A site you can actually update yourself.
Custom-designed, handed over with the keys. Because a website you have to email someone to change is a website that slowly goes out of date.
Three ways to build
Which one you get, and why.
Squarespace
$750–$4,800
Your own subscription, roughly $19–$49/month, paid directly by you. That makes you the owner, not a tenant. With custom code on top it does far more than a template — and it's what most of our clients should be on.
Custom code
From $6,000
Hand-built HTML, CSS and JavaScript on fast hosting. You own the code. No design limits at all — and no editor, so changes come through us on a care plan.
GoDaddy
Existing sites only
Already built there? We'll work in it. We won't pitch it for a new build, because their free tier puts their own advertising on your site and their paid tiers do less than Squarespace for the same money.
The selection rule
How often does it change, and who changes it?
That's the whole question. Not your budget, and not how impressive the design is. Here's the actual rule we use.
| What your content does | Build |
|---|---|
| Marketing pages — Home, About, Services, Contact — changing a few times a year | Either |
| Products, prices, inventory | Platform |
| Bookings, availability, calendars | Platform |
| A blog, news or events you post to | Platform |
| Menus, seasonal specials, anything weekly | Platform |
| A showcase that gets rebuilt rather than edited — portfolio, launch page, one-pager | Custom |
Said plainly, because finding out later is worse: a custom-coded site cannot have product pages you edit yourself. There's no admin, no inventory screen, no "add a product." Every change is a code change. If you sell things online, you want the platform — and we'd rather talk you into it now than refund you later.
Most people who ask for "more advanced" don't need to leave the platform. They need Squarespace done properly — custom code, real animation, layouts that look nothing like a template. Same editor, same independence. That's where we'll start.
Practising what we preach: the site you're reading is a custom build, hand-coded, no platform. Which is exactly right for it — a studio portfolio gets rebuilt, not edited weekly, so it sits in the bottom row of that table. Your site probably belongs in a different row, and we'd rather tell you that than sell you this.
How it works
Seven steps from intake to live.
How long does it take?
3–5 weeks from the day your content arrives. Content is almost always what sets the pace.
What do you need from me?
Logo files, real photos, and your text — or approval for us to draft it. You'll get a specific list, not a vague ask.
What if I don't have photos?
We'll talk at intake. Sometimes the answer is a short photo session; sometimes it's a design that leans on type and colour instead.
Can you take over a site I already have?
Usually. Send us the link and we'll tell you honestly whether it's worth keeping or starting over.
What happens after launch?
On a platform build, you can handle it yourself with the cheat sheet or pick up a care plan. On a custom build a care plan comes with it, because there's no other way to make a change.
Not sure which one you need?
Describe what you're trying to do and we'll tell you which build fits — including when the cheaper one is the honest answer.
Tell us about your project