Why is vetting an agency so important?
The web services market in Poland is a real jungle. Alongside professional agencies with years of experience, there are thousands of "freelancers" who watched a YouTube tutorial yesterday and today offer "websites from €135".
As a business owner, you face a dilemma: how do you tell a professional from an amateur? After all, both will show you a portfolio, both will promise a "modern, responsive website", and the price difference can be tenfold.
The problem is that you'll only discover the consequences of a bad choice months later - when the site doesn't rank, customers complain about slow loading, and you receive a letter from the data protection authority about a missing privacy policy.
This article was written so that you know what to look for before signing a contract. The point isn't to pick the most expensive offer - the point is to choose consciously.
Part I: Start with the agency's own website
1. The agency's website is its business card
It sounds trivial, but most clients skip this step. If an agency can't take care of its own website - how will it take care of yours?
What to check:
- Loading speed - open the agency's site on your phone on a weaker connection. Does it load in 2-3 seconds, or do you wait half a minute?
- Responsiveness - does everything work correctly on the phone? Does the menu hold together? Is the text readable without zooming?
- Basic legal elements - is there a privacy policy? A cookie banner with a real choice (not just "accept all")?
- SSL certificate - does the address start with
https://and does the browser show a padlock?
Red flag: The agency offers "professional, GDPR-compliant websites" but has no privacy policy of its own, or uses a free cookie banner with no reject option.
2. Check the source code (even if you're not a programmer)
You don't have to be a developer to catch the basic problems. Right-click on the agency's site → "View page source" and look for a few things:
Meta tags (in the <head> section):
<title>Agency name | Websites City</title>
<meta name="description" content="Description of the business...">
If all you see is <title>Home</title> or a missing meta description - that's a signal the agency doesn't care about SEO basics.
Bloated code (page builders):
Search the code for the phrases: elementor, divi, wpbakery, fl-builder. If you find hundreds of classes like elementor-widget-container, elementor-element-populated - the site is built on a page builder.
A page builder in itself isn't bad, but bloated code is bloated code. A professional agency should be able to optimize even an Elementor site, or build custom - without the ballast of thousands of unnecessary CSS classes.
Red flag: The source code has 50,000+ lines, and the site is just a business card with 5 subpages.
3. Performance test - Google PageSpeed Insights
Go to PageSpeed Insights and enter the agency's website address. Google will rate it on a 0-100 scale for mobile and desktop.
Interpreting the results:
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| 90-100 | Green - excellent |
| 50-89 | Orange - needs improvement |
| 0-49 | Red - serious problems |
What's acceptable:
- Desktop: minimum 80
- Mobile: minimum 60 (mobile is harder)
Red flag: The agency advertises "fast websites" and its own site scores 30 on mobile.
4. Structured data and Schema.org
This is the element that separates professionals from amateurs. Structured data (Schema) helps Google understand what a page is and display rich results in search (stars, FAQ, breadcrumbs).
How to check:
- Go to the Google Rich Results Test
- Enter the agency's website address
- See what Google detects
The minimum for an agency:
OrganizationorLocalBusiness- company dataWebSite- information about the siteBreadcrumbList- breadcrumb navigation
Bonus points:
FAQPage- a questions and answers sectionService- service descriptionsReview/AggregateRating- reviews
Red flag: The agency's site has no structured data at all, while "SEO optimization" is in its offer.
Part II: Verifying the portfolio and past work
5. Don't trust screenshots alone
The portfolio on an agency's website is often a curated set of screenshots. The problem is that:
- A screenshot may be from launch day - the site may have changed or disappeared since
- A picture won't show you loading speed or responsiveness
- You don't know whether the agency did the whole thing or just "helped with the graphics"
What to do:
- Visit the site from the portfolio - does it still exist? What does it look like today?
- Test it the same way as the agency's site - PageSpeed, mobile, SSL, privacy policy
- Check the footer - some agencies leave a "Built by: XYZ" link. If it's not there, you can ask the site owner
6. Ask about project details
A professional agency will gladly talk about a project. Ask:
- What was the scope of work? - was it a site from scratch or a redesign? Who did the graphics, who did the programming?
- How long did the project take? - a simple business card site is 2-4 weeks, an e-commerce store is 2-3 months minimum
- Was there documentation? - professionals create a requirements specification before starting
- What does maintenance look like? - does the client have support? Updates?
Red flag: The agency can't give details or says "it was a quick project, done in a week".
7. References and reviews
The portfolio is one thing, but what do the clients say?
Where to look:
- Google Business Profile - reviews are public and hard to manipulate
- LinkedIn - does the agency have recommendations?
