WEB DESIGN — SARASOTA · BRADENTON · VENICE · LAKEWOOD RANCH
Custom-built websites for Suncoast small business.
Hand-coded in PHP. No WordPress, no templates, no page builders. Every line of code earns its place — so your site loads instantly, ranks higher in Google, and shows up cleanly in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews.
Investment: $1,500 – $5,000 · scoped per project
Why custom matters
The way most agencies build small-business websites is fundamentally broken.
Most local web agencies sell you a template with their logo on the invoice. You pay for "custom design" and get a WordPress theme that runs eighteen plugins, loads forty-three render-blocking scripts, and scores 32 on mobile PageSpeed.
You inherit the same three problems every other small business inherits — and none of them are your fault. They're structural. They come from how the work was bid, scoped, and built. Here's what to watch for.
The template trap
Off-the-shelf themes ship with sliders, comment systems, RSS feeds, and tracking pixels your business will never use. Each one drags down your speed score and signals "generic site" to Google's ranking algorithm. The bloat is invisible to you — until you wonder why nobody finds your site.
The optimization tax
You pay once for the build. Then again for "speed optimization." Again for "SEO add-on." Again for "schema markup." Each invoice is patching what should have been engineered correctly the first time. With hand-coded PHP, the optimization is the build. There's nothing to bolt on later.
The handoff problem
When something breaks at 9pm on a Sunday, you call the agency. They call the developer. The developer is in another time zone — or another country — and replies in three days. Meanwhile your homepage is a 500 error and your phone has stopped ringing. This is the rule, not the exception.
How we do it
Hand-coded from the blueprint up — and engineered for the AI search era.
We do this differently in three concrete ways, and the difference shows up in every Lighthouse audit and every Google ranking.
First, every line of code is written for your business. No themes, no page builders, no plugin soup. The HTML is semantic. The CSS is scoped. The PHP is purpose-built. When PageSpeed Insights crawls your site, it finds nothing to complain about — because nothing extra is there.
Second, the optimization is baked in from day one. Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP), schema markup (Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Service, BreadcrumbList, Speakable), accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA), and AI-search readiness aren't add-ons. They're the foundation of every page we build.
Third, you talk to the person who actually built your site. We're a small Suncoast team based in Sarasota — same time zone, same accent, same accountability. Your call doesn't go to a queue in another country. When something breaks, the person who knows your codebase picks up the phone.
What's included
Everything you need. Nothing you don't.
Every Custom Website Design engagement comes with the full feature set below. No bait-and-switch upsells halfway through. Quoted up front, delivered in full.
- Custom design — never a template, never a theme
- Hand-coded PHP from blueprint to launch
- Mobile-first responsive layout (works on every phone, tablet, and desktop)
- Core Web Vitals optimization (LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms target)
- On-page SEO foundation (semantic HTML, keyword-mapped page structure)
- Full schema markup graph (Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Service, BreadcrumbList, Speakable)
- AEO optimization (FAQ schema, HowTo schema where relevant, voice-search readiness)
- GEO / AI-search readiness (entity-linked content for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews)
- WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility compliance
- SSL certificate setup + ongoing renewal
- Google Analytics 4 + Search Console verification
- Contact forms with email notifications + CRM intake
- XML sitemap + robots.txt + clean URL structure
- Apex / non-www / HTTPS redirect handling
- 30 to 60 days of post-launch support included
- Source code ownership — you keep everything, no lock-in
How it works
A clear path from kickoff to launch.
No mystery, no surprises. Most projects run 4 to 8 weeks depending on scope. Here's exactly what happens at every step.
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1
Discovery call · 20 minutes
Free 20-minute call where we map your business, your customers, and what success looks like for the project. No sales pitch. You leave the call with a clearer plan whether or not you hire us.
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2
Proposal & contract · Within 48 hours
Branded proposal with full scope, fixed price, and timeline — sent to you as a secure link you can sign electronically. 50% deposit on signature, 50% on launch. No hourly billing, no surprise add-ons.
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3
Brand & content gathering · 1 week
You upload your logo, brand colors, photos, and any existing copy through your client portal. We handle missing pieces (we have an in-house copywriter and AI image tools for placeholders).
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4
Design draft + your review · 2 weeks
First draft of every page goes to you for review through the client portal's Approvals system. You click Approve or Request Changes — both are logged with a timestamp for the project record.
