How we work
How we build your site, and how long it takes
Most agencies want a deposit before they will show you a single idea. We design a real mockup of your site first, for nothing, and you decide from there.
Step by step
Six steps, from the first call to handover.
Every step has a timescale attached. They are the ones we work to, not the ones that sound best on a website.
A call
20 minutes
What you do, who you are up against, what you want the site to bring in. We say what we would build and what it would cost. If a website is not the thing that will help you most right now, we say that instead.
Your free concept
Within 2 working days
We design a concept of your site, with your business in it, not a template with your logo dropped on. It is a partial build rather than a finished site, enough to show you the direction, the look and how it would work. It costs nothing and there is no obligation.
Deposit and build
1 to 4 weeks, depending on the project
If you like the concept, 50% starts the full build, or a £200 deposit if you are paying monthly. We write the copy, lay out your photos, build every page and show you progress as it goes. One round of changes at concept stage and one at build stage are included.
Review
A few days
You see the whole site before anyone else does, on your own phone and computer. Anything that does not match what we agreed is put right before you sign off.
Handover
Launch day
The balance clears and the site goes live. You own it outright: the design, the content, the code, the domain. If you are paying monthly, the site goes live and the payments carry on, and it is yours once the last one is made. It is hand coded, so there is no editor to log in to. Once you sign it off, changes are made by us: covered by a care plan, or paid for as a one off change if you are not on one.
Care, if you want it
Optional, from launch
A monthly plan covering search work, content updates and your Cloudflare and security management. Optional, though we recommend it, with a six month minimum if you take it. Plenty of businesses take the build and host it themselves, and that is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Without one, changes after sign off are quoted and paid for one at a time.
In a hurry?
There is a rush option. Both of us work on your project and nothing else, which normally gets the site and everything behind it finished in about three days. It carries a fee because it moves other work, and we quote it before you commit.
- Essential
- 1 week from the day your content is with us
- Signature
- 2 to 3 weeks from the day your content is with us
- Immersive
- Up to 4 weeks from the day your content is with us
- Rush
- About 3 days, everything else put down
What we promise, and keep
We reply within one working day.
Your free concept follows within two working days of our call.
If we are going to miss either, you hear it from us before the deadline, not after. That is the whole difference between an agency that is busy and one that has gone quiet on you.
What we need from you
The single biggest cause of a late website is waiting on content. All of this can be rough, we will tidy it. We just cannot invent it.
- Photos of your own work
- From your phone is fine. Twenty good ones beat any stock library. If you have none, tell us early and we will plan around it or arrange a photographer.
- Your services, and roughly how you price them
- Even ranges help. If you would rather not publish prices, say so and we will write around it.
- The areas you cover
- Towns and postcodes. This matters more than almost anything else for being found locally.
- Your contact details, exactly as you want them shown
- Phone, email, opening hours, and an address if you have premises.
- Three sites you like and one you do not
- With a sentence on why. This tells us more in thirty seconds than an hour of conversation.
- Any reviews you already have
- Google, Checkatrade, anything in writing. Screenshots are fine.
You do not need to write the copy. We ask you questions, write it, and you approve it.
Once it is paid for, it is yours
The design, the content, the code and the domain. The domain stays registered in your name from the start, wherever you bought it, and we just point it at the new site. You never have to transfer anything to us and there is nothing for you to buy back later.
Questions about how it works
Is the free concept really free?
Yes. We design a concept of your site, with your business in it, and show it to you. It is a partial build rather than a finished site, enough to show you the direction and how it would work. Your free concept follows within two working days of our call. No charge, no obligation, and no pressure afterwards.
How long does a website take?
Essential takes 1 week, Signature 2 to 3 weeks, and Immersive, with its bespoke 3D, up to 4 weeks. All of that is measured from the day your content is with us, not the day you say yes. There is also a rush option: everyone goes hands on deck on your project and it is normally finished in about 3 days, for a fee.
What do you need from me?
Photos of your own work from your phone, a list of your services and roughly how you price them, the towns you cover, and your contact details exactly as you want them shown. If you have none of that written down, we pull it out of you on the call. You do not have to write the copy, we do that.
Do I need to know anything technical?
No. You tell us about your business and we handle everything else. If there is something you genuinely need to know, we explain it in plain English without making you feel daft for asking.
Do you only work with trades?
No. Trades and service firms are a big part of what we do and we understand that world well, but we build for shops, studios, professional firms, restaurants and anyone else who needs a site that actually works. If customers look you up before they buy from you, the same thinking applies.
Can you build an online shop?
Yes. Products, a basket, card payments, stock and shipping rules, built into the same site rather than bolted on the side. What changes is the scope rather than whether we take it on, so tell us roughly what you sell and how much of it and we will price it properly.
Who will I actually be dealing with?
Patrick and Tommy. There are two of us and that is the whole company. You will not be handed to an account manager who relays your request to someone you never speak to.
Can you work with businesses outside the West Midlands?
Yes. We are Wolverhampton based and most of the work happens over email and video anyway. We work with businesses across England and will come and see you if you are local and would rather sit down with someone.
Want to see it before you spend anything?
Tell us what you do and we will design a real mockup of your site. Free, yours to keep looking at, and you decide what happens next.
15% off for our next 10 clients. How it works
We reply within one working day. Your free concept follows within two working days of our call. Or email enquiries@elevantae.com directly.