Method
How we actually build.
Most agencies keep the process vague, because vague is easier to charge for. Here is ours in full: seven stages, the tools we use at each one, and the standards a site has to meet before it goes live.
If you are comparing quotes, this is the page to read. Ask whoever else you are speaking to for the same detail.
The sequence
Seven stages, in order, every time.
Nothing here is optional and nothing gets skipped because a deadline is tight. The order matters as much as the work.
- 01
Discovery, and a written scope
One conversation about the business, the customer and the job the site has to do. You get a short written scope back: pages, features, price, timeline. Nothing starts until you have agreed it, and it does not change without you.
- What a customer is actually trying to do when they land on the site
- What you want them to do instead of ringing you at eight on a Sunday
- Which of your competitors already rank, and what they are missing
- 02
Structure before decoration
We map the pages and the words before a single pixel is designed. Most sites fail because the structure is wrong, not because the colours are. Getting the hierarchy right is also what makes a site legible to Google.
- A page map with one clear purpose per page
- Headings written as real sentences, not filler
- One primary action per screen, decided deliberately
- 03
Custom design, from a blank page
No theme, no page builder, no bought template with your logo dropped in. A palette, a type system and a set of components built for your business — which is why two Coastal Digital sites never look alike.
- A colour and type system, documented and reusable
- Layouts designed for your real content, not lorem ipsum
- Motion used to explain and guide, never for its own sake
- 04
Built to a performance budget
Speed is a design constraint here, not an afterthought. Every image is sized and modern-format, every animation runs on the compositor, and the page is tested on a phone on a weak signal, because that is where your customers are standing.
- Mobile-first, tested on real handsets
- Images compressed and lazily loaded below the fold
- Animation limited to transform and opacity, paused off-screen
- 05
Accessible and keyboard-complete
Semantic HTML, visible focus states, sensible contrast and labelled form fields. It is the right thing to do, it is a legal expectation, and it happens to be exactly what search engines reward.
- Contrast checked against WCAG AA on every text pair
- Full keyboard path through the page
- Reduced-motion fallbacks for everything that moves
- 06
Local search groundwork
The site is only half of being found. We set up and categorise the Google Business Profile, write the metadata and local schema, submit to Search Console and request indexing — then show you the checklist, signed off.
- Titles, descriptions and structured data on every page
- Google Business Profile claimed, categorised, hours and photos set
- Search Console verified and the sitemap submitted
- 07
Launch, then care
Your domain, your hosting, your ownership. From month two the care plan keeps it fast, backed up and current, and changes are a message rather than a quote.
- Live on your own domain with HTTPS active
- Analytics configured so you can see what is working
- Updates whenever you ask, inside the monthly plan
The stack
What your site is built on.
Not a hosted page builder with a monthly subscription attached. Real code, on infrastructure that scales.
- Framework
- React + TanStack Start
- Styling
- Tailwind, custom design tokens
- Motion
- Hand-written, GPU-composited
- Backend
- Postgres, row-level security
- Hosting
- Edge network, global CDN
- Monitoring
- Uptime and error reporting
Standards
The four rules we do not bend.
Fast is a feature
A second of delay costs you enquiries. We treat page weight as a budget with a hard ceiling, and we measure before and after so you can see it.
Own your own site
Your domain, your content, your data. No platform lock-in and no hostage situation if you ever want to move on.
Nothing invented
We will not write a claim, a statistic or a testimonial your business cannot stand behind. It is the fastest way to lose a customer's trust.
Promise only what we control
We will not promise a Google ranking or a date for one. We promise the groundwork, in writing, with a 30-day money-back guarantee behind it.
Get started
Let's build the site your business deserves.
Tell us a little about what you do. We'll come back with a straight answer on scope, timeline and which of the two builds you need.
50.41°N / 5.09°W — Newquay, Cornwall