How to Choose a Web Designer in Las Vegas

There are hundreds of people in Las Vegas who will take your money to build a website. Some of them are good. A lot of them are not. The difference between the two can be the difference between a site that actually drives business and a $5,000 brochure that nobody finds.

I've cleaned up more broken websites than I've built from scratch. Projects abandoned halfway through. Sites handed over that the client legally doesn't even own. Agencies that charged a premium, delivered a template, and disappeared when something broke.

You can avoid almost all of that if you ask the right questions before you sign anything. Here is exactly what to ask, and the answers you should hear.

7 questions to ask any web designer before hiring

1. "Can I see a live website you built in the last year?"

Portfolios full of Behance mockups and concept shots mean nothing. You want live, working URLs where you can click around, check the mobile view, and see how fast it loads. If their last live launch was two years ago, keep looking.

2. "Will I own the code and the domain when we're done?"

The answer should be an immediate yes. Some agencies build you a site, then keep your domain registered under their account so you can't leave without paying a ransom. Others build on proprietary platforms you can't export from. Either is a trap.

Every site I build, the client owns every file, every login, every account. On day one you get the credentials, not on day ninety.

"Endorsements must reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experience of the endorser. They cannot contain representations that would be deceptive, or could not be substantiated, if made directly by the advertiser."

— U.S. Federal Trade Commission, FTC Endorsement Guides

That FTC rule is why question 7 below — asking to talk to two past clients — matters more than any number of curated testimonials on a website. Real referrals beat staged ones, and a confident designer welcomes the call.

3. "What does your pricing include, and what costs extra?"

Vague quotes are a huge red flag. Ask specifically: Does the price include copy? SEO setup? Mobile optimization? Post-launch support? How many revision rounds? What happens if I want changes after launch?

A real designer will give you a written scope. Mine is published on my site — landing page $750, full website $1,500, Shopify $2,500. No mystery, no upsells at signing.

4. "What's your timeline, and what happens if you miss it?"

Every designer will give you an optimistic estimate. The good ones are willing to put a real date in the contract and offer something specific — discount, free work, refund — if they miss it.

5. "Who will I actually be working with?"

Agencies love the bait-and-switch: the senior designer pitches you, then a junior handles your build and emails you once a week with bland progress reports. Ask directly who is building your site and if you can talk to them before signing.

6. "How do you handle support after launch?"

What is their response time for bug fixes? Do they charge monthly retainer or hourly? What if something breaks at 9 PM on a Friday? The answers tell you whether you are starting a relationship or a one-night transaction.

7. "Can I talk to two past clients?"

Testimonials on a website are curated. A phone call with a real past client will tell you more in ten minutes than a website will in an hour. A confident designer will happily hand over two names and numbers.

7 red flags that mean: run

If a Las Vegas web designer does any of the following during the sales process, save yourself the headache and keep shopping.

• Won't give you a written quote. If the price keeps changing over email, it will keep changing after you pay a deposit too.
• No portfolio of live sites. Mockups, Dribbble shots, or "I can't share those due to NDA" on all of them means they haven't shipped.
• All their sites load slow. Pick three from their portfolio and run them through Google PageSpeed Insights. If they all score under 60, they are shipping bloated work — and per Google Search Central, that loading penalty is a confirmed search-ranking signal.
• They use a template and call it custom. Check the page source on a few of their sites. If every client's site runs the same WordPress theme or Wix layout, you are paying custom prices for a template.
• They want full payment upfront. Industry standard is 50% deposit, balance on launch. Full payment upfront removes every incentive they have to finish.
• No contract. "We'll just work off email, keep it casual" is how $3,000 disputes happen. Demand a contract, even for small projects.
• They push you toward a monthly "subscription" plan. Some newer agencies charge $199/month forever for a site that cost $400 to build. You will pay $7,000 over three years for something worth $1,500 once.

Agency, freelancer, or template? A quick honest take

Three options for most Las Vegas small businesses. Here is where each one actually makes sense.

Use a template (Wix / Squarespace / Shopify theme) if:

• Your budget is under $500 and you have time to learn the editor
• Your business model is simple and you need something live this weekend
• You genuinely enjoy doing it yourself and treat it as part of running your business

Hire a freelancer if:

• You want custom design that matches your brand, not a template everyone uses
• You want to talk directly to the person building your site
• Your budget is $750 to $5,000
• You want ongoing support from one person who knows your site inside-out

Hire an agency if:

• Your project is genuinely complex (100+ page sites, custom applications, multiple integrations)
• Your budget is $15,000 or higher
• You need a team — designer, developer, copywriter, PM — running in parallel
• You can handle slower communication in exchange for more bandwidth

For most Las Vegas small businesses — service businesses, local shops, restaurants, real estate, therapy practices, medspas — a freelancer is the best fit. You get custom work, direct access, and pricing that doesn't require a finance meeting. Here's the kind of work I mean.

Does the designer actually need to be in Las Vegas?

Not strictly. Web design is remote-friendly and great designers exist everywhere. But working with someone local has real advantages: you can meet in person when it matters, they understand the local market (Summerlin moms, Henderson retirees, Strip tourists are three very different audiences), and they are in your time zone so emails don't sit overnight.

If you do go with someone out of state, at least make sure they have worked with Las Vegas businesses before. The culture here is different and that shapes how a site should feel.