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10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a White Label Web Development Partner
When you hire a white label development provider, you’re not just outsourcing code. You’re trusting someone to work inside your business. Behind the scenes. Under your name. Representing your standards.
And if they get it wrong? Your client doesn’t blame them. They blame you.
That’s why finding the right white label partner isn’t just about skills or pricing. It’s about control. Transparency. And making sure the handoff is clean, private, and professional.
Here are 10 things you should ask before bringing in a white label development partner. Whether it’s for WordPress, Webflow, or something custom, these questions will help you avoid problems down the line—and find a partner you can actually rely on.
1. Will they sign your NDA—or provide one for you to sign?
Before you talk timelines or tools, get the basics in place. You’re giving someone access to your client’s project—sometimes credentials, design files, strategies, or internal systems. That relationship needs to be protected.
Ask if they’ll sign your NDA. If you don’t have one, ask if they can provide theirs. This should be easy. If it’s not, that’s your answer.
We’re happy to sign your NDA—send it over for review, or we have one on standby and can send it over to you. Regardless, we treat every project with confidentiality and assume white label as the benchmark.
2. What does the project preview or staging experience look like—and will it be white label?
During development, your provider will need to share a preview of the site so you can review it, test it, or send it to your client for feedback. That preview is usually hosted on a temporary staging URL.
Here’s the issue: some providers put their name in the URL—like yourproject.devprovider.com. If you send that to your client, it’s instantly clear you didn’t build the site. And just like that, the white label arrangement falls apart.
Our staging URLs are entirely unbranded. Your client won’t see any mention of Hey Reliable. You’re welcome to share those links and call them your own.
Ask if the preview will be hosted on a generic, unbranded domain with no company name, logo, or clues about who’s behind it. You should be able to share that link confidently, without needing to explain who your development partner is.
3. In WordPress, will the theme show your agency name—not theirs?
In the WordPress admin panel, under Appearance > Themes, you’ll see the theme name, version, and—unless it’s been customized—the name of the developer who built it.
You don’t want your client logging in and seeing a theme “coded by” someone they’ve never heard of.
Your provider should set this up correctly from the start:
Theme Name: Project Name
Developed by: Your Agency Name
We set up the theme info to reflect your agency or designer—so it will say Project Name for the theme name, then coded by your name or your designer’s name.
No extra mentions. No company links. Just a clean, professional handoff.
4. Can they ensure even form testing is white label?
Contact forms need to be tested. That’s not the question. But how those tests are handled matters.
If your provider submits test forms using their real name, personal email, or company address, your client might see those test entries—and immediately know someone else was involved.
Ask how they handle this. A true white label provider will have a consistent, anonymous contact profile used just for testing. No real names, no company emails, no risk of exposing who’s actually behind the keyboard.
We created a fake person—a fake name with a fake email who lives at a fake address and has a fake phone number—and we use our fake person’s information every time we test a form. That way, we’re not using our company emails or personal info. It’s also helpful internally to quickly recognize a test submission.
5. Where will they be logging in from—and are they using a VPN?
You might be working with developers across the world. That’s common. But your client probably isn’t expecting to see a login from another country pop up on their hosting or CMS security alert.
Your provider should use a VPN to match your location—or your client’s—when logging into sensitive platforms like hosting, staging servers, or WordPress admin panels.
It’s a small thing, but it helps avoid unnecessary questions or raised eyebrows.
We use a VPN set to the agency’s location whenever possible.
6. What email address will be used for admin roles and client-facing accounts?
Platforms like WordPress, hosting panels, and form plugins all require email addresses for administrator roles. If your provider uses their own—especially one tied to their company name—it can show up in notifications, logs, or plugin licenses.
You have a couple of options here. A good provider will either use a clean, unbranded email they’ve created just for this purpose—or they’ll use one you create for them, like admin@youragency.com.
Either way, the point is the same: your client should never see someone else’s brand.
We have an unbranded email account and domain—not connected to us in any way—that we use to manage all projects. For example, we’ll use it as the administrator email in the WordPress site until handoff. That gives us a reliable address for things like password resets and plugin alerts, but it isn’t traceable back to us.
7. Can they manage your projects using your agency’s email address?
Some agencies want full control over what the client sees—even internally. If that’s you, make sure your provider can work entirely under your brand.
That means logging into tools, purchasing plugins, and managing accounts using an email address you own.
We’re happy to use an email address you provide—be it dev@ or support@. Just share the login credentials, and we’ll manage your projects end to end using that inbox.
8. Do they offer white label maintenance and unbranded reporting?
Your involvement with a client doesn’t end when the website goes live. If you’re offering ongoing WordPress support or maintenance, those updates and reports need to be white label too.
Can your provider generate client-ready maintenance reports with your agency branding? Are they comfortable working as a silent partner long after launch?
We offer monthly reporting for WordPress maintenance. And with our agency plan, we can brand the reports for you—so they come from your agency, with your logo, colors, and contact info.
9. Can they follow your workflow—not force theirs?
Your agency has a way of working. Tools you prefer. Folder naming systems. How you want Figma files organized. Maybe your own method for feedback and revisions.
Some providers insist on doing things their way. That’s not going to work here.
Ask upfront: can they work inside your process? Can they adapt to your tools and timelines? Can they act like a real part of your team—not just an outside vendor?
We’re happy to use your project management tools and follow your process and flow.
10. Can they scale with you when project volume grows?
White label web development often comes in waves. You might need help with one project this month and five the next.
What happens when things pick up? Will your provider be ready to jump in—or will they ghost you when you need them most?
Ask about availability. Turnaround time. How they prioritize agency partners when things get busy. You don’t want to outgrow your development team right when momentum is building.
We’re here when you need us—whether it’s an overflow project or you’re ready to scale and need to staff up.
Ready to work with a white label web development provider who actually gets it?
If you’re tired of developers who leave their name all over the project—or worse, disappear when things get busy—we should talk.
At Hey Reliable, we work quietly behind the scenes to make you look good. Clean code. Clear communication. No surprises.
Whether you need white label WordPress development, Webflow builds, ongoing maintenance, or help scaling your front-end work—we’re here when you need us.
Reach out to start a project or drop a line if you just want to talk through how white label could work for you.
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