Hiring a design studio in another country is mostly the same decision as hiring one down the road, with a few extra things to get in writing. Check who will actually do the work and that the portfolio is theirs. Get the scope, timeline and review rounds written down. Make sure the contract assigns you the IP and that every account, from the domain to the Figma file, is in your name. Agree how you’ll pay and in what currency, and what happens after launch. Most problems with offshore design work trace back to one of these being left vague.
We’re a studio in India working with teams in the USA, the UK, Australia and elsewhere, so we’re on the other side of this checklist. It’s what we’d want a founder to ask us.
1. Who will actually do the work?
Ask who will be on your project by name, and whether they’re on the studio’s team or subcontracted. Some studios sell with one group and deliver with another. You want to meet the people who will design and build your site, and to know whether that changes after the contract is signed.
2. Is the portfolio really theirs?
Ask what the studio did on each project in its portfolio: strategy, identity, website design, the build, or only part of it. Look for work that’s live, and check it. A reference call with one or two past clients is worth more than any case study. Ask them how the time difference felt in practice and how problems were handled.
3. Is the scope written down?
The scope document is the most important page in the deal. It should say:
- What’s delivered. Pages, templates, logo files, guidelines, code, CMS setup.
- What isn’t. Copywriting, photography, translations, integrations and hosting are common grey areas.
- How many rounds of review each stage gets, and what happens if you need more.
- The timeline, with the dates you’re expected to give feedback by. A remote project slips most often because the client side is late, not the studio.
If a studio won’t write the scope down, or quotes a price without asking questions, treat that as the answer.
4. Will you own it?
The contract should assign you the intellectual property in the final work, usually on full payment. Check that it covers the logo, the design files and the code, and that any fonts, stock images or plugins are licensed in your name or clearly listed as third party with their own terms.
Then check the accounts. Your domain, hosting, CMS, analytics, Figma files and code repository should all be owned by your company, with the studio added as a user. If the studio holds the keys, you’re dependent on them for every change and in a hard spot if the relationship ends.
5. How does payment work?
Agree the currency, the schedule and who pays transfer fees.
- Currency. Many studios abroad invoice in US dollars, pounds or euros. Ask which, and whether the price is fixed in that currency.
- Schedule. A deposit to start, then payments tied to milestones such as signed-off identity or a launched site, is normal. Paying everything up front isn’t.
- Transfer. Bank wire, Wise and similar services all work. Agree who covers the fees so invoices aren’t short.
- Paperwork. US companies paying a foreign business usually collect a Form W-8BEN-E from it. In India, design services exported to a client abroad are generally zero-rated for GST. Your accountant should confirm what applies to you; a studio used to international clients will have the documents ready.
6. How will you work across the time difference?
Ask when calls happen, how feedback is collected and where decisions are written down. A good answer is specific: a fixed overlap window, one shared doc for decisions, and feedback in batches. We wrote up our own routine in how to work with a design studio in another time zone, and our time zone overlap tool shows your shared hours with India.
7. What happens after launch?
Ask what support is included after the site goes live, for how long and what it covers. Ask how changes are priced after that. And ask what you’ll get at handover: the source files, the code, a short guide to editing the site, and the logins.
8. How do you leave?
Every contract should say how either side can end it, what you pay for work done so far and what you receive when you do. It’s an awkward question to ask at the start and a far worse one to ask in the middle.
The checklist
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Team | Named people, and you meet them before signing |
| Portfolio | Live work, their role stated, a reference call |
| Scope | Deliverables, exclusions, review rounds and dates in writing |
| IP | Assigned to you on payment, third party assets listed |
| Accounts | Domain, hosting, code and files in your company’s name |
| Payment | Currency, milestones and transfer fees agreed |
| Time zones | A fixed overlap window and one place for decisions |
| After launch | Support period, change rates and a full handover |
| Exit | Notice, payment for work done and what you receive |
For a sense of the price range, see what a website costs and an India studio vs a US agency.
Quick recall
What’s the most important document? The written scope: deliverables, exclusions, review rounds and dates.
Who should own the accounts? Your company, with the studio added as a user.
When does IP usually transfer? On full payment, as stated in the contract.
What’s a normal payment schedule? A deposit, then milestone payments, not everything up front.
What paperwork do US companies usually collect from a foreign vendor? A Form W-8BEN-E.
Written by 4080 Studio.
