Install the Cottlink app for faster access.
A good website can bring a Nakuru business steady enquiries from Google, WhatsApp and social media. A poor one costs money, loads slowly on phones and is hard to update. Nakuru has a growing number of freelance designers and small agencies, so the challenge is not finding someone, it is choosing the right one. This guide shows you how to compare web designers in Nakuru, what to ask, and how to avoid the most common mistakes. Decide what kind of website you need Before you contact anyone, be clear about the job. Quotes vary widely because "a website" can mean very different things. Simple business site: a few pages (home, services, about, contact) with your phone number, WhatsApp button and location map. Suits salons, hotels, clinics and service businesses. Online shop: product pages, a cart and payment options such as M-Pesa or card. Needs more setup and more ongoing work. Booking site: lets customers pick a date or time slot, useful for hotels, spas and event venues. Portfolio: photos and case studies for photographers, architects, interior designers and creatives. Write down your must-have pages and features. This one page will make every quote easier to compare. What to look for in a Nakuru web designer 1. A real portfolio you can click Ask for links to live websites they built, not just screenshots. Open each one on your phone. Does it load quickly? Is the phone number easy to tap? Can you find the location and prices without hunting? 2. Mobile-first design Most of your visitors will arrive on a smartphone, often on mobile data. The designer should test on phones and keep pages light. 3. Basic SEO built in Your site should have a unique page title and description for each page, clear headings, your town in the right places (for example "Nakuru" or "Milimani, Nakuru"), and fast-loading images. Our guide on why local SEO matters for service businesses in Kenya explains why this matters. 4. You own the domain and hosting Make sure your domain (for example yourbusiness.co.ke) is registered in your name or your company's name, and that you get the login details. Many businesses lose their site when a relationship with a designer ends because they never owned the account. 5. You can edit it yourself Ask whether you will be able to change prices, photos and opening hours yourself, and whether they will show you how. 6. Clear support after launch Who fixes problems after the site goes live? Is there a monthly fee for updates, backups and security, or do you pay per job? Questions to ask before you pay Can you send me three live websites you built for businesses like mine? What exactly is included in this quote, page by page? How many rounds of changes are included? How long will it take, and what do you need from me? Whose name will the domain and hosting be registered in? What are the yearly costs for domain and hosting after the first year? Will the site be set up for Google, with page titles and descriptions? Will you train me to update it? Get the answers in writing, and agree on a payment schedule tied to milestones, such as a deposit to start and the balance at launch. Red flags No live examples, or examples that no longer load. The designer registers the domain in their own name and will not transfer it. A price with no breakdown of what is included. Full payment upfront for a large project. Promises of "number one on Google" in a few days. No honest designer can guarantee rankings. Where to find web designers in Nakuru Start with designers and agencies listed under Web Design & Development on Cottlink. If you also need a logo or branded materials, look under Graphic Design, and for ads and social media under Digital Marketing. Check each profile's location, services and contact details, then shortlist two or three and compare quotes using the questions above. Do you need a website at all? Not every small business needs a full website on day one. A complete directory profile with your services, location, phone and WhatsApp