Businesses in Europe, Australia and the US work with web design agencies in Vietnam for custom design at a fair cost, and Vietnamese-owned businesses abroad for a team that speaks their language. The question most of them ask first is not about design. It is: how does it actually work when we never meet? This guide walks through a remote website project from the first call to support after launch, so you know what to expect at each step and what to ask for.
The first call: goals before pages
A good first call takes about 20 minutes and is about your business, not about colours: who your customers are, what you want them to do on the website, and what you already have (logo, photos, text, domain). By the end, you should know which kind of website fits, which pages it needs and what affects the price. If an agency quotes before asking these questions, the quote is a guess.
Time zones without delays
Vietnam is 5 to 7 hours ahead of Europe and 11 to 15 hours ahead of the US. Used well, that is an advantage: you send comments at the end of your day and find changes made the next morning. What matters is agreeing on one channel (email, WhatsApp or Zalo), a fixed time for calls in your working hours, and one person on each side who decides.
Reviewing the design on a private link
You should never review a website from screenshots alone. The design and then the built pages should live on a private draft address you can open on your laptop and phone. Comments go directly on each page, so nothing gets lost in long email threads. Each round of changes is listed and confirmed before the next starts.
| Step | Who does what | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| First call | You and the agency | 20 minutes |
| Page plan and style | Agency proposes, you approve | 1–2 days |
| Design and build | Agency builds, you comment on a private link | 3–10 working days |
| Handover | Agency trains you, you own every account | 1 session |
| Support | Agency, on call | Ongoing |
Payment, invoices and ownership
Ask three things before you start. How you pay: international bank transfer is the usual way. Whether you get a company invoice. And who owns what at the end: the domain should be registered in your name, and you should receive the admin account and the source of the website. A website you cannot move to another provider is not really yours.
Handover and support after launch
Launch day is not the end. You should get a short training session and a video to edit text, images and prices yourself, plus a clear way to report problems. Hosting, backups and security updates can stay with you or be handled by the agency; see hosting and maintenance for what that covers.
What to prepare before the first call
You do not need a full brief to start, but a few things make the first call far more useful and the quote far more accurate.
- Two or three websites you like, and one sentence on why: the layout, the photos, how easy booking is.
- What a visitor should do on your website: call, book, buy or send a request.
- What you already have: logo files, photos, existing text, your current domain and hosting.
- Your deadline, if there is one: an opening, a season, a campaign.
How to tell the project is on track
A well-run remote project is easy to follow. You always know which step it is in and what is expected from you next. Changes you request are listed and confirmed, so nothing is forgotten between rounds. The draft link works on your phone, not only on a designer’s large screen. And before launch, you see the website checked for speed, forms that really deliver, and pages that work in every language. If any of these is missing, ask for it; a good agency will already have it in place. See how we run projects on our process page.
Questions clients ask before starting
Will the website be in English, or in our local language?
Both are possible. Text in your local language comes from you or is prepared together; have a native speaker read it before launch. Each language gets its own addresses so Google shows the right one.
Can you redesign our current website instead of starting over?
Yes. A website redesign keeps the addresses and content that already bring visitors and renews the design, speed and editing.
How is a project priced?
By the pages, features and amount of content. After the first call you get an itemised quote; our pricing page shows where projects start.
In short
- A remote project works when goals come first, one channel is agreed and reviews happen on a private link.
- Time zones speed things up when comments go out at the end of your day.
- Insist on a company invoice, the domain in your name and full admin access at handover.