Compare
What you're
really choosing.
Every website looks fine in a screenshot. The difference shows up in what it costs you over time, who actually owns it, and whether it wins you work. Here is how a Mach One build stacks up against the usual options.
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| Mach One | Template builder | $300 freelancer | Traditional agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | One fixed fee, quoted on a call. | Cheap, but you build it yourself. | Cheap, and it usually shows. | $10k and up, over months. |
| Time to live | About a week. | Your nights and weekends. | Whenever they get to it. | Two to four months. |
| What you see | The real, finished site before you pay the balance. | Whatever you can drag into place. | Often a rough first draft. | Mockups, then rounds of edits. |
| The design | Hand-built around your brand. | A theme thousands of others use. | Hit or miss. | Polished, at a price. |
| Speed & Google | Fast, clean code, built search-ready. | Heavier and slower to rank. | Depends who you got. | Usually strong. |
| Who owns it | Yours outright. No lock-in. | Locked to their platform and fees. | Usually yours. | Often yours, sometimes held. |
| After launch | A care plan. We keep it running. | You DIY every change. | Good luck reaching them. | A monthly retainer. |
| Who you deal with | The person who built it. | A help centre. | One very busy person. | An account manager. |
What to actually look for
Whoever you go with, these are the questions worth asking before you hand over a deposit.
A fixed price, upfront
If they can't quote a clear number before starting, the bill tends to grow. You should know what it costs on the first call.
The real site, not a mockup
Ask to see the actual build on a private link before you pay the balance. A flat Photoshop image hides a lot.
Do you own it outright?
Make sure the site and files are yours with no lock-in, so you can never be held to ransom over your own website.
What happens after launch?
A site is never "finished." Find out who keeps it fast, secure and updated once it's live, and what that costs.
The cheap option costs more later.
We build the one that wins you work and stays yours. One call, one fixed price, live in a week.
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