Our process
Four steps, and no surprises in any of them
Every project runs the same way: understand, strategize, build, then optimize. What follows is what actually happens in each step — including what we need from you, and roughly how long it takes.
Step 01: Understand needs
Before anyone draws a box, we work out what the site has to produce commercially and what is currently stopping it.
Typically 2–3 business days
What happens
- A 45–60 minute call about the business, not the website: who buys, what they ask before they buy, and what a good month looks like.
- A technical read of your current site — Core Web Vitals, crawlability, indexation, structured data, mobile behaviour.
- A look at your analytics and Search Console, if you have them, to see which pages already earn attention.
- A review of the competitors who are actually ranking for your terms, and what their pages do that yours does not.
- We agree the single commercial outcome the new site is accountable for, and write down what is out of scope.
What we need from you
- Read-only access to analytics and Search Console where they exist.
- The three questions prospects always ask you before they commit.
- One competitor site you admire and one you do not — and why.
- Name the person who signs off. One decision-maker keeps a project on schedule more than anything else.
What you end up with
- A written brief: goal, audience, success measures, scope boundaries.
- Findings from the audit of your current site, with the issues ranked by impact.
- A fixed quote against that scope, and a timeline with named milestones.
Step 02: Strategize
Structure first. Page inventory, URLs, search intent and measurement get settled while they are still cheap to change.
Typically 3–5 business days
What happens
- A sitemap and URL structure built for how people search, not how your org chart is drawn.
- Keyword and intent mapping per page, so no two pages compete for the same query.
- Wireframes for the templates that carry the site — home, service, proof, contact — rather than every page individually.
- If we are replacing an existing site, a 1:1 redirect map covering every live URL, including trailing-slash and query variants.
- A measurement plan: which GA4 events count as a lead, and how we will know in 90 days whether this worked.
What we need from you
- One consolidated round of feedback on the sitemap and wireframes.
- Confirmation of which pages matter most, so we build those first.
- Any internal constraints we should design around — a CRM, a booking system, a brand guideline.
What you end up with
- Approved sitemap and URL structure.
- Wireframes for each template.
- Keyword-to-page map.
- Redirect plan, where one applies.
- A build schedule with milestone dates.
Step 03: Create & build
Design the templates, build them properly, and give you a staging link early enough that nothing is a surprise at the end.
Typically 2–3 weeks, depending on page count and design complexity
What happens
- We design the key templates first and get them signed off before production starts.
- Build in semantic HTML, responsive from 320px up, with accessibility checked as we go rather than retrofitted.
- Performance is a build constraint, not a final polish: image budgets, font strategy and script weight are decided during the build.
- Content goes in, structured data goes on, internal links are placed deliberately.
- A staging link from the first week of production, so you watch it take shape instead of waiting for a reveal.
What we need from you
- Copy and assets — or commission ours as part of the scope.
- Two rounds of consolidated feedback. Consolidated matters: scattered feedback is what pushes timelines.
- Final written approval before we schedule launch.
What you end up with
- Signed-off designs for every template.
- A staging site you can click through at any point.
- A CMS training session, recorded, so new staff can watch it later.
- The pre-launch QA checklist, completed and visible.
Step 04: Optimize & grow
Launch is a milestone, not the finish line. The weeks after it are where the ranking and conversion work actually pays.
Launch day, then 30 / 60 / 90-day reviews
What happens
- Launch day: redirects verified URL by URL, sitemap submitted, analytics confirmed firing, Core Web Vitals measured on the live domain.
- We watch indexation and rankings closely for the first six weeks — restructuring always causes some turbulence, and we would rather catch it than explain it.
- A 30, 60 and 90-day review against the measures agreed in step one.
- Conversion fixes based on real behaviour: where people stop, what they ignore, which page does the selling.
- Ongoing care — updates, backups, monitoring, performance — if you want it. No obligation, and no silent auto-renewal.
What we need from you
- Tell us which enquiries turned into good work. Lead quality is the only metric that settles an argument.
- Decide whether to continue with a care plan or search retainer once you have seen the launch report.
What you end up with
- A launch report: Lighthouse scores, redirect verification, indexation status.
- Scheduled reviews at 30, 60 and 90 days.
- Monthly reporting, on an ongoing plan.
The same on every project
Four things that do not change with the quote
No silent scope creep
Anything outside the signed scope is quoted and approved in writing before it is built. Nothing appears on an invoice you have not already agreed to.
One point of contact
The people building the site are the people you talk to. Nothing gets relayed through an account manager who was not in the room.
A dated schedule, not a vague range
You get milestone dates at the end of strategy, and we tell you immediately if one moves — including when the reason is on our side.
You keep everything
Domain, hosting, content, CMS access and deliverables are yours. No proprietary platform, no lock-in.
Before you commit
Process questions, answered straight
If something here matters to how you decide, ask us directly and we will put it in writing.
How long does the whole process take?
About three weeks end to end for a standard business site — discovery takes 2–3 business days, structure another 3–5, and the build itself 2–3 weeks. What moves that is complexity rather than our availability: bespoke design work, a large page count, e-commerce, integrations or a big migration all add time. You get a dated schedule at the end of step two rather than a vague range.
What slows a project down most often?
Content, every time. Copy, photography and logins arriving late is the single most common cause of a slipped launch — ahead of design revisions and technical problems combined. The second is feedback arriving in pieces from several people over several weeks. One decision-maker and a content deadline solve both.
How many rounds of revisions do I get?
Two consolidated rounds on design and two on build are included in a standard scope. In practice, the discovery and wireframe steps mean there is rarely much to revise by the time anything is designed — that is the point of doing them.
Can I see the site while it is being built?
Yes. You get a staging link from the first week of production and it stays live for the whole build. You will see unfinished work, which is deliberate: it is much cheaper to change direction in week two than in week six.
What happens on launch day?
We verify every redirect URL by URL, submit the new sitemap, confirm analytics and conversion events are firing, and measure Core Web Vitals on the live domain. You get a written launch report with the results. Then we watch indexation closely for about six weeks, because restructuring a site always causes some turbulence in search even when the redirects are perfect.
Do I own the site when it is finished?
Yes. You own the domain, the hosting account, the content and the deliverables as set out in your agreement. There is no proprietary platform you have to stay on, and no hostage situation if you later move to another agency.
Find out what it would actually cost
Tell us where you want to be in twelve months. You will get a straight answer on what the site has to do to get you there, what it costs, and how long it takes — within one working day, with no pitch deck.