The idea comes before the effect.
Movement and visual polish are tools. If they don't make the idea clearer or the feeling sharper, we cut them.
Approach
A clear process, not a pile of meetings.
The work moves in one direction: first the facts, then the story, then the look, then a site that’s ready to launch and live with. How long it takes depends on the size of the job, how ready your content is, and how many people need to agree. We don’t promise one timeline for every project.
How it goes
Reveal. Reimagine. Build. Refine.
Four steps. Each one gives you something you can look at and push back on, so nothing at the end comes as a surprise.
01
Reveal
We go through the site you have now and write down what is costing you work.
We start with what your business is actually trying to do, and what your current site does instead. We go through it page by page, list your content, follow the paths your customers take, and look at your competitors. We write down what we find and show you before anyone suggests a design. On Nostos, this step changed the whole plan: the old site turned out to be a private guide for guests, not a marketing site.
- Notes on your current site, page by page
- A list of your content, marked keep / tighten / move / replace
- The paths your customers take, and where they get stuck
- A written problem statement you can disagree with
An hour of your time, access to your visitor data if you have it, and an honest answer about what your business has become.
02
Reimagine
We work out what the site has to say, then show you what it will look like saying it.
The idea comes before any screens: what sets you apart, your story, how the pages are organized, and the one sentence the site has to prove. Then the look: fonts, colors, how photos are treated, and how things move. All of it is chosen to fit the idea, not picked from a trend. You see the direction as real, finished-looking pages, not a mood board.
- The main idea, and how the story unfolds across the site
- A sitemap and a plan for what goes on each page
- The look, shown on real pages, for desktop and phone
- How things move and respond when you tap or scroll
Your honest reactions, not sign-off by committee. The sooner you tell us what feels wrong, the better the second round is.
03
Build
We build it, on a web address you can open and watch while it happens.
The building is part of the design, not a translation of it. The site works on every screen size. Your content is set up so it's easy to update, and it connects to the tools you use. Accessibility, speed, and search basics are built in, including redirects for any page that moves. You get a working web address early, and it stays working.
- The site, working on every screen size, at a real web address you can review
- Your content set up, and a clear way to get it edited
- Accessibility and speed checks
- Redirects and search details for any page that changes
Content, photos, and the fact checks only you can make. This is the step where projects stall if the copy is waiting on someone.
04
Refine
We test it on real phones and real connections, launch it, and keep watching.
We test with a keyboard, a screen reader, reduced motion, slow connections, and small screens. We also test the awkward moments nobody shows off: empty, error, sold out, failed. Then we launch, and then we watch. Launch is where you start learning how the site really does, not the end of the work.
- Testing across devices, and with tools like screen readers
- Launch, with redirects and Google Search Console set up
- A written handover of what's live and what's still owed
- Improvements once real people are using it
A final check of the facts, and a decision about what you want tracked after launch.
Principles
What we hold ourselves to
Clear first, surprising second.
Visitors should understand what you offer without solving a puzzle. Delight should reward their attention, not cost them effort.
Phones get their own design.
A phone site isn't a squashed desktop site. The layout, text, and tapping are designed for a hand, a small screen, and a patchy connection.
Accessibility is part of the design.
The version for people using reduced motion, a keyboard, or a screen reader isn't an afterthought. It's the same story, told with the same care.
Speed is part of the design.
Stuttering, a main image that loads late, and content that jumps around are design mistakes. We set speed limits as seriously as we choose fonts and colors.
Launch is where the learning starts.
Before launch, we agree on what success looks like. Then we set up tracking so you can learn from the site without collecting more data than you need.
Built to last, not just to impress.
A site that's easy to maintain, consistent styles, and written guides are part of the craft. Your site should still feel like itself a year later, in someone else’s hands.
How much of your time this takes
Hands off is the default. After the first conversation, you shouldn’t need to attend anything. Reviews arrive as a link and a short note. They wait until you open them, and you can reply at eleven at night from your phone. There’s no standing weekly meeting, no project tool for you to learn, and no meetings just for the sake of meeting.
What we do need from you is small, but it’s real, so it’s worth saying up front. One conversation at the start, because no one can rebuild a business’s website without hearing its owner describe the business once. An honest answer about what your business has become. Someone who can actually make decisions. And someone who’ll look after the site after launch. We’ll also need access to your visitor data and your site’s editing system, if you have them. That’s the list.
Hands on is welcome too, and some of the best projects are. If you want to be in every decision, say so at the start, or halfway through if you change your mind. It costs nothing either way. It’s about how you like to work, not how much you’re spending.
How we work together
The steps are Reveal, Reimagine, Build, Refine. Feedback happens at set points, not as a constant stream of messages. Specialist partners join when a project needs them: development, search, photography, copy in another language, or a brand that’s still being named.
Expect to review working drafts of the site, not one big dramatic reveal. The writing is part of every build, so expect an interview, a draft back from us and a round of changes, or to write it yourself and have us edit if you’d rather. Builds start at $5,500.
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