Web Design · North Bay California

Websites that actually work for your business.

Custom-built, fast-loading, SEO-optimized websites for small businesses across the North Bay, Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano. No templates. No WordPress bloat. No subscription "platforms" that lock your data hostage. Just a site built for you, that loads in under a second and shows up on Google. Starting at $500.

Free site audit · 1, 2 day turnaround

Submit your website for a free audit.

We'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.

No spam, no list. We review your site and reply directly. If we don't think you need work, we'll tell you that too.
Who we are
Willhite Strategy Group is a custom-built web design studio based in Santa Rosa, California, serving small businesses across the North Bay (Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano counties).
What we do
Custom websites, redesigns, e-commerce, and custom web applications. Custom-built in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, no WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow.
Where we work
Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano counties, the entire North Bay. Based in Santa Rosa.
Pricing
Websites start at $500. Every project is fixed-price after a free strategy call. No retainers, no hourly surprises.
Timeline
Most small business websites launch in 3, 5 weeks. Custom web apps with backends typically take 6, 10 weeks.
Free site audit
Submit any website at willhitestrategy.com and receive a written audit covering performance, SEO, mobile, and conversion within 1, 2 business days. No pitch unless requested.
What is GEO?
Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring a website so AI search engines, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, can read, understand, and cite it when users ask questions. Every site we build is engineered for both classical SEO and GEO.
What is a custom-built website?
A site built specifically for your business in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (with Python or Node backends when needed) rather than assembled from a generic templating platform. Custom-built sites load faster, rank better, and stay fully owned by the client.
Founder
Justin Willhite. 10+ years at Twitch (Amazon) building creator programs and operational tools. Now leading WSG's focus on conversion-focused websites for North Bay small businesses.
Contact
[email protected] · willhitestrategy.com · in-person meetings available across the North Bay.
Why North Bay businesses pick us

We build websites the way we'd want one built for ourselves.

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. Most clients see traffic growth in 60, 90 days.

🔒

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 us tomorrow, take it all with you.

🏠

Local and responsive.

We're based in Santa Rosa and serve the entire North Bay. When you call, you reach Justin directly, not an offshore support queue. In-person meetings when they help. Same-day response during business hours.

📊

Real analytics, not spam.

We 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 we touch design, we 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.

Websites, starting at $500

What we 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

We 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 our Easy Breezy case study for what custom looks like in practice.

Monthly Website Care

Hosting, SSL, security updates, content changes, performance monitoring, and a quarterly SEO check-in. 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. Small one-pagers start at $500. Larger builds scale up based on scope.

Beyond websites

Full-stack growth systems.

A website is a starting point. We 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. We specialize in both. Every site we 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 we build for you.

Database Management

Member lists, customer databases, inventory, reservation systems, staff rosters. We 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

We 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. We 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.

For North Bay Real Estate Agents

The personal brand site that gets you found before the rest.

Most North Bay agents are renting their digital presence from their brokerage. We 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.

See the realtor web design page → Brokerage vs personal brand
Industries we specialize in

North Bay verticals we know cold.

Same craft, same SEO + GEO discipline, tuned for what each industry's customers actually search.

Contractors & trades
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 sites Breweries & distilleries
Taprooms, e-commerce, events Cannabis dispensaries
Compliant, conversion-focused Local businesses
Service trades, retail, professional
Recent work

Built top-to-bottom for a North Bay small business.

Case Study · Launched April 2026

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 we run for our clients. Replaced a slow WordPress setup and a separate POS reporting tool with one system.

7,515contacts in managed CRM
< 1spage load time
425club members migrated
100%owned by the client
Read the full case study →
🔒 easybreezycarwash.com
Screenshot of the Easy Breezy Car Wash homepage built by Willhite Strategy Group
How we work

A clear process, no mystery.

01

Strategy call

60 minutes. We learn your business, your customers, and what success looks like for the site. Free, no pitch.

Book a call →
02

Design preview

Week 2. Full homepage mockup + sitemap. You redline until it's right before we build a single page.

03

Build & review

Weeks 3, 4. You get a staging link to click around daily. Revisions welcome until you're ready to launch.

04

Launch & support

Week 5. We flip DNS, monitor for 24 hours, and hand over everything. Then monthly care if you want it.

Where we work

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.

Santa Rosa Petaluma Sebastopol Rohnert Park Healdsburg Windsor Cotati
FAQ

Straight answers to common questions.

How much does a custom website cost in the North Bay?

Websites start at $500 for a simple small business site. Larger marketing sites, redesigns, e-commerce, and custom web apps (booking systems, kiosks, member portals) scale up based on scope, we price each project individually so you only pay for what you actually need. Every quote is fixed-price, no hourly surprises.

What areas of the North Bay do you serve?

We're 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.

Do you use WordPress or Wix?

No. We hand-code websites in 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.

How long does a website take to build?

Most small business sites take 3, 5 weeks from kickoff to launch. Complex builds with custom backends take 6, 10 weeks. We start with a 60-minute strategy call, deliver a design preview in week 2, a working staging site in week 3, and launch after your final review.

What happens after I submit my site for a free audit?

Within 1, 2 business days, we review your existing site for performance, SEO, conversion design, mobile experience, and structural issues. We 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.

Will my website rank on Google?

Every site we 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. We don't promise specific rankings, but we do promise that your site will meet every technical requirement Google looks at when deciding where to rank you. Most of our clients see traffic growth within 60, 90 days of launch.

In their words

What clients tell us 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.
Matt Owner, Easy Breezy Car Wash

Ready to see what your site could be?

Submit your website for a free audit. We'll review it within 1, 2 business days and email you a written breakdown, no pitch unless you ask.

, or ,

Book a free 60-minute strategy call → No website needed. We'll talk through what you're trying to do and what would actually move the needle.