Local service guide
Website Design in Billings, MT: Hiring Guide
Arrange Website Design in Billings by giving bidders the same customer task, page list and required features. Compare written deliverables, project charges, ongoing costs and handover terms. Include a city business-license check, accessibility testing and a Montana privacy applicability review before approving customer-data or advertising integrations. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Prepare a brief and check the business behind the quote
Choose the action you want customers to complete: find your hours, request an estimate, book an appointment or buy a product. Describe the information customers should supply and the confirmation they should receive. Give bidders the same page list and feature requirements so you can compare their proposed work.
Billings requires a business license for anyone conducting business in the city or based there. The city includes home businesses and businesses located outside city limits that conduct business within the city. Its license records business-tax payment. Check that credential, then judge the designer's work through a separate demonstration. [1]
Have each shortlisted designer walk through a relevant live project on a phone, explain their contribution and demonstrate an update to business information. Discuss who will prepare copy, photographs and product details. For a redesign, supply an inventory of existing content and page addresses you want to retain.
Separate project charges from domain renewal, hosting, subscriptions and support. Agree on revision limits, change-request pricing and milestones tied to your content deadlines. Put optional features in a later phase if you need to protect an opening date.
Set accessibility acceptance criteria
The U.S. Department of Justice says ADA requirements apply to goods and services that businesses open to the public offer online. Its business guidance identifies poor contrast, missing image alternatives, inaccessible forms and mouse-only navigation as barriers. Include accessibility work in the proposal and have the designer name the standard and testing methods they will use. [4]
Specify manual checks of keyboard navigation, text zoom, form labels and understandable error messages. Include the complete customer journey through any external booking or checkout service. The Department of Justice recommends pairing manual checks with automated tools and warns that a clean automated report does not establish accessibility. [4]
Require a record of findings and corrections before acceptance. During the demonstration, try completing the main customer task without a mouse. Agree who will receive accessibility reports after launch and how the designer will price subsequent corrections. [4]
Resolve privacy scope and account responsibilities
Montana's 2025 code sets one privacy-law applicability route at 25,000 consumers, excluding personal data processed solely to complete payment transactions. Another route requires at least 15,000 consumers and more than 25% of gross revenue from personal-data sales. Sections 30-14-2811, 30-14-2818 and 30-14-2819 have broader applicability. Have an adviser assess coverage and exemptions against your business's data practices. [3] [2]
For covered controllers, Montana's Department of Justice describes a homepage privacy hyperlink, notice-update information and mechanisms for consumers to exercise their rights. It also describes disclosures and opt-outs for personal-data sales or targeted advertising. Inventory forms, analytics and advertising services, then give the designer an approved list of implementation requirements. [2]
The state's guidance distinguishes controllers, who determine the purpose and means of processing personal data, from processors, who process it on a controller's behalf. It also identifies requirements for their contracts. Include the designer's proposed access to customer data in your adviser's review. [2]
Establish core accounts using your business email and grant appropriate access. Put domain control, administrator access, transfer terms and rights to copy, images and custom code in writing. Name the person responsible for each renewal and retain an account inventory at handover.
Agree on launch testing and handover
Combine functional acceptance checks with the manual and automated accessibility checks recommended by the Department of Justice. Test approved content, phone layouts, contact links, form delivery and booking or purchase completion. For a redesign, include retained content and changed page addresses in the test plan. [4]
Assign someone to inspect the deployed pages for rendered content, crawlability, indexability and any structured data. Include a comparison of structured data with visible content and a review of crawler restrictions in their deliverables. Record findings and corrections before accepting the search setup.
Finish with an editing demonstration, backup and recovery instructions, and written support terms. Identify who signs off on launch, which defects the designer must correct and the correction deadline. Separate included maintenance from future content changes so you know what you are buying.
Montana privacy-law consumer thresholds
Local details that affect your job
Use Billings Finance to resolve provider licensing
Billings requires a business license on or before business commences. Its guidance includes outside-city businesses conducting activity within the city. Check the applicable license with your shortlisted provider; take unresolved remote-provider questions to city Finance. Applicants can register through the city's online portal or visit Finance at 316 North 26th Street. The license establishes tax payment, so retain a separate review of design work. [1]
Scope features against Montana's amended privacy rules
Montana's Department of Justice says the privacy-law amendments took effect October 1, 2025. The statewide applicability rules cover specified businesses operating in Montana or targeting residents, with thresholds for most provisions and broader coverage for three sections. Before approving analytics or advertising integrations, have an adviser assess your data practices and exemptions. Use that assessment to commission the applicable notices, rights-request mechanisms and opt-out controls. [2] [3]
Choose the scope around your customer task
| Your situation | Scope to request | Question before hiring |
|---|---|---|
| Customers need hours and contact details | Editable business information and phone-layout testing | Can you demonstrate how I update the details? |
| Customers book appointments | Booking setup and manual accessibility checks | Who tests the complete booking journey? |
| Customers buy products | Catalog, checkout, notifications and data-flow review | Who manages accounts and reviews customer-data responsibilities? |
| You are replacing a site | Content inventory, migration and changed-address testing | Which content and page addresses will you retain? |
| You plan targeted advertising | Privacy applicability review and any required disclosures and opt-outs | Who determines coverage and implements the controls? |
Your hiring checklist
- Write the customer task, page list and required integrations.
- Assign content preparation and identify content to retain during a redesign.
- Compare project charges, recurring costs, revisions and change-request terms.
- Resolve the applicable Billings business-license requirement.
- Document account control, asset rights and transfer terms.
- Include accessibility acceptance criteria and an approved privacy implementation brief.
- Assign deployed-page search checks and record launch-test corrections.
- Obtain editing training, recovery instructions and support terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I compare website-design prices?
Give bidders the same brief and compare included content work, integrations, revisions, testing and handover alongside the project total. Get recurring charges and change-request terms in writing. Resolve open responsibilities before accepting the quote.
Does a Billings business license establish design competence?
The city describes its license as evidence of business-tax payment. Assess design competence through relevant live work, a customer-task demonstration and a written proposal. City Finance can address licensing questions about an outside or remote provider. [1]
Do small websites have identical Montana privacy obligations?
The statute sets consumer-count and revenue thresholds for most provisions, while three sections have broader applicability. Have an adviser review your business's data practices and exemptions before specifying technical controls. Website size alone does not answer the statutory coverage questions. [2] [3]
Can I accept an automated accessibility report as proof?
The Department of Justice cautions that a clean report does not establish accessibility and recommends combining automated tools with manual checks. Include keyboard use, forms and the main customer task in acceptance testing, with a record of corrections. [4]
Sources and scope
This guide combines the sources below with practical planning guidance. Figures apply to the stated geography and period; request a written quote for your property.