The Client
Sarah Chen is an executive coach who works with senior leaders at Fortune 500 companies. She runs leadership team offsites, delivers keynote speeches, and coaches C-suite executives through high-stakes transitions. Her clients include leaders at companies like McKinsey, Google, and JPMorgan Chase.
Despite a strong reputation built through word-of-mouth referrals, Sarah's online presence didn't reflect her positioning. Her existing website was a basic WordPress template that looked identical to hundreds of other coaches. Prospective clients who Googled her before a call were underwhelmed.
The Brief
Sarah chose the Grow tier ($2,497), which includes up to 6 custom-designed pages, mobile-responsive design, SEO fundamentals, and a contact form integration. Here's what she needed:
- Homepage — Immediate credibility with a 50/50 split hero, client stats, and social proof
- Services — Three service offerings (coaching, offsites, keynotes) with clear descriptions and CTAs
- Results — Quantified outcomes with client testimonials and case study highlights
- About — Professional bio with credentials, photo, and personal story
- Blog — Layout for thought leadership articles (3 seed posts)
- Contact — Scheduling integration with a personal touch
The 3-Day Build
Discovery + Wireframes
We started with a 45-minute intake call where Sarah walked us through her ideal client, her competitive landscape, and the three things she wanted visitors to feel: trust, sophistication, and warmth. We reviewed 5 competitor sites she admired and identified what worked (editorial restraint, generous whitespace) and what didn't (generic stock photos, cluttered layouts).
By end of day, we delivered wireframes for all 6 pages showing the content hierarchy, section flow, and responsive breakpoints. Sarah approved them the same evening with one note: make the Results page more data-forward.
Design + Build
We designed the full visual system: a warm, editorial palette (ivory background, charcoal text, gold accents) with Cormorant Garamond headings for authority and clean sans-serif body text for readability. The design is intentionally restrained — no flashy animations, no aggressive CTAs. Just confident, quiet sophistication that mirrors Sarah's coaching style.
We built all 6 pages in production HTML/CSS with hand-coded components: a 50/50 split hero, a credential stats bar (15+ years, 200+ leaders, Fortune 500 clients), a scrolling testimonial section, and a results grid with quantified outcomes. Every page is fully responsive.
Review + Launch
Sarah reviewed the full site on desktop and mobile. Zero revisions requested — the design matched her vision from the intake call. We ran performance optimization (image compression, lazy loading), added meta tags and structured data for SEO, integrated her Calendly for the contact page, and deployed to her hosting.
The site was live by 3 PM on Day 3 — a full day before her keynote.
Design Decisions
Color Palette
We chose a warm, muted palette that communicates authority without coldness. The gold accent (#C8A456) is used sparingly for CTAs and labels — it signals premium positioning without shouting.
Key UX Decisions
- 50/50 split hero — Photo on one side, copy on the other. Establishes a face-to-face feeling that mirrors coaching.
- Credential stats bar — "15+ Years," "200+ Leaders Coached," "Fortune 500 Clients" — immediately answers "why should I trust this person?"
- No pop-ups or aggressive CTAs — Sarah's clients are senior executives. They don't respond to urgency tactics. The site respects their intelligence.
- Whitespace as a design element — Every section breathes. This communicates confidence and premium positioning.
- Warm photography — Natural light, professional but approachable. No stiff corporate headshots.
What's Included at the Grow Tier ($2,497)
- Up to 6 custom-designed, hand-coded pages
- Mobile-responsive design (tested on 5+ device sizes)
- Custom color palette and typography system
- SEO fundamentals: meta tags, structured data, sitemap
- Contact form or scheduling tool integration
- Performance optimization (image compression, lazy loading)
- Full source code ownership — no lock-in, no monthly platform fees
- 72-hour delivery from intake call to live site
What's not included: custom illustrations, copywriting (Sarah provided her own), e-commerce, or ongoing maintenance (available separately via care plans starting at $97/month).
Results
Sarah's site launched the day before her keynote at a leadership conference. Here's what happened:
— Sarah Chen, Founder, Sarah Chen Consulting
Key Takeaways
- Speed doesn't mean shortcuts. Every page was hand-designed and hand-coded. The 3-day timeline works because of a tight, repeatable process — not because corners are cut.
- Fixed pricing removes friction. Sarah knew exactly what she was paying before we started. No scope creep, no surprise invoices.
- The intake call is everything. A focused 45-minute conversation replaces weeks of back-and-forth emails. We listen, we build, we deliver.
- Source code ownership matters. Sarah owns every line of HTML and CSS. She can host it anywhere, modify it anytime, and never pay a platform fee.