How to Choose a Web Agency in Algeria: 10 Red Flags Before You Pay
Most failed website projects in Algeria were predictable before the first dinar was paid. The warning signs were visible in the first meeting; the client just did not know what to look for. We are an agency ourselves, so treat this as us telling you exactly how to interrogate people like us. Here are the 10 red flags.
Red flags in the portfolio
1. No live products, only mockups
Beautiful Behance shots and Instagram carousels of "designs" prove someone can use design tools. They do not prove anyone can ship. Ask for URLs you can open right now. When we pitch, we send our portfolio of 14 live products first, because a link you can click beats any slide.
2. Portfolio sites that are all dead
Click the links. If half the "references" are offline, expired, or broken on mobile, that tells you what their projects look like one year after delivery — which is the year you actually live in.
3. WordPress-templates-only, sold as custom
Nothing wrong with WordPress for the right job. Everything wrong with buying a 40-dollar theme, changing the logo, and invoicing it as "custom development". Ask directly: what will be built, and with what? If every project in their history is the same theme recolored, you know your fate.
Red flags in the process
4. No contract, no written scope
"We are serious people, no need for paperwork" is how projects end in WhatsApp screenshots and mutual accusations. A real agency gives you a written scope: deliverables, milestones, payment schedule, ownership of code and domain.
5. A price before understanding the project
A fixed quote in the first five minutes means the number came from your perceived budget, not from your needs.
6. 100 percent payment upfront
Deposits are normal — 30 to 50 percent is standard. Full payment before work starts removes every incentive to finish.
7. No mention of what happens after launch
Who fixes bugs? Who renews hosting? What does maintenance cost? If launch day is the last day of the relationship in their plan, expect a slowly dying website.
Red flags in competence
8. No SEO plan at all
If the agency never mentions Google, Search Console, page speed, or how customers will actually find the site, you are buying a brochure nobody will open. SEO cannot be sprinkled on at the end; it shapes architecture, rendering and content from day one.
9. They cannot explain their choices simply
Jargon as a shield is a classic. A team that understands its craft can explain why it chose a stack or approach in plain French, Arabic or English. Confusion is not expertise.
10. They promise everything, instantly, cheaply
Top ranking on Google in two weeks, a full e-commerce platform in five days, an app "just like Yassir" for 100,000 DZD. Optimism is free; delivery is not.
The questions to ask before paying
- Show me three projects still live. Can I contact one of those clients?
- Who owns the code, the domain and the hosting accounts? (Answer must be: you.)
- What exactly is in the price, and what costs extra later?
- What is the plan for Google — content, speed, Search Console?
- What does month two after launch look like?
Any serious team answers these easily. We answer them in every first call — see our services or just ask us the hard questions directly. The agencies that squirm at this list are the ones it was written about.
FAQ
Is a small or young agency automatically risky?
No. Young teams with live shipped products are often better than old agencies coasting on reputation. Judge shipped work and process, not office size.
What should a website contract include at minimum?
Scope of deliverables, milestone dates, payment schedule, revision limits, code and domain ownership, and post-launch support terms.
What if I already paid someone showing these red flags?
Stop the bleeding: get the domain, hosting access and code into your hands now, while the relationship still exists. Everything else can be renegotiated; ownership cannot be recovered from silence.