Folio West

One website, built around what makes your firm worth knowing.

You run the business. We’ll find the story. One interview and the material you already have. I write, design and build the whole site, and you make a handful of decisions that matter. $9,000, fixed, paid 30% at kickoff, 40% when you approve the design and 30% at launch. Your full site is ready for review about three weeks after kickoff. I confirm the date at kickoff and adjust it if material or approvals are delayed.

Pages
Up to six, listed in writing up front
Your time
One interview and a few decisions
Writing
Every page written for you
Changes
Two rounds, one named approver
Counsel
A review link and a dated PDF of every approved page

The Folio Edit

Find the truth. Shape the story. Build the site.

  1. The conversationYou sign and pay 30%. Then one focused interview, 60 to 90 minutes, plus your deck, your current site, your bios and anything else you’re happy to share. We talk about what makes the business different and what each reader needs to understand.
  2. The editA one-page brief: the central truth about the firm, what each audience needs, the proposed headline, the evidence behind it and the visual direction. You see the thinking before anything is built, and you correct it.
  3. The home pageThe approved story turned into type, imagery, layout and motion, on desktop and phone. You approve the home page design, then pay 40%.
  4. The full siteThe other pages written and built, then checked on phones, for speed and for links. The complete site is ready for your review about three weeks after kickoff.
  5. Two rounds of changesYour approver gathers feedback, including your counsel’s, and sends it in one list per round. I turn each round around in two business days.
  6. LaunchOnce your approver signs off in writing and the last 30% is paid. Then training, the written guide and 30 days of fixes.

What you get for $9,000

  • A positioning interview.60 to 90 minutes on your strategy, your audience and what a seller, lender or investor should take away. I turn it into the edit, a one-page brief you can correct.
  • Copy, written by me.Every page drafted from the interview, your deck and your notes. Each factual claim traces back to something you gave me.
  • Up to six pages.Listed in the agreement. If you need seven or eight, I quote the extra pages in writing before you sign.
  • A custom design for desktop and phone.Type, colour and layout made for your firm, not adapted from a template.
  • Two rounds of changes, one approver.One named person on your side gathers feedback and signs off.
  • A review link to share with your counsel.Before launch, with a dated PDF of every approved page at the end.
  • Launch, handover and training.Hosting and the domain set up in your name, one training session and a written guide.
  • 30 days of fixes.Anything that doesn’t work as agreed in the 30 days after launch, I fix at no charge.

Built for your counsel, not instead of them

Built for counsel review; legal compliance remains subject to your counsel’s assessment.

  • Who can publish.Only I publish during the project, and only after your named approver says yes in writing. After handover, you decide who has access.
  • Where approval is kept.Each approval is an email from your approver. At launch I send you a dated PDF of every approved page.
  • Counsel’s changes.They come through your approver as part of the two rounds. If counsel asks to remove or soften wording after the second round, I do it at no charge before launch. New content after that is quoted.
  • What I leave out by default.Performance figures, testimonials and offering language, unless your counsel or compliance officer has approved the exact wording.
  • If your firm is a FINRA member.Your registered principal approves alongside counsel, and the site carries the BrokerCheck link and the disclosures your compliance team specifies.
  • After launch.On a care plan, each update I publish comes with the written approval, the publication date and a dated PDF. Your compliance team specifies any further capture and retention.

Working with one person

  • The work is yours.You own the custom copy, design and code as they are made. The domain and hosting accounts are in your name. Any licensed fonts, photos or video stay under their licences, listed in the agreement.
  • Plain code, handed over in writing.A standard site any web developer can pick up, with a written guide to how it’s built.
  • If I can’t finish.You get all the work done so far, including the copy and source files, and I refund any payment for work not delivered. The agreement sets out the stages and their fees.
  • Confidential from the start.I sign your NDA before the interview. Before you share confidential material, we agree which tools may handle it, who can see it and when project copies are deleted.

The fine print, in plain words

What I need to start
  • The signed agreement and the 30% deposit.
  • Your material.The deck, memo, notes or old site. Rough is fine.
  • Time on the calendar for the interview.60 to 90 minutes, within two business days of signing.
  • One named approver.The person who can say yes on behalf of the firm.
  • Logo files, if you have them.If you don’t, I set the name in type.
  • Team names, titles and short bios.Photos too, if you want people shown. I never use stock photos as your team.
  • Access to your domain,or the name of whoever holds it.
  • Your counsel’s contact,if they will review the site.
The review date, and the refund
  • Kickoff is the business day after the deposit and everything above are in. Your start date is reserved when you sign.
  • I confirm the review-ready date by emailat kickoff, about three weeks out.
  • It moves while you approve the edit and the home page,or while I wait on you for an answer or a file for more than one business day. I tell you the new date each time.
  • Weekends and US federal holidays don’t count.
  • If I miss that date for reasons on my side,I refund 10% of the fee: $900.
  • Your counsel’s approvalis never on my deadline.
What you pay for directly, and control
  • Hosting.A site like this usually runs on a free or low-cost plan. The account is in your name and billed to you.
  • Your domain.Renewed by you, with you as the registered owner.
  • Any licences.Fonts, photos or video, if the design calls for paid ones. Each is listed with its cost and usage terms before you sign.
  • Access.You control the accounts and the billing. I get the access I need to do the work, and you can remove it at any time.
Changing the site after launch
  • Bios, deals and portfolio companies change.Ongoing updates go through an optional care plan, below.
  • If your team wants to edit pages itself,say so before you sign and I’ll scope a simple editor in writing.
  • Analytics, if you want them.Privacy-friendly and set up in your name. Off by default.
After launch: care plans

Care plans are optional. Each is month to month, cancel with 30 days’ notice, and unused hours don’t roll over.

$200 / month
  • 1 hour of changes
  • Reply within 2 business days
  • Monthly check of links and forms
$400 / month
  • 3 hours of changes
  • Reply within 1 business day
  • Monthly check of links and forms
$600 / month
  • 6 hours of changes
  • Same-day reply on weekdays
  • Monthly check, plus a new page or section each quarter within the hours
What I won’t promise

Rankings, traffic, enquiries, investor interest or regulatory outcomes. I commit to the agreed pages, the schedule above and the quality of the work, and I fix what’s broken.

Tell me about the firm.

Send the firm’s name, your current site if you have one, and the date you’re working toward. I’ll reply within two business days with any questions and my next available start date.

carson@foliowest.com