Straight
answers.
The things people ask on the first call, written down so you do not have to make it. If your question is not here, the phone is genuinely the fastest way to get it answered.
On this page
Starting from scratch.
How long does a website actually take?
Two to three weeks from the day we have your photos, logo and a short conversation about your business. The slow part is almost always waiting on content, so we do most of that heavy lifting for you.
What do you need from me?
About ninety minutes total: one call at the start, one look at the homepage draft, and one review before launch. If you have photos and a logo, send them. If you don't, we'll sort it out.
Do I own the website when it's done?
Yes. The domain is registered in your name and the site is yours. If you ever decide to work with someone else, you take everything with you — no hostage situation, no export fee.
What if I already have a website?
Most of our work is replacing a site that's five years old, slow on a phone, or invisible on Google. We'll look at what you have, keep whatever is working, and tell you honestly if you don't need us yet.
Is the monthly maintenance plan required?
No. Plenty of clients take the one-time build and manage it themselves. The monthly plans exist for owners who'd rather text us a change than log into anything, and for the ongoing SEO work that keeps rankings climbing.
Can you get me to the top of Google?
Nobody can promise a specific ranking, and anyone who does is selling something. What we can do is build the site properly — local schema, fast pages, a tuned Google Business Profile — and keep working the terms your customers search. That's what has put our clients in the map pack.
Do you work with businesses outside Mid-Michigan?
Rarely. Being local is the whole point — we know the competition, the towns and the customers here. If you're outside the area we'll happily point you toward someone good.
What does it cost to keep the site online?
Hosting and the domain run roughly $20–$30 a month, billed to you directly so there's no markup. That's included in every maintenance plan if you take one.
Why is the price fixed rather than hourly?
Because an hourly quote transfers the risk of our estimate onto you, and you have no way to check it. We scope the work, quote a number, and if we underestimate that is our problem rather than an invoice you did not expect.
Do you take payment plans?
For qualifying businesses, yes. Usually that is a deposit and the balance split across the build, agreed before anything starts. Ask on the first call and we will tell you straight away whether it applies.
What is not included in the build price?
Hosting and the domain, which run about $20 to $30 a month and are billed to you directly with no markup. Anything that carries a third-party licence — a booking platform, a payment processor, stock photography — is also yours and quoted before we use it.
Can I start on a smaller package and upgrade later?
Yes, and plenty of businesses do. Starting on the five-page build and adding pages once the work is coming in is a sensible way to do it, and you only pay the difference in scope rather than starting again.
What happens if I cancel a care plan?
Nothing bad. The plans are month to month, you keep the site, the domain and everything on it, and we hand over any access you do not already hold. There is no notice period and no exit fee.
Is custom software priced the same way?
Same principle, different process. Custom work cannot be quoted from a phone call, so a short discovery produces a written scope and a fixed price. Sometimes that discovery ends with us recommending you buy something off the shelf instead.
One question from each thing we do.
Website design
How long does a website take?
Two to three weeks from the day we have your photos, logo and a short conversation about the business. The slow part is almost always waiting on content, so we write it for you and keep your involvement to about ninety minutes in total.
More on website designLocal SEO
How long does local SEO take to work?
Business Profile fixes — the right category, the right service area, a duplicate removed — often show within a few weeks. Ranking for competitive terms in a town like Midland or Saginaw usually takes three to six months of consistent work. Anyone quoting days is either fixing something trivial or not being straight with you.
More on local seoGoogle Business Profile
Is a Google Business Profile really free?
Yes. Google doesn't charge for the listing, and anyone calling to tell you it's about to be deleted unless you pay is a scam. What you pay for, if anything, is someone's time to set it up properly and keep it current — which is what this service is.
More on google business profileBooking & lead capture
Which booking and scheduling tools do you work with?
Whatever you already use, in almost every case: Calendly, Acuity, Square Appointments, Vagaro, Booksy, Mindbody, Glofox, Housecall Pro, Jobber, ServiceTitan, and most practice management systems that offer online scheduling. If you're not on anything, we recommend the simplest tool that fits how you take payment and manage staff — not the one with the biggest monthly fee.
More on booking & lead captureMaintenance & care
Is there a contract?
No. The plans are month to month and you can stop whenever you like. If you leave, you keep the site, the domain and everything on it — the plan is a service, not a lease.
More on maintenance & careRedesign
Will we lose our Google rankings in a redesign?
Not if it's done properly, and that's the part of the job we're most careful about. Every existing URL is mapped to its new home with a redirect, the content that earned the ranking is carried over and improved rather than replaced, the domain stays the same and the Google Business Profile is left alone. We track rankings for a month after launch so anything that moves is caught early.
More on redesignIf your question is more specific.
Each of these pages answers the questions particular to it, rather than repeating the same answers with a different noun in front.
By trade
Questions about your industry
What a plumber's site needs that a salon's does not, which package usually fits, and the mistakes common to each trade.
By town
Questions about your market
How competitive each town is, how long ranking takes there, and which searches are still winnable.
Versus the alternatives
Questions about other options
Whether a builder is enough, what switching involves, and when the honest answer is to stay where you are.
Question not
answered here?
Call and ask. Twenty minutes on the phone covers more than any page can, and there is no obligation at the end of it.
What happens next
- 01You tell us about the business
- 02We show you what we'd build
- 03You decide, with a fixed price in hand
Joining 50+ Mid-Michigan businesses already online with us.