A diagnosis before a design
The first conversation should establish the customer, commercial objective, current weaknesses and evidence of success. A designer who jumps directly to colours and page counts is beginning halfway through the problem.
A clear scope and division of responsibilities
You should know what is included, what content or access you must provide, how revisions work and what happens after launch. Ambiguity at the beginning normally becomes delay or disagreement later.
Words treated as part of the website
Design cannot rescue unclear copy. The service should account for messaging, structure, search intent and calls to action—whether the designer writes the content or works closely with whoever does.
Search foundations fitted from the outset
Titles, headings, internal links, service architecture, mobile performance and indexability should not arrive as an optional repair once the new site is already built.
Support that survives launch day
Confirm who maintains the website, handles backups, renewals and updates, and deals with faults. A local relationship is valuable when the person remains answerable after the launch applause has finished.