Answers to common questions.

The numbers on the pricing page are turn-key — design, build, copy guidance, mobile, SEO setup, and revisions. No nasty surprises.

Things that aren’t included: the domain itself, platform hosting (Squarespace or Cloudflare), professional photography, and copywriting if you want me to write the words for you. I can quote those separately or refer you to people I trust.

50% deposit to start. Final 50% after website launch.

For Signature builds (longer projects), we can split into thirds — start, milestone, launch — if that helps cashflow.

Quick rule of thumb:

• Spark if your budget is under $2,500. Small, sharp, and slick — just smaller in scope.
• Studio if you want to edit your own content and your budget is $3,500–$6,500. This is where most clients land.
• Signature if your website is genuinely a competitive advantage — premium services, design-forward brands — and you want it to look and feel exceptional.

See the pricing page for the full breakdown, or just have a chat with me — 15 minutes is usually enough to know.

Each tier handles it differently:

• Spark — hosted on Cloudflare Pages.
• Studio — Squarespace hosts the site.
• Signature — hosted on Cloudflare, with a monthly Care plan.

Whichever tier, you keep ownership of the domain and the content. If you ever switch hosts, the content moves with you.

Squarespace gives you 90% of what most small businesses actually need from a website, with 10% of the maintenance overhead WordPress brings. No plugins to keep updated, no security patches, no hosting headaches.

If you genuinely need WordPress (complex custom logic, specific plugins), I’ll tell you — and probably refer you to someone who specialises. For most small businesses, that need almost never comes up.

For the high end, I build on Astro instead, which is faster and more flexible than either Squarespace or WordPress. That’s the Signature tier.

Roughly:

• Spark — 1 to 2 weeks
• Studio — 3 to 5 weeks
• Signature — 4 to 6 weeks

The biggest variable is content readiness. If you have copy and photos lined up, we can move fast. If we’re building those alongside the design, add a couple of weeks.

1. Free 15-min chat. We work out if it’s a fit. No pressure.
2. Brief and estimate. I send you a written estimate — a ballpark, not a binding quote — based on what we discussed.
3. Kick-off. Once you’re in, we have a longer call to lock in scope, content, timeline — and the final quote, if anything’s shifted from the estimate. 50% deposit.
4. Design + build. I show you progress along the way, not just at the end.
5. One revision round. You give feedback, I fix things, we land it.
6. Launch. Site goes live, I train you on the editor (if applicable), final invoice.
7. Stay in touch. I’m around for ongoing support, edits, or a Care plan whenever you want one.

Yes — fully. The domain, the content, the design. You own it all. If you ever want to leave Pixelsmith, you take everything with you. No lock-in, no ransom, no awkward handover.

Depends on the tier:

• Spark — no. Pixelsmith handles updates (small fee per update or a Care plan).
• Studio — yes, fully. Squarespace’s editor is genuinely easy. I’ll spend up to 30 minutes training you at handover.
• Signature — yes, on the parts that matter (case studies, blog posts, FAQs). The bits that need careful design (hero, layout decisions) stay in code.

A few options:

• Edit it yourself (Studio and Signature tiers) — most small content changes you can do in the editor.
• Pay-as-you-go — flick me a message, I’ll quote it. Small updates are usually turned around in a day or two.

There’s no “support contract” with weasel-word fine print. Whatever works for you.