What should I ask a webdesigner before I hire him/her?

Picking a webdesigner can be a tricky business. There are lots of people looking for that businesses, some are good, some are not, some are downright cowboys. How do you tell the competent ones from the chancers? Here are a few brief pointers.

1. Show me some of your previous work (and some proof that he/she actually did the sites)
2. How much will the website cost, how long will it take?
3. Is this site from a template, or are you making it from scratch?
   
4. How much will the annual hosting and domain cost (some of these chancers ask for over 150 per year, which is about twice what it should cost just to keep the site up)
5. Open Google, and get it to list all the pages of some of your previous customers websites (some of the fly-by-night types aren't webdesigners, they bought some templates, and are reselling them, with a few adjustments, like your business name and text, but some of these cowboys have NO IDEA how to submit a site to Google. If your website isn't listed in the Google Search Index, then Google will not find your site.
6. Will I be able to update the site myself?
7. Who are you hosting with?
8. What keywords would you use for my business, and how popular are they in Irish internet searches?
   
9. Can you tell me, roughly how many people search the internet for my product/service in Ireland per month? (they should be able to give a decent estimate, and explain where they got their figures from)
10. What type of after-sales service do you provide?
11. Where do you get the images you use on your websites (they should not use copyright images. The website OWNER gets in trouble, not the designer).