Frequently Asked Questions

Every site is hand-coded from scratch with HTML, CSS, and PHP — no WordPress themes, no page builders, no drag-and-drop editors. That means the code does exactly what it needs to and nothing else: no bloat, no unused plugin overhead, no third-party scripts injected without your knowledge. The result is a site that loads faster, scores better on Core Web Vitals, and has fewer attack surfaces than a builder-generated site. You also own the output completely — it's readable, documented code that any competent developer can pick up.

By default, every site is built as pure hand-coded PHP — no CMS, no plugins to update, and fewer security vulnerabilities. If you need to manage your own content through a back-end dashboard, we can also build on WordPress with a custom theme and no page builders. See the full tradeoff breakdown →

A single-page website typically takes 1–2 weeks. Multi-page sites usually take 2–4 weeks. The main factors that affect timeline are the number of pages, whether content and photography need to be sourced, and how quickly feedback rounds move. Projects with all content ready on day one finish faster. Every quote includes a realistic timeline based on the actual scope — not a best-case estimate that quietly slips.

Yes — the majority of clients are fully remote. ArdinGate works with small businesses across all 50 states, handling everything by email, shared docs, and video calls when needed. Communication is typically handled within 24–48 hours, and the quality of the work is identical whether you're in Miami or Minneapolis. There's no in-person meeting requirement at any stage — discovery, design review, launch, or ongoing support.

Primarily small businesses with 1–50 employees — solo operators, service companies (contractors, consultants, agencies), local retailers, restaurants, healthcare practices, and growing startups. The sweet spot is a business that wants a professional, high-performing online presence without agency overhead. There's no hard ceiling on size — the right fit is a business that values direct communication and wants to own what they pay for, not rent it.

Send a message through the contact form with a rough description of what you need. You'll get a response within 48 hours with questions, a realistic scope, and a quote. No commitment required just to talk.

A single-page website fits everything on one scrollable URL — typically a hero section, services summary, and a contact form. It's appropriate for solo freelancers, niche services, or very early-stage businesses that need something clean and fast. Single-page sites start at $1,000. A multi-page website has separate URLs for different sections — home, about, services, contact, and whatever else your business needs. Each page can be indexed and ranked independently by search engines, which is a significant SEO advantage. Multi-page sites start at $2,500. Most established small businesses do better with a multi-page build. See pricing breakdown →

You'll need to provide the core business information — what you do, who you serve, your service list, any specific copy you want used. Professional photography is your call; many clients use existing photos or stock imagery, and both work fine depending on the business. If you need help with copywriting, that's available as a quoted add-on through the cost estimator. Projects where the client provides complete, approved content on day one finish significantly faster.

Yes — existing logos, brand colors, fonts, and style guidelines are incorporated directly into the build. If you have brand standards documentation, share it at the start of the project. If your logo only exists in a low-resolution format, a high-resolution SVG or PNG version helps. If you don't have a logo yet, that's a separate conversation — logo design can be scoped as part of the project or handled beforehand.

Every website includes a custom responsive design built from scratch, a working contact form, mobile-first layout across all screen sizes, one domain registration (first year), Open Graph tags for social sharing, and an XML sitemap. Multi-page sites include navigation menus, separate page layouts, and internal linking structure. Technical SEO setup — semantic markup, structured data, title tags, Google Search Console — is included with every multi-page build and available as a $300 add-on for single-page sites. Full pricing breakdown →

Yes — one domain registration is included with every new website at no extra cost. That covers the first year, and the domain is registered in your name so you own it outright. Standard .com, .net, .org, and most common TLDs are covered. Premium or auctioned domains — rare names being resold at market rates — aren't included, but those situations are uncommon. After the first year, renewal is handled through your registrar account at standard rates.

Wix and Squarespace are reasonable if you need something online in an afternoon and speed matters more than performance. The practical tradeoffs: you're renting the platform, not owning anything — if it raises prices or shuts a feature down, you adapt or leave. Your design flexibility is bounded by their template system, meaning two businesses in different industries can end up with nearly identical sites. Builder-generated code ships with 40–60 CSS and JavaScript files your visitors don't need, which is why builder sites consistently score lower on Core Web Vitals and take 3–5 seconds to load compared to under 1 second on a hand-coded site. A custom site is a one-time cost for a product you fully own. See the full comparison →

Small content updates — swapping text, updating hours or pricing, adding a photo, fixing a typo — are included with a managed hosting plan at no extra charge. Larger work like new pages, design overhauls, or new functionality is quoted separately as a project. You'll always get a scope and price before any work starts, so there are no surprise invoices. If you're not on a hosting plan, post-launch work is available on a quoted basis.

Projects are paid in two parts: a 50% deposit before work starts, and the remaining 50% at launch before DNS cutover. There's no upcharge for splitting the payment this way — it's just the standard arrangement. Hosting is billed monthly from the date the site goes live, with no setup fee.

