Turnkey website.

What “turnkey” means

Turnkey development is when the client receives a finished, working website rather than a set of files that still has to be handed to someone else. Everything is included: structure, copy, design, layout, programming, content, transfer to hosting and launch.

The point of the format is that one team is responsible for the result. When one contractor draws the design, a second codes it and a third writes the copy, the joints between them turn into a zone where nobody is at fault and the site doesn't work.

How the stages work

• Brief and analysis — who the customer is, what they are looking for, what the competitors look like, how you differ from them.
• Structure — which pages are needed and in what order the blocks go on each one.
• Copy — before the design, not after: the layout is drawn around the content, otherwise the text later has to be trimmed to fit the picture.
• Design — mock-ups of the key pages in desktop and mobile versions.
• Layout and programming — building on the platform, forms, integrations, admin panel.
• Content and testing — real materials, checks on different screens and browsers.
• Launch — transfer to the live domain, analytics counters, goals, sitemap.

Skipping the analysis stage is the main reason a site ends up beautiful and useless: it is built to the client's taste rather than for the customer's task.

Landing page

One page for one offer. The format remains effective when you need to test demand quickly, launch a promotion or receive advertising traffic.

The requirements are simple: a clear first screen, a single call to action and a logical order of blocks. After that the landing page lives on edits: you change the headline or the form, compare the result and keep what worked.

Online store

Here product logic is added to the site, and most of the work goes inside rather than into the visuals. You need convenient catalogue navigation, working search and filters, quality product photos, secure payment methods and clear delivery terms.

Catalogue loading speed and trust matter in their own right: product reviews, honest stock levels, order status. A store that loads slowly and doesn't show whether an item is in stock loses the shopper halfway through.

Corporate website

The main source of information about the company and its services. The task is not to sell in one click but to give the full picture: what you do, how you work, who you have already worked with, who to contact.

A site like this more often needs integrations with internal systems — a CRM, enquiry tracking — so that a request doesn't get lost in the mailbox. A news section or blog helps keep the site current and brings search traffic on the topics your audience is looking for.

What works in design right now

Minimalism. Clean interfaces and air around the blocks focus attention on the content. It isn't a fashion but a way to let a person read what they came for.

Mobile version as the primary one. More than half of traffic comes from phones, and search engines go by the mobile version. The layout for a narrow screen is designed alongside the desktop one, not squeezed out of it.

Interactivity in moderation. Animations, parallax and micro-interactions make a page feel alive, but every effect weighs something. If the site loads a second longer for the sake of an animation, the effect works against you.

Personalisation. Behavioural data lets you show different things to different people: selections based on past views, offers tailored to the region. It noticeably lifts engagement but requires a sufficient volume of traffic.

Dark theme. Reduces eye strain and saves battery on phones. A useful option, but only if both themes are properly worked out — a half-finished dark version is worse than none at all.

What determines timelines and cost

The price is made up not of the number of pages but of the amount of bespoke work. It gets more expensive and slower where you need a custom structure instead of a standard one, a photo shoot instead of stock images, integrations with external systems, a complex catalogue with filters, multiple languages.

It gets cheaper and faster when the task is clear, the client's materials are gathered and one person makes the decisions. The lion's share of missed deadlines falls not on development but on waiting for copy, photos and revisions from the client's side.

Frequently asked questions

A site builder or a CMS?

A site builder suits a simple business-card site and a quick start. As soon as you need a catalogue, integrations or non-standard logic, the builder's limitations start to cost more than development on a CMS.

Who writes the copy?

We can write it ourselves, but the substance still comes from the client: prices, timelines, differences from competitors, real examples of work. Without that you get a set of generic phrases.

What needs to be prepared before the start?

A description of services with prices or price ranges, examples of work, reviews, logo and brand colours, access to the domain and hosting. The earlier this is gathered, the shorter the timeline.

The site is delivered — and that's it?

No. After launch you need at least monitoring of the statistics and minor edits: the first weeks show where people stumble.

What to do next

Start not with choosing a contractor but with answering the question of what the site should do: take enquiries, sell from a catalogue or represent the company. Both the format and the budget depend on that.

We build turnkey websites — from analysis to launch: website development. Next, see whether to choose a website or a landing page, and our breakdown of what a company website should be like.