Process
A clear path from first call to launch.
You’ll always know what’s happening, what’s next and what I need from you. Every project runs the same seven steps, with a fixed price agreed before any work starts.
Typical timeline, deposit to launch
- Store Refresh
- 1 to 3 weeks
- Theme Launch
- 2 to 3 weeks
- Theme Plus
- 4 to 6 weeks
- Migration
- 4 to 8 weeks
01 The seven steps
Every project, step by step.
The order never changes, and every step ends with something you can see, so you’re never left guessing.
Free, 30 minutes
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Step 1: Discovery call
We talk through your goals, your current store, budget and timeline. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll point you to someone who is.
- You
- Tell me where the store is and where you want it to go.
- Me
- Honest advice, and a straight answer on fit.
Within 2 business days
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Step 2: Proposal and deposit
You get a fixed-scope proposal with a clear price. A 50% deposit books your start date.
- You
- Approve the scope and pay the 50% deposit.
- Me
- A fixed price and a booked start date.
Desktop and mobile
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Step 3: Design directions
I design several directions for your homepage, each shown at desktop and mobile, so you can compare real options side by side.
- You
- Pick the direction that feels most like your brand.
- Me
- Several distinct homepage directions to choose from.
Every template
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Step 4: Design system and templates
Your chosen direction becomes a set of reusable components. I design every template with build notes that map each section to the theme, and keep the best ideas from the other directions as a section library. I also map out your apps: what stays, what gets replaced and what needs connecting.
- You
- Review the templates and answer the decisions list.
- Me
- A component system, every template, build notes and an app plan.
On Horizon or Stretch
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Step 5: Build
I build on Horizon or Stretch with my code kept separate from the theme’s, so theme updates still install. Your app integrations are set up and connected as I go, and you get a preview link and weekly updates.
- You
- Check the preview link and review the build.
- Me
- Weekly written updates and a live preview link.
Before go-live
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Step 6: QA and launch
I check every template on desktop and mobile, plus accessibility contrast and page speed, and test every app integration end to end, from reviews to email signups to tracking. We launch with your previous theme kept as a fallback.
- You
- Approve the finished store and pick a launch day.
- Me
- A tested store, and a safe way back if it’s ever needed.
14 days included
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Step 7: After launch
For 14 days I fix anything that comes up. After that, an optional Care Plan keeps the store improving: SEO, speed and imagery.
- You
- Tell me what you notice once real customers arrive.
- Me
- Fixes for two weeks, then ongoing care if you want it.
02 What you provide
A little from you goes a long way.
I’ll ask for these in step 3, so there’s time to pull them together. Not sure you have something? Say so on the call and we’ll plan around it.
Your brand
Logo, brand colors and fonts, if you have them.
Your products
Product information and photography.
Store access
Access to your Shopify store as a collaborator.
Your apps
A list of the apps and tools you use now, like reviews, subscriptions or Klaviyo, so I can plan the integrations.
One reviewer
One person who can review and give feedback each week.
03 Communication and revisions
No chasing, no surprise invoices.
Communication
A short written update every week, plus a preview link you can check any time. You deal with me directly, start to finish. No account managers, no hand-offs.
The decisions list
Every update ends with a written list of open items and the decisions I need from you, so nothing stalls waiting on an answer.
- Updates
- Weekly, in writing
- Preview link
- During the build
- Point of contact
- Ryan, the whole way
- Decisions list
- In every update
Revisions
1round
Design direction
On the homepage directions, in step 3.
2rounds
Build review
On the real store, in step 5, before QA.
+quoted first
Anything extra
New ideas are welcome. I quote them before I start, so the price never moves on its own.
04 Payments
Two payments. Both agreed up front.
The price in your proposal is the price you pay. Scope changes are quoted in writing before any work starts.
50%
To book your start date
Paid with the signed proposal, in step 2. It reserves your slot on my calendar.
50%
Before launch
Paid once you’ve approved the finished store in step 6, before we go live.
Care Plans are billed monthly.
A $250 Store Audit is credited toward any project.
05 After launch
I’m still here after you launch.
14days, included
Fixes after go-live
Anything that comes up in the first two weeks, I fix. You also get a recorded training video so you can run the store yourself.
$750to $2,500 a month
Care Plan, if you want it
A monthly block of development hours for theme updates, new sections, small builds and priority support. Optional, billed monthly.
See the Care Plan