What's the difference between Starter, Growth, and Premium?

Starter ($1,900–$3,500) is a serious foundation for a small business — brochure-style sites for service businesses, trades, and single-location restaurants. Growth ($4,000–$7,500) is where most clients land — professional services, multi-location businesses, deeper integrations, and custom components. Premium ($8,500+) is for custom platforms, ecommerce at scale, mobile apps, and SaaS. Your discovery call places you in the right tier and your proposal pins a fixed price.

Why is the frontend a separate one-time fee?

Because we build it from scratch for you. The build investment ($1,900 and up) covers brand discovery, custom design, the initial Next.js codebase, and the page templates your CMS uses going forward. After that, your team adds and edits unlimited pages through the CMS — at no extra charge from us. We're not a template platform, so we don't earn margin by selling you new templates every year.

What happens if my site gets a lot of traffic?

For typical SMB traffic the Essentials and Growth hosting tiers handle it without issue, and your monthly fee stays flat regardless of visits. If we forecast unusually heavy traffic during discovery — a viral product launch, a media-driven brand, or a high-volume ecommerce store — we'll recommend the Pro tier or dedicated infrastructure in your proposal. No surprise upgrades.

Yes — annual prepay gets you 15% off any recurring tier (Essentials, Growth, or Pro). Most clients start monthly and switch to annual after the first quarter once they see the value.

Do you offer financing for the build?

Yes — for engagements above $5k we offer a private installment plan after we've scoped the work in your proposal. We don't advertise it publicly because financing terms depend on project size and shape, but bring it up on your discovery call if it would help.

What does 'you own the code' actually mean?

When the engagement ends — for any reason — you receive the full source code of your frontend, the design system, and any custom integrations we built. You can take it to another agency, host it elsewhere, or hire your own developer to extend it. The CMS itself stays on our infrastructure (or yours, if you've chosen the self-hosted option), but the frontend is yours.

Do you charge transaction fees? Who handles payments?

We charge nothing on transactions. The Ecommerce and Subscription modules connect to your own Stripe account — payments go directly from your customer's card to your bank account, and Stripe charges you their standard processing fee (currently 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction in the US, set by Stripe and visible on every receipt). We don't sit in the middle, we don't take a cut, and we don't have access to your funds. Compare this to Shopify Basic which adds 2% on every sale on top of Stripe fees.

What if I want to leave?

Cancel any time with 30 days' notice. We'll send you a final export of your content and the latest version of your code. No exit fees, no data hostage, no awkward conversations.

How long until I can launch?

Starter builds usually launch in 4–6 weeks from kickoff. Growth builds with modules typically take 6–10 weeks. Premium engagements (custom platforms, apps) run 10–24 weeks depending on scope. We confirm the exact timeline in your proposal after discovery.

What if my needs change after launch?

Add a module any time — your monthly fee just adjusts on the next billing cycle. Move between hosting tiers the same way. For bigger changes (a new section of the site, a deeper integration, a redesign), we quote it as a separate engagement. Most clients don't need this in year one, but we're always there when you do.

Transparent Pricing

Custom-built digital products. Engineered to grow with your business.

We build serious web platforms for businesses that want ownership, performance, and a real engineer in the room. One-time build, flat monthly infrastructure, optional modules — every line item visible up front, no surprises after launch.

Request a Proposal

Typical investment

What businesses like yours typically invest.

Real ranges from our pipeline so you can size the conversation before it starts. Your proposal pins the exact fixed price after discovery.

Business type	Typical investment	Tier
Small business / brochure site	$1,900 – $3,500	Starter tier
Professional services site	$4,000 – $6,500	Growth tier
Ecommerce platform	$6,500 – $12,500	Growth → Premium
Mobile app MVP	$12,500 – $30,000	Premium tier
Custom platform / SaaS	$12,500 – $40,000+	Premium tier

Build investment only. Recurring hosting + CMS billed separately, from $24.99/mo.

How it works

Three line items. That's the whole model.

A custom frontend you own, hosting + platform management at a flat monthly fee, and optional modules if your business needs them. Every line shown up front — your proposal pins the final scope and price.

01 — Foundation
Custom frontend build
A one-time investment for your custom-designed Next.js platform. Three tiers — Starter, Growth, Premium — so the price reflects what you actually need. See the next section for what fits each.
From $1,900
Starter from $1,900 · Growth $4k–$7.5k · Premium $8.5k+
02 — Recurring
Hosting + platform management
Managed hosting, daily backups, SSL, CDN, security patches, and CMS access. Three tiers depending on how active your platform is — start at Essentials, move up only when the business needs it.
From $24.99/mo
Essentials $24.99 · Growth $74.99 · Pro $174.99 — billed monthly or annually (15% off)
03 — Optional
Modules for your business
Add only what you need: ecommerce, restaurant, bookings, or membership. Stack any combination. Most clients pick one, some pick two.
+$25 to $50
per module, per month

Build tiers

Three tiers. Your scope decides where you land.

We sell foundations, not features. Most serious small businesses land in Growth. Starter is for tight-scope launches; Premium is for custom platforms and apps. Your proposal pins a fixed price after discovery.

