Every project is scoped individually because every business is different. What you need, how many pages, what functionality, whether you're starting from a template or building from scratch, all of it affects the investment. What we can tell you is that we price competitively and we build for value, not volume. The best way to understand what your project would cost is to start the conversation. We'll give you a clear picture before anything is committed.

It depends on the scope of the project, the complexity of the design, and how quickly we can move through the process together. Template projects typically move faster than fully custom builds. What affects the timeline most is often how quickly content and feedback come back from the business we're building for. The more prepared you are going in, the smoother and faster the process moves. Once we understand your project, we'll give you a realistic timeline before anything is confirmed.

Timeline is something we discuss during the discovery call and confirm in your contract, so you always know what to expect before anything is signed. The process takes the time it takes, and the biggest factor in how quickly a project moves is almost always on both sides of the relationship.

Here is what consistently accelerates a project: completing your workbook thoroughly before your design window opens, providing all requested photos and assets promptly, and responding to revision requests quickly and completely.

You are not required to use both rounds of revisions on every page. The homepage almost always benefits from them. But as the project progresses, you will get better at knowing what you like, and we will get better at knowing your aesthetic too. Later pages often need only one round of revisions, and some you may approve without any changes at all. The more focused your feedback is, the faster we move.

If your timeline is genuinely urgent, bring it to the discovery call. We will look at the calendar together and tell you honestly what is possible.

Yes, and we want you to know about them upfront so nothing catches you off guard.

Hosting and platform subscription. Your hosting plan is separate from your project cost. For most clients that means a Showit subscription, which is competitively priced and billed directly to you. Our referral code and other recommended resources live on our Resources page. 

Templates. Template package clients will need to purchase their template. There are excellent free options available, and paid templates typically range from a modest fee up to around $600. We help you find the right one for your project and will tell you honestly if something is overpriced for what it delivers. We don't recommend anything we wouldn't use ourselves. You can find our preferred template sources on our Resources page. 

Fonts. There are hundreds of beautiful free fonts available and we use them regularly. If your project calls for a premium typeface, that license is yours to purchase and own. We'll walk you through exactly what you need and where to get it. The license belongs to your brand, not to us. Font resources and our recommendations are on our Resources page. 

Stock photography. We have a library of free and low cost image resources we draw from regularly. If you have your heart set on a specific image from a premium source, that cost is yours. We'll always tell you what's available for free before suggesting anything that costs money. Our preferred photography sources are on our Resources page. 

Domain and email. Most clients already have these. If you don't, your domain registration and professional email are separate expenses billed directly through whichever provider you choose. We'll point you in the right direction if you need help setting them up.

Optional add-ons. Certain features — booking integrations, e-commerce setup, blog migration, lead magnet setup — carry additional fees beyond your base package. We'll always be clear about what those cost before anything is added.

None of these are surprises if you know about them going in. We'd rather tell you now.

We don't offer payment plans at this time, though it's something we're actively looking into.

Our current payment structure is 30% at signing, 40% at the halfway point, and 30% at launch. It's designed to align with the work as it progresses. Each payment funds the next phase of your project, which means the work moves forward without either of us carrying the full weight of it upfront. We think that's a fair structure, and we're transparent about it from the start.

If the payment structure is a concern, bring it to the discovery call. We'll have an honest conversation about what works.

More than you might expect, and that's intentional.

A great website requires real input from the person who knows the business best, which is you. Before your design window opens, you'll complete a detailed workbook that gives us everything we need to build something genuinely reflective of your brand. During the design process, you'll review and provide feedback on each element as it's completed. Your responses shape what comes next.

The good news is that we've built the process to make your involvement as focused and efficient as possible. We ask the right questions, we give you clear things to respond to, and we never leave you staring at a blank page wondering what we need. Your job is to know your business and tell us what you think. Our job is to turn that into something great.

Copywriting is not included in our standard packages, though we can recommend talented copywriters if you decide you want professional help with that piece.

