I am developing a website and the designer I was going to use said they will not give me the source code for my site after I have paid for it and they have created it. Is this a bad deal, and should I be going elsewhere for my website? Thanks for your help
You are developing a website and you hired a designer? Does he just design or also code? If he does, he will provide you DEMO of the project with watermark on it. If you approved the design then you have to pay for the custom design work and after payment was received by the designer then you will receive your files back in any source of transferring files. Also .. always put in mind to check the designer's website or portfolio and from there you will know his credibility and reputations.
First off, do you have a written contract with this service provider? If not, GET ONE before you give him a single red cent of your hard earned money. And make sure you get a transfer of copyright from the vendor as well. It's HTML and CSS code (plus images), not a complex Web application.