Website design and redesign
A website built once, and owned by you.
We design and build websites for small service businesses. One-time builds start at $2,500. Your signed scope sets the actual price, and the site is yours once it is paid for.
Who it is for
What this fixes
Owners of small service businesses who need a new website, or a replacement for one that is hard to use on a phone, hard to update, or no longer says what the business does.
Contact details are hard to find
The phone number is small text at the top of the page, and the only way to ask for service is a link under a long introduction.
It is not clear what you do
Services are a one-word list. A visitor cannot tell whether you do the job they need, so they go back to the search results.
The page is slow on a phone
A large photo loads before any of the text. On a phone connection that looks like a page that is not working.
Nobody can update it
The person who built it has moved on, and changing the opening hours means finding a login nobody remembers.
What we look for, and what we change
Example website
- What we saw
The phone number only appears in small text at the very top of the page.
What we would changeA tap-to-call button in the header and beside the main heading on phones.
Why it should helpSomeone with a broken furnace can reach you without hunting for the number.
- What we saw
Services are listed as Heating, Cooling, Plumbing and Other, with no detail.
What we would changeOne short page per service that says what is included and how to book it.
Why it should helpVisitors can tell whether you do the job they need before they call.
- What we saw
The home page photo is a 3.1 MB file that loads before any text appears.
What we would changeA correctly sized image, loaded after the heading and the contact button.
Why it should helpThe page becomes usable sooner on a phone connection.
Hartwell Heating & Plumbing is a fictional business used to show how findings read. It is not a client.
What you get
Included
- Discovery: what your business does and what the site needs to do
- Up to five core pages
- One approved design direction
- A responsive build for phones, tablets and desktops
- Search foundations on every page: titles, descriptions and headings
- One contact form
- Basic analytics setup
- Polishing the text and photos you supply
- Two consolidated rounds of revisions
- Quality checks, launch and handoff
Quoted separately
- Extensive copywriting
- Logo and brand design
- Complex integrations
- Large content migrations
- Online stores
- Paid advertising
- Ongoing SEO campaigns
If you need one of these, we quote it in writing before any work starts.
How it works
A person at Tech Donut builds your site from the signed scope, and you review it at the milestones in that scope. The site launches after you approve it and the final invoice is paid.
Tell us about the site
Start with the free audit or a message. We ask whether this is a new site or a replacement for one you already have, because a replacement needs a plan for your existing pages.
Agree the scope
We write down the pages, who supplies which content, the integrations, the milestones and what is not included. The price and the timeline come from that scope.
Design and build
You approve one design direction, we build it, and you get two consolidated rounds of revisions.
Check and launch
We check the site on phones and desktops, set up redirects from your old addresses, and launch when you approve it.
Keep it fresh (optional)
If you want, we host the site, watch it and make small updates each month. If not, we hand it over.
Revisions and changes
The build includes two consolidated rounds of revisions. Consolidated means you collect everyone's feedback and send it together, so nothing is changed twice.
A change that goes beyond the signed scope is a change request. Your scope says how those are priced, and we quote each one before starting it.
Moving from an existing site
If you already have a website, the scope includes a migration plan: which existing pages are worth keeping, and redirects from the old addresses to the new ones, so links and bookmarks keep working.
Keeping valuable addresses working protects what your current site has earned. It is not a promise about search rankings, which nobody can honestly promise.
Moving a large amount of existing content is quoted separately.
You own it
The site is a one-time purchase, not a rental.
- You own the custom site we build for you once the build is paid in full.
- Third-party parts, such as fonts, stock photos and software libraries, keep their own licenses. We list them in your scope.
- Where possible, your domain is registered in an account you control.
- Keep It Fresh is not required to keep ownership of your site.
- If you decline Keep It Fresh, we deliver an export of the site and the launch or migration help agreed in your scope, and we agree in writing who hosts and maintains it.
What it costs
One price for the build. Looking after it afterwards is optional: see Keep It Fresh.
Starting at $2,500 one time
Your signed scope sets the actual price. Timeline confirmed with your scope.
Questions
How much does a website cost?
Builds start at $2,500, one time. Your signed scope sets the actual price: more pages, heavier content work and integrations cost more, and we tell you the price before you commit.
How long does a build take?
The timeline is confirmed with your scope, once we know the page count and who is supplying the content. We do not quote a delivery date before then.
Who writes the words and supplies the photos?
You supply the text and photos, and we polish what you send. Writing the whole site from scratch is extensive copywriting, which is quoted separately.
Is this for a new site or a redesign?
Either. We ask which it is at the start, because replacing an existing site needs a plan for the pages and addresses you already have.
Do I have to buy the monthly plan?
No. Keep It Fresh is optional, $149/month, and is added only if you ask for it. If you decline, we hand over an export of the site and agree in writing who hosts and maintains it.
Will a new site improve my search rankings?
We build the foundations a search engine needs: clear titles, headings and descriptions, pages that load quickly, and redirects from your old addresses. We cannot promise rankings, and neither can anyone else.
Can you build an online store?
Online stores are outside the starter build. Tell us what you need and we will say whether it is something we can quote.