How we work
Last updated
Every number here is fixed before you pay anything: how long each step takes, what counts as a revision, what the contract says, and who answers the email. Prices as of September 2026.
What is the website design process for clients, step by step?
Six steps. You send your current web address. We rebuild your homepage from what is already published and send a private link, usually within three to five days. You say yes or no. Say no and the preview is deleted and you owe nothing. Say yes and the site is live within 72 hours.
| Step | What happens | How long | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. You send a web address | One line. No brief, no questionnaire, no kickoff call. | 2 minutes | $0 |
| 2. We rebuild your homepage | Your services, hours, photos and wording, taken off your existing site. You send us nothing. | Usually 3 to 5 days | $0 |
| 3. You look at it | A real page on your phone, not a mockup. Delete button, no login. | As long as you want | $0 |
| 4. Changes, or no | Colours, photos, wording, layout. Unlimited rounds. | About a day each | $0 |
| 5. You approve | The first moment money moves, and the only setup charge. | Same day | $299 once |
| 6. We launch | Remaining pages, domain pointed at our servers, SSL, old addresses redirected. | Within 72 hours of approval | $69 first month |
You can stop at step 4 for any reason, or none. Building it first is the only honest way to sell a design you have not seen.
Why does a normal website take six to twelve weeks?
Because most of it is spent waiting for you. Designing a small business site is a few days of work. The calendar fills with discovery calls, content requests and chased photos. Wix's own guide puts it higher: "making a website with a professional can take anywhere from two to five months" (Wix, retrieved September 2026).
| Stage | Typical agency project | Fablence |
|---|---|---|
| Content and photos from you | 2 to 6 weeks, where projects stall | None. It is already published. |
| Design | 1 to 3 weeks of mockups | 3 to 5 days, as a working page |
| Revisions | 2 to 3 rounds, extras billed | Unlimited until approval, free |
| Build and launch | 2 to 4 weeks | 72 hours from approval |
| Total | 6 to 12 weeks | Under a week |
We are not faster because we work harder. The biggest block of time in a web project is collecting your content, and yours is already on the open web. Old addresses get permanent redirects, which is what carries your rankings over. Google says to "keep the redirects for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year" (Google Search Central, 2026). We keep them permanently. See redesigning without losing rankings.
One exception: with no existing site, that advantage disappears, because someone has to write the words and it is you.
What counts as a revision, and what costs extra?
Before you approve, everything counts and nothing is billed. After launch, edits come out of the 30 minutes a month in the $69 plan. Beyond that it is $20 an hour, in 15-minute blocks, always quoted as a number you approve in writing first.
| Inside the 30 minutes a month | Quoted first |
|---|---|
| New hours, or a holiday notice | A new page written from scratch |
| Swapping a phone number or address | A logo or a rebrand |
| Adding or replacing photos | A second language version |
| Updating prices on a list | Copy for five service pages |
| Fixing a typo or a broken link | Anything we do not build, below |
The 30 minutes do not roll over. We would rather write that down than let you believe a bank of hours is building up. Service pages come with the $199 plan instead of hourly billing. See pricing and maintenance.
What does the contract actually say?
Month to month. Thirty days' notice by email, either side, no reason required. No exit fee. You keep the domain, the content, the leads and the Google Business Profile. A full export of the site is sent the same day you ask, free, leaving or staying.
| Term | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Setup fee | $299, charged only when you approve the design. |
| Minimum term | None. Month to month from day one. |
| Notice | 30 days, by email. No form, no retention call. |
| Exit fee | None, and no invoice after the notice period. |
| Your domain | In your name, at your registrar. Point it elsewhere any day. |
| Your site files | Static export, same day you ask, free. |
| Your leads | Forms and calls go to your own inbox and phone. |
| Google Business Profile | You are Owner. Fablence is only ever Manager. |
That last row does real work. Google says a manager has the same access as an owner with one exception: "they can't add or remove users or remove the profile" (Google Business Profile Help, 2026). So we can post and fix your hours, and we cannot lock you out of the listing that brings your calls.
Who will you actually be dealing with?
One person. The same person reads your email, builds the site and makes the edit. No account manager, no ticket queue, no hand-off to a junior after the sale. We reply to every email within one business day. Fablence is new, so there is no client roster to wave at you.
One person has limits. There is no overnight phone desk. Uptime is monitored and backups run nightly, so an outage is noticed without you reporting it. If you need named response times around the clock, hire an agency that sells that and get them into the contract. How to hire a web designer covers what else to ask.
What do you not build?
Five things: ecommerce stores, booking and scheduling systems, custom web apps, membership or login portals, and multi-location franchise sites. We say no rather than take a setup fee and learn on your money.
- Selling online. Shopify, or Squarespace for a tiny catalogue. They handle tax, payments and refunds, which is the hard part.
- Taking bookings. Square Appointments, Calendly or Acuity. We will put the button on your site and style it.
- Logins and customer accounts. Software, not a website. It needs a developer on retainer.
- Ten locations under one brand. Listings and reporting at a scale one person should not promise.
- You enjoy doing it yourself. A builder costs less per month than we do. Moving off Wix or Squarespace covers that trade.
How do I get out of a web design contract with someone else?
Check three things before you send any email: the notice period and minimum term, the WHOIS record for your domain, and what the agreement says about who owns the code. Those decide whether leaving is a formality or a negotiation. Do them before cancelling a payment.
- Find the term and notice period. Search the document for "renewal" and "termination". A 12-month term auto-renewing on 30 to 60 days' notice is common. No contract? Ask for a copy in writing.
- Look up your own domain. Run it through ICANN Lookup. The registrant is the legal holder. If that is your designer, the domain is the whole negotiation. Who owns your website has the other checks.
- Ask who owns the code, then ask for an export anyway. Plenty of contracts keep copyright with the developer, and on a closed platform there may be nothing to export but text and images.
- Check your Google Business Profile role. If the agency is Owner and you are Manager, request the transfer now, not on your last day.
- Do not cancel hosting first. Access usually stops the day the invoice does. Get the export, the auth code and the profile transfer while you still pay them. Moving your website covers the switch.
Copy this, change the brackets, send it.
Subject: Handover of domain, site files and Google profile Hi [name], Please send me the following in writing: 1. The notice period, and the earliest date I can end the agreement. 2. The domain [yourdomain.com]: who is listed as registrant, plus the registrar login or an EPP/auth code to transfer it. 3. A full export of the site: page files, images, database. 4. Owner access to the Google Business Profile for [business name], moved to [your email]. By [date, about 14 days out], please. Thanks, [Your name]
Send it whether or not you ever speak to us. Answered in a day with the four items attached, you have a good supplier. Ignored, you have your answer. How to start is ours to the same email.
Common questions
- How long does it take to build a website?
- For a small business site with content that already exists online, Fablence builds the homepage first and shows it to you, then goes live within 72 hours of your approval. Agency projects for the same kind of site commonly run six to twelve weeks, most of which is spent waiting for content from the client.
- How many revisions do I get?
- Unlimited revisions before you approve the design, because you have not paid anything at that point and a design you do not like is worthless to both of us. After launch, changes come out of the thirty minutes a month included in the plan, and anything larger is quoted first.
- How do I get out of a web design contract?
- With Fablence there is nothing to get out of: it is month to month, thirty days' notice, no exit fee, and you take a full export of the site with you. If you are asking this about a different agency, check three things — the notice period, whether the domain is in your name, and whether the contract says who owns the code.