Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know
to make your project a reality

General

Timelines depend on project size. Simple and brochure sites typically take about 2–4 weeks; full business sites without e-commerce about 4–8 weeks; e-commerce, membership, or complex integrations about 8–16 weeks. These are planning estimates, not guarantees. I confirm a target date when we sign, and it depends on how quickly I receive your content and approvals.

Absolutely! I work with clients worldwide. All my processes are optimized for remote collaboration with regular video calls and online project updates.

I’ll need information about your business goals, target audience, brand preferences, and any existing materials. I will guide you through everything during our discovery phase.

Yes! I offer various maintenance and support packages to ensure your digital presence continues to shine after launch.

Plans & Pricing

Projects typically start at $2,000 for a foundational 5-page site and range up to $12,000 for a full digital launch with eCommerce, branding, email marketing, and social setup. Every project is scoped after a free 30-minute discovery call — so you receive a clear, itemized proposal before committing to anything.

A stewardship plan is a monthly maintenance retainer that keeps your site fast, secure, and updated after launch. It includes plugin and theme updates, security monitoring, backups, and a set number of support hours each month. You don’t need one — but without ongoing maintenance, WordPress sites degrade over time. Plans start at $297/month.

Yes. Payment is structured based on project size: projects under $1,500 are invoiced in full upfront; projects between $1,500 and $4,999 are split 50% at contract signing and 50% before launch; projects $5,000 and above are split into three milestone payments at signing, design approval, and launch. The payment schedule is based on your project price before any nonprofit or mission discount: a discount lowers what you pay, not when you pay it. Example: a $1,800 project with a 25% discount totals $1,350, paid as $675 at signing and $675 before launch.

Yes — formally. Registered 501(c)(3) organizations receive 15 to 25% off all project labor, with the discount tier tied to their stewardship plan. Spiritual and faith-based organizations receive a flat 10% discount. Discounts apply to labor only, not third-party costs like hosting or plugins.

Getting Started

Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We’ll talk through your goals, your current situation, and what you need. Within 48 hours of that call you’ll receive a clear, itemized proposal — no vague estimates, no surprises.

Timelines depend on project size. Simple and brochure sites typically take about 2–4 weeks from contract signing to launch; full business sites without e-commerce about 4–8 weeks; e-commerce, membership, or complex integrations about 8–16 weeks. These are planning estimates, not guarantees, and they depend on how quickly you provide content, feedback, and approvals.

Rushing a project is possible — but carries a 25–35% rush surcharge to protect the quality of the work.

At minimum: your logo (or agreement to add branding to the scope), written content for each page, and any images you want used. If you don’t have copy ready, website copywriting can be added to your project starting at $75 per page.

Yes. StarlitePhi serves clients remotely across the US. Discovery calls, project reviews, and support are all handled via video call and shared documentation. Nowadays, location is never a barrier.

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Nonprofit & Mission-Driven Discounts

Registered 501(c)(3) organizations qualify for the formal nonprofit discount tier, verified by EIN and IRS determination letter or a recent Form 990 — the enhanced, tier-based rate applies with an active stewardship plan, and a flat 10% applies without one. Spiritual and faith-based organizations that are not formally incorporated qualify for a flat 10% discount with a written mission statement, regardless of plan status.

For 501(c)(3) organizations with an active stewardship plan, the discount is 15% on SEED, 20% on GROW, and 25% on THRIVE. For 501(c)(3) organizations without a plan, the discount is a flat 10%. For spiritual and faith-based organizations without formal nonprofit status, the discount is a flat 10% on all project labor regardless of plan status.

The discount applies to labor only. It does not apply to third-party costs passed through on your behalf — hosting fees, plugin licenses, stock photography, domain registration, or advertising spend. Those are billed at cost.

Because mission-driven organizations do essential work with constrained resources — and their digital presence matters. StarlitePhi was built specifically to serve this sector. The discount is not charity — it is a deliberate pricing decision that makes professional digital infrastructure accessible to organizations that need it and will use it well.