Technical SEO setup is included at no extra charge with every multi-page website build. For single-page builds, it's a $300 add-on. For an existing site that wasn't originally set up with SEO in mind, standalone SEO setup runs $800–$1,500 depending on page count and how much existing markup needs cleanup. That one-time fee gets you a clean technical foundation — semantic HTML, structured data, Search Console setup, sitemap, and a written audit — that any future agency can build content on without charging you to undo broken markup first. SEO setup details →

No — that's the point of managed hosting. All plugin and software updates, uptime monitoring, security patches, SSL certificate renewals, and DNS management are handled on your behalf. If something goes wrong, you hear about it when it's already being fixed — not when a customer tells you the site is down. The Core and Care plans handle standard maintenance; Priority adds same-day response for critical issues and proactive monthly performance reviews. See all hosting plans →

Core ($30/mo) covers the fundamentals: uptime monitoring, nightly offsite backups, SSL certificate, DNS management, and email support with 24–48 hour response. It's right if your site is relatively static and you rarely need changes. Care ($50/mo) adds one hour of content edits per month, proactive security patches, priority response queue, and a quarterly performance review — good for businesses that update their site a few times a month. Priority ($75/mo) adds three hours of content edits, same-day response for critical issues, monthly analytics reporting, and staging environment access — for businesses where the site is a core part of operations. Full plan comparison →

Yes. Hosting is month-to-month with no contracts or lock-in. When you cancel, your site stays live for 30 days so you have time to migrate. Before the hosting window closes, you'll receive a full export of your site files and database — no charge, no holdbacks. After 30 days, hosting stops.

If you're on a hosting plan, uptime is monitored and most issues are caught before you even notice them. If something does go down, you can reach out directly and you'll get a response within 24 hours — usually faster. The most common causes — a plugin conflict, a server hiccup, or a misconfigured update — are typically resolved the same day. If you're not on a hosting plan and your site goes down, you'd need to handle it through your own host or bring in a developer separately.

Managed hosting is the difference between a server that stores your site and a service that actively maintains it. With standard unmanaged hosting, you get a server and you're on your own — updates, backups, security patches, SSL renewal, and troubleshooting are your problem. Managed hosting means someone is watching the monitors, applying updates before they break things, and answering the email when something goes sideways. ArdinGate's plans cover uptime monitoring, nightly offsite backups, SSL management, DNS, security patches, and same-person support from whoever built the site — no tiered ticket queue, no asking you to clear your cache first.

No. Support is tied to the managed hosting plan because that's how access and active monitoring work. If you want to host elsewhere, you'll receive a full export of your site files and database and can move it anywhere — but ongoing support requires the hosting plan.

Domain registration is included for the first year. After that, renewals are handled through your registrar account at standard rates — typically $10–$20/year for a .com. The domain is registered in your name, so renewal notices and billing go to you directly. If you'd prefer ArdinGate to manage renewals on your behalf, that can be arranged as part of a hosting plan.

Yes, completely. Once the project is paid for, every file, asset, and database record belongs to you — not to ArdinGate, not to the hosting platform. The code is hand-written and fully readable by any PHP developer, not locked in a proprietary theme system or page builder format you can't export. You can move to any host in the world, hire a different developer, or just keep a copy for your records. A full export of your site files and database is provided on request at any time, at no charge. There's no "you need to stay with us to access your site" situation here.

Yes — the domain is registered in your name, not in any ArdinGate account. It's yours from day one, and canceling hosting or leaving ArdinGate has no effect on domain ownership. Registration includes the first year at no charge. After that, annual renewal runs through your registrar account at standard rates (typically $10–$20/year for .com). If you ever want to transfer the domain to a different registrar, that's straightforward and doesn't require ArdinGate's involvement.

Yes. You'll receive a full export of your site files and database any time you want one, at no charge. A competent developer can pick up where ArdinGate left off. The code is clean, hand-written, and documented — not a black-box theme output.

Redesigns are handled as a new project quoted separately. Your existing content, copy, and contact form data are fully portable — nothing is lost in a redesign. If you're on a hosting plan, there's no downtime during development since the new build goes live only when it's ready.

Yes — building them together is actually the best approach. The website and app share the same brand identity, connect to the same back-end, and launch as a cohesive product. App development is handled through ArdinGate Studios.

Both iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store), delivered together from a single shared codebase. Building cross-platform means you're not paying for two separate development projects or waiting twice as long — both versions ship at the same time, and updates apply to both simultaneously. You're not choosing one platform over the other and leaving half your customers out. App development is handled through ArdinGate Studios.

Typical timelines: Companion App 4–6 weeks, Business Utility App 8–12 weeks, Web + App Bundle 10–14 weeks. Every project starts with a discovery phase to scope the work before any code is written. See the full process →

A companion app extends an existing website — it syncs with the same back-end and typically covers 2–4 screens of the most important customer interactions. Examples: a loyalty app for a retail store, a reservations app for a restaurant, an account dashboard for a service business. Companion apps start at $4,500. A business utility app is a standalone tool that handles a complete workflow independently — ordering, scheduling, dispatch, client management — without necessarily needing a paired website. These are more complex, typically 6–15+ screens, and start at $6,500. See app pricing →

No — you don't need one set up before the project starts. ArdinGate Studios manages the App Store and Google Play listings on your behalf by default, which means you don't need your own developer accounts unless you want them. If you prefer to own the listings yourself, we help you set up your Apple Developer account ($99/year) and Google Play account ($25 one-time) as part of the launch process. At any point after launch, you can request a Transfer & Handoff to move the listings to your own accounts for a flat $500 fee. Ownership details →

Yes. ArdinGate Studios can build a companion app that connects to an existing site's back-end — whether that's a WordPress site via the WordPress REST API or a custom back-end with an API layer. The main requirement is that your site has a way to serve data to the app, which most modern sites can handle. If your current setup doesn't have one, building a lightweight API as part of the app project is straightforward. The app itself works the same regardless of who built the site.