How a Website Project Works
From the first conversation to launch, and what happens after
Most sites go live about three weeks after we have your content and photos. Larger builds, and ones waiting on content, take four to eight weeks.
Ray Miles leads every project and is the person you talk to from start to finish. Depending on the job, a specialist he has worked with for years may handle part of the production, and Ray stays responsible for it either way. Here is each step, who does it, and how long it takes.
The Steps, Start to Finish
Seven steps, in the order they happen. Your part in each one is spelled out, so you always know what is waiting on you and what is waiting on us.
1. Start with something free
Pick whichever fits. A free homepage preview is a mockup of a new homepage for your business, ready in about three business days. A free teardown is a 3 to 5 minute video of Ray going through your current site, and most go out within two business days. Or call or send a message, and Ray gets back to you within one business day.
2. A conversation, then a fixed quote
We talk about what you sell, who buys it, and what the site has to accomplish, and look at your current site if you have one. Then you get a proposal with one fixed price for the whole project, the payment split, and a schedule with your dates on it as well as ours. Nothing starts until you sign.
3. Content and design
The pages follow from that conversation, so the structure matches your services and the way customers search for them. You send what you already have: photos, copy, a service list. If we are writing the content, you approve the copy before it goes live.
4. The build
We design and code the site from scratch, with no template or page builder underneath. Search structure, fast loading on a phone, and contact forms that save every inquiry all go in during the build rather than afterward.
5. Review
You go through the site before it launches and tell us what to change. If you are replacing an old site, we map every existing address to its new home now, so the pages that already rank keep their credit.
6. Launch
The site goes live on your domain, which stays in your name. You get a simple editor for text, images and pages, plus training and documentation written for your site. The balance of the project is due at launch.
7. Month to month care
After launch, updates, fixes and changes can be handled month to month for a flat fee quoted after we see what you need. There is no long contract. If you stop, the site, the domain and the files go with you.
How Long It Takes
Most sites go live about three weeks after we have your content and photos. Larger builds, and ones waiting on content, take four to eight weeks.
The build is rarely what sets the timeline. Content is. A site where you already have your photos, your service list and your copy moves quickly. A site where we are waiting on menu photos or staff bios takes as long as that takes.
That is why your proposal includes a schedule with your dates on it as well as ours. At any point you can see which piece is holding things up. Size matters too: more pages, a booking system or online ordering add build time, and you get a specific timeline before you commit.
What We Need From You
Less than you think. Most of it comes in the first conversation.
- A conversation about what the business does and who you want calling
- Whatever photos and written copy you already have
- Access to your domain
- Your feedback at review, and your approval on the copy
If you do not have photos or written content, say so early. It changes the plan and the price, and knowing up front keeps the project from stalling halfway through. For contractor sites, photos are usually the main thing we wait on. Everything else we can move on without you.
What You Have When We Are Done
A site you own outright. The domain is in your name, the site is yours, and you get the files and the code. Hosting costs a few dollars a month, with no platform subscription underneath it.
You can update it yourself. Most owners handle their own hours, staff and service updates within a week of launch, and every change is kept in a version history, so a mistake can always be undone. Bigger technical changes are what the monthly care is for.
What a website costs covers pricing in detail, and our work shows finished sites, each linked to the live version.
F.A.Q.
Process Questions
How long does it take to build a website?
Most sites go live about three weeks after we have your content and photos. Larger builds, and ones waiting on content, take four to eight weeks. You get a specific schedule in your proposal.
Who will I be working with?
Ray. He leads every project and is who you talk to. A specialist may handle part of the production, and Ray stays responsible for it. You never get routed to an account manager.
Do I have to pay everything up front?
No. Projects are typically split into a deposit to start and the balance at launch. The exact split is written in the proposal you sign.
What if I do not have any content or photos?
Tell us at the start. We can write the content as part of the project, and it changes the plan and the price. Raising it early is what keeps the schedule intact.
Will my Google rankings drop when the new site launches?
Redirects are what protect them. Every existing address is redirected to its new home before launch, so the pages that already rank keep their credit. Positions can still shift for a few weeks after any big change.
More answers are on the FAQ page.
Ready for Step One?
The easiest start is a free homepage preview, a mockup of a new homepage for your business in about three business days. If you want an honest read on your current site first, ask for a free teardown video.