How to Choose a Web Development Company in India: 15-Point Checklist

India has tens of thousands of web development companies, and from the outside they all look the same: a portfolio page, a services list, and five-star testimonials. Yet project outcomes range from excellent to catastrophic. After rescuing dozens of failed projects started elsewhere, we have compiled the checklist we wish every client had used the first time.

Verify the work (points 1–4)

• 1. Ask for live URLs, not screenshots. Screenshots hide slow load times, broken mobile layouts, and abandoned sites. Visit the actual websites.
• 2. Run their portfolio through PageSpeed Insights. Google's free tool shows you in 30 seconds whether they build fast websites or slow ones. Scores consistently under 70 predict your future.
• 3. Check if portfolio sites are still online and maintained. Dead links in a portfolio mean short client relationships.
• 4. Ask which team members built each showcased project. Agencies routinely showcase work done by people who left years ago — or work they never did at all.

Verify the company (points 5–8)

• 5. Confirm legal registration. A registered LLP or Pvt Ltd with a GST number has something to lose. A WhatsApp number does not.
• 6. Meet the actual developers on video. Not just the sales lead. If they will not put engineers in front of you before signing, the engineers may not exist.
• 7. Check how long they have existed. Agencies under a year old are not automatically bad, but treat glowing five-year-old testimonials on a one-year-old company with suspicion.
• 8. Look for a physical address you can verify. Google Maps, street view, business profile. Real companies exist somewhere.

Verify the terms (points 9–12)

• 9. Who owns the code, domain, and hosting? The only acceptable answer is: you. More projects are held hostage over this than any other issue.
• 10. Get itemised, fixed pricing. "It depends" after you have shared full requirements means they are pricing your budget, not your project.
• 11. Milestone payments tied to demos. 20–30% upfront is normal. 50%+ upfront from an unproven vendor is how deposits disappear.
• 12. Support terms in writing. What is included free for how long, and what does change-work cost after launch?

Verify the process (points 13–15)

• 13. Ask to see a project plan from a past project. Real agencies have real artifacts: timelines, milestone docs, staging links.
• 14. Ask how often you will see working software. The right answer is weekly. "We will show you when it is ready" is how three-month projects become nine-month disasters.
• 15. Ask what happens when you request changes. A mature answer describes a change-request process with transparent pricing — not "no problem, anything you want" (which becomes a billing dispute later).

The three loudest red flags

If you only remember three things: walk away from anyone who (1) refuses video calls with engineers, (2) wants half the money before showing anything, or (3) cannot show you a live, fast website they built this year.

Using the checklist

No agency is perfect on all 15 points, but a good one is comfortable being asked. The vendors who get defensive at these questions are the ones the checklist exists to catch. We are happy to answer all 15 about our own work — that willingness is itself the signal.

Evaluating agencies right now? Send us your requirements and put us through the checklist — worst case, you will have a solid quote to compare others against.