No. Once verified at the start of our engagement, your nonprofit status is on file. If your organization’s status changes, you are responsible for notifying me.

Working Together

Yes. StarlitePhi serves clients remotely across the US. All discovery calls, design reviews, and project check-ins are conducted via video call. Documentation, proposals, and deliverables are shared digitally. Location is never a barrier to working together.

The primary build platform is WordPress with the Impreza theme, which allows for highly customized, performance-optimized sites without the overhead of page builder bloat. But I can also work with your preferred platform.

WooCommerce handles eCommerce.

Specific integrations (donation systems, membership platforms, email marketing tools) are selected based on your needs and budget.

Yes. Every site includes a 1-hour training session at launch covering how to update content, add pages, and manage basic settings. More complex systems (eCommerce, membership areas, course platforms) include additional targeted training.

If you’d prefer to leave all updates to me, that’s what the stewardship plan is for.

Every project includes a 30-day post-launch support window at no additional charge. Issues that arise from the work I delivered are fixed at no cost. Issues caused by client actions, plugin conflicts introduced by third parties, or hosting changes fall outside that scope and are billed at the standard support rate — or covered under a stewardship plan.

Yes, with a 25 to 35% rush surcharge applied to the total project cost. Rush timelines are defined as anything requiring delivery in less than half the standard timeline.

*Rush availability is subject to current workload — contact me to confirm before assuming availability.

Pricing & Packages

Projects typically start at $2,000 for a foundational 5-page site and range up to $12,000 for a full digital launch.

The range depends on:

  • The number of pages
  • The complexity of features (eCommerce, membership systems, event registration)
  • The scope of branding and marketing work included.

Every project is scoped individually after a free 30-minute discovery call.

Because every organization is different. A 5-page site for a yoga studio and a 5-page site for a nonprofit with a donation system and membership area are not the same project. Publishing a single number would either mislead you or undervalue the work. What I publish are honest starting points — so you know the floor before we talk.

All project packages include:

  • Mobile-responsive WordPress build
  • SSL configuration
  • Basic on-page SEO setup
  • A 30-day post-launch support window
  • A launch checklist review.

What varies by package is:

  • The number of pages
  • The systems integrated (donations, eCommerce, memberships)
  • Whether branding or marketing services are included.
  • Every proposal itemizes exactly what is and is not covered.

Unless specifically added to your scope, the following are not included:

  • Website copywriting (available at $75–$125 per page)
  • Stock photography
  • Domain registration
  • Hosting fees
  • Plugin license renewals
  • Ad spend for Meta or Google campaigns
  • Ongoing maintenance after the 30-day post-launch window.

Yes. The packages on my pricing page are starting points, not rigid boxes. Every proposal is built to your actual needs.

If you need three of the five elements in a package, I scope accordingly. If you need something not listed, I price it from my service menu.

Most work is priced as fixed-fee projects — so you know the total cost before we begin. Hourly billing ($100–$125/hr) applies to consulting, ad-hoc support outside a retainer plan, change orders on existing projects, and time-and-materials requests.

A change order is a written approval for work that falls outside the original project scope — an additional page, a new feature, or a significant revision to something already approved.

Change orders are billed at $100–$125/hr and require written sign-off before work begins. This protects both of us from scope creep and surprise costs.

Yes. The minimum engagement for one-time project work is $750. This reflects the real cost of onboarding, discovery, contracting, and project management — which exists regardless of project size.

For ongoing support, stewardship plans start at $297/month.

Stewardship Plans

A stewardship plan is a monthly retainer that keeps your website maintained, secure, and supported after launch. Think of it as having a dedicated technical partner on call — someone who knows your system, keeps it running well, and is ready when something needs attention.

All plans include:

  • Plugin and theme updates
  • Security monitoring
  • Uptime monitoring
  • Regular backups.

Higher tiers add:

  • More support hours
  • Content updates
  • Performance reporting
  • Faster response times.

The SEED plan starts at $297/month with 2 support hours. GROW is $597/month with 4 hours. THRIVE is $997/month with 8 hours.