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5
Build & QA · 2 weeks
We code the approved design into a working site. Cross-browser testing on Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. Mobile + desktop. Lighthouse audit on every page. Schema validation against Google's Rich Results test.
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6
Launch · 1 day
DNS cutover, SSL verification, analytics tracking confirmed, sitemap submitted to Google + Bing. Your site goes live and we're on standby for the first 24 hours in case anything needs adjustment.
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7
Post-launch support · 30 to 60 days
Bug fixes, copy tweaks, and small adjustments are included for the first 30 to 60 days. After that, you can move to a monthly Care Plan or pay as needed for changes.
Investment
Honest pricing — quoted up front.
Most small business websites land between $1,500 and $5,000. We don't bill hourly. You see the full quote before any work begins, and the number on the proposal is the number on the final invoice.
$1,500 – $5,000
Final price is set after a free 20-minute discovery call once we understand your scope. Pay 50% on signature, 50% on launch.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build a custom website?
Most projects ship in 4 to 8 weeks from contract signature to launch day. Simple brochure sites land at the shorter end; sites with custom development (booking systems, member portals, e-commerce) take longer. The discovery call sets your specific timeline before any money changes hands.
Why don't you build with WordPress?
WordPress powers a huge share of the internet, and for good reasons — it's free, familiar, and has thousands of plugins. But for small business sites where speed, security, and Google ranking matter, the trade-offs are steep. Every plugin is a potential security hole, a performance hit, and an update headache. We hand-code in PHP because it gives our clients faster pages, fewer security incidents, lower long-term maintenance cost, and a cleaner foundation for AI-search optimization. If you specifically need WordPress for a reason — say, an existing team trained on it — we'll tell you that up front and recommend a different shop.
Who owns the code when the project is finished?
You do. Source code, design assets, content, and your domain are all yours. We'll hand it all over on launch day. There is no proprietary builder, no licensing trap, no agency-only login. If you ever decide to take the site to another developer (we hope you don't, but it's your call), there's nothing locking you in.
What does "schema markup" mean and why does it matter?
Schema markup is invisible code that tells Google, ChatGPT, and Perplexity exactly what your business does, where it's located, what services you offer, your hours, your phone number, and how to interpret each page. Without it, search engines have to guess. With it, you're much more likely to show up in rich snippets, voice search results, and AI overviews. Every page we build ships with the full schema graph — Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Service, BreadcrumbList, and Speakable — validated against Google's Rich Results test.
What happens if I need to make changes after launch?
Two options. For the first 30 to 60 days, small changes (copy tweaks, photo swaps, minor adjustments) are included free as part of post-launch support. For ongoing changes after that, most clients pick a monthly Care Plan ($250 / month and up) that includes hosting, security monitoring, backups, and a quota of monthly content updates. Or you can pay per-change as needed.
Do you do e-commerce, booking systems, or member portals?
Yes — those fall under our Advanced Custom Development service rather than the standard Custom Website Design package, because they require additional architecture (Stripe integration, secure user accounts, database design). Pricing for advanced builds runs $3,000 to $15,000 depending on scope. The discovery call will tell you which package fits your project.
Do you serve businesses outside Sarasota?
Our home base is Sarasota, and we deeply understand the Suncoast market — Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Lakewood Ranch, Englewood, Nokomis, Osprey, and Port Charlotte. We do work with businesses outside the region too, but the local-SEO and Google Business Profile expertise is most valuable for businesses physically located in or serving Florida's Suncoast.
How do you handle hosting?
We recommend (and offer) premium managed hosting on the same infrastructure we use for our own site. It includes daily off-site backups, 24/7 security monitoring, SSL certificate management, uptime alerts, and minor content updates. Hosting is $250 / month and up depending on the plan you choose. You're also free to host elsewhere — we'll hand off the code and walk your hosting provider through the deployment.
What's the difference between you and a freelance web designer?
A freelance designer is one person juggling multiple clients. We're a small Suncoast team with formal proposal/contract/invoice/support workflows, a real client portal where you can see your project status anytime, and a phone number that always rings the same person. The work is done by humans, not outsourced overseas, and the business has the structure to still be here in five years.
How do I know if my existing site needs to be rebuilt or just improved?
Request a free audit. We'll run your current site through PageSpeed Insights, check the schema markup, scan the mobile experience, and look at how you're showing up in Google and AI search. The PDF report tells you in plain English: keep, improve, or rebuild. No pressure, no sales script — just an honest assessment of what you have and what (if anything) it needs.