The web agency market in France remains fragmented: structures of two people, studios specialized in e-commerce, IT service companies offering redesign as an ancillary service. In the face of this diversity, comparing offers for a website redesign requires knowing precisely what you are evaluating, and on which points a misstep can be the most costly.
Digital accessibility and website redesign: a regulatory constraint to integrate from the choice of the agency
Most comparisons of web agencies focus on design, SEO, and budget. Digital accessibility rarely appears as a selection criterion. Since June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act has covered certain services offered to the public, including online commerce, with exemptions provided for microservice companies.
During a redesign, accessibility must be integrated from the design phase, not added after delivery. Ask the agency about its concrete method: how does it verify the applicability of these rules to your business? What tests does it perform on contrasts, keyboard navigation, and compatibility with screen readers?
An agency that dodges this topic or reduces it to a post-delivery audit reveals a blind spot in its methodology. To delve deeper into the key criteria on the Transtec site, several of these points are detailed from an operational perspective.
SEO migration during a redesign: the testing plan that few agencies spontaneously propose
Redesigning a site often changes its architecture, URLs, and content hierarchy. If the agency does not plan a distinct SEO migration plan from the design project, the visibility gained on search engines may drop sharply after going live.
An SEO migration plan should be a standalone deliverable, not a line lost in a global quote. Here’s what it should cover at a minimum:
- A comprehensive inventory of existing URLs, with their organic traffic and current positions, to identify the pages to prioritize for preservation
- A mapping of 301 redirects page by page, validated before going live, to avoid cascading 404 errors
- A post-launch check over several weeks: monitoring indexing, verifying effective redirects, tracking positions on strategic queries
Ask the agency if it has previously managed a migration with a significant volume of indexed pages. A web agency competent in redesign but lacking real technical SEO expertise may underestimate this aspect.
What the agency’s response reveals
If the provider clearly separates the budget for SEO migration from the rest of the project, it’s a positive signal. If migration is mentioned as “included” without detail, ask specific questions about the redirect process and post-launch monitoring.
Code ownership and autonomy after delivery: clauses to check before signing
A successful redesign can create technical dependency on the agency if the contract does not include safeguards. Ownership of the source code and the transferability of the site are contractual points to negotiate before the project, not after.
Three questions to ask systematically:
- Who holds the intellectual property of the code developed specifically for the project? Some contracts provide for a transfer, others for a limited usage license
- Are the accesses to hosting, the domain name, and third-party accounts (analytics, mailing tools) in the name of the client or the agency?
- Does the delivered technical documentation allow another provider to take over the site without starting from scratch?
A site redone on a proprietary CMS or a custom framework without documentation exposes the client to high exit costs. Prefer agencies that work with open and documented technologies (WordPress, Symfony, common JavaScript frameworks) and who contractually commit to transferring access.
Evaluating the project methodology of a web redesign agency
The portfolio and client references provide an indication of the level of graphic quality, but they say nothing about how the agency manages a project on a daily basis. Often, it is in project management that redesigns derail: extending deadlines, unstructured back-and-forth, missing interim deliverables.
Methodology points to evaluate during the first exchange
Ask the agency to describe its typical milestones between the initial brief and the launch. A structured agency distinguishes at least four phases: framing (objectives, specifications), design (mockups, structure), development (integration, testing), and acceptance (functional validation, corrections). The absence of a formal acceptance phase is a warning sign.
Also check the proposed mode of communication. A weekly check-in with an identified project manager, a shared tracking tool (Trello, Notion, Asana), and written reports reduce the risk of misunderstanding. Agencies that operate solely by email without a centralized tracking tool expose the project to information loss between stakeholders.
Finally, ask the provider about its management of changes during the project. Any redesign generates adjustments not initially planned. A contract that defines an included volume of iterations protects both parties: the client knows what they can request, and the agency knows what it charges additionally.
Choosing an agency for a website redesign is not limited to comparing mockups and prices. Regulatory compliance, rigor of the SEO migration plan, code ownership clauses, project management methodology: these four angles separate solid providers from those that look appealing on paper. Take the time to ask these questions before signing.
