Local service guide
Website Design in Burnaby: Scope and Hiring Guide
Arrange Website Design in Burnaby by giving each designer the same written brief: the customer action, page list, content responsibilities, integrations and handover requirements. Compare itemized quotes and choose someone who can demonstrate your proposed enquiry, booking or purchase process. Include applicable B.C. privacy requirements for customer information and distance-sales requirements for consumer checkout before approving the scope. [2] [3]
Define the customer task and project scope
Start with the action a visitor should complete: request an estimate, reserve an appointment, buy a product or find your premises. Describe a sample journey from the opening page to the confirmation message. For bookings, decide whether staff approve requests or customers reserve available appointments themselves.
Your project scope is the written list of deliverables, responsibilities and acceptance checks. Include pages, photographs, copywriting, integrations, migration and training. Name the person who approves designs and supplies missing content. Have the designer explain how delayed approvals affect the proposed launch date.
For an online store serving consumers, add checkout information to that scope. Consumer Protection BC identifies required disclosures including seller identity, descriptions of goods or services, itemized prices, additional costs, payment terms and return or cancellation policies. Assign responsibility for preparing the terms and implementing them. [2]
Compare quotes and demonstrate the proposed work
Request an itemized project quote and a separate schedule of recurring charges. Specify the currency and ask the designer to identify applicable taxes, exclusions and optional work. Compare the total for your chosen scope, then consider whether you can postpone optional copywriting, booking features or integrations.
Request examples of comparable work and ask what the designer contributed. During a demonstration, try the menu and customer journey on your phone. Include keyboard access, readable text, labelled forms and useful error messages in your acceptance checks. Have the designer explain how they will test each item.
For a redesign, inventory existing pages and agree which addresses to retain or redirect. Include a backup, launch plan and recovery procedure. Discuss business email before authorizing domain-setting changes. Tie payment milestones to work you can inspect, such as an approved layout, working preview and completed handover.
Coordinate the launch with Burnaby licensing
Burnaby requires a valid business licence for businesses in the city, including commercial and home-based operations. The City advises new businesses to confirm that their proposed location complies with its Zoning Bylaw before signing a lease or applying for a licence. Confirm your operating arrangements before publishing a new address, opening date or on-site service. [1]
Request business licence details from a locally based designer, then assess their portfolio and technical proposal separately. For your own new premises, check whether open permits prevent the City from processing the business licence application. Keep location-dependent bookings and launch announcements subject to confirmed approvals. [1]
Plan forms, privacy and consumer checkout
B.C.'s Personal Information Protection Act applies subject to its application provisions and exceptions. It requires an organization to designate someone responsible for compliance and make that person's position title and contact information public. It also requires reasonable security arrangements for personal information in the organization's custody or control. Include the privacy contact and discuss access controls with your designer. [3]
List each form field, its purpose, its destination and the staff who need access. Section 10 addresses notification of collection purposes, with stated exceptions. Section 7 limits requiring consent to collect, use or disclose personal information beyond what is necessary to supply a product or service. Review collection wording and the consent approach before launch. [3]
Consumer Protection BC says distance-sales rules apply to B.C.-based businesses and businesses dealing with B.C. consumers. Consumers must have an opportunity to review the full contract before completing the sale. Have the designer demonstrate the disclosures, review step and subsequent contract delivery. Have a lawyer review the terms; the regulator describes its guidance as an overview rather than a complete list of obligations. [2]
Accept the site after testing and handover
Arrange to hold domain, hosting and payment accounts in your business's name. Agree on the designer's access and when to remove it. Record which files, content, licences and administrative permissions you will receive, including restrictions on moving the site to another provider.
Submit a test enquiry and confirm that the intended employee receives it. Test booking confirmations or purchases, failed transactions and the agreed cancellation process. For covered consumer distance sales, check that the customer receives the required contract information within the regulator's stated deadline. [2]
Have the employee who will maintain the site demonstrate a routine edit. Obtain backup instructions, renewal dates and a named support contact. Separate included defect fixes from chargeable future changes, and record how you will request and approve extra work.
B.C. distance-sales deadlines for store operations
Local details that affect your job
Limit overlapping home-business appointments
Burnaby limits on-site sales and client services for home-based businesses to one customer and one customer vehicle at any one time. If you operate from home, configure booking availability around that restriction. Confirm your proposed activity with Licensing before offering overlapping appointments. [1]
Check open permits before announcing a new location
The City says it cannot process business licence applications for locations with active or open permits. It recommends calling the building department at 604-294-7130 before applying. Confirm the status of a new shop or office before approving an opening announcement or accepting location-dependent bookings. [1]
Include contract delivery in a B.C. consumer store
For covered distance-sales contracts, Consumer Protection BC says businesses must provide customers with a contract copy within 15 days of entering into the contract. Include delivery in the store build and test what customers receive. This guidance concerns consumer sales; do not assume it governs your business-to-business agreement with the designer. [2]
Choose the scope around your customer task
| Your need | Scope to request | Check before approval |
|---|---|---|
| Customers contact you | Informational pages and an enquiry form | Test message delivery; review collection purposes and access to personal information. |
| Customers visit your home business | Booking setup with controlled availability | Apply Burnaby's limit of one on-site customer and one customer vehicle at a time. |
| Consumers purchase online | Checkout disclosures, contract review and delivery | Review applicable B.C. distance-sales requirements and test the contract copy. |
| You replace an existing site | Page inventory, address mapping, backup and migration | Agree on enquiry tests and how to preserve business email during launch. |
| Staff maintain the site | Editing access, training and support terms | Have the intended employee demonstrate a routine content change. |
Your hiring checklist
- 1. Write the main customer action and a sample journey through to confirmation.
- 2. Prepare the page list, content inventory and existing account details.
- 3. Confirm operating arrangements using the local licensing checks above.
- 4. Compare itemized project totals, optional work and recurring charges.
- 5. Review form fields, data destinations, staff access and privacy wording.
- 6. For consumer sales, review checkout disclosures and test contract delivery.
- 7. Agree on payment milestones, account control and deliverable ownership.
- 8. Complete phone, keyboard, enquiry and transaction tests before accepting handover.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I budget for a website?
Request scope-specific quotes and compare project totals, optional work and recurring charges. Have designers separate copywriting, booking, checkout and migration costs so you can choose what to include. Agree on how they will price and obtain approval for changes.
Does a Burnaby designer need a business licence?
Burnaby requires businesses in the city, including commercial and home-based businesses, to hold a valid business licence. Request licence details from a locally based designer. Assess delivery capability through their portfolio, demonstration and written scope. [1]
Can I leave customer privacy to the designer?
Under B.C.'s Personal Information Protection Act, your organization remains responsible for personal information under its control, including information outside its custody. Document data destinations and staff access with the designer, and assign someone in your business to oversee applicable privacy responsibilities. [3]
What should I check before launching an online store?
For covered B.C. consumer distance sales, review pre-purchase disclosures, the opportunity to review the contract and delivery of a contract copy. Test those steps as a customer. Have a lawyer review the terms and include implementation responsibilities in the designer's agreement. [2]
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.