The vetting checklist we wish every client used: what to ask, what to avoid, and how to compare quotes from Kenyan developers fairly.
Choosing the wrong web developer costs Kenyan businesses more than money — it costs months of delays, a site nobody can update, and a second painful rebuild. This guide gives you a practical vetting process: the questions that separate professionals from amateurs, the red flags that predict failure, and how to compare quotes so you're comparing like for like.
Most Kenyan business owners jump straight to comparing developers when they should first define the deliverable. A one-page brochure site, a 10-page marketing site, and a booking platform with M-Pesa payments are three different projects — and a quote only means something if you know which one you asked for.
Write down, in one paragraph: who the website serves, what you want visitors to do (call you, book, buy, enquire), and what you'll need to update yourself. That paragraph is your brief, and every developer you interview should be able to repeat it back to you before quoting.
One: Do you have live examples of sites you built for businesses like mine — and can I contact those clients? Two: Do you write the content, or do I need to supply it? Three: Who owns the code, domain and hosting after handover? Four: What happens after launch — do you offer maintenance, and at what cost? Five: How will the site rank on Google in Kenya — do you do SEO as part of the build? Six: How fast will the site load on a phone on a slow connection? Seven: What does your quote include and exclude, item by item?
A professional answers all seven clearly, in writing. A developer who dodges, overpromises or gives you a single-sentence quote is usually the one who under-delivers.
The first red flag is a price with no scope — 'website from KES 15,000' with nothing listed for pages, features or revisions. The second is no portfolio, or a portfolio of screenshots you can't visit. The third is template denial: promising 'custom design' but delivering a stock WordPress theme with your logo swapped in.
The fourth — and the one that hurts most later — is no handover plan. If the developer refuses to explain the domain registrar, hosting panel or content editor, you're being locked in. Finally, beware of anyone who guarantees page one on Google. That's not a signal of skill, it's a signal they'll sell you black-hat tactics that get your site penalized.
Turn every quote into the same table before comparing: design, development, mobile responsiveness, SEO setup, content, training, and the first year of hosting/domain/email. A KES 30,000 quote that includes all of the above beats a KES 25,000 quote that doesn't, every time.
Also compare the people, not just the prices. A solo freelancer with a strong portfolio and clear process can outdeliver an agency that assigns your project to an intern. Ask who will actually do the work and how you communicate — WhatsApp, email, a project board? Decide in advance what your budget buys: the cheapest build is rarely the cheapest over two years.
A professional handover includes: the site live on your own domain; logins for hosting, domain and the content editor in your name (or managed for you with clear terms); a 30–60 minute training session (or recorded videos) on updating your content; documentation of what was built; and a written maintenance option with prices.
If you walk away from the project without those, you don't own your website — you're renting a locked box. If a developer hesitates to hand over access, treat it as a deal-breaker.
For a simple brochure, a vetted freelancer is a legitimate choice — ask for client references and a maintenance plan. The moment your site needs to generate leads, take payments or integrate with your operations, you want a team with design, development, hosting and SEO under one roof, because the failure point in most Kenyan projects isn't the code — it's the gap between who builds and who maintains.
At Mwenaro Labs we build, host, maintain and market the sites we take on — one accountable partner, fixed quotes, training included, and your domain and data in your name. If you'd like a like-for-like quote against any other proposal you have, send us the brief you used with them and we'll match scope for scope.
For a simple brochure site, a vetted freelancer with references and a maintenance plan can work well. For lead generation, payments or integrations, choose a team with design, development, hosting and maintenance under one roof — the gap between who builds and who maintains is where most projects fail.
Visit the live sites and test them on your phone on mobile data. Ask for two client references and call them — ask how revisions were handled, whether the site performs, and whether handover included full access.
Not necessarily — a template-based one-pager at that price can be legitimate for a very small business. It's a red flag only if it comes with no scope, no handover, no SEO and no maintenance plan. Always ask for line-item pricing.
You should — the code, domain and hosting belong to you. Confirm ownership and access transfer in writing before paying. If a developer hesitates to hand over credentials or code, that's a deal-breaker.
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