Two weeks from talking to live.
Here's the order, the timing, and the things people are usually surprised by.
How does intake actually start?
A few fields and a paragraph or two: what the business is, what the site is for, what you're trying to get out of it. The whole intake happens over email — no call required, no calendar dance, no sales pitch.
If we have follow-up questions, we'll email them. You answer when you have time. Async on purpose.
How long until you get a quote?
One to two business days. You get back: a fixed price, a timeline, an exact list of pages and features, and what's not included. Nothing vague.
If anything in there surprises you, just reply. Better to argue at the quote stage than mid-build.
If we aren't a good fit, we'll tell you in the same email and point you somewhere better.
How is the site actually designed and built?
We don't ship Figma mockups for you to approve, then build them. We design in the browser. You see real pages on a private staging URL within three days, and iterate from there.
Two formal review rounds are baked in. Most projects need one and a half.
What happens at launch — and after?
We deploy the site, point your domain, set up analytics if you want them, and walk you through editing whatever's editable. You get the source code, the design files, and a short text doc on how everything works.
Most clients have us host it — it means one bill, one phone number, no tracking down DNS settings six months later when something breaks. Hosting includes small content tweaks when you email us (new photos, price changes, fixing typos), SSL renewals, and dependency bumps. Small monthly fee. Cancel any time and take the site anywhere.
Or host it yourself on Netlify or Cloudflare Pages for free. Whichever fits.
A few honest answers
How much does a custom small-business website cost?
Less than you're bracing for, and the answer scales to the project. A clean one-page launch is at the small end. A multi-page site with a contact form, blog, and small admin area sits in the middle. A small online store with a real product catalog and Stripe checkout is the top end. Send us a few sentences about the project and we'll come back with a fixed number — no hourly meter, no scope-creep tax.
How long does a small-business website take to build?
About two weeks from a signed quote to a live site, for a typical small-business project. One-page launches can be faster; sites with custom features or e-commerce can take three to four. Either way you'll see real pages on a staging URL inside the first three days, so you're not waiting in the dark.
Will the site work well on phones?
Yes — we design mobile-first, every time. Most local-business traffic is from a phone, often outdoors, often one-handed. We test every page on a real phone before launch and again on a tablet. If it doesn't work at 9pm on a 5-inch screen, it doesn't ship.
Why are we cheaper than the agency that quoted you last week?
Two reasons. One: we're a small shop — no project managers, no junior devs, no agency overhead to absorb. Two: we're fast, because we've built a lot of these. Lower price doesn't mean cutting corners on the site — it means lower on the bill.
Where will my site be hosted?
Your choice. You can host it yourself on Netlify or Cloudflare Pages (usually free). Or we'll host it for you for a small monthly fee — less than most streaming services. That includes domain pointing, SSL, basic uptime monitoring, and small content tweaks (a new photo, a price change, fixing a typo) when you email us. Cancel any time, we'll hand the site off cleanly.
Can I update the site myself after launch?
Yes — most sites get a small admin area for the parts that change (blog posts, menu items, team members, prices). The marketing pages stay code-only because they're easier to break than to edit.
What if I want bigger changes later?
For clients on hosting, small text and image swaps are included. Bigger additions — new pages, new features — get quoted as their own small project. Same pattern: fixed price, agreed before any work starts.
Do you do logos and branding?
We can polish what you have — typography, colour, basic mark cleanup. Full brand identity work is better with a dedicated brand designer; we'll point you at one we trust if you need that.