What our clients ask us.
Strategy questions, implementation details, and the thinking behind our approach. We’ve answered these before—here’s what we’ve learned from helping businesses build marketing and design that actually converts.
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All Services FAQs
What does “Foundational Build” actually mean, and is it enough for my business to start?
A Foundational Build covers everything you need on day one: six core pages (Home, About, Services, Contact, Blog, 404), full analytics setup (GA4, Tag Manager, Search Console), and basic SEO so search engines can find and track your site. It’s “foundational” because it gives you a real website with measurement, not a placeholder.
Is it enough to start? Yes. The question is what “enough” means to you. If you’re a service business testing product-market fit, a local business establishing online presence, or an established company moving to WordPress—it’s complete. You have a site. People can find it. You can see what they do on it.
But “foundational” also means scoped: six pages, one initial design pass, standard configurations. If you need 20 pages, complex integrations, or heavy customization before launch, that’s a different engagement. We’ll tell you upfront.
Why is this called a “starter tier”—does it mean I’ll outgrow it quickly?
Not necessarily outgrow—expand into. There’s a difference.
Most businesses that come back to us don’t do so because the foundational site broke. They come back because:
- They want to test ads and need a proper dashboard to understand ROI
- They’re ready to sell online and need ecommerce
- They’ve built 6 months of content and need an editorial strategy for the next 6
- They want training wheels off and someone managing ongoing optimization
This is normal. Your business grows. Your website should grow with it. The Foundational Build is intentionally designed to be the first domino—not the last one.
Some clients add services with us. Some take the knowledge and run with it themselves. Both are fine. We built this tier so you can start at a sane price point without guessing what you’ll need in six months.
I already have a website. Can I use Ready to Launch, or do I need a custom build?
It depends on your website and your goals.
If you have a site that’s broken, outdated, or held back by its platform, migrating to a Foundational Build makes sense—we’ll audit what’s worth keeping, consolidate what’s redundant, and rebuild on WordPress. That’s an upgrade path, not a custom engagement (though migration adds complexity we’ll price accordingly).
If you have a site that’s working but you want to layer in analytics, ads, or ecommerce? Some of that is an add-on to your existing site. Some of it requires a rebuild.
If you have something truly custom that can’t fit into our standard scope? That’s when we talk custom pricing. We don’t shy away from complexity—we just want to be clear about what that costs in time and money upfront.
The honest answer: schedule a call. We’ll look at what you have and tell you which path makes sense.
Do you work fast, or do you prefer to take your time?
Yes to both.
Ready to Launch is built for speed. We know what we’re doing, we’ve done it a hundred times, and we move. For most clients, launch happens on a realistic timeline—not rushed, not dragged out.
But we’ve also worked with clients who want to be deliberate: more discovery conversations, more design iteration, more strategic thinking before we code. We’re excellent at that pace too. It just changes the timeline and, sometimes, the scope.
When you come to us, we’ll ask what you need. Speed or strategy. Probably some mix of both. We’ll set expectations on day one.
What happens after launch — am I on my own, or do you stick around?
Launch is the beginning, not the end.
We include optional CMS training so you can manage your content, publish to your blog, and handle the basics yourself. But “you can manage it” doesn’t mean you’re expected to be an expert—it means you have the knowledge and support to not feel lost.
Beyond that? It depends on what you want. Some clients take the training and run. Some sign on for ongoing support, content strategy, or optimization work. Some come back six months later when they’re ready for the next tier of service.
We’re not going to force you into a retainer. We’re also not going to disappear if you need help. The relationship is what makes sense for your business.
How is Ready to Launch different from just hiring a freelancer or doing it myself?
Three things: speed, expertise, and infrastructure.
A freelancer might charge less, but will they have GA4 configured right? Will they know the difference between good and mediocre SEO setup? Will they deploy to a managed host with proper backups and security? Probably not all of it. You’ll end up hiring someone else to fix things later.
Doing it yourself? Possible. Doable, even. But learning WordPress, configuring analytics, designing six pages, writing content, and getting it all right takes months. You’re trading money for time. We’re trading time for money. For most business owners, that’s the better deal.
