Process
How a Phantom Build Works, Step by Step
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Seven steps. It starts with a conversation about whether you need a website at all, and ends with yours live on the internet.
Nothing is built before you have approved it, and nothing is quoted before we know what you actually need.
What are the seven steps?
| Step | What happens | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Consultation | Do you actually need this? | An honest picture of your business |
| 2. If yes, then what? | We work out which kind of site fits | How customers reach you today |
| 3. Which plan suits | Starter, Go or Executive | Your budget, plainly |
| 4. Yes from you | Scope and price agreed in writing | Your go-ahead |
| 5. Build A | The framework: structure and layout | Feedback on the shape |
| 6. Build B | The final look, fully designed | Your text, logo and photos |
| 7. Paper to screen | The site goes live | Domain access, and a last look |
Step 1: Do you actually need a website?
The first conversation is not a pitch. It is a straight question: does your business need this right now, and what would it change if you had one?
Sometimes the honest answer is no, or not yet — a free Google Business Profile and a tidy Instagram may be enough for another few months. We would rather tell you that than sell you something you will not use.
Step 2: If yes, what do you actually need?
A bakery, a clinic and a consultant need very different things. In this step we work out which one you are: how many pages, whether customers need to order, book or simply find you, and what has to be on the first screen.
This is where scope gets decided, and scope is what everything after it depends on.
Step 3: Which plan best suits your business and your wallet?
Once we know the scope, the plan follows from it rather than the other way around. Starter covers a simple, credible presence. Go adds the things that turn visitors into messages. Executive is the full system, with SEO, a blog and a chatbot.
Prices are published on the Payoff page, so you can check them before we ever say a number out loud.
Step 4: Yes from you
Nothing is built until you agree to what is being built. You get the scope and the price in writing, and the project starts when you say yes — not before.
Step 5: Build A — the framework
Build A is the skeleton of your website: what sits on each page, in what order, and where a visitor is meant to go next. No final colours, no finished artwork — the shape, so it can be changed cheaply while changing it is still cheap.
You review it and tell us what is wrong. Most projects that go badly go badly because this step was skipped.
Step 6: Build B — the final look
Build B is the real thing: your words, your logo, your photographs, the type and colour, the animation, all of it working on a phone as well as a laptop.
This is the step where having your content ready pays for itself. Waiting on text and photos is the single most common reason a build takes longer than it should.
Step 7: From paper to screen
The site goes live on your domain, with hosting and SSL set up, pages submitted to Google, and the basics of SEO in place so it can be found rather than simply existing.
After that it is yours. Keeping it online, monitored and supported is what the Care Plan covers, if you want it.
Questions, answered.
How long does the whole thing take?
Two to three weeks is typical for a simple site. More complex builds take longer, and how quickly you send content matters more than anything else.
Can I change my mind after Build A?
That is exactly what Build A is for. Changing the shape at that stage is quick; changing it after Build B means redoing finished work.
What if I don't know which plan I need?
You do not have to. Steps 1 to 3 exist to work that out, and the Instant Estimate on the Payoff page gives you a rough answer in a minute.
Do I own the website at the end?
Yes. The site and the domain are yours.
What happens if something breaks after launch?
Tell us. The Care Plan covers monitoring and support; without it, fixes are quoted as they come up.