How to Choose a Web Designer in Cairns: 5 Tests and the Questions to Ask
Anyone can show you a pretty portfolio. These five tests, each one checkable yourself in minutes, sort the real builders from the template mills before you spend a dollar.
Ignore the pitch deck. Test the evidence. The fastest way to judge a web designer is their clients’ live sites: run them through Google’s speed test, search the trades they claim to rank, and get the ownership answers in writing before any deposit. A portfolio can be dressed up; a slow client site on page four cannot. This is the full screening list, including the questions that make bad designers visibly uncomfortable.
The five tests
Test 1: speed-test their client sites
Put two or three of their recent client sites through PageSpeed Insights (free, Google’s own tool). Scores in the 80s and 90s mean they build properly; scores in the 30s mean page-builder bloat, and your site will score the same. Do not test the designer’s own site, test what they ship to clients. (Why this matters so much: speed and Google.)
Test 2: verify a ranking claim
Ask “which clients rank, for what?” then search those terms yourself in an incognito window. We will save you one: search “earthworks cairns” and you will find our client at #1. Anyone who cannot name a checkable result is selling design, not results.
Test 3: the ownership questions, in writing
Three questions, three written answers: Who owns the domain? Who owns the site files and content? What happens if I leave? The horror stories all start with the wrong answer here. (The full ownership guide.) Our answers: you, you, and you take everything with you.
Test 4: who actually does the work?
Ask who designs and who builds. A surprising number of local agencies are sales fronts for offshore template queues, which is fine until you need a change and discover the queue. With us it is Michael, in Cairns, which is also who answers when you call.
Test 5: read the reviews for names
Real reviews name people and jobs (“Michael rebuilt our site and rankings improved year after year”). Vague five-star walls read as bought because they often are. Check the reviewer count and recency too.
The questions to ask, scripted
| Ask | Good answer sounds like | Walk away if |
|---|---|---|
| What will it cost, all in? | A number or tight range, GST noted (market rates) | “Depends” with no range |
| How long will it take? | Weeks, staged (timeline) | “Live tomorrow” for a custom build |
| Will it rank? | Structure explained + checkable examples | Guaranteed #1 promises |
| What happens after launch? | Clear care plan pricing (ours is $275/yr) | Surprise hosting bills, lock-ins |
| Can I speak to two past clients? | “Sure, here are numbers” | Excuses |
Price is the fifth consideration, not the first
The spread in Cairns runs $300 template jobs to $5,000 custom builds, and the difference compounds: the cheap build costs its price plus every job it fails to win. Decide what the site must do (the buyer’s guide helps), then pick the builder who can prove they have done it.
Run all five tests on us. Speed-test any site on the wall, search our clients’ rankings, then book a discovery call and ask the scripted questions. We built this checklist knowing we would be marked against it.