Frequently Asked Questions

Most projects are completed within 1–3 weeks, depending on the complexity and the package you choose. Simple sites (Essential Package) can be ready in as little as one week, while larger projects (Signature Package) may take up to three weeks.

We'll need three things to get started:

• Text content: Information about your business, services, and any specific copy you want on the site
• Images: Photos of your business, products, or team (we can also source stock images)
• Domain name: If you already have one, great! If not, we can help you register one.

Don't worry if you're not sure about everything - we'll guide you through the process.

Yes! Before we start development, we provide a basic mockup of your website's layout, color scheme, and structure. You'll have the opportunity to review and provide feedback before we proceed with the full build.

We follow a clear 6-step process:

1. Discovery & Requirements - We learn about your business and goals
2. Design & Mockup - We create a visual preview for your approval
3. Development - We build the site using optimized templates
4. Testing & QA - We test on multiple devices and browsers
5. Launch - We deploy your site and handle all technical setup
6. Post-Launch Support - We provide a 1-month adjustment window

Every package includes 2 rounds of revisions during the development process. After the initial mockup, you can request changes, and we'll refine the design until you're happy. After launch, you have a 1-month adjustment window for additional tweaks.

Yes! Web hosting is available in two tiers:

• Standard - $84/year: 99.9% uptime, daily automated backups stored offsite, SSL certificate (HTTPS), DDoS protection, and server monitoring.
• Premium - $120/year: Everything in Standard plus dedicated CPU & memory allocation for better performance under traffic.

Advanced Package includes the first year of standard hosting free; Signature Package includes the first year of premium hosting free.

Our maintenance plan ($12/month or $80/year) covers:

• Regular content updates (text, images, prices)
• Security patches and server updates
• Daily backups and monitoring
• Web Application Firewall (WAF) management
• Technical support via email

We take downtime seriously. Our hosting includes automated monitoring systems that alert us immediately if your site experiences any issues. We respond to critical issues immediately and work to resolve them as quickly as possible. Our 99.9% uptime guarantee means minimal disruption to your business.

Yes! Professional email hosting ([email protected]) is available for $30/year. This includes:

• Up to 40 email accounts
• 2GB storage per account
• 5 email forwarders
• 10 autoresponders
• SpamAssassin spam filtering
• Catch-all email address

We perform daily automated backups of your entire website, including all files and databases. Backups are stored securely offsite, separate from your hosting server. If anything ever goes wrong, we can restore your site to any point within the backup retention period.

Absolutely! Every project includes a 1-month adjustment window after launch where you can request changes and tweaks at no additional cost. After that, changes are included in the maintenance plan, or you can request individual updates at an hourly rate. Standard turnaround for changes is 24 hours.

We aim to respond to all support requests within 24 hours during business days. Critical issues (site down, security concerns) are treated as urgent and addressed immediately. Non-urgent requests are handled in the order they're received.

Our websites are custom-coded for maximum performance and security, which means they don't come with a traditional admin panel like WordPress. This is by design - it eliminates plugin vulnerabilities and keeps your site fast. All content updates are handled by us as part of your maintenance plan, with a 24-hour turnaround.

Simply send an email to [email protected] with your request. We process support requests within 24 hours during business days. Urgent issues are prioritized and addressed immediately.

Every website we build includes SEO best practices baked into the code and structure:

• Clean, semantic HTML markup
• Optimized meta tags and descriptions
• Fast page loading speeds
• Mobile-first responsive design
• Structured data (JSON-LD) for rich search results
• XML sitemap and robots.txt

We follow Google's webmaster guidelines to give your site the best chance of ranking well in search results.

Security is a top priority. Every site includes:

• SSL/TLS: All traffic encrypted via HTTPS
• Cloudflare: CDN, DDoS protection, and WAF
• CrowdSec: Community-driven threat intelligence
• Fail2ban: Automated intrusion prevention
• Regular updates: Server and software patches applied promptly

Yes, we include basic GDPR compliance features such as a privacy policy page, cookie policy, and appropriate data handling practices. For businesses that require more comprehensive GDPR compliance (e.g., EU-based businesses handling sensitive data), we can discuss additional requirements during the discovery phase.

Yes! We can set up Google Analytics (GA4) or privacy-focused alternatives like Plausible or Umami. Analytics help you understand how visitors find and use your site, which pages are most popular, and where your traffic comes from. We'll walk you through the dashboard so you can track your site's performance.

Full payment is required upfront before development begins. We accept payments via Stripe, which supports all major credit and debit cards. This keeps things simple and lets us start work on your project immediately.

Your satisfaction is our priority. We include 2 rounds of revisions during development and a full 1-month revision period after launch. During this time, we'll make adjustments until you're happy with the result. We work closely with you throughout the process to ensure the final product meets your expectations.

Ongoing maintenance is available at $12/month or $80/year (save $64 with annual billing). This covers content updates, security patches, performance monitoring, and technical support. It's optional but recommended to keep your site secure and up to date.

You own all the content on your website - text, images, and branding are yours. The underlying code and templates are retained by The Site Baker (our template-based model allows us to keep costs low). Your domain name is registered in your name, and you're free to transfer hosting at any time. We'll provide all necessary files and assistance if you ever decide to move.

You don't have to - but it helps if you do. We'll always need basic business information (your services, hours, contact details), but we can guide you on what works best for each section. If you don't have professional photos, we can source quality stock images that fit your brand at no extra cost. If you have your own photos, even better - real images of your business always perform better than stock.

Yes, every site we build is mobile-first by design. That means it's built and tested on phones before anything else, since most of your customers will find you on a mobile device. Layouts adapt cleanly to all screen sizes - phones, tablets, and desktops - and we test across multiple devices before launch to make sure everything looks and works exactly right.

We can build simple product showcase pages and booking/inquiry forms as part of any package. For full online stores with shopping carts, inventory management, and payment processing, we assess this on a case-by-case basis - reach out and tell us what you need. Simple stores (up to ~20 products) are often achievable within our Full Build package.

Every project includes a one-month adjustment window after launch - during that time you can request tweaks, corrections, and changes at no extra charge. After that, our maintenance plan ($12/month or $80/year) keeps you covered with content updates, security patches, and technical support with a 24-hour response time. You're never left to figure it out on your own after handoff.

DIY website builders are great for getting something basic up quickly, but they come with real tradeoffs: monthly subscription fees that add up, generic-looking templates, limited performance, and no real support when things go wrong. The Site Baker builds a custom site around your specific business - not a one-size-fits-all template - and handles all the technical work so you never have to. You own your domain, you get personal support, and you end up with a faster, more trustworthy site that actually reflects your brand.