Development that protects the design—and the business goal.
Service overview · Last updated July 22, 2026
We build responsive websites that preserve the approved experience across devices while remaining fast, accessible, maintainable, and crawlable.
Web development, in the context of a marketing or product site, is the work of turning a validated design system into a production website that renders correctly on real devices, loads within Core Web Vitals thresholds, meets WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility, is crawlable by search engines, and is structured so your future team can extend it without rewriting the whole codebase.
What does a web development engagement actually deliver?
A development engagement delivers a production website whose layout matches the approved design at every breakpoint, meets current Core Web Vitals thresholds on the pages you care about, passes an automated accessibility audit, exposes clean semantic markup for crawlers, and ships with documentation so any competent developer can maintain it later.
- A design faithfully rendered across screens
- Fast pages that meet current Core Web Vitals guidance
- Accessible, semantic markup
- A codebase your future team can extend
What's included in a web development project?
Every build includes architecture planning, a reusable component library, CMS or headless content integration, responsive implementation of every design, third-party integrations you named at kickoff, automated accessibility QA, a performance pass targeting Core Web Vitals, a technical SEO pass, and deployment documentation.
- Architecture planning
- Reusable component library
- Content model / CMS integration
- Responsive build
- Integrations
- Form handling
- Accessibility QA
- Performance optimization
- Technical SEO pass
- Deployment documentation
What's explicitly not included in the build?
The build stops at a documented, deployed website. Ongoing evolution needs an ongoing engagement, and the items below fall outside a fixed-scope development contract unless we agreed them at kickoff.
- Design work beyond agreed change requests
- Ongoing content authoring after launch
- 24/7 monitoring or on-call support
- Custom native mobile apps
- Backend product platforms unrelated to the marketing site
How does a web development engagement work, step by step?
Development runs in five phases: planning the architecture, building reusable components, integrating content and services, testing rigorously, and deploying with documentation. Each phase has a review point so you never wait until launch to see progress.
- 01
Plan the architecture and content model
- 02
Build reusable components
- 03
Integrate content and third-party services
- 04
Test for accessibility, performance, SEO
- 05
Deploy and document
What does this look like on a real project?
A boutique law firm has a beautiful new design from an agency that only does design, and needs it built into a maintainable website their in-house marketer can update without a developer for every change.
The design covers 22 templates including practice-area pages, attorney bios, insights, and location pages. The firm wants staff-editable content, a strict WCAG target because they take state contracts, and a stack their future IT partner can maintain.
Step 1
Weeks 1–2 — Architecture and content model
We map the 22 templates to just seven content types plus reusable modules, so editors combine pieces rather than requesting new templates. The CMS is chosen for editor UX first, developer preference second.
Step 2
Weeks 3–6 — Component library and build
Every design element becomes a documented component with props for real-world variation. Every image gets responsive sources; every heading gets a semantic level; every interactive control gets a keyboard test.
Step 3
Weeks 7–8 — Integration and QA
Forms wire into the firm's intake system. Automated accessibility testing runs on every build; a manual pass covers screen reader flows on the three most-used pages. Core Web Vitals pass at the 75th percentile on real devices.
Step 4
Week 9 — Launch and handoff
Deployment is documented as a written runbook. Editors receive a 90-minute training with the CMS. The firm's IT partner receives repository access, a component gallery, and a written architecture doc.
Outcome
Six months post-launch, marketing has published 18 new attorney bios and four practice-area pages without touching a developer. Core Web Vitals remain green. The firm has renewed a state contract that requires published accessibility conformance.
WordPress vs headless CMS vs custom build
| WordPress theme | Headless CMS + framework | Fully custom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Content-heavy sites with limited custom UI | Content-driven sites needing performance and flexibility | Product sites with unique interactions |
| Editor experience | Familiar but plugin-dependent | Modern, structured content | Whatever we build for it |
| Performance ceiling | Medium (plugin drag) | High | High |
| Accessibility control | Depends on theme quality | Full control at component level | Full control |
| Ongoing cost | Hosting + plugin licenses + updates | Hosting + CMS subscription | Hosting only |
| Migration risk in 3 years | High if heavily customized | Low — content lives in the CMS | Low — code is portable |
Questions we get about this service
What tech stack do you use for web development projects?+
We pick the stack that fits the project rather than defaulting to whatever we used last time. Typical choices include modern React with TypeScript for interactive sites, a headless CMS for content-driven work, and lightweight static builds for marketing microsites. We do not force a framework that does not serve your goal.
WordPress vs a custom build — how do we decide?+
WordPress makes sense when the site is largely content, your team knows the editor, and the plugins you need are stable. A custom build makes sense when you need unusual interactions, strict performance targets, or you have been burned by plugin conflicts. We assess in discovery and recommend the honest fit.
Can you work with our existing CMS or platform?+
Often yes. We audit the existing CMS during discovery and recommend keeping it, migrating, or replacing based on your editor experience, extensibility, and long-term cost. Sometimes the honest answer is that the current CMS is fine and only the front end needs work.
Do you handle hosting and DNS?+
We advise on hosting choices, can deploy to your existing infrastructure, or configure a modern hosting provider you choose. We do not resell hosting or lock you into an account we control — hosting stays in your name so you never depend on us to keep the site online.
Is accessibility included in the build cost or is it an add-on?+
WCAG 2.2 AA is the baseline target for every build, included in the base cost. That covers semantic markup, keyboard navigation, focus management, color contrast, and screen reader compatibility on primary flows. Formal third-party accessibility audits, VPAT documents, and AAA compliance are scoped separately.
Do you provide code ownership and repository access?+
You own all source code from day one, delivered to a repository under your organization. There is no licensing model where you lease code from us. If we stop working together, another agency can pick up the codebase and continue.
How do you handle Core Web Vitals during a build?+
We set a performance budget at architecture time — maximum JavaScript bundle size, image weight per page, and third-party script count. Every build runs Lighthouse and a real-device check before staging. We do not launch a page that fails Core Web Vitals unless you accept the tradeoff in writing.
Ready to move on web development?
Share the goal and current state—we'll respond with the clearest next step.