How it works

Four steps.
The first one is small on purpose.

Audit, plan, build, watch.
Every engagement starts with a paid audit that is credited against the work, and larger work is scoped as 90-day goals with checkpoints.

Start with an audit

The four steps

2 weeks

fixed fee, credited against the work

Audit
Two weeks, fixed fee. We read the code, the hosting, the plugins, the analytics, and the workflows, then write down what we would fix first and why. You keep the list whether or not you hire us. If you do, the fee comes off the top.
2 weeks: fixed fee, credited against the work
Plan
Goals for the next 90 days, with checkpoints at 30, 60, and 90. Priced on the outcome, not the hour. Scope is written down, and so is what we will not do, because scope is a feature.
90 days: goals with 30, 60, and 90 day checkpoints
Build
A project lead, an architect, and a senior engineer. Sprint checks against scope. Every change goes to staging first, gets reviewed by a person, and ships with a rollback ready. If the goal changes, we say so out loud and re-plan, once.
3 people: a lead, an architect, a senior engineer
Watch
The site moves into the Pen or stays where it is with our monitoring on it. Retainers cover the boring middle: updates, fixes, the next 90 days, and the phone call at 3 a.m. that a person answers.
1 person: on call, who has seen your failure mode before

What we will not do

Scope is a feature.
Here is the edge of ours.

Quote before reading

A number without the audit is a guess, and the guess becomes the budget. We do not do it, and we will tell you why when you ask anyway.

Bill by the hour on outcomes

Ninety-day goals are priced on the outcome. Hourly billing rewards slowness. Retainers for the boring middle are the exception, and they are flat.

Ship without staging

Not even the small one. Especially the small one. The small one is how the checkout went down last time.

Pretend AI is a strategy

We use it every day. It is a tool. When a thing should not be automated, we say so, and it goes on the short list we hand your team.

Keep your data hostage

Your code, your accounts, your backups. When we part ways, you leave with all of it and a document that explains it.

For agencies: the same four steps, under your name

You sell the strategy and the creative.
We are the engineering and hosting team behind it, on your invoice.

Your brand, front to back

Your client sees your account manager, your reports, your invoice. We are in the background, on the call when you want us, silent when you do not.

Audits you can resell

The two-week audit ships as a document in your template. Charge for it. The credit still applies to the build.

Hosting you do not have to run

Sites move into the Pen under your account. Monitoring, backups, updates, and the 3 a.m. page are ours. The relationship stays yours.

Talk about white-label

Questions about the process

Why does every engagement start with a paid audit?

Because free discovery calls produce guesses and the guess becomes the quote. A paid audit produces a written list with evidence, and the fee comes off the top of any build work. You keep the list either way, so the worst case is a document you can hand to someone else.

How are larger projects priced?

As 90-day goals with 30, 60, and 90 day checkpoints, priced on the outcome, not the hour. If the goal changes mid-way, we say so out loud and re-plan once. Hosting is separate, flat, and monthly.

Who is on the team for a build?

A project lead who owns the schedule, an architect who owns the design, and a senior engineer who owns the code. Smaller work may be one person wearing two of those hats. You always know which person to call.

Four steps.The first one is small on purpose.