How it works
How it works and what it costs.
The project’s scope and price are agreed before any money changes hands, so you will know what we are building, what it will cost, and roughly when it will happen. The process itself is straightforward: we talk, research, design, build, and launch. There is no mystery stage where the project’s scope quietly expands.
What you get
Scoped per projectIt depends on what the project needs. The research comes first, so what we build is determined by the problem rather than by a package selected from a menu.
- The site. The core of the project is a static website built for speed and accessibility. It is structured so that search engines can understand it and designed to remain useful for years rather than months. The site is yours to keep.
- The documents. Sometimes the website is only one part of the problem. If your proposals, reports, presentations, or other client-facing documents are making the business look like several different organisations, we can bring them into the same system. The point is not to make everything identical. It is to make everything recognisably yours.
- The profiles. People do not only encounter a business on its website. They may find it through LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, or another directory before they ever visit your domain. Where those places matter to the project, we can bring them into the same system and make sure the information people find there agrees with what you publish yourself.
- The record. Some organisations also need their public information to be understood by systems as well as people. Where it is useful, we can work with structured data, Wikidata, and Search Console to make the underlying description of the business clearer and easier to maintain.
Not every project needs all of this. What you get follows from the research, and it is written into the proposal before you agree to it.
What “built properly” means here
The standardThe sites are hand-built as plain, pre-rendered pages and hosted on an account in your name. There is no database behind the site and no application server to maintain. For anyone who wants to know, the tools we tend to use are Astro and Cloudflare Pages.
- Every site is built and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA. We use automated checks and then test manually with a keyboard and screen reader.
- We design for a normal connection rather than assuming everyone has fast internet. Our practical target is a load time of under one second.
- The site is also structured so that search engines and AI systems can understand the information it contains.
- From the first day, the hosting account is in your name. The source is kept in our GitHub account, and we transfer it to you whenever you ask. You are not buying a site that is held together by an account you cannot access.
How we work
Six stages01. A conversation
We start by talking about your business and what the site needs to accomplish. You do not need to present us with a formal brief. Bring whatever you already know about the problem and what you would like the site to do.
We will also tell you if we do not think the project is a good fit.
WhenFree. About thirty minutes.
02. A written proposal
If the project looks like a fit, we prepare a written proposal setting out the scope, the price, and the timeline.
If something needs changing, we change it together before you accept it.
A 50 per cent deposit then starts the project.
WhenUsually within a week.
03. Research and planning
Before we start on the design, we research your visitors, your competitors, and the expectations of your sector. Where it is relevant, we also look at search behaviour and how people currently encounter the business.
We turn that work into a written plan and show it to you before design begins. It remains yours whether or not we build the site.
WhenUsually one to two weeks.
04. Design and build
We build the site in stages rather than disappearing and returning with a finished design. You see the work as it develops, with agreed points for feedback along the way.
You provide the content and images we need at those points. We handle the design, development, and technical work.
WhenUsually two to six weeks.
05. Launch
We handle the technical work of putting the site live: the domain, HTTPS, redirects, and Search Console.
Before launch, we check the site for performance, accessibility, broken links, and forms.
You approve the launch date. We do not launch sites in a Friday-afternoon rush.
WhenPlanned, not rushed.
06. Care, if you want it
The site does not need a care plan to keep running. It is yours, and it can continue without us.
If you would rather have someone looking after it, care is available separately.
WhenOptional.
What it costs
Starting points, not ceilingsEvery project has a fixed price agreed before work begins, so the figures below are starting points rather than quotes. Your proposal will contain one price for the project’s agreed scope.
From $4,800
One person
For a consultant, academic, private practitioner, or sole tradesperson who needs a serious site without a large amount of infrastructure around it.
From $9,600
Small business
For a service business that needs a fuller site, a stronger content structure, and a proper foundation for local search.
From $18,000
Larger or specialised
For larger organisations, substantial publications or content libraries, multi-location businesses, and projects that need specialised integrations. These projects are scoped individually.
All prices are in Australian dollars and exclude GST.
What affects the price. The biggest factor is usually the amount of work required to understand and organise the content. A site with ten carefully considered pages is a different project from one with fifty pages and several years of accumulated material. Design complexity matters too. So do integrations and the amount of content that needs to be written or photographed. If an existing site is complicated or poorly structured, moving it without losing useful information can also add substantial work. The proposal explains what is included before you agree to anything.
Care, if you want it
OptionalThe site belongs to you and will continue running without a care plan.
If you want ongoing support, care starts at $160 per month. Most small business sites fall between $160 and $280 per month.
Hosting a static site costs very little. We would rather say that plainly than pretend the care fee is really a hosting charge. You are paying for the work involved in looking after the site.
Care covers small content changes, monitoring, and an annual performance and accessibility review. You deal directly with Andrew, who built the site.
You can stop at any time with one month’s notice. Because the accounts already belong to you, stopping care does not create a handover problem. Remove our access and the site continues running.
Care pricing does not increase automatically. If the price ever changes, you will receive one month’s notice.
This is a one-person studio, so care requests are answered within a business day when Andrew is working. You will be told in advance about periods when he is away.
Coming back later. A website does not have to be rebuilt simply because the studio that built it has moved on. If you come back in a few years for a new design or a larger rebuild, that work will be quoted afresh. The groundwork does not disappear. Your research, accounts, structured data, and assets already belong to you, so the next project starts from there rather than from scratch.
What we do not do
Said onceThere are some kinds of work we do not take on.
We do not build online stores or specialise in animation-heavy websites, and we do not provide ongoing content marketing or manage social media.
If that is what your project needs, we will tell you early. Where possible, we will point you towards someone better suited to the work.
Care is for looking after the existing site. New pages, major redesigns, and new features are scoped separately.
Email hosting, paid advertising, and link building are also separate services. Where third-party software is required for something we set up on your behalf, it is passed through at cost.
The terms
How we bill- The proposal is fixed price. Once the project’s scope is agreed, the price is the price.
- A 50 per cent deposit starts the project and the balance is due at launch.
- The hosting account is in your name from the first day. The source is kept in our GitHub account and transferred to you whenever you ask.
- Care can be paid monthly or annually and can be stopped with one month’s notice.
Start a conversation
One business dayIf you think the studio might be a fit, send a short description of what you need. Andrew will reply within one business day. If it looks suitable, the next step is a free thirty-minute conversation. There is no obligation until you accept a written proposal.