Ask a business owner in your trade who has a working website, and ask your CA to look at the payment terms — those two conversations improve the decision. Most other consultation adds delay and opinions about colour, which is not the risk you needed help with.
The moment it happens
Who should you consult before paying for a website is a question that arrives from a reasonable instinct: it’s a meaningful amount of money for something you can’t evaluate, so a second opinion feels prudent.
The trap is that most available advisers can only comment on the part that doesn’t matter. Nobody in your circle can assess the code. Everyone can offer a view on the shade of blue.
The four worth asking
1. A business owner in your trade with a working website. The single most useful conversation available.
Ask: “Who built yours, how long did it take against the promise, and what happened after you paid in full?”
That last part is where most failures live and it’s never volunteered. Also ask whether their domain is in their own name — the answer tells you how their vendor operates as a matter of practice.
2. Your CA or accountant. Not about design. About terms.
Ask: “Does this payment structure look reasonable? Should I insist on a GST invoice, and can I claim the input credit?” Your CA sees invoices across many clients, knows who complains about whom, and will spot an unusual advance immediately. They also have a professional view on whether the invoiced route is cheaper for you in net terms.
3. Whoever will use the site day to day. If a staff member handles enquiries, they know which questions customers actually ask. That’s content input and it’s genuinely valuable.
Ask: “What do customers ask you most, and what do you wish you could just send them a link for?”
4. Someone who has been through a bad experience. Uniquely useful and often overlooked. They’ll tell you exactly which term they wish they’d insisted on.
Ask: “What would you do differently?” The answer is usually the domain, the advance size, or getting the scope in writing.
The three who will slow you down
Not unkindly — they’re being asked the wrong question.
Family members with design opinions. They’ll comment on colours, photographs and the logo. Fine as input, ruinous as approval. Design review by committee is the most common cause of stretched timelines, ahead of anything a developer does. Consult before the design starts, not during.
A relative who “knows computers”. They may know computers. They rarely know the market rate for a five-page business site in NCR, or that domains get registered in vendor accounts. Their estimate is often the ₹3,000 figure that then makes every real quote look inflated.
Everyone in a WhatsApp group. You’ll get eleven opinions and one recommendation of somebody’s nephew. Useful for a vendor referral; not useful for evaluating a specific quote.
| Who | Ask them about | Don’t ask them about |
|---|---|---|
| Owner in your trade with a site | Vendor behaviour after payment | Design taste |
| CA or accountant | Payment terms, invoice, advance size | Whether the site looks good |
| Staff who handle enquiries | What customers ask | Budget |
| Someone burned before | Which term to insist on | Vendor recommendations, possibly |
| Family | Content facts, before design starts | Approval, at any stage |
| Relative who “knows computers” | Nothing pricing-related | The market rate |
The four questions to settle yourself
No adviser can answer these, and they matter more than any opinion:
- Will the domain be registered in my name and account? Yes required.
- Is the advance 30% or less?
- Is the scope in writing — pages, revision rounds, delivery date?
- What’s the year-two cost?
If all four hold, you don’t need a second opinion. If any fails, no amount of consultation fixes it — you need the vendor to change the term.
How to consult without stalling
Consultation becomes procrastination easily. Two rules:
Set a limit. Two conversations, this week. Then decide.
Ask specific questions, not “what do you think?” An open question invites open-ended opinion, which generates more questions. A specific question produces an answer you can act on.
If you notice you’re on your fifth conversation, you’re not gathering information any more. That’s the pause where website projects die, and it costs more than a suboptimal vendor choice.
What to do this week
- Ask one business owner in your trade the three questions, especially about post-payment support.
- Show your CA the payment terms and the invoice question.
- Ask whoever handles enquiries what customers most often ask.
- Check the four terms yourself — they matter more than any opinion.
- Cap it at two conversations and decide by the weekend.
If you want it done the certain way
Show your CA our terms before you pay — domain in your name, 30% advance, stage-linked balance, GST invoice, published year-two cost. And ask us for a client in your trade you can put the three questions to. WhatsApp us; we reply in about five minutes between 9am and 7pm.
Related reading
- Who should approve the website budget?
- Who connected you to a developer who delivered?
- When the whole family reviews your website design
- Your CA recommended someone — what checks can you skip?
FAQ
Who should I ask for advice before buying a website?
A business owner in your trade with a working site — ask what happened after they paid in full — and your CA, about the payment terms and invoice. Those two conversations improve the decision; most others add delay.
Should I show my website quote to my accountant?
Yes, for the terms rather than the design. They see invoices across many clients, will spot an unusual advance, and can tell you whether a GST invoice makes the purchase cheaper for you in net terms.
How many people should I consult before deciding?
Two, within a week. Beyond that, consultation usually becomes procrastination, and the four terms you must check — domain ownership, advance size, written scope, year-two cost — can’t be settled by anyone but the vendor.
