Process
Four phases, in order. Discovery before design, design before code.
Four phases, in order. Each has something we need from you, something you get back, and a duration we put in the calendar after discovery, once we have actually seen what we are working with.
Phase 01
Discover
We learn the business, the audience, the current site, and the constraints: DNS, redirects, CMS, who approves, who edits, and what cannot slip at launch. We look at the live templates before we talk about color. If the work is a website plus search, listings, or a phone system, we map those dependencies here so they are not a surprise in week six.
- What we need from you
- Access to the current domain, hosting, and analytics. A list of URLs that must not break. The people who will approve design and the people who will type into the CMS. Photos, prices, legal copy, and anything only you can supply. A one-hour kickoff, then written answers when we send a hole list.
- What you receive
- A written brief, a page list with a job for every page, and a calendar. If the site needs rebuilding before the work can land, that is stated plainly in the brief rather than discovered later.
- Typical duration
- One to two weeks
Phase 02
Design
We settle structure, type, and look on real pages at 375, 768, 1024, and 1440, in the browser. Navigation is decided before decoration. Rounds are bounded: structure and type first, look second, correction third. A still exists only where a decision needs a frozen frame.
- What we need from you
- One named approver who can say yes or no in the round we are in. Feedback as decisions, not a pile of conflicting comments. Brand files if they exist, or a decision to use what we already set in identity work.
- What you receive
- Staging pages you can click through, plus a short note of what changed this round and what is now settled. We hold off building out templates while the structure is still being discussed.
- Typical duration
- Two to four weeks
Phase 03
Build
Templates, CMS fields, forms, redirects in draft, and the production assets. Content goes into the CMS, not a folder named final. If search, listings, ads, phones, or Microsoft 365 are in the same engagement, they are built against the URLs and numbers the site will actually use.
- What we need from you
- The remaining copy, images, and accounts: analytics, Search Console, the registrar, Microsoft admin, the Google Business login. When those arrive late, the calendar moves. We will say so that week, not at launch.
- What you receive
- A staging site that matches the sitemap. CMS training for the people who will edit. A running list of what is still missing from you, dated.
- Typical duration
- Three to six weeks
Phase 04
Launch
We freeze templates, drop DNS TTL, run the redirect map, and switch. Launch is a sequence: TLS, apex and www, forms, 404, analytics, Search Console, sitemap. Then two weeks of snagging against a shared list. Hosting and a care plan start after that, as a separate agreement, even if they begin the next day.
- What we need from you
- Someone who can change DNS on the hour we agree. A pause on editing the old site. Availability for a launch window that is not the night before a sale.
- What you receive
- The site on the live domain, a written handoff (DNS, CMS, who can publish, where backups live), and the snagging list. If you do not want a care plan you still get the keys.
- Typical duration
- One to two weeks, then snagging
How you hear from us
What contact looks like between the phases above.
During an active project you hear from us at least weekly, by email, in one thread. If a blocker is sitting with you, we say so that week rather than waiting for the Friday wrap.
A status note lists what we finished, what is in progress, what is blocked, and what we need from you. If nothing moved, it says nothing moved, and why. Hours without decisions stay off the note.
Once a project is open, files, approvals and the snagging list live in the client portal. Email is fine for conversation; the portal is where the things you need to find later live. The portal is at portal.strataveo.com.
Outside an active build we reply to the contact form within two business days. Weekend mail starts the clock on Monday.
You get updates with decisions in them rather than a monthly PDF of hours, and we will tell you when something is blocked instead of letting it drift.
Tell us what you need built.
No pitch deck and no discovery fee. Most engagements start with a single site, and we add the rest only when it earns its place.
- Send a short brief, or just a link to the site you have now.
- We reply within two business days with questions, or a time to talk.
- You get scope, sequence and a price range in writing before anything starts.