price and portfolio but about how the studio asks questions, describes process, and documents agreements. A good studio will explain why they're proposing a specific solution, show a detailed quote, give access to source files, and write timeline, warranty, and rights into the contract. If anything from this list is missing, that's cause for concern. At EFIMOV DEV we work by these principles: we conduct a thorough brief, create detailed quotes, manage projects without intermediaries, and transfer all source files to the client. If you're choosing a contractor, ask uncomfortable questions, demand specifics, and don't hesitate to walk away if something doesn't add up.
Frequently asked
How many studios should you survey before choosing?
Three to four is enough. More and your head will spin, fewer and you have nothing to compare. The key is asking all of them the same questions so you understand the difference in approaches.
Can you verify a studio through official registries?
Yes. You can look up the studio's business registration number through official channels - you'll see how long they've been registered, whether they have debts. If the studio has operated as a legal entity for several years, that's a good sign of stability.
What to do if the studio missed deadlines?
Check the contract. If there's a penalty clause for missing deadlines, demand it. If not, you can only negotiate. That's why timeline and accountability must be in the contract before work starts.
Do you need to understand technology yourself?
You don't need to know React from Node.js. But it's useful to understand basics: what hosting is, domain, responsive design, why you need a CMS. This helps you ask the right questions and not buy what you don't need.