Websites that actually work for your business.
Willhite Strategy Group is a North Bay web-design studio that hand-codes custom websites for small businesses across Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano. Every site is fast (loads in under a second), SEO-optimized, and yours to own forever. No templates, no WordPress bloat, no platform subscriptions. Starting at $1,800.
Submit your website for a free audit.
I'll review your site for performance, SEO, mobile experience, and conversion design, and email you a written audit with specific findings. No pitch unless you ask.
The short version
- Who I am
- A custom-built web design studio in Santa Rosa, California, run by its founder. I serve small businesses across the North Bay: Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Solano.
- What I build
- Websites, redesigns, migrations off WordPress, e-commerce and custom web apps. Written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, with Python or Node behind them when a project needs one. Hand-coded by default rather than assembled from a template. When WordPress is the right call for your team, I build that properly too, and you own it either way.
- Who I build for
- Contractors, realtors, wineries, restaurants and local trades across the North Bay, plus medical, dental and veterinary practices anywhere in California.
- What it costs
- A Practice site of up to ten pages is $1,800, and Growth at up to twenty is $3,500. Care plans run $79 to $299 a month with a 14 day cancel. Fixed price after a call, no retainers and no hourly surprises.
- What ships with every build
- A Sentinel audit at launch, covering SEO, GEO, AEO, accessibility and California privacy. Included in the project price rather than billed separately.
- How long it takes
- Most small business sites launch in 3 to 5 weeks. Custom web apps with a backend typically take 6 to 10 weeks.
- What you own
- All of it. The code, the domain, the hosting account, the Google Business Profile and the analytics. If you leave, you take the files with you. I do not hold anything hostage.
- What GEO and AEO mean
- Generative Engine Optimization is structuring a site so AI search can read and cite it: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews. Answer Engine Optimization is writing the pages so those systems can lift a direct answer. Every site I build is set up for classical SEO and both of these.
- Free site audit
- Submit any site and I send a written review of performance, SEO, mobile and conversion within 1 to 2 business days. A person writes it. No pitch unless you ask for one.
- Who you deal with
- Justin Willhite, the founder, on every project. Over ten years at Twitch building creator programs and internal tools before starting the studio. You are not handed to an account manager.
- Getting in touch
- [email protected], or the form on any page. Everything is handled in writing.
I build websites the way I'd want one built for myself.
That means no shortcuts, no platform lock-in, and no charging you monthly for something you should own outright. Here's what you actually get.
Blazing fast.
Custom-built in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript means your site loads in under a second, on any device, on any connection. Google ranks fast sites higher. Customers wait less. You win both ways.
Built for Google.
Local SEO, schema markup, mobile-first design, Google Business Profile integration, every site launches ready to rank for your local searches. How long that takes depends on your category and your competition, so I will not put a date on it.
You own everything.
No Wix subscription. No Squarespace lock-in. No platform holding your content hostage. You get the code, the domain, the hosting, all of it. Leave me tomorrow, take it all with you.
Local and responsive.
I'm based in Santa Rosa and serve the entire North Bay. When you call, you reach Justin directly, not an offshore support queue. Answers in writing, usually same day. Same-day response during business hours.
Real analytics, not spam.
I install privacy-respecting analytics (no Google Analytics cookie consent nag) so you can actually see what's working. Plus conversion tracking, form analytics, and a monthly report you'll actually read.
Strategy, not just pixels.
Before I touch design, I figure out who you're selling to, what they search for, and why they should pick you over the competition. The website is the last step, not the first.
What I build.
Every project is quoted individually. You only pay for what you actually need, no forced tiers, no hidden retainer fees.
Custom Small Business Website
Fully custom design, mobile-responsive, SEO-optimized, Google Business Profile setup, schema markup. Perfect for service businesses, restaurants, retail shops, and professionals. Built to the scope you need, simple one-pager or multi-page marketing site.
Website Redesign
I rebuild your existing site from scratch on a modern foundation. Keep your content and your SEO equity, lose the slow load times and outdated design. Includes a full content audit.