No. Unused hours expire at the end of each month. This is standard practice for retainer agreements and reflects the fact that your hours represent reserved capacity on my calendar — whether used or not. If you consistently use less than your plan includes, we can discuss moving to a lower tier.

Stewardship plans are offered at project launch. Your first 30 days after launch are included at no charge. Once your site is live and the project invoice is paid in full, you’ll receive a retainer proposal for continuing after those free 30 days. You can also choose a plan at any time after launch. Plans can also be started independently for existing WordPress sites built elsewhere, subject to an initial site audit.

Every project includes 30 days of maintenance and support after launch at no charge, with or without a plan. After those 30 days, service continues only if you choose a plan, at signing or at any time after launch. You have two options. Committed Term: three billed months at the stated plan price, with the first and last months paid at signing (your last month is held and applied to your final billing month); after the three months you may cancel at any time. Month-to-Month: no minimum, $50/month above the stated plan price, billed monthly in advance, and you may cancel at any time. Cancellations require 30 days’ written notice. If you choose neither option, service ends after the free 30 days.

Content updates are straightforward changes to existing pages — swapping text, replacing images, updating contact information, adding an event date, or changing a price on a services page.

They do not include building new pages, adding new features, installing new plugins, or redesigning sections of the site. Those are scoped as project work.

Yes. Active stewardship plan clients receive 10% off any out-of-scope project work, for as long as the plan remains active. The discount is not retroactive: it applies to work booked while your plan is active, not to earlier work. Additionally, nonprofit clients on a plan receive an enhanced mission discount of 15% (SEED), 20% (GROW), or 25% (THRIVE) off all project labor.

Discovery Call,
Process & Timeline

The 30-minute discovery call covers your goals, current situation, timeline, and budget range. Within 48 hours you receive a written proposal with an itemized scope, fixed price, payment schedule, and estimated timeline. If the proposal works for you, we move to a contract and a Signing Payment to begin.

No. The initial 30-minute discovery call is free. For projects of $5,000 or more, I charge a separate Discovery Fee before I write the proposal. For smaller projects I may also require one, and I will tell you in writing before any discovery work begins. The fee equals the hours I spend on discovery multiplied by my hourly rate ($100–$125/hr), itemized on the invoice, and it is non-refundable.

*If you sign the project agreement within 30 days of the Discovery Fee invoice date, the Discovery Fee is credited in full against your project total, applied first to your Signing Payment. If you do not sign within that period, or you decide not to proceed, I keep the fee.

Timelines depend on project size. Simple and brochure sites typically run 2–4 weeks from contract signing to launch; full business sites without e-commerce 4–8 weeks; e-commerce, membership, or complex integrations 8–16 weeks. These are planning estimates, not guarantees. Timeline is heavily influenced by how quickly you provide content, review deliverables, and give approvals.

💡 The fastest projects are ones where the client is organized and responsive. The slowest are ones where content arrives in pieces over weeks.

The number of revision rounds depends on the package: Digital Launchpad and Small Business Online include two, Nonprofit Ready and Spiritual Org Digital Home include three, and Full Digital Launch includes four. A revision round means consolidated feedback submitted in a single document — not iterative daily requests. Additional revision rounds are billed at $100–$125/hr.

To begin a project you’ll need to provide: written content for each page (or add copywriting to your scope), your logo and brand assets (or add branding to your scope), any images you want used, and your login credentials for hosting and domain if I’m building on an existing account.

You do — once the final invoice is paid in full. Intellectual property transfers to you at the point of full payment. Before that, StarlitePhi retains rights to all work product. This is standard industry practice and is documented in your contract.

If you cancel before kickoff (when I have your signed agreement and Signing Payment), you owe only the Discovery Fee, if one was charged, and no kill fee applies. If you cancel after kickoff, the Discovery Fee and your Signing Payment are non-refundable, and you pay for the work completed to date at $100–$125/hr, with the payments you have already made counting toward that amount. A kill fee of 25% of the remaining project balance also applies, and the total you owe never exceeds the project total. All completed work files are delivered to you upon receipt of any outstanding balance.

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