Every portfolio looks polished and every proposal promises partnership, which is why neither is much use for choosing a development partner. What separates builders from resellers shows up under specific questions, asked before contracts. Here are the nine we'd ask if we were buying, with the answers worth waiting for. They apply to us too, and we've noted where our own answers live.

Ownership and exit

1. "Who owns the code, the accounts, and the infrastructure at handover?" The only good answer is an unqualified "you." Hosting held hostage, licensed themes you can't take elsewhere, admin accounts in the vendor's name: these are the mechanics of lock-in, and they're endemic in this market. Ours is in writing: [full ownership at handover, no licensing](/pricing). 2. "If we part ways in a year, what does leaving look like?" A confident builder describes a clean export: repository access, documentation, credential transfer. A reseller changes the subject. Ask this one early; the reaction is the data.

Craft

3. "Show me a shipped bilingual project and switch it to Arabic in front of me." Watch whether the URL changes, whether the layout genuinely flips, whether the Arabic reads like it was written rather than translated. Five minutes, no slides, very hard to fake. The full test is in our [RTL engineering guide](/blog/bilingual-arabic-english-website-rtl-engineering-guide). 4. "What will my PageSpeed score be, and will you commit to it?" Performance is measurable, so vague answers are choices. Anyone building seriously can commit to green Core Web Vitals on a standard page and explain the exceptions. 5. "Who exactly will do the work?" In much of the regional market, the seller and the builder are different companies, sometimes different continents. You're entitled to know whether you're hiring a team or a broker. Founder-led shops will tell you in one sentence; brokers will describe a "process."

Substance

6. "Walk me through a project that went wrong." Everyone has one. Builders describe what broke, what it cost, and what changed afterward. If the answer is that nothing ever goes wrong, you've learned what honesty costs there. 7. "What would you cut from my brief?" The most revealing question on the list. A partner spending your money like their own will find something to remove; a meter-runner will praise the whole brief and add to it. When we quote [fixed-scope engagements](/pricing), this conversation is where the scope gets honest. 8. "How will we measure whether this worked?" Before the build, not after: which numbers move, measured where, visible to whom. Analytics wired at launch, Search Console verified, a dashboard you own. Deliverables without measurement are decoration.

Fit

9. "Why should this be you and not the cheaper quote?" Not a trick; a chance to hear them reason about value. The useful answer compares outcomes and risk, not effort and hours. If they can't argue their own price, they'll struggle arguing for your product later. Notice what's absent from this list: years in business, team size, awards, technology logos. Those are the brochure. The nine above are the building. Ask them all, in one meeting if you like, and the market will sort itself in front of you. We're happy to sit on the answering side: [book the conversation](/contact) and bring the list.