E-commerce Website
Sell products, memberships, gift cards, or services online. Custom checkout with Stripe or Square, inventory management, and full tax/shipping integration.
Custom Web App
When a website isn't enough. Booking systems, member portals, owner dashboards, kiosks, integrations. Advanced solutions built to match your exact business operations, see my Easy Breezy case study for what custom looks like in practice.
Monthly Website Care
Hosting, SSL, security updates, content changes, and SEO, GEO and AEO monitoring with a quarterly re-audit. So you never think about your website except when it's sending you leads.
Local SEO Boost
For existing sites that need more traffic. Google Business Profile setup, schema markup, local citation cleanup, on-page SEO fixes, and monthly rank tracking.
Every quote is fixed-price. Most sites here are the $1,800 Practice build. Larger builds scale up based on scope.
Full-stack growth systems.
A website is a starting point. I build the whole machine that turns visitors into customers.
SEO + GEO Specialists
SEO is how Google finds you. GEO, Generative Engine Optimization, is how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google's AI Overviews decide to cite you when someone asks a question in those tools. I specialize in both. Every site I build is engineered to show up in traditional search AND get quoted by AI engines.
Capture Forms + Lead Routing
Custom forms that match your sales process, multi-step, conditional, file uploads, payment, scheduling. Leads route automatically to email, SMS, CRM, or a lightweight dashboard I build for you.
Database Management
Member lists, customer databases, inventory, reservation systems, staff rosters. I design clean data models, migrate from spreadsheets and legacy systems, and build the admin tools so your team can actually use the data.
Email Marketing Campaigns
I launch and manage email campaigns on your own infrastructure, Resend, Mailchimp, Listmonk, or custom. Warm-up sequences, audience segmentation, automation flows, deliverability monitoring. You own the list, you own the data.
SMS Marketing Campaigns
Text messages have a 98% open rate. I set up SMS marketing with proper opt-in flows, compliance (TCPA, 10DLC), segmented broadcasts, and two-way conversations. Great for local businesses, club memberships, and time-sensitive promos.
Owner Dashboards
A single place where you see what matters, today's bookings, this week's leads, monthly revenue, customer feedback, campaign results. Custom-built for your business, not a generic BI tool you'll never open.
The personal brand site that gets you found before the rest.
Most North Bay agents are renting their digital presence from their brokerage. I build the website that ranks for your name, your neighborhoods, and the AI search queries buyers and sellers are actually running in 2026. Discoverability is the entire game now, and the brokerage micro-site cannot win it for you.
Outrank the brokerage page
Your domain ranks for your name, your specialty, and your neighborhoods. Compass, KW, Coldwell, and Sotheby's templates cannot.
Get cited by ChatGPT & Perplexity
When a buyer asks AI "best Sebastopol realtor", the answer comes from sites with proper AEO markup. Most agent sites are invisible to AI search. Yours will not be.
Own neighborhood searches
Bennett Valley, The Barlow, Healdsburg Plaza, West End Petaluma. Hyperlocal guides that rank for the searches that turn into showings.
Travels when you switch brokerages
Reviews, sold portfolio, and SEO equity stay with you. The brokerage micro-site evaporates the day you change shingles.
North Bay verticals I know cold.
Same craft, same SEO + GEO discipline, tuned for what each industry's customers actually search.
General contractors, roofers, landscapers Wineries
Sonoma + Napa tasting rooms and producers Restaurants
Reservations, menus, local search Hospitality
Inns, B&Bs, vacation rentals Medical & dental
HIPAA-aware patient sitesVeterinary practices
Animal hospitals, boarding, after-hours Breweries & distilleries
Taprooms, e-commerce, events Cannabis dispensaries
Compliant, conversion-focused Local businesses
Service trades, retail, professional
Built top-to-bottom for a North Bay small business.
Easy Breezy Car Wash
A full 14-page marketing site, a staff kiosk system with license-plate recognition and offline queueing, and a real-time owner dashboard, all custom-built, all hosted on infrastructure I run for my clients. Replaced a slow WordPress setup and a separate POS reporting tool with one system.
A clear process, no mystery.
