About me
Web design, built on operational rigor.
Willhite Strategy Group is a custom web design studio in Santa Rosa, serving small businesses across the North Bay, Sonoma, Marin, Napa, and Solano counties. I hand-code every site for speed, SEO, and conversion. No templates, no platform lock-in.
The story behind WSG
Willhite Strategy Group was founded by Justin Willhite after 10+ years at Twitch (Amazon), where he built and scaled creator programs, managed partnerships with 500+ creators, and developed global content operations from the ground up. The work was less about marketing and more about systems engineering, clean data flows, automated workflows, fast feedback loops, and tools the team would actually use.
WSG now applies that same operational rigor to small business web design. The difference is who benefits: instead of a billion-dollar platform, it's a North Bay car wash, a Healdsburg winery, a Petaluma restaurant, businesses where a fast, well-built website directly translates to more revenue.
Every launch ships with a Sentinel audit: a five-discipline report covering SEO, GEO, AEO, accessibility and California privacy, run against the finished site before it goes live. It is part of the project price, not an upsell, and it is the same product other agencies buy from me for their own launches.
Most of my work is North Bay local business. I have also added a lane for medical, dental and veterinary practices anywhere in California, because those practices are usually paying a national agency $200 to $800 a month for a WordPress theme they do not own. That is a specific problem I am well suited to fix, and it is an addition to the local work rather than a replacement for it.
Every site I build is custom-built. No Wix subscription, and no Squarespace template that 10,000 other businesses also use. Where a client genuinely needs WordPress, I build it properly rather than talk them out of it. Clients own their code outright and can leave anytime, taking everything with them.
Justin Willhite
10+ years at Twitch (Amazon) building operational systems and creator programs. Now leading WSG's focus on custom-built, conversion-focused websites for North Bay small businesses. Based in Santa Rosa.
What I do
Custom websites and growth systems for small businesses. Every project is fixed-price and built to fit, not configured from a template.
Custom Websites & Redesigns
Custom-built marketing sites, redesigns of slow or outdated sites, and one-pagers. Mobile-first, fast on any connection, structured for Google and AI search from day one.
SEO + GEO Optimization
Built into every site, not sold as an add-on. Local SEO for Google Maps and Business Profile, plus GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) so ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews can cite you.
Custom Web Apps
Booking systems, member portals, kiosks, owner dashboards. When a marketing site isn't enough, see my work for what custom looks like in practice.
Capture, Email & SMS
Custom lead-capture forms, email campaigns on your own infrastructure, and TCPA-compliant SMS marketing. I build the whole machine that turns visitors into customers, not just the homepage.
Built different
No platform lock-in. No subscription "website builders" holding your content hostage. Every site I build is yours to own, edit, and take with you.
Custom-built
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python or Node when a backend is needed. Loads in under a second on any device. No plugin bloat, no breaking updates, no monthly fees you didn't sign up for.
SEO + GEO from day one
Schema markup, mobile-first design, Google Business Profile integration, internal linking, fast page speed. Engineered to rank in Google and to be cited by AI search engines.
You own everything
Code, domain, hosting credentials, content, analytics. Leave me tomorrow and take it all with you. I don't hold your business hostage.
What I build
Every project is scoped and quoted individually. You only pay for what you actually need.
Marketing Sites
Multi-page small business sites, service pages, locations, FAQ, contact. Mobile-first, SEO-ready, fast.
E-commerce
Custom checkout with Stripe or Square. Inventory, tax, shipping, gift cards, memberships, all built clean.
Custom Web Apps
Booking, kiosks, member portals, owner dashboards. Custom backends in Python or Node, hosted on infrastructure I run.
Ready to build a website that actually works?
Submit your existing site for a free written audit, or start a new project by telling me what you need. Either way it is handled in writing, and no pitch unless you ask.
Get a free site audit →