Will you use the site to dispense information? Do you merely want a Internet presence so customers can find you online? What sections do you want in your site? (e.g. About your company, company history, product pages, executive bios) Will you need to develop any special tools for users to interact with your site? Do you already have a logo that your site designer must incorporate in their design? About how many pages are you looking to have designed? Are they capable of adding any back-end functions (like blogs, shopping carts, galleries, etc.) to your design? Are they willing to work around components you've already had designed by someone else? If you don't have a company logo designed already, are they capable of designing one? What type of search engine optimization do they offer ?

Ask how long they have been in the business and who their current clients are. This would also be a good time to get some references. Have they won any Web design awards? Which ones? (It's a nice sign if they have, but don't be surprized if they haven't. There are only so many Web design awards to go around.) If they cannot finish the project by the agreed-upon date, will they charge extra fees to finish it? Your contract should say so. Will they be taking on other projects while working on yours? If your project is complicated, you don't want someone who may be overextending. A website professional's own home page will give you enough insight to save you the time and cost of searching around too much. Their site should tell you where they are located and exactly what type of services they provide.