Techvest There are a lot of people in Zimbabwe who will build you a website. The difference between the good outcome and the bad one is rarely visible in the pitch — both look similar over WhatsApp, and both will show you a portfolio.
The difference shows up in month eight, when you need a price changed and nobody replies.
Here is how to tell them apart before you pay a deposit.
The twelve questions
Ask all of these. Note which ones produce a specific answer and which produce a deflection. The pattern matters more than any individual answer.
1. Can I see three live sites you built?
Live URLs, not screenshots, not a PDF. Open them on your phone in front of them. Check they load quickly, that the menu works, that the contact form actually sends. A portfolio image proves someone can use design software. A live URL proves they shipped.
2. Who owns the domain and the code when we’re finished?
The answer should be “you do”, without hesitation. If the domain is registered in their name because it is “part of the package”, that is how businesses end up unable to leave. See our note on domain ownership.
3. What is the total cost for the first twelve months?
Not the build price. The build, plus hosting, plus domain, plus business email, plus any care plan, for a full year. Get one number. This question alone separates transparent quotes from ones designed to look cheap.
4. Is this a template or a custom design?
Neither answer is wrong — but the price should match. Paying custom rates for a template is the most common way people overpay in this market.
5. Who writes the words?
Most quotes assume you will. Most clients then take three months to produce twelve pages of copy, and the project sits idle. Decide upfront, and price it.
6. What happens when I want to change something after launch?
Can you edit it yourself? Is there a content management system? If not, what does an edit cost and how fast is it? A site you cannot update is a brochure that expires.
7. What is the launch date?
A specific date, in writing. “A few weeks” is not a date. If the timeline slips, you want to be able to point at something.
8. What are the payment milestones?
Roughly half up front and half on launch is normal and fair. All of it upfront is not — you would be giving away every bit of leverage you have.
9. Will it work properly on a phone?
Most Zimbabwean traffic is mobile, often on constrained data. Ask them to open one of their existing sites on your phone, on mobile data, not their office WiFi. Watch how long it takes.
10. What have you done about search?
Ask what specifically. “We do SEO” is not an answer. “We’ll structure the pages around what your customers search for, write proper title tags and get you set up on Google Business Profile” is.
11. What happens if you become unavailable?
Awkward, and worth asking. Freelancers take jobs abroad. Small agencies dissolve. If the answer is “that won’t happen”, press once more. What you want to hear is that the code is standard, the accounts are in your name, and another developer could pick it up.
12. Can I speak to a client you worked with over a year ago?
Anyone can produce a happy client from last month. A client from eighteen months ago tells you what the relationship is like once the invoice is paid.
Warning signs in a quote
A price with no scope. “Website: US$400” tells you nothing. How many pages? Custom or template? Who writes the content? What is included after launch?
Unlimited anything. “Unlimited revisions” and “unlimited pages” are either untrue or priced defensively. Real scope has edges.
Pressure on timing. A discount that expires on Friday is a sales tactic, not a business decision.
No written scope at all. If the entire agreement lives in a WhatsApp thread, disagreements later have no reference point. It does not need to be a legal contract — a one-page written scope is enough.
Being talked out of owning things. Any resistance to putting the domain and hosting in your name is disqualifying on its own.
Freelancer or agency?
Both work. They fail differently.
A freelancer is usually cheaper, often more personally invested, and can be genuinely excellent. The risk is continuity — one person, one set of commitments, and no cover if they get a job in Dubai. Mitigate it by insisting on standard technology and accounts in your name.
An agency costs more and should survive one person leaving. The risk is that you become a small client, and small clients get slow responses. Mitigate it by asking who specifically will be working on your project and whether you can contact them directly.
The one thing neither structure fixes is care. Ask the eighteen-month-client question.
What we would say about ourselves
We are not the cheapest option in Harare, and if a US$150 template site is genuinely what you need, a template shop will serve you better than we will. We would rather tell you that than sell you something oversized.
Where we are worth the money: custom design rather than themes, builds that load fast on mobile data, real search groundwork rather than a checkbox, and the fact that we build with AI throughout — which is why our timelines and quotes tend to surprise people in the right direction. Everything we ship is reviewed by senior engineers before it reaches you.
You can check all twelve questions against us. Eleven live sites are here, the domain and code go in your name, and the first conversation costs nothing.
Whoever you end up choosing — ask the twelve questions. The good ones will not mind.
Common questions
What should I ask a web designer before hiring them?
Ask for three live URLs you can open yourself, who will own the domain and code, what the total first-year cost is including hosting and email, what happens if you want changes after launch, and what the timeline is with a specific launch date. Vague answers to any of these are the warning sign.
Is it better to hire a freelancer or an agency in Zimbabwe?
A freelancer is usually cheaper and can be excellent, but carries continuity risk — if they take a job abroad, your site has no one maintaining it. An agency costs more but should survive one person leaving. Ask either one directly what happens to your site if they become unavailable.
How long should a business website take to build?
A focused business website should take two to six weeks from brief to launch. Longer than that usually means the project stalled waiting for content from the client rather than development taking that long.
Should I pay a deposit for a website?
A deposit of 40 to 50 percent is standard and reasonable. Paying 100 percent upfront is not — you lose all leverage. Agree milestones in writing, with a final payment due on launch.