Here’s what you get with us: a WordPress site on a stable host with analytics from day one, built by people who’ve done this enough times to know what breaks and how to prevent it. Not flashy. Not custom. Right.
If you want flashy and custom, we can do that — it’ll cost more and take longer. If you want solid and fast at a decent price, that’s Ready to Launch.
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Content FAQs
How long does it take to see results from content?
Real SEO results take time. We typically see meaningful organic traffic growth within 4–6 months, though it depends on your existing domain authority, competition level, and the topics you’re targeting. The first 2–3 months are about building a foundation of content that search engines can crawl and understand. Monthly refinement keeps you adapting to what’s working.
Can I pause or adjust the number of posts?
Yes. The minimum is 2 posts per month, but you can adjust up or down month-to-month. If you want to pause for a month, we can do that—just let us know. Consistency matters for SEO, so we recommend maintaining at least a monthly cadence, but we work with your budget and needs.
What if I don’t like the direction of the content?
We start with a content strategy session where we align on topics, audience, keywords, and your brand voice. As we publish, we review performance together each month and refine—adjusting topic focus, depth, and angle based on what’s working. If a direction isn’t resonating, we pivot. You’re never locked into an approach.
Do you promote the content on social media or ads?
The Content Retainer is for writing and SEO optimization. We don’t offer social media services. Ads and PPC copy are available separately and operate independently from content retainers.
Can we write about multiple topic areas?
Absolutely. During the strategy session, we map out your audience, their pain points, and the topics that matter most to your business. We can cover multiple angles—product guides, industry trends, how-tos, thought leadership. The best content strategy balances depth in core areas with breadth across related topics that serve your audience.
What’s included in the monthly review?
We track organic traffic, search rankings, engagement metrics, and user behavior on your content. We’ll show you what’s working, where opportunities exist, and how we’ll adjust strategy next month. You get a clear picture of ROI and confidence that the content is moving the needle for your business.
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Ecommerce FAQs
Do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
We handle the store setup and platform management. We integrate with your fulfillment partners (ShipStation, Printful, etc.), but we don’t manage physical fulfillment or dropshipping operations — that’s on you or your fulfillment provider.
What if I need to add or remove products frequently?
If you’re adding/removing products weekly or daily, we can set you up with tools to do it yourself (like CSV imports or direct platform access), or we can handle it as part of your retainer. We’ll adjust our time allocation based on your actual product churn rate.
Can you help set up payment processing?
Yes. We integrate and manage payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Square, etc.), handle PCI compliance, and troubleshoot payment issues. If you need custom payment workflows or fraud detection, we can discuss that during setup.
Do you run promotions and marketing for the store?
Shopkeep covers store operations and maintenance. Marketing — email campaigns, ads, etc. — is separate. If you want to layer in ads or email marketing, we offer those services separately or as add-ons to your retainer. We do not offer social media services.
What platform does this work with?
We work with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and custom ecommerce builds. We’re most experienced and comfortable with WordPress + WooCommerce and Shopify, but we can manage most platforms. During your call, let us know what you’re using and we’ll confirm it’s a fit.
How do you handle customer support issues?
We don’t handle customer service, but we make sure your platform is set up so you can handle it efficiently — clear order tracking, easy refund processes, and organized customer data. If you want dedicated customer support, that’s an add-on service or handled through a third-party tool like Zendesk.
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Page Builders FAQs 🚫
Can’t I just use a caching plugin to fix the page builder performance problem?
Caching serves pre-built HTML faster. It doesn’t reduce DOM complexity, doesn’t eliminate bloated CSS files, and doesn’t improve Time to First Byte in a meaningful way when the payload is 600 KB. Lighthouse scores measure the page as delivered to the browser — caching doesn’t change the payload, it just serves it from a cache instead of generating it fresh. You’re managing a symptom, not the cause.
My designer uses Elementor and the site looks great. Does that mean performance is fine?