- Clutch.co, GoodFirms - platforms with verified reviews
Red flag: The agency has been on the market for 5 years and has zero Google reviews.
Part III: Analyzing the offer and the contract
8. What does the quote include?
A professional quote is not "website - €805". It's a document that clearly defines:
Must have:
- Scope of work (how many subpages, what features)
- A schedule with milestones
- What's included in the price and what costs extra
- Who provides the content and photos
- How many revision rounds are included
- Payment terms
Should have:
- Information about the technology (WordPress, custom, Shopify?)
- Information about hosting and the domain
- Warranty and post-launch support terms
Red flag: The quote is one line in an email: "Company website - €670 net".
9. Contract and NDA
Every professional collaboration starts with a contract. The minimum is:
- A cooperation agreement - defines the rules of the collaboration, rates, payment terms
- An NDA (confidentiality agreement) - protects both sides
- A statement of work - defines the specific scope for the specific project
Important: The cooperation agreement alone is not binding for a specific project. It's the statement of work that defines exactly what is to be done, for what amount, and by when.
Red flag: The agency wants to start without a contract or says "we'll sign the contract once we're done".
10. Billing model: Fixed Price vs Time & Materials
There are two main models:
Fixed Price:
- A predetermined amount for a defined scope
- Good for simple projects with a clearly defined scope
- Risk: if the scope changes, there will be "additional costs"
Time & Materials:
- You pay for actual work time
- Good for complex projects where the scope may evolve
- Requires trust and regular reports
Red flag: The agency pushes only one model without understanding your project.
Part IV: Warning signs during the conversation
11. Promises that are too fast
"We'll do it in a week" - for a simple business card site, that may be true. For an e-commerce store? Impossible.
Realistic timelines:
- Business card site (5 subpages): 2-4 weeks
- Company website with a blog: 4-6 weeks
- E-commerce store: 8-16 weeks
- Web application: 3-6 months
12. No questions from their side
A professional agency will grill you with questions:
- Who are your customers?
- What are your business goals?
- Who runs your marketing?
- What content/photos do you have?
- Do you have a brand book?
Red flag: The agency quotes a price right away without asking for details.
13. No process
Ask: "What does your work process look like?"
A professional answer:
- Consultation and requirements gathering
- Documentation/specification
- Graphic design (mockups)
- Approval and revisions
- Programming
- Testing
- Deployment
- Training and documentation
- Support
Red flag: "We start right away, we'll show you when it's ready".
14. Time pressure
"This price is only valid until the end of the week" - a classic sales technique. A professional agency doesn't need pressure, because it has a queue of clients.
Part V: Checklist before signing the contract
Before you sign, make sure that:
The agency's website:
- [ ] Loads fast (PageSpeed > 60 mobile)
- [ ] Is responsive and works on a phone
- [ ] Has SSL (https://)
- [ ] Has a privacy policy and a cookie banner
- [ ] Has structured data (Schema.org)
Portfolio:
- [ ] The projects still exist online
- [ ] They can be tested (speed, mobile, SEO)
- [ ] The agency can talk about the details
Offer and contract:
- [ ] The quote includes a detailed scope of work
- [ ] There is a cooperation agreement + NDA
- [ ] There is a statement of work with a schedule
- [ ] Clear payment terms
- [ ] Defined warranty and support
The conversation:
- [ ] The agency asks questions about your business
- [ ] It has a clear work process
- [ ] Realistic timelines
- [ ] No time pressure
Check for yourself - the Website Mini-Audit
We've built a tool that lets you check the basic parameters of any website in 30 seconds - including the website of the agency you're considering.
What the Mini-Audit checks:
- SSL certificate and security
- Loading speed (PageSpeed API)
- Basic SEO and metadata
- Structured data (Schema.org)
- GDPR compliance (cookie banner)
- Page builder detection
This is not a tool for "catching" agencies making mistakes. It's a tool for making a conscious choice.
Summary
Choosing a web agency is a decision that will affect your business for years. A bad website isn't just lost money - it's lost customers, SEO problems, and legal risk related to GDPR.
You don't have to be an expert to vet an agency. All it takes is 30 minutes and this checklist.
Remember:
- The agency's website is its business card - if it's weak, yours will be too
- Don't trust screenshots - test the portfolio live
- A good agency asks questions and has a process
- A contract is the foundation - don't start without one
- The lowest price rarely means the best value
If you have questions or want to talk about your project - get in touch with us. The first consultation is free and comes with no obligations.
This article is not an attempt to discredit the competition. We believe an educated client is the best client - for both sides.
