Frequently Asked Questions

I build custom e-commerce solutions tailored to your business needs, ensuring you get exactly the features you require without unnecessary complexity. When evaluating e-commerce options, focus on essential capabilities: secure payment processing, inventory management, mobile-responsive design, abandoned cart recovery, and seamless checkout experiences. The right platform should scale with your growth and integrate with your existing tools. I handle the technical complexity—from SSL certificates to payment gateway setup—while giving you full ownership and control. For Southern Utah businesses, I create affordable e-commerce websites that compete with national retailers while reflecting your local brand identity.

I take the guesswork out of web hosting by handling recommendations and setup as part of my web design packages. When evaluating hosting, prioritize reliability (99.9%+ uptime guarantee), speed (SSD storage and CDN), security (SSL certificates and daily backups), and scalability for future growth. Consider your website type: shared hosting suits basic sites, VPS works for growing businesses, and dedicated servers serve high-traffic e-commerce. Quality customer support matters—technical issues need quick resolution. As part of my service, I configure optimal hosting environments for Southern Utah businesses, monitor performance, handle security updates, and ensure your site stays fast and secure without you becoming a technical expert.

I specialize in website design for small businesses throughout Southern Utah, including Washington, St. George, Hurricane, and Washington County. I focus on affordable, mobile-responsive designs with SEO optimization and AI automation built in from day one. My comprehensive approach includes strategy consulting, custom design that reflects your brand, conversion-focused layouts, ongoing maintenance, and measurable results tracking. When evaluating web designers, look for local experience, portfolio quality showcasing real results, transparent pricing with no hidden fees, and ongoing support beyond launch. Southern Utah businesses benefit from working with a local designer who understands regional market dynamics, customer behavior, and the competitive landscape—I'm invested in your long-term success because your community is my community.

While DIY website builders exist and may seem cost-effective initially, they often limit your growth with template restrictions, platform lock-in, and ongoing subscription costs that add up. I provide affordable custom solutions that give you complete ownership, professional design, and scalability without being trapped in a proprietary platform. My approach combines the ease you'd expect from drag-and-drop builders with the power and flexibility of professional development. You get mobile optimization, SSL security, advanced SEO capabilities, and integration with business tools—all while maintaining full control of your content and code. For Southern Utah businesses, my Starter packages ($1,600 - $3,000) are competitive with premium builder subscriptions but deliver far superior long-term value and growth potential. I require a 50% deposit to begin with the remainder due on completion.

A typical Starter website takes 1-2 weeks from kickoff to launch. A Professional marketing site with 8-15 pages runs 3-4 weeks. Full e-commerce builds on Shopify or custom React/Next.js stacks run 4-8 weeks, and larger projects with custom integrations can push to 10-12 weeks. The biggest variable is content readiness—if copy, photos, and product data are ready on day one, I stay on the short end of the range. If I'm writing copy, shooting new photos, or waiting on product feeds, timelines stretch. I work in weekly checkpoints so you see progress every Friday, not just at the end. For Southern Utah clients, I can usually start within a week of signing.

A custom site is code you own; a Wix or Squarespace site is rented space on someone else's platform. With a custom build on React, Next.js, or Shopify, you own the source code, the domain, and the hosting account—if you ever want to move, you move. Template builders lock you into their platform: export options are limited, performance is capped by their shared infrastructure, and monthly fees ($30-$60/mo on Squarespace, more on Wix with apps) add up to thousands over a few years. Custom sites load faster, pass Core Web Vitals more reliably, and scale with your traffic. Templates make sense for a first site under $500. Past that, custom pays back.

Yes—every site I build is responsive by default and tested on real iOS and Android devices before launch. Over 60% of web traffic is now mobile (Statista, 2025), and Google has used mobile-first indexing since 2019, meaning it ranks your site based on the mobile version, not desktop. I design mobile layouts first, then scale up to tablet and desktop. I also target Core Web Vitals pass criteria on mobile: Largest Contentful Paint under 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint under 200ms, and Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1. These thresholds are direct Google ranking factors. If your current site fails mobile PageSpeed, a rebuild usually recovers rankings within 60-90 days.

Yes—I handle the full stack from domain registration through DNS, hosting, SSL, and deployment. I'll recommend a reputable host based on the project: Vercel or Netlify for React and Next.js sites, Shopify's own infrastructure for stores, or a managed host like Cloudways for WordPress. For domains, I register through Cloudflare, Namecheap, or whoever you prefer, but the account is always in your name with your credit card—never mine. I'll set up Cloudflare in front of the site for free CDN, DDoS protection, and DNS management. If you're migrating from an old host, I handle the cutover during low-traffic hours so you don't see downtime. You keep all logins on day one.

A straight-answer range: Starter sites run $1,600 - $3,000, Professional builds run $3,500 - $7,000, and Enterprise or heavy e-commerce projects start at $8,000+. Starter covers a focused marketing site of 4-6 pages, mobile-first design, SEO basics, a contact form, and Google Analytics. Professional covers 8-15 pages, custom design, blog or CMS, advanced SEO and schema, and basic integrations (Mailchimp, CRM, booking). Enterprise and full e-commerce cover Shopify or custom React/Next.js storefronts, multi-step checkout, product data migration, and custom integrations. Pricing is fixed for the scope we agree on—no hourly surprises. Payment terms: 50% deposit required to begin, remainder due on completion. For Enterprise, Flexible split payment schedule available. Every quote comes after a free 30-minute discovery call so the number matches the actual work.

Yes, and the first 30 days of post-launch support are included free with every website project. That covers bug fixes, small copy and image changes, analytics setup, and training your team on the CMS. After 30 days, maintenance is available two ways: hourly billing (I track time transparently and invoice monthly) or a monthly care plan covering security updates, plugin and dependency upgrades, uptime monitoring, daily backups, and a set block of content updates. Neither is required—you own the code and hosting, so you can hire anyone or handle it in-house. For Southern Utah clients on a care plan, I also do quarterly performance reviews: Core Web Vitals, broken links, image optimization, and SEO drift. Pricing scales with site size; most small-business plans land between $100-$400/month.