Visual quality and load performance are independent. A beautifully designed Elementor site still ships 400–600 KB of builder CSS on every page load. The design can be excellent while the Lighthouse score is 45. Both are true simultaneously — and in our experience, they frequently are. Clients don’t discover the performance problem until they look at rankings data six months in.
What if I want to update the design myself after launch?
We train our clients on managing their content in WordPress’s Gutenberg editor — publishing posts, updating page copy, managing images and media. This is well within reach for non-technical users. What changes is that you’re editing content, not rebuilding page layouts in a drag-and-drop interface.
For most business owners, that’s the better arrangement: the developer owns the design system, you own the content. Trying to manage layout yourself through a visual builder is how design consistency erodes over time, and how sites end up looking like they were built by committee.
Do you ever see page-builder sites that perform well?
Rarely, and only when a developer has done significant remediation work — disabling builder features, manually overriding styles, lazy-loading assets, running custom optimization scripts. At that point, the developer has spent more time fighting the builder than building would have taken from scratch. The builder was a liability that required professional work to offset.
Isn’t Gutenberg just another page builder?
Gutenberg is WordPress’s native block editor, but the output is fundamentally different. Page builders like Elementor generate their layouts using their own runtime CSS and JavaScript framework, which loads in the browser on every page whether you use those features or not. Gutenberg blocks are registered in PHP and output plain, semantic HTML — no builder framework in the browser.
Our custom Gutenberg blocks ship zero builder dependencies. The editing experience looks similar (visual, block-based), but the code output is completely different: clean HTML vs 40-node wrapper soup. You get the editing convenience without the page-weight penalty.
Will switching from a page builder to custom development hurt my existing SEO?
Done correctly, no — and it will help within 60–90 days. The risk in a migration is URL changes and content loss, not the development approach itself. We preserve all existing URLs (setting 301 redirects where the URL structure changes), migrate content carefully, and carry over all existing meta titles and descriptions. The improvement in Core Web Vitals — typically moving from a mobile Lighthouse score of 40–65 to 90+ — shows up in Google Search Console’s performance data within a few crawl cycles. In our experience, migrated sites consistently trend upward in rankings once Google re-evaluates the improved page experience signals.
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SEO & AI Optimization FAQs
What’s the difference between SEO and AIO?
SEO focuses on traditional search engine optimization—keywords, rankings, traffic. AIO (AI Optimization) expands that to include AI search platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. We optimize your content and site structure for both Google and AI-driven search, ensuring your business shows up wherever people are looking for answers.
How do you measure SEO success?
We track rankings for your target keywords, organic traffic volume, click-through rates from search results, and ultimately conversions. We set baseline goals in your first month, then measure month-over-month progress. The real metric is whether SEO is bringing you qualified visitors who convert into customers or leads.
How long before I see results?
Quick wins (technical fixes, on-page optimization) can move rankings within 2–4 weeks. Significant traffic growth typically takes 3–6 months, depending on your competition level, domain authority, and how aggressively we can act. We prioritize high-impact, fast-moving opportunities while building a long-term SEO foundation.
Do you do link building?
Link building is separate from the base SEO Retainer, but we can add it as an add-on service. We focus on earning high-quality, relevant backlinks through content and relationships—not buying links. We can discuss a custom outreach strategy during your initial consultation if you’re interested.
What if my site is brand new?
New sites take longer to rank because they lack domain history and backlinks. We still manage a retainer for new sites, but the first 2–3 months are heavily focused on technical foundation, keyword strategy, and content creation to give you something to rank. Results come faster if you combine SEO with a Content Retainer.
Can I combine this with other retainer services?
Absolutely. SEO works best alongside content creation, ads, or website management. Many clients run SEO + Content together to compound growth. We can bundle services and adjust your monthly cost accordingly. Let’s talk about what makes sense for your business during your call.
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Shopify vs Woo FAQs
Can I use WooCommerce without WordPress?
No. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin. You must host WordPress to use it. Shopify, by contrast, is completely separate and requires no WordPress knowledge.
Which platform is better for beginners?
