How to choose a web development agency in India.

There are hundreds of agencies in India that will build you a website. Picking the wrong one costs you 2–6 months of delay and 1.5–3× the price you actually should have paid. Here are the questions that separate the ones who'll ship from the ones who won't.

The 10 questions to ask before signing

1. Can I see the actual code from past projects?

Not screenshots — the live site. Open it in Chrome DevTools, look at the Network tab. A well-built site loads under 2 seconds, has fewer than 30 requests on first load, and a PageSpeed score above 90. A "we built this" claim with a site that loads in 8 seconds is a red flag.

2. What's the payment schedule?

The right answer is something like "30% to start, 30% at mid-delivery, 40% at launch" — milestone-based. The wrong answers are "100% upfront" (you have no leverage if they ghost) and "pay nothing until done" (they have no skin in the game, won't start work).

3. Who owns the code at the end?

You. The contract should explicitly transfer IP to you and the code should live in a GitHub repository under your organisation from day one. If they say "we'll give you a zip file" — walk away. If they say "we keep the code and you license it" — definitely walk away.

4. What stack are you using and why?

There's no single right answer, but there are wrong answers. React + Next.js + TypeScript is the modern default — fast, SEO-friendly, easy to hire for. WordPress is fine for blog-heavy / brochure sites with non-technical owners. Wix, Squarespace, Webflow are not "custom development" — they're template platforms. If an agency claims "custom" and uses these, they're mis-selling.

5. How do we communicate during the project?

Look for: WhatsApp + daily updates, OR Slack + daily standups, OR email + weekly demos. Run from: "we'll show you the final result". You want to see work-in-progress every couple of days so you can course-correct early.

6. What's in scope, and what isn't?

Ask for a written scope document listing every page, every form, every integration. Anything outside the scope is "change request" pricing. Without a scope doc, "scope creep" becomes a way for an agency to keep billing forever.

7. What's your timeline and what's the penalty if you miss it?

Good agencies will commit to a delivery date in writing. Great agencies will commit to a discount or refund if they miss it. Bad agencies will give you a "rough estimate" that magically inflates the moment you sign.

8. How will SEO be handled?

The right answer includes: semantic HTML, server-rendered pages (or proper static export), meta tags + OpenGraph, structured data / JSON-LD, XML sitemap, robots.txt, Google Search Console setup. The wrong answer is "we'll add SEO at the end as an extra" — at that stage it's too late for the architectural decisions that matter.

9. What happens after launch?

Look for: included post-launch support window (7–30 days) followed by an optional monthly maintenance plan. Pay attention to whether they'll respond on WhatsApp / Slack in <24h or whether you need to submit support tickets.

10. Can I talk to one of your past clients?

A good agency will happily connect you with 1–2 past clients for a 10-minute reference call. If they refuse — or only have written testimonials with no contact info — that's a red flag.

Red flags (run, don't walk)

• "We'll send the design, then write code if you like it." No production-shipping agency works for free up front beyond a 1-hour scoping call + a small free mockup.
• "Lifetime maintenance free." Nothing is free for life. Either it's a marketing line or they'll vanish in 6 months.
• "Pay us in cash to avoid GST." Walk away. They'll do the same thing on tax, and on hiding bugs.
• No GST number on their invoice. Doing business with an unregistered vendor exposes you to compliance issues.
• The portfolio links don't work. The sites are 404 or load a placeholder. Either the work was bad or the work was fake.
• Only one person doing everything. Even a "small studio" should have at least 2–3 people. A solo freelancer is fine for ₹15k brochure sites; for anything bigger you need redundancy.

Green flags worth paying more for

• Free 48-hour mockup before commitment. Tells you they have the design chops and the bandwidth.
• Fixed-quote pricing with milestone payments. Aligns incentives — they only get paid as you see progress.
• Public preview link from day 1. You can poke at the site while it's being built.
• Daily WhatsApp updates. Catches problems early.
• Source code in your GitHub from day 1. No vendor lock-in.
• PageSpeed scores included in the deliverable. Means they actually care about performance, not just visuals.
• Post-launch support window in the contract. 7–30 days of free fixes after go-live.
• They've worked with someone in your industry before. Domain knowledge matters more than people admit.

Trade-offs nobody talks about

Big agency vs small studio vs freelancer

• Big agencies (50+ people) are best when budget is >₹10 lakh, you need account-management hand-holding, and you don't mind paying 30–50% overhead for project managers + sales people. Bad if you want speed or direct contact with the people doing the work.
• Small studios (3–10 people) hit the sweet spot for projects between ₹50k and ₹5 lakh. You usually talk to the founder directly. Fastest decisions, best price-to-quality ratio. The trade-off: their portfolio is narrower.
• Freelancers work for ₹10–50k brochure sites where you have detailed specs and don't need design help. Trade-off: one person = one point of failure. If they get sick, the project stalls.

India vs offshore (US / EU agencies hiring Indian dev shops)

Cutting out the middleman saves 40–60%. The "agency in San Francisco" you're paying ₹15 lakh is often subcontracting to a team in Bangalore. Go direct and you pay ₹5 lakh for the same work.

Indian agency vs Indian freelance on Upwork

Upwork is cheaper hourly but has higher risk: no NDA enforcement, no Indian-law contract, no recourse if work isn't delivered. A registered Indian agency with a GST number and a physical office is meaningfully safer for projects above ₹50k.

Final checklist before you sign

1. Written scope document listing every page and integration.
2. Fixed-quote price with milestone schedule.
3. Delivery date committed in writing.
4. IP transfer clause — code is yours.
5. Post-launch support window (7–30 days).
6. GST number on their proposal.
7. At least one reference client you can call.
8. A free mockup of the homepage before you pay anything.

If you're currently shortlisting agencies — we hit every green flag on this list. Send us a two-line message and we'll show you a free 48-hour mockup, a fixed quote, and a delivery date. No commitment.