Starter

$1,900 – $3,500

A serious foundation for a small business

Single-location service businesses, trades, restaurants, and brochure sites that need a credible online presence with room to grow.

Brand discovery and visual design system
Custom Next.js codebase — yours to keep when you leave
Mobile-responsive layout for every page
Page templates the CMS uses for unlimited future pages
Content migration from your existing site
Basic SEO setup (schema, sitemap, OG tags, canonical URLs)
Contact / quote form connected to your CMS
Launch on our infrastructure with monitoring
One month of post-launch fixes and onboarding support

Most clients

Growth

$4,000 – $7,500

Where most serious small businesses land

Professional services, multi-location businesses, and growing brands that need custom components, deeper integrations, and a site that pulls real weight in the business.

Everything in Starter
Custom illustrations, micro-animations, or motion design
Deeper third-party integrations (CRM, marketing automation, analytics)
Booking, restaurant, or membership module configured to your workflow
Advanced SEO: content audit, structured-data plan, local schema
Performance budget — Core Web Vitals tuned before launch
Custom forms, calculators, or quote workflows
90 days of post-launch support

Premium

$8,500+

Custom platforms, apps, and SaaS

Businesses building a real digital product: a custom platform, a mobile app, a SaaS, or a multi-tenant operation. Engagements scoped per project — typically $8.5k–$40k+.

Everything in Growth
Custom backend logic, calculators, or admin dashboards
Multi-language and multi-region content
Mobile app companion (iOS + Android)
Custom authentication, role-based access, and admin tooling
Architecture and infrastructure review for scale
Migration from a complex legacy CMS or ecommerce platform
Dedicated infrastructure tier when traffic or compliance warrants it
Optional fractional-CTO engagement post-launch

Not sure where your project lands? That's the point of the discovery call — we listen, scope, and send you a proposal with the exact line items and a fixed price before any work begins.

Hosting + platform tiers

Start at Essentials. Move up only when the business asks for it.

Every tier covers the platform — what changes is how actively we manage it with you. No traffic gates, no plan jumps based on visits.

Essentials

$24.99/mo

Flat-fee managed hosting + CMS

Small businesses with a live site that needs to stay healthy and current.

Managed hosting on our infrastructure
SSL, CDN, daily backups, security patches
Full CMS access — unlimited pages, no traffic gates
Standard email support
No per-page fees, no transaction fees, no surprise upgrades

Recommended

Growth

$74.99/mo

Active platform management

Businesses that publish often, run paid traffic, or need a partner watching the platform week to week.

Everything in Essentials
Priority email + chat support — 24h response
Monthly performance + Core Web Vitals review
Quarterly SEO audit with action items
Uptime monitoring with on-call alerts
Analytics dashboard reviewed against business goals
Up to 2h/month of content-update queue at no extra charge

Pro

$174.99/mo

Strategic platform partnership

High-traffic sites, ecommerce stores, or businesses where downtime or slow pages cost real revenue.

Everything in Growth
4h business-hours response SLA
Dedicated staging environment
Quarterly architecture and infrastructure review
Integration support — third-party APIs, data pipelines, custom connectors
Performance budget enforced on every release
Direct access to the senior engineer who built your stack

Switch tiers any time — your monthly fee adjusts on the next billing cycle. Annual prepay gets you 15% off.

Build your plan

Pick the modules your business actually needs.

Combine any modules with the base plan. Most clients pick one, some pick two — your bill updates as you click.

Base — included for everyone

Hosting + CMS access, daily backups, SSL, CDN, security patches, unlimited pages.

$24.99/mo

Add modules

How we compare

Same monthly spend. Different ceiling.

At Essentials our recurring fee is in the same neighborhood as a basic Shopify or Wix plan — but you get custom design, owned code, no transaction fees, and no traffic gates. Template platforms feel cheap until you outgrow them.

Pricing and features compared: Shopify, Wix, and Digital Potter.
Feature	Shopify Basic	Wix Premium	Digital Potter
Monthly base	$39	$17–$39	$24.99 (Essentials)
Build cost	$0 (template)	$0 (template)	From $1,900 (custom)
Transaction fees	2% on every sale (Basic plan)	0% (Stripe fees apply)	0% from us · your Stripe account, your fees
Custom design	Theme tweaks only	Theme tweaks only	Yes — built for you
You own the code	No	No	Yes
Per-page fees	No	No	No
Traffic gates	Plan tier dictates	Plan tier dictates	No — flat fee
Platform lock-in	Yes (proprietary)	Yes (proprietary)	No — code is portable

Pricing reflects publicly listed plans as of 2026. Compare based on your specific business — we're happy to discuss tradeoffs in your proposal.

Popular combinations

Real client setups, with the actual monthly cost.

A snapshot of how four different kinds of businesses configure their plan. Yours probably falls close to one of these.

