Hiring guide · Afghanistan
Web developer Afghanistan: how to hire for a clean handover, not just a launch.
Many website projects in Afghanistan fall apart after launch rather than during it: the developer disappears, the domain sits in someone else's account, or nobody knows who can change the code. This guide lists what we would ask before hiring anyone, including us. It applies whether you are in Kabul, Herat, Mazar, Kandahar or working with a studio in Istanbul.
Freelancer or studio: what you are really choosing
A freelancer can be direct and close to the work; a studio spreads the risk across more than one person and usually documents what it builds. Neither is automatically better. Ask what happens to your project if the one person you speak to is unavailable for a month.
Questions to ask before money changes hands
Ask for a written scope: pages, languages, forms, admin screens and what is explicitly excluded. Ask who buys the domain, whose account holds the hosting, and whether the code lives in a repository you can access. A developer who cannot answer these plainly is telling you something.
Who owns the domain, the code and the content
Ownership belongs in the contract, not in a promise. The domain should be registered in your name or transferred to you, the repository should be yours, and the text and photos you supplied should remain yours. If an agency insists on holding everything in its own account, treat that as a warning rather than a technical detail.
Handover, and who fixes things after launch
A proper handover includes accounts, source code, a short written explanation of how the site is built and a way to reach the person who built it. Agree in advance what happens with small fixes in the first weeks and what counts as new work. Working remotely is normal here: clear notes and a shared repository matter more than sitting in the same city.
What you get
- A written scope and fixed quote
- Domain and hosting in your name
- Source code in your repository
- Handover notes and account list
- Support terms agreed before launch
How do I judge a developer if I cannot check their past clients?
Look at work they can explain in detail: why a page is built a certain way, what they would change, and what went wrong on an earlier project. Ask for a short call and listen for specifics rather than a list of logos. You can also ask to see the admin side of a site they built, not only the public page.
Should I hire a freelancer or a studio?
It depends on how much coordination you can carry yourself. A freelancer is usually one conversation and one person's attention; a studio keeps working if one person is away and often has a process for handover. Ask both the same ownership and handover questions, then choose the answer you actually understand.
Who should own the domain and the code?
You should. The domain is your address and the code is your property; both should sit in accounts you control or be transferred at the end. If that is refused, the project is not really yours, however good the website looks.
What happens after launch if something breaks?
That should be agreed before the project starts: what is covered, for how long, and how quickly you can expect a reply. A sensible arrangement separates small corrections from new features. We reply on WhatsApp within one working day and give a fixed quote for new work after a short call.