We answer in writing what you should ask any agency
In our guide on how to choose a web design or SEO agency, we recommend asking 20 questions at the first meeting and getting the answers in writing. NOR studio is an agency too, so here are ours.
They are the same questions, in the same order. Anything that depends on the project, such as the scope or the schedule, is set out in writing in the proposal.
Experience and way of working
1. Can I see websites you have published and talk to 2 clients?
The websites, yes: each case in our portfolio links to the live website, such as those for Sara T. and Maestrat Global. We do not pass on our clients’ contact details. What we do publish, with their permission, are their named testimonials, such as Sara T.’s or that of the CEO of Futura Tickets.
2. What do you need to know about my business?
What you sell, to whom, how clients reach you today and what you want to achieve in 6 months. With your average fee and your close rate, we work out what a new client is worth to you. You can get ahead with the customer value calculator.
3. Who will do the work and who will be my point of contact?
We will, the two of us: Eliseu talks to you and handles strategy and design, and Ferran handles development and data. If something specialised is needed, such as a photographer, we subcontract it ourselves and tell you beforehand.
4. How will you inform me of each change to the website?
Every change is logged with its date. We send you a summary at the end of each project phase and every month during maintenance.
Results, measurement and techniques
5. What results do you expect and in what time frame?
The first changes to your Google Business Profile and local SEO are usually noticeable within weeks, and organic rankings in competitive sectors take months. We do not promise rankings: before we start, we walk you through it using your data, as we say in our FAQs. What we do guarantee is the diagnosis: if we do not find at least 10 actionable issues with real impact on your business, we refund your money.
6. Where does the data in your reports come from?
From your Search Console and your Google Analytics, from Google’s speed measurements and from our AI visibility engine (ChatGPT and Perplexity). We review Gemini and Google’s AI answers by hand, as we explain on our GEO service page.
7. How will you get links?
We do not buy links. We work on genuine mentions: directories, professional and trade associations, local press and suppliers.
8. Do you have any agreement with Google?
We have no agreement with Google. Google does not accept money to include websites or to rank them, as it explains in its guide to hiring an SEO.
9. What will you do so that I appear in AI answers?
We check that your website states clearly what you do, for whom and where, and that it does not block AI crawlers. Then we work on the sources AI tools cite in your sector: Google Business Profile, directories, professional associations, reviews and local press. We do not sell you an llms.txt file: as our GEO service page explains, Google says it is not needed and OpenAI and Perplexity do not ask for one.
Ownership and access
10. In whose name will you register the domain?
In your name, or your company’s. Domain, website, copy, images and accounts are in your name from day one, as we say on our web design page.
11. Which account will you use to create Search Console, Analytics and the Business Profile?
Yours. Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Analytics and your Google Business Profile are in your name, and we set them up before the website goes live.
12. Will I have administrator access to the website and the hosting?
Yes, whatever it is built with. In Framer, the project is in your account; in WordPress, you have an administrator user and the hosting is in your name. In code, the repository and Cloudflare are in your name and we work as guests.
13. Will you assign me the rights to the design and the code in writing?
Yes, in the contract. We assign you the design and the code exclusively, worldwide and with no time limit, once the project has been paid for.
14. Which third-party components does it use and in whose name are their licences?
We give you the list of templates, plugins, fonts and photos, each with a licence in your name or a free licence.
Contract, data and exit
15. Will we sign a data processing agreement?
Yes, whenever we have access to your clients’ personal data. That is what Article 28 of the GDPR requires.
16. What minimum term, renewal and notice period does the contract have?
The monthly plans have no minimum term: they renew month by month. To leave, you just give us 30 days’ notice.
17. What does the price include and what is charged separately?
What is included is set out in writing in the proposal, with 2 rounds of revisions per phase. Photos, copy we do not write ourselves, third-party licences and ad spend are charged separately. We look after maintenance whatever the website is built with, and we tell you what it includes and what it costs before we start.
18. Will you put a link to your website in my footer?
Only if you want one, and you can remove it whenever you like.
19. If we part ways, what will you hand over and how quickly?
You take everything with you: the domain, the website, the copy, the images and the accounts are already in your name. We hand over the access details and the backups within 10 working days.
20. If my website already ranks, how will you keep the URLs?
Before changing anything, we make an inventory of the URLs that get visits or links and prepare 301 redirects to their new equivalents. Then we keep an eye on the following weeks, because rankings may fluctuate. We did it this way on the Maestrat Global website and on Zoundroom, our own project.