Why we build three versions of your site instead of one

Most owners with an out-of-date website already know it. The copyright line at the bottom says 2014 and the hours are wrong. What they don't have is a picture of what it should look like instead, and without that picture there's nothing to say yes to.

You can't choose something you can't see

The usual way to buy a website asks you to decide first and see later. You sit through a meeting, look at other companies' sites, agree on a price, and some weeks afterwards find out what you bought.

That is a lot to ask of someone who fixes transmissions or files tax returns for a living. So most owners do the sensible thing and put it off. The site stays as it is for another year.

We turned the order around. We build the site first, using what's already on your current one, and send you a private link. You look before anything is asked of you.

Why one version isn't enough

One good design would be simpler to build. The trouble is that one design gets a yes or a no, and "no" tells us nothing. Did they dislike the color? The photo? The whole idea?

Put two or three side by side and people suddenly have opinions. "I like the top of this one, but the second one feels more like us." That's a real answer, and it's easy to give. Nobody needs design words to point at the one they prefer.

It also changes the question. With one version you're deciding whether to trust us. With three, you're deciding which one you like, and that's a much nicer decision to make.

How the three differ

They aren't the same page in three colors. Each one starts from a different design direction: different typefaces, a different way of opening the page, a different order of sections.

• The first stays close to home. We look at your current site's colors, type and photos and pick the direction nearest to it. It's your site, grown up. Customers who know you will still recognize it.
• The other two go further. We pick directions that are deliberately unlike your current site, and unlike each other. Sometimes the owner has been quietly tired of that maroon for ten years, and this is where they find out.

All three use the same words, photos, services and contact details, because all three are built from your own site. Only the design changes, so you're comparing looks and nothing else.

What this means for your website

If you've been meaning to redo your site and keep not doing it, the problem probably isn't money or time. It's that you're being asked to imagine the result. Whoever you hire, ask to see something real, with your business name and your own photos on it, before you commit. A good builder can show you.

And when you compare options, do it on your phone. That's where most of your customers will see it.

How we handle it

We build three finished, working versions before we ever write to you. You get one private link, and a switcher on the page flips between them. If one is close but not right, you can leave notes on it. If none of them is for you, you say so and that's the end of it. The preview costs nothing either way.