Specialist vs generalist
A specialist studio and a generalist agency are fundamentally different businesses, even if both produce websites. A generalist agency wants to sell you a website and then sell you the SEO, the Google Ads, the social media content and the brand strategy. A studio that only builds websites has no incentive to create those dependencies. The work is either good enough to speak for itself or it is not.
For an established business buying a website as a commercial investment, that distinction matters more than the agency's awards wall.
Questions worth asking before signing
Who will actually be working on the project? The person presenting the work and the person building the site are often different people. Ask directly who you will be talking to week to week and who will be doing the design and build. A studio where the person you meet is the person doing the work is a different experience from one where the pitch team and the delivery team do not overlap.
How many active projects does the studio run at once? A studio managing thirty active projects has a different level of attention per client than one running eight. Ask, and judge the answer against what you know about the team size.
What does handover look like? A site built without proper training leaves a business permanently dependent on the studio for updates its own team should be able to make. Ask whether handover is a defined deliverable with time allocated, or an afterthought.
What happens after launch? Bugs surface after sites go live. Understand whether there is a warranty period, what it covers and what ongoing support looks like beyond it.
What certifications tell you
A Certified Webflow Partner designation means the studio has demonstrated competence in Webflow to Webflow's own standard and has access to partner-level resources and support. A Shopify Partner designation means the same for Shopify. These are not guarantees of quality but they are evidence of a genuine working relationship with the platform and a level of verified experience. A studio claiming to build in Webflow without a partner listing is worth questioning.
What to look for in a portfolio
Published, live work. Not mockups. Find the actual sites in a browser and assess them as your customers would: do they load fast, do they communicate clearly, do they make you want to take action? An impressive-looking portfolio screenshot is not the same as an impressive performing site.
Look for evidence that the studio has worked with businesses comparable to yours in size and commercial seriousness. A studio that builds sites for startups has a different understanding of what an established business needs.
Frequently asked questions
How many agencies should I brief?
Two or three is enough. More than that and the process becomes an exercise in managing briefing conversations rather than finding the right studio. Shortlist on portfolio and fit, then brief a small number.
Is a local NZ agency better than an offshore one?
For an established NZ business, local tends to produce better outcomes. Time zones, cultural context and the ability to meet in person all matter in a project with a complex brief. Offshore builds tend to work better when the scope is very tightly defined and requires minimal back-and-forth judgment calls.
Does partner certification guarantee quality?
It does not guarantee quality but it is a meaningful signal. It confirms the studio actively uses the platform and has met the platform's own certification requirements. A certified partner is more likely to build correctly and less likely to implement workarounds that cause problems later.
How do I assess whether a studio's past work is actually good?
Load the live sites in a browser. Check how fast they load. See how clearly they communicate what the business does and why a visitor should take action. Check them on mobile. A site that looks good in a screenshot and performs poorly in a browser is a preview of what you might receive.
