The short version: A small business website should include an editor you can use yourself, basic SEO (search engine optimisation: helping Google understand and show your pages), analytics tracking, ownership of your domain, code and accounts, a hosting cost you know up front, a fast mobile version, contact and quote forms that work, a plan for security updates, and a clear price in writing. Check each one before you pay, not after launch.

What to do next: Use the list as questions for any quote you get. To see what our packages include, go to the pricing page, or start your project.

1. An editor you can use yourself

Why it matters: If every photo or price change goes through your designer, you wait on someone else for every small update.

How to check: Ask for a demo before you pay, and change a line of text yourself.

2. Basic SEO

Why it matters: Google says the title link “can help people decide which search result to click”, and that a good title is “unique to the page, clear and concise”.

How to check: Ask whether every page gets its own title and description. Be wary of a ranking promise: Google says meeting its requirements “doesn’t mean that Google will crawl, index, or serve its content”.

3. Analytics tracking

Why it matters: Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google’s visitor-tracking tool, gives “insights on your website or app, at no cost”, in Google’s words.

How to check: Ask whose Google account it sits in, and ask for the Administrator role, which Google describes as “Full control of Analytics”.

4. You own the domain, code and accounts

Why it matters: When a .au domain expires, your website and email stop working, and if it isn’t renewed within 30 calendar days, anyone can register it.

How to check: For a .au domain, look it up at whois.auda.org.au and check the registrant (the person or business that holds the domain name licence) is your business, not your designer. Ask in writing for the code, the hosting account and every login at launch. Our guide to who owns your website covers each check.

5. Hosting cost

Why it matters: A build can be a one-off cost, but hosting can be a bill that keeps coming.

How to check: Ask what hosting costs each year, whose account it sits in, and whether it’s tied to a monthly plan with the designer.

6. Mobile speed

Why it matters: Google “uses the mobile version of a site’s content, crawled with the smartphone agent for indexing and ranking.” Speed helps, but it doesn’t guarantee a ranking: Google says it “always seeks to show the most relevant content, even if the page experience is sub-par.”

How to check: Run a few of the designer’s past sites through Google’s free PageSpeed Insights test on mobile. Google says “A score of 90 or above is considered good.”

7. Contact and quote forms

Why it matters: The form is where a visitor turns into an enquiry, and a form that quietly fails means enquiries you never see.

How to check: Before you sign off, send a test enquiry from your phone, check it reaches your inbox, and tap the phone number to check it dials.

8. Security updates

Why it matters: Patchstack counted 7,966 new security weaknesses in the WordPress ecosystem in 2024, and 96% were in plugins (add-ons).

How to check: Ask who applies security updates after launch, how often and what it costs, and get the answer in writing.

9. A clear price in writing

Why it matters: A written price, scope and timeline means you both know what you’re paying for before work starts.

How to check: Before you pay anything, get the pages, what’s included, the timeline and anything that would cost extra in writing.

How a Standard CatalystHub build covers the checklist

This is our Standard build ($500, 5 pages). Every package and its price is on the pricing page.

Item	What you get
Editor	The TinaCMS editor: change copy and images yourself, like editing a Word document, no code needed
SEO	SEO optimised for Google and AI search. No one can promise a ranking
Analytics	GA4 set up properly. We also set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools for free before launch
Ownership	You own the site, the code and the content. On launch day you get the GitHub repository, domain registrar, Cloudflare and TinaCMS logins on one handover sheet. If we register your domain, your business is listed as the owner
Hosting cost	Free hosting on your own Cloudflare account, with no ongoing cost
Mobile speed	Mobile-first design, built to Lighthouse 95+ on mobile (Lighthouse is Google’s automated speed score)
Contact and quote forms	A tap-to-call button and a quote or booking form
Security updates	Security hardening and vulnerability fixes at launch, with no WordPress plugins. The optional Basic care plan ($49 a month) covers security updates, backups and uptime monitoring. Without one, we help at our hourly rate
Price in writing	Fixed, published prices. A 30-minute call locks the scope, price and timeline, with a one-page summary in writing before you pay

Every build includes unlimited revisions, and nothing goes live until you sign off. A Standard build is live in 7 business days. Scope, timing and payment can be adjusted to suit you: we work it out with you on the call.

Free hosting doesn’t apply to a Custom Shopify Theme, which Shopify hosts on your paid Shopify plan.

When you’re ready, tell us about your business.