What we have found, honestly, is that the best website copy almost always comes from the person who built the business. Nobody knows it the way you do. The voice, the warmth, the specific details that make a stranger feel like they've found exactly the right fit — those things are harder to manufacture than most people think, and easier to draw out than most people fear.

Our workbook is designed to do exactly that. It asks the right questions in the right order and gives you a framework for every section of your site. Most people are surprised by how much they already know how to say once someone asks the right questions. We'll be there to guide you through it, and if you get stuck, we won't leave you stranded.

Scope creep is real, and it happens to the best planned projects. Life changes, businesses evolve, and sometimes what seemed like a five page site turns into something more ambitious once the process begins.

We work hard upfront to make sure you're in the right package before anything starts. Part of the discovery call and the early project conversations is understanding the full scope of what you need so we can build your contract around it accurately.

That said, if your project starts to grow beyond what was originally agreed, we'll reach out and talk through your options before anything changes. We have a clear fee structure for additional pages and services including booking integrations, blog migration, e-commerce templates, and lead magnet setup. We'll always be transparent about what an addition will cost before we add it.

Sometimes, yes. It depends on where you are in the process and what you want to add.

Some additions are straightforward and can be folded in cleanly. Others affect the structure, the timeline, or the budget in ways that need to be discussed before we proceed. The earlier in the process a change is requested, the easier it is to accommodate.

If something comes up mid-project that you'd like to add, bring it to us. We'll tell you honestly what it involves and what it would cost before anything is committed.

It depends on where you are in the process and what you want to change.

Every step of a Kismet project requires your explicit approval before we move forward. Moodboard, site map, homepage, each subsequent page — nothing advances until you sign off. That approval process exists to protect both of us. It means we never build something you haven't already seen and agreed to.

If you want to expand your project — more pages, more functionality, a more comprehensive scope — we can almost always accommodate that. What you've already paid applies toward the updated package and we'll work out the difference together.

If you want to change direction after approving elements, that's where it gets more complicated. Approved work is billable work. If we've completed a moodboard, a site map, a homepage, and several additional pages to your satisfaction, and you then decide you want to scrap the aesthetic entirely and start over, you will be charged for everything completed to that point in addition to the cost of starting fresh. That's not a penalty. It's an accurate reflection of the time and expertise that went into the work you approved.

We are competitively priced because we are efficient and experienced. That efficiency has real value, and we ask that it be respected in both directions. We will always be transparent about where additional charges may apply before they do.

If you're unsure about a direction, the moodboard stage is exactly the right moment to say so. It costs far less to change course before the design begins than after it's well underway.

We hope it never comes to that, but we understand that circumstances change.

If you need to stop a project before it's complete, you will be charged for the work completed to that point. Our payment structure is designed to reflect the work as it progresses, and in most cases those payments will cover or closely reflect what has been completed. In some circumstances, particularly if significant work has been done beyond what the payments cover, there may be additional fees.

We will always be clear about where things stand before any additional charges are discussed. Our goal is never to create a difficult situation. We'd rather have an honest conversation early than an uncomfortable one later.

We build on Showit for most projects, and we are genuinely enthusiastic about it. The design flexibility is real, the mobile experience is excellent, the pricing is transparent, and the customer support is some of the best we have encountered anywhere. We wrote a full post about why we love it if you want the longer answer. 

That said, Showit is not the right fit for every business. If your project has needs that are better served by a different platform — complex e-commerce, specific membership functionality, an existing ecosystem you're already invested in — we'll tell you that during the discovery call and help you figure out the right path forward.

Absolutely. Every page we design is delivered in both a desktop and a mobile version for your review and approval. We don't treat mobile as an afterthought or an adaptation of the desktop design. For many projects we start the design process on mobile first, because that's where a significant portion of your visitors will experience your site. Both versions are intentional. Both get our full attention.

Yes. That's the whole point.

We build every site to be maintained by the person who owns it. After launch you'll receive a personalized video walkthrough showing you around your site and how to make basic updates yourself. We also include quick reference guides for common changes. For most updates — swapping a photo, editing copy, updating pricing — no design experience or technical knowledge is required. If you get stuck, we're here. But our goal is that you rarely need us for the small stuff.