Written brief
A short set of questions you answer in writing, whenever suits you. I learn your business, your customers, and what success looks like for the site. Free, no pitch, nothing to schedule.
Get in touch →Design preview
Week 2. Full homepage mockup + sitemap. You redline until it's right before I build a single page.
Build & review
Weeks 3, 4. You get a staging link to click around daily. Revisions welcome until you're ready to launch.
Launch & support
Week 5. I flip DNS, monitor for 24 hours, and hand over everything. Then monthly care if you want it.
Serving the North Bay.
Based in Santa Rosa, traveling anywhere in Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano counties for on-site meetings. Click your city for locally-focused info.
Straight answers to common questions.
A ten-page Practice site is $1,800. Larger marketing sites, redesigns, e-commerce, and custom web apps (booking systems, kiosks, member portals) scale up based on scope, I price each project individually so you only pay for what you actually need. Every quote is fixed-price, no hourly surprises.
I'm based in Santa Rosa and serve the entire North Bay, Sonoma County (Petaluma, Sebastopol, Rohnert Park, Healdsburg, Windsor, Cotati, Sonoma), Marin County (San Rafael, Novato, Mill Valley), Napa, and Solano. Being local means faster communication, in-person meetings when it helps, and deep knowledge of the regional business landscape.
Hand-coded is the default, and I build on WordPress when a client genuinely needs it. By default I write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (with Python or Node for custom backends when needed). This means your site loads faster, ranks better on Google, is more secure, and costs less to maintain, no plugin updates breaking the site, no bloated page weight, no monthly Wix subscription fees.
Most small business sites take 3 to 5 weeks from kickoff to launch. Complex builds with custom backends take 6 to 10 weeks. I start with a written brief you fill in at your own pace, deliver a design preview in week 2, a working staging site in week 3, and launch after your final review.
Within 1 to 2 business days, I review your existing site for performance, SEO, conversion design, mobile experience, and structural issues. I email you a written audit with specific findings and a quick recommendation, whether you need a redesign, a few targeted fixes, or no work at all. The audit is free with no obligation.
Every site I build is engineered for local SEO from day one: proper heading structure, schema markup, fast page speed, mobile-first responsive design, Google Business Profile integration, and internal linking. I don't promise specific rankings, but I do promise that your site will meet every technical requirement Google looks at when deciding where to rank you. Sites usually start showing movement in Search Console within a couple of months, though how fast depends on your competition and your category.
The non-negotiables.
Everything a buyer or an AI agent needs to know about how Willhite Strategy Group actually operates, in one place, plain English.
- Pricing
- From $1,800 (ten pages) to $50,000+ (custom web apps). Fixed-price per project, no hourly billing surprises.
- Response time
- Free site audit returned in 1-2 business days. Active-client emails answered within 4 business hours. Same-day for urgent issues.
- Refund / guarantee
- If the launched site doesn't meet the spec I agreed to, I fix it free. Quote payments are refundable until project kickoff; after kickoff, milestone-based.
- Team
- Founder-operated by Justin Willhite (ex-Twitch/Amazon, 10+ years). One person. You talk to the person building your site, because there is nobody else to talk to.
- Support hours
- Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm Pacific. Email ([email protected]) or phone. Out-of-hours emergencies covered for active clients.
- Ownership
- You own the code, the domain, the hosting account. No platform lock-in. Leave me tomorrow and take everything with you, I provide a clean handoff.
- Integrations
- Stripe, Square, Google Business Profile, Cloudflare, Resend/Postmark, CRM webhooks, calendar booking (Cal.com / Google), and custom Node/Python backends.
- Founded / location
- Founded 2024. Based in Santa Rosa, CA. Serving the entire North Bay, Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Solano, remote-friendly for the rest of California.
What clients tell me after the work is shipped.
Up until finding you, not one of the 5 or 6 prior marketing people did any of this. I understand a lot of it may not have been invented in the early days, but it still seems like we were missing early opportunities.
Ready to see what your site could be?
Submit your website for a free audit. I'll review it within 1 to 2 business days and email you a written breakdown, no pitch unless you ask.
or