Every agency shows you its best six projects. That tells you they have had at least six good outcomes, which is a low bar. What you actually need to know is how they behave when a project gets difficult — and you can find that out on a first call if you ask the right things.
1. Who owns the code and the accounts when we finish?
The correct answer is you, unambiguously, with the repository and every account already in your name. Be wary of proprietary platforms and page builders you cannot leave. If moving agencies means rebuilding from scratch, you are not a client, you are a hostage.
2. What will you say no to?
An agency that agrees with everything in a sales call will agree with everything during the project, including your worst ideas. You are buying judgement. Ask for a specific example of pushing back on a client and what happened next.
3. How do you protect our search rankings at launch?
Listen for URL mapping, 301 redirects tested before DNS changes, metadata preservation and post-launch monitoring. If the answer is vague, assume it will not be done — this is the single most common way a redesign destroys value.
4. What is your performance budget?
A serious answer sounds like a number: a target Largest Contentful Paint, a maximum JavaScript payload, and a CI check that fails the build when either is breached. A vague commitment to caring about speed is not a budget.
5. How do you handle accessibility?
Accessibility should be an acceptance criterion on every ticket, not a scan run the week before launch. Ask which standard they build to — WCAG 2.2 AA is the current benchmark — and whether they test with a keyboard and a screen reader. Beyond the legal exposure, this is roughly a sixth of your potential market.
6. Can I see something that did not work?
Everyone has projects that underperformed. An agency that can describe one honestly, explain what it learned and what it changed, is one that runs retrospectives. An agency claiming an unbroken record of triumphs is either new or not being straight with you.
7. Who is actually doing the work?
Meet the people who will be on your project, not just the partner selling it. Ask directly whether any of it is subcontracted, and where. Subcontracting is not automatically a problem, but discovering it in month three is.
8. What happens when we disagree?
Ask about the escalation path and how change requests are priced. The answer reveals whether they have a process or whether every disagreement becomes an awkward negotiation.
9. What do you need from us to succeed?
The best answer is specific and slightly uncomfortable: a single decision-maker, content by a certain date, access to your analytics, availability for weekly reviews. Projects fail on the client side at least as often as the agency side, and an experienced agency knows exactly which client behaviours predict trouble.
The most useful signal is not the answer itself. It is whether they have clearly thought about the question before you asked it.