How to Choose a Web Developer in South Africa (Without Getting Burnt)
Six questions every South African business should ask before hiring a web developer — and the red flags that should make you walk away.
Choosing the wrong web developer can cost you a year. Choosing the right one can compound for a decade. Here's how to tell them apart.
1. Ask to see live, recent work
Not screenshots. Live URLs you can click. Open them on your phone. Are they fast? Do they look as good as the case-study image? Is the developer's name actually associated with them (check the footer or ask for a reference)?
2. Ask who you'll talk to after launch
The biggest difference between a R3,000 freelancer and a real agency isn't the build — it's what happens on day 31, when your form stops sending emails or your hosting renews unexpectedly. Make sure there's a real support process.
3. Ask about ownership
You should own:
- →Your domain name (registered in *your* name, not theirs)
- →Your hosting account (or a clear migration path)
- →Your source code and content
If any of these are "held" by the agency, walk away. It's not a service — it's a hostage situation.
4. Ask how they handle SEO
Every site they build should ship with on-page SEO basics: meta titles and descriptions, structured data, sitemap, robots.txt, mobile responsiveness, and fast load times. If the answer is "SEO is extra," that's a developer who hasn't built for the modern web in five years.
5. Ask about South African specifics
A developer building for the South African market should know:
- →Which payment gateways suit your business (PayFast, Peach, Yoco, Ozow, Stripe via SA entities)
- →How to optimise for 4G mobile networks
- →POPIA basics for forms and analytics
- →Hosting that's actually fast for SA users
6. Ask for a written scope
Verbal agreements end in disputes. A written scope should list pages, features, revisions, timeline, payment milestones, and what's explicitly *not* included.
Red flags to walk away from
- →"I'll have it done by Friday" for a real build
- →No portfolio or only design mockups
- →Demands 100% payment upfront
- →Won't put pricing in writing
- →Builds only in one drag-and-drop tool they happen to resell
Ready for a developer who answers all six questions in writing? Start a conversation here.