We don't purchase or manage hosting on your behalf as a standard part of our packages. Your hosting account is yours — you own it, you control it, and it stays with you regardless of your relationship with Kismet.

For most projects, we recommend Showit, which handles hosting as part of its subscription. Setup is straightforward and we'll walk you through it. Our referral code is available on our Resources page and can help offset the upfront cost.

Yes. SEO is not an add-on at Kismet. It's built into every project from the start.

Every site we build gets a full review from Jo, our SEO strategist, before it goes live. Structure, metadata, content architecture, local signals — the foundation is there regardless of which package you're on. Some businesses need SEO turned all the way up. Others need the foundation in place and ready to grow when the time is right. Either way, you're not launching into invisibility.

For businesses that want to go deeper — ongoing strategy, analytics review, competitive research — we offer those services separately. But the baseline is included. Always.

If you want to understand more about how search works and why it matters, we write about it regularly in By Design: Craft, Strategy and the Things No One Tells You. 

We build every site to be maintained by you, and we give you a personalized video walkthrough and quick reference guides after launch so you always know how. For most updates — swapping a photo, updating a price, changing a team member's bio — the process is genuinely straightforward. Our best advice is to go back to your launch video first. Most questions answer themselves.

That said, we know that not everyone wants to be their own webmaster, and that's completely fine.

For clients who need regular updates and ongoing maintenance, we offer monthly site management retainer packages. For one time updates — a new headshot, a bio change, a pricing adjustment — we're available at our standard hourly rate. For larger updates that may affect layout, like a full photography refresh or structural changes to a page, that's a good time to bring us back in.

We are always here. We just want to make sure you're only paying for what you actually need.

We provide full support for two weeks post-launch. If anything didn't migrate perfectly, a link isn't behaving, or something looks different than it should — we're on it, no questions asked. In practice, launches go smoothly. But we want you to know we're there if they don't.

After that initial support window, we're still here on a case by case basis and at our standard rates.

One thing worth knowing: we keep a version of every site as it was at launch. If something goes sideways down the road — updates that didn't go as planned, changes that need to be undone — we have the ability to restore your site to its launch state. We hope you never need it. It's good to know it exists.

Absolutely. Some of our favorite kinds of projects are big businesses in tiny towns and small businesses in big cities. Good design and smart strategy matter regardless of your zip code, and everything we do is built for a digital world that has no geographic limits.

We are based in the central time zone and we work with businesses everywhere. During your project, we set aside dedicated client hours each week for calls, feedback, and communication. Those hours are intentionally focused — they exist for you, not for design work or research happening behind the scenes. We will always make sure you know when we are available and how to reach us.

By phone, text or video call: Zoom, Google Meet, or the telephone. We are flexible on the format and we will figure out what works best for you at the start of the project. 

During the design process, most feedback happens asynchronously through your project materials, with scheduled calls at key milestones. We will never leave you wondering where things stand or when you'll hear from us next.

Yes. Logo design is available as part of our full brand and website package, which includes a complete brand identity: logo design, branding guide, custom color palette, typography system, email signatures, stationery design, and more.

If you need a logo as a standalone project outside of a full package, reach out and we'll talk through what makes sense for your situation.

Yes, across the board. Here's just some of what we offer.

Digital Marketing and SEO: Your Marketing Action Plan gives you a research-backed roadmap for growth, and our SEO services make sure the right people find you once that plan is in motion.

Campaign design: If you have a launch, a promotion, a special event, or a sales push that needs to look cohesive across platforms, we build that. A campaign that lives on social media should also live in your email, your print materials, and anywhere else your audience encounters your brand. We think about all of it together.

Social media management: We handle the ongoing posting, content, and strategy so it's consistently on brand and off your plate.

If you have a specific campaign, project, or marketing need, bring it to the discovery call. We'll tell you honestly what's the right fit.

That's more than okay. That's the whole point.

Not every business is the right fit for Kismet, and not every client is the right fit for us. We would rather have an honest conversation early than a difficult project later. If we get to the discovery call and it's clear we're not the right match, we'll tell you — and we'll do our best to point you toward designers or studios that might be a better fit for what you need.

