How to tell if a web agency will still be around in two years

Most website relationships end at launch, whether either side planned it that way or not. The invoice gets paid, the agency moves to the next client, and the business is left with a site nobody on their team fully understands. You can usually spot which kind of relationship you're getting into before you sign anything, if you know what to look for.

Ask who actually owns the code

If your site is built entirely inside a proprietary page builder or a locked platform, you don't fully own it, no matter whose name is on the invoice. Ask directly: can you take this codebase to another developer if you needed to. A confident yes is a good sign. Hesitation, or an answer that routes back through the platform they're selling, is worth noting.

Ask what happens after go-live

Some agencies quote a build and nothing else, and that's a legitimate business model as long as it's clear upfront. The problem is when it isn't clear, and a business discovers three months post-launch that there's no one to call about a broken form or an outdated price. Ask specifically what support looks like after launch, and get it in writing.

Notice whether they push back

An agency that agrees with every idea you bring them, no matter how it affects performance, scope, or long-term cost, isn't doing you a favor. The ones worth working with will tell you when a request is going to cause problems down the line, even if it's not what you wanted to hear in the meeting.

Check if you can reach an actual person

Try emailing a question before you sign anything, not after. How fast you hear back, and whether the reply sounds like a person who understands your project, tells you more than anything in a pitch deck.

We wrote a longer breakdown of what tends to separate a lasting partnership from a one-off build on the comparison page.