1. A “from” price almost always means “it will cost more”
The most common trap in this business is the price “websites from CZK 5,000”. That “from” is the catch. The real invoice usually ends up double, because “you wanted that on top” and “that was not in the basic package”. Ask for the final price for your specific website, exactly what it includes and what else could come up. A good supplier gives you a number that holds. If all you hear is “from” and “we will see”, that is the first warning sign.
2. A deposit upfront, before you have seen a design
Asking you for a big deposit before you have even seen what the website will look like is a risk mainly for you. You pay, and only then find out whether you like the result. The fairer model is the other way round: design first, money only after you approve it. That way you both carry the risk, not just you.
You should see the design before you pay a single koruna. If one supplier can do that, ask why the others cannot.
3. Who will own the website?
This is the biggest and most overlooked risk in the Czech Republic. Ask bluntly: “Once the website is finished, will it be mine? Domain, content, code and logins?” With some suppliers and website builders the website really is not yours, it is rented. When you leave, you walk away empty-handed and start from scratch. The right answer is: the website is yours, the domain is registered in your name, and you can leave at any time with everything that belongs to the website.
4. Monthly fees and “website rental”
Watch out for offers like “a website for CZK 990 a month”. They look cheap, but you pay forever, and after three years you have paid more than for a custom website, and you still own nothing. Tell two things apart: necessary running costs (a domain at roughly CZK 200 a year, hosting often free or a few koruna) are fine, every website has them. A monthly “rent” for the website itself is something else: you pay it purely so you are allowed to have the website at all.
5. When will it be done, and is that in the quote?
“Soon” is not a deadline. A decent website for a sole trader is a matter of days to a few weeks, not half a year. Ask for a specific date and for what happens if it is missed. Vague promises with no date are a common reason websites “die” half-finished in a drawer.
6. Ask to see their work, on your phone
Most of your customers will find you on their phone. So take your phone and open the websites the person has built. Do they load fast? Can you use them comfortably with your thumb? Or does the text overflow, are the buttons tiny and does everything “jump around”? If someone has nothing to show you, or it looks bad on a phone, that is a clear signal. Feel free to go through my example websites on your phone too.
7. Who writes the copy, and will the website show up on Google?
Two things that often get forgotten. Copy: many quotes assume you will supply the content (what to put on the website and how to say it), and that is exactly where websites stall. Ask whether they will help you with the copy. Findability: a beautiful website is useless if nobody finds it on Google. Ask at least about basic SEO and about connecting your Google Business Profile. I went into more detail in the article How to set up your Google Business Profile.
Summary: a small checklist for your phone
Before you say yes to anyone, go through these seven questions:
- Is the price final, or just “from”?
- Will I see the design first, before I pay?
- Will the website be mine, domain, content and logins included?
- Is it a one-off payment, or monthly forever?
- Do I have a specific completion date?
- Does their work look good on a phone?
- Will they help me with the copy and Google?
If you hit a “no” or an evasive answer on any quote, it is not necessarily a scam, but you have something to ask about. And by the way: my whole approach is built on exactly these points, because as a customer I hated them myself.