Shopify. The admin is designed for non-technical users, and there’s no server management. WooCommerce has a steeper learning curve and requires either WordPress knowledge or a developer to handle backend tasks.
Can I migrate from Shopify to WooCommerce or vice versa?
Yes, but it can be very complex. Both platforms offer data export tools, but product data, customer records, and order history require cleanup during migration. Expect to hire a developer. Most businesses plan for this upfront rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Does WooCommerce work with any WordPress theme?
Mostly, yes — but not perfectly with every theme. Some themes have poor WooCommerce integration, missing features, or conflicts with plugins. Dedicated WooCommerce themes work best, or one custom-build by Petrin Development Services. Shopify themes are built for Shopify and guarantee full compatibility.
Which platform has better SEO?
Both are SEO-capable. WordPress (and thus WooCommerce) has a culture of SEO optimization and a vast plugin ecosystem (Yoast, Rank Math, etc.). Shopify has solid built-in SEO features and no plugin bloat — but fewer customization knobs. For most merchants, the difference is negligible if both platforms are managed properly.
What if my needs change over time?
That’s the key question. Shopify scales painlessly as your revenue grows—you just upgrade your plan. WooCommerce scales if you actively manage it (better hosting, caching, optimization). If you predict rapid growth and lack technical resources, Shopify is the safer bet. If you have a developer team, WooCommerce’s flexibility allows you to grow without being locked into a vendor’s roadmap.
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Website Audit FAQs
How long does a WordPress site audit take?
A comprehensive audit takes 4-8 hours depending on site size and complexity. We prioritize findings into actionable phases so you can implement fixes incrementally.
What’s actually included in a WordPress site audit?
We cover technical SEO (indexing, crawlability, page speed), on-page optimization (schema, metadata, content structure), security and maintenance (updates, plugins, backups), UX/accessibility, and conversion signals. You get a prioritized report with specific, implementable fixes — not a vague checklist.
Do I need a developer to implement these fixes?
Many quick wins (updates, plugins, basic schema) can be done in WordPress admin. Technical fixes (performance optimization, custom theme work) typically require developer expertise.
How often should I audit my WordPress site?
At minimum, quarterly check-ins. After major WordPress updates or changes to your site structure, run a full audit. Ongoing monthly monitoring prevents issues from accumulating.
What’s the ROI of doing a WordPress audit?
Sites that fix technical SEO and UX issues typically see 20-40% traffic increases within 3-6 months, plus higher conversion rates from improved user experience and trust signals.
Can you audit a WordPress site on managed hosting (WordPress.com, Wix)?
This checklist applies primarily to self-hosted WordPress.org sites. Managed WordPress hosts restrict direct access to some areas, but the SEO, content, and UX audits still apply.
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Websites Build FAQs
How long does a typical Launch project take?
Most foundational Launch projects run one week from kickoff to live. Add-ons stretch that to two or three. We commit to a real launch date at kickoff and we don’t slip it.
What if I don’t have copy ready?
We handle it. Copy writing is built into every project—we write SEO-optimized, template-ready copy so you don’t have to worry about it. If you have existing copy, we’ll refine and optimize it. Either way, it saves you a headache and ensures everything is locked in for launch.
Do you migrate from a different platform?
Yes. Shopify, Squarespace, Webflow, old WordPress—we move content over, set up redirects, and preserve SEO. That’s what the Audit add-on covers.
Can I host it somewhere other than WP Engine?
We build and launch on WP Engine. It’s optimized for how we work and scales with you. Custom hosting adds complexity we’d rather avoid, so we typically do not manage or maintain websites outside of WP Engine, but you’re free to host your website on any reliable WordPress host, and there are dozens out there that do a great job — but just do not quite fit our workflow for ongoing services.
What does ongoing maintenance cost?
Hosting-only is $1,200/year. Content updates, SEO work, and deeper support run $500–$1,000/month depending on what you need.
Is this built with a page builder?
No. Page builders create bloat and lock you in. We write custom code instead—clean, fast, and built to last. Your CMS is straightforward, not a maze of settings.