It should feel like kismet. If it doesn't, that's useful information too.

It can. And for some purposes, an AI-generated website is exactly the right tool. If you need a placeholder, a proof of concept, or a basic online presence with no particular strategy behind it, the cost-to-output ratio is hard to argue with.

But here is what AI cannot do: it cannot sit with your business long enough to understand what makes it irreplaceable. It cannot find the detail you stopped noticing because it has always been true. It cannot look at your ideal client and make design decisions specifically for that person. It cannot build trust signals that feel genuine because they are genuine. It cannot write a headline that makes the right person feel seen before they have read another word.

AI generates. It assembles. It produces something that resembles a website the way a stock photo resembles your team. Technically present. Specifically nobody.

What you are paying for with a professional website is not the technology used to build it. It is the thinking behind every decision, the strategy underneath every element, and the result of someone who took the time to actually understand your business before they built anything at all.

A website that looks like everyone else costs your business every day in ways that don't show up on an invoice. The visitors who leave because nothing made them feel like they had found the right place. The referrals who looked you up and couldn't find the thing their friend was describing. The clients who chose someone else because that someone else looked more like what they were looking for.

That is the real cost comparison. Not what you paid to build the site. What you lose by building the wrong one.

We write about this a lot. If you want to go deeper, start with The AI Conversation on our blog, By Design: Craft, Strategy and the Things No One Tells You.

Kismet is a new studio. What is not new is the experience behind it. Kismet Design Boutique officially launched in July of 2026.

Nicole has been working in design since 1995, across television, advertising, motion graphics, and academia. Thirty years of building things for screens, for print, for brands, and for audiences. Kismet is where all of that experience landed when she decided to build something entirely on her own terms.

Jo brings a background in forensic linguistics and more than 15 years in digital sales and marketing, the kind of experience that turns out to be exactly what SEO strategy requires: understanding how language works on people. She leads the research and roadmap behind every Marketing Action Plan and SEO project we take on.

We are not a studio with a long client list to point to yet. We are a studio with decades of experience behind it, a small and carefully chosen body of work we are genuinely proud of, and a very clear sense of what we are building toward. We would rather be honest about where we are than overstate where we have been.

If that feels like the right fit for where you are too, we would love to talk.

Yes, and we'd encourage you to look closely. Our Work section includes detailed case studies rather than a simple portfolio grid, because we think the story behind the work matters as much as how it looks. You'll find the problem, the thinking, and the result for each project we've completed. 

Our case studies include real outcomes from real projects. As Kismet grows, client testimonials will be added to the site and updated regularly. If you'd like to speak with someone we've worked with directly, reach out and we'll see what we can arrange.

A few things, and we'll let you decide how much they matter to you.

Nicole personally designs every website at Kismet. Not a team, not a junior designer, not a templated system with your logo dropped in. Every project gets her full attention from the first moodboard to the final launch. That is not standard at any price point.

SEO is built into every project from the start, not offered as an add-on or an afterthought. Jo brings a level of strategic rigor to the visibility side of the work that most design studios simply don't have.

We don't work in niches and we don't copy anyone — not competitors, not brands we admire, and not ourselves. Every project is a response to a specific business, a specific audience, and a specific moment. What we build for you couldn't belong to anyone else.

And we're honest. About timelines, about pricing, about what we can and can't do, and about whether we're the right fit before you spend a dollar. We'd rather lose a project than overpromise on one.

If that sounds like what you're looking for, we'd love to talk.

Kismet will never grow faster than we can deliver on our promise. That means we don't hire to scale. We recognize people the way we recognize the right clients: when someone comes along whose skills, instincts, and values make the whole thing feel like it was always supposed to fit together.

If you think you might be that person — if you have a unique blend of talent, a genuine curiosity about design and strategy, and the kind of work ethic that doesn't need to be managed — we would genuinely love to hear from you.

Send your resume, your portfolio, or just a note about what you do and why you do it to [email protected]. We read everything. We remember the ones that feel like kismet.