Front office · Websites

The site you are looking at right now.

Compass AI Group designs and builds websites from scratch for Canadian owner-operators with 5 to 50 staff: pages that load in under a second, read clearly to Google and AI search, and that your staff can edit. Booking, quoting or AI features go in only where they earn their keep. This page is the proof.

About one in six Bearings Reports says: do nothing yet.

Plot Your CourseSee how we work
One page, three things that change
A sample website for plumber-k.example. Notes mark that the page loads in under a second, that staff can edit the headline in the content system, and that the inquiry form reaches the business in seconds.plumber-k.exampleSame-day plumbingin OakvilleBook a visitREQUEST A VISITName and phoneWhat needs fixingLoads in under a secondedge-hosted, no page builderYour staff edit thisin the CMS, no developer neededInquiries reach youlogged and emailed in secondsA sample website for plumber-k.example. Notes mark that the page loads in under a second, that staff can edit the headline in the content system, and that the inquiry form reaches the business in seconds.plumber-k.exampleSame-day plumbingin OakvilleBook a visitREQUEST A VISITName and phoneWhat needs fixing1231Loads in under a secondedge-hosted, no page builder2Your staff edit thisin the CMS, no developer needed3Inquiries reach youlogged and emailed in seconds
FIG. 00A sample trades business on the reserved .example domain, not a client’s. Gold marks what the build changes: speed, copy your staff can edit, and a form that reaches you.

S.01How the build runs

Four phases. No mystery week to week.

Bearings, Charting, Heading, True North: the same phases as every Compass engagement, with website deliverables at each one. You see the work as it ships.

  1. 01

    Bearings: understand the business

    One week of conversations: who you sell to, what they need to see, what your competitors get wrong, what the site has to do that the current one does not. No mood boards yet.

  2. 02

    Charting: design the system

    Brand tokens, typography, colour palette, component library, and three to five key page designs signed off before any production code is written. You see the site before you commit to the build.

  3. 03

    Heading: build with weekly reviews

    Production-ready Next.js with a shipping checkpoint every Friday. You test new pages on staging as we go. No big reveal three months in; the site goes live in pieces, not all at once.

  4. 04

    True North: measure, then iterate

    Launch day is the start, not the finish. We instrument the site, set up conversion events, watch traffic for the first 30 days, and tune copy and design based on what real visitors do.

S.02After launch

The first 30 days, written down.

A buyer who waits for a slow page leaves. A site that passes Core Web Vitals ranks ahead of one that fails them, and a site AI search can read gets cited. So launch is when the measuring starts.

Run log: the first 30 days after a launch
  1. Day 1LiveThe site goes live and DNS is pointed. The old site’s pages redirect to their new homes, so nothing a buyer bookmarked breaks.
  2. Day 7SpeedSpeed and Core Web Vitals measured on real visits, not just in the lab.
  3. Day 14SearchSearch Console read against the old site: which pages Google picked up, which queries moved.
  4. Day 21FormsForm conversion tracked by page, so you can see which pages bring inquiries and which only bring visits.
  5. Day 30ReportPage tests shipped and read. Qualified leads by source, in writing, with what to change next.
FIG. 01Sample launch for a sample business. Real mechanics; the checkpoints are illustrative, not a promised result.

S.03Under the hood

Modern stack. No platform lock-in.

The exact framework and CMS depend on what you need. The principles below hold on every build: code you own, and any developer can extend it.

Framework
Modern React-based, TypeScript-first
Styling
A production design system, branded to you
Hosting
Global edge platform, deployed automatically
CMS
A CMS (Content Management System) chosen per build
Database
Canadian data residency by default
Performance
Sub-1s LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), 95+ Lighthouse

Price and start

Scoped in Charting after your Bearings call: fixed scope, fixed price, fixed timeline in writing, before any work starts.

After launch you can take the code and run it yourself, or put the site on a Managed Compass plan for hosting, monitoring, weekly tuning and content updates.Foundation $500Operator $1,200Operator+ $2,500CAD a month

It starts the way every engagement does: Bearings, Charting, Heading, True North (diagnose, scope, build, run). See the Method

S.04Best for

Best for a business whose buyers check the site before they call.

A good fit

  • Your current site is slow, looks like everyone else’s, and nobody on staff can change it.
  • Buyers check you out online before they call, and the site is losing that check.
  • You need booking, quoting or ordering built into the site, not bolted on.

Not yet

  • You need a site live this weekend. A page builder will get you there faster, and that can be the right call.
  • Inquiries already arrive, then stall. If the leak is the follow-up, a new site will not fix it.
  • Nobody will keep the content current