Local restaurant
A neighborhood spot with menus that change weekly and a reservation form.
Plan
Hosting + Restaurant
$49.99/mo
Boutique ecommerce
A maker selling 20–200 SKUs with tax rules and Stripe checkout.
Plan
Hosting + Ecommerce
$74.99/mo
Membership business
Online community or course library with recurring billing and gated content.
Plan
Hosting + Subscription / Membership
$74.99/mo
Events + community
Workshops, gatherings, and a paid membership tier alongside.
Plan
Hosting + Booking & Events + Subscription / Membership
$114.99/mo

All plans share the same $24.99/mo base. The frontend foundation is a separate one-time investment.

Frequently asked

The questions every business owner asks us.

If yours isn't here, ask in the contact form — we answer every inquiry within one business day.

What's the difference between Starter, Growth, and Premium?
Starter ($1,900–$3,500) is a serious foundation for a small business — brochure-style sites for service businesses, trades, and single-location restaurants. Growth ($4,000–$7,500) is where most clients land — professional services, multi-location businesses, deeper integrations, and custom components. Premium ($8,500+) is for custom platforms, ecommerce at scale, mobile apps, and SaaS. Your discovery call places you in the right tier and your proposal pins a fixed price.
Why is the frontend a separate one-time fee?
Because we build it from scratch for you. The build investment ($1,900 and up) covers brand discovery, custom design, the initial Next.js codebase, and the page templates your CMS uses going forward. After that, your team adds and edits unlimited pages through the CMS — at no extra charge from us. We're not a template platform, so we don't earn margin by selling you new templates every year.
What happens if my site gets a lot of traffic?
For typical SMB traffic the Essentials and Growth hosting tiers handle it without issue, and your monthly fee stays flat regardless of visits. If we forecast unusually heavy traffic during discovery — a viral product launch, a media-driven brand, or a high-volume ecommerce store — we'll recommend the Pro tier or dedicated infrastructure in your proposal. No surprise upgrades.
Can I pay annually?
Yes — annual prepay gets you 15% off any recurring tier (Essentials, Growth, or Pro). Most clients start monthly and switch to annual after the first quarter once they see the value.
Do you offer financing for the build?
Yes — for engagements above $5k we offer a private installment plan after we've scoped the work in your proposal. We don't advertise it publicly because financing terms depend on project size and shape, but bring it up on your discovery call if it would help.
What does 'you own the code' actually mean?
When the engagement ends — for any reason — you receive the full source code of your frontend, the design system, and any custom integrations we built. You can take it to another agency, host it elsewhere, or hire your own developer to extend it. The CMS itself stays on our infrastructure (or yours, if you've chosen the self-hosted option), but the frontend is yours.
Do you charge transaction fees? Who handles payments?
We charge nothing on transactions. The Ecommerce and Subscription modules connect to your own Stripe account — payments go directly from your customer's card to your bank account, and Stripe charges you their standard processing fee (currently 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction in the US, set by Stripe and visible on every receipt). We don't sit in the middle, we don't take a cut, and we don't have access to your funds. Compare this to Shopify Basic which adds 2% on every sale on top of Stripe fees.
What if I want to leave?
Cancel any time with 30 days' notice. We'll send you a final export of your content and the latest version of your code. No exit fees, no data hostage, no awkward conversations.
How long until I can launch?
Starter builds usually launch in 4–6 weeks from kickoff. Growth builds with modules typically take 6–10 weeks. Premium engagements (custom platforms, apps) run 10–24 weeks depending on scope. We confirm the exact timeline in your proposal after discovery.
What if my needs change after launch?
Add a module any time — your monthly fee just adjusts on the next billing cycle. Move between hosting tiers the same way. For bigger changes (a new section of the site, a deeper integration, a redesign), we quote it as a separate engagement. Most clients don't need this in year one, but we're always there when you do.

Honest positioning

Who we’re a fit for — and who we’re not.

Clarity up front saves everyone time. If the right column describes your project, we’ll happily point you toward a better-suited option.

We’re a great fit if

This sounds like your project

You need a serious online presence — not a hobby site or a placeholder.
You value custom design, performance, and long-term ownership of the code.
You want a real engineer on the project — not a project manager forwarding tickets.
You expect the site or app to grow with the business, not be replaced next year.
You’re willing to invest in a foundation that pays back over years.

We’re probably not the right fit if

This describes the brief

You’re looking for a DIY template — Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify themes solve this well.
Your hard budget cap is under $1,900 for the build.
You want the cheapest option on the market and plan to switch agencies often.
You expect to handle design, copy, and deployment yourself.
You need it launched this week with no discovery and no scope.

Not sure where you land? Send us the brief anyway. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll tell you and point you somewhere that is.

Need something bigger?

Dedicated infrastructure for high-traffic, regulated, or self-hosted clients.

When we know a site will see heavy load, run in a compliance environment (HIPAA, SOC 2), or needs to live entirely in your own AWS / GCP / Azure account, we move it to a dedicated tier. We surface that recommendation during discovery — never as a surprise after launch — and it's priced per project.

Talk about a custom tier Self-hosting details →

Ready to craft your digital masterpiece?

Tell us about your business on a free 45-minute discovery call. You'll leave with a clear plan and an honest price — whether or not you hire us. No templates, no Frankenstein stack, no pressure.

Book a Free Discovery Call Request a Proposal