Free resources
Free resources for your web project
Planning a website is mostly about answering questions before you spend money: what should it cost, how long will it take, what should be in the contract, and how do you avoid getting locked into a platform you don't own. Everything below is free, no signup, no email wall, built to help you make a smart decision whether or not you ever hire ArdinGate.
Planning guides
Seven plain-English guides covering the questions that come up most before a build. No fluff, no upsell. Each one is written to answer the question honestly, even when the honest answer is "you might not need to hire anyone."
How much does a website cost?
What drives the price of a website in 2026, typical ranges by site type, and the difference between a one-time build cost and an ongoing subscription. Read this first if you're trying to set a budget.
Read the guide →How much does an ecommerce website cost?
Online stores cost more than brochure sites, and the reasons aren't obvious: custom build vs. Shopify total cost, transaction fees, the app-stack tax, and the ongoing costs that don't show up in the sticker price.
Read the guide →How much does a website redesign cost?
What a redesign costs and what moves that number, when a redesign makes sense vs. a full rebuild, and the one step that protects your existing Google rankings through the switch.
Read the guide →How long does it take to build a website?
Realistic timelines by site type, the phases of a build, what speeds a project up or slows it down, and the one thing that decides whether you launch on time: your content.
Read the guide →What to look for in a web developer contract
The clauses that protect you: who owns the code and the domain, how scope and change requests work, payment milestones, what support covers, and the red flags to watch for before you sign.
Read the guide →How to migrate off WordPress
How to leave WordPress for a clean custom site without tanking your search rankings: redirects, porting your content, what happens to your plugins, and a realistic timeline for the move.
Read the guide →Core Web Vitals explained
Google's page-speed and stability health checks explained: how fast your main photo appears, how responsive your site feels to clicks, and whether the layout shifts as it loads — why these matter for your ranking, why page-builder sites tend to fail, and how to check and improve yours.
Read the guide →Want the big-picture version? Read the complete guide to choosing a web developer → or browse all guides & comparisons →
Done reading? Let's talk specifics.
Tell me what your business needs and I'll send back a realistic scope and quote, built for your project, not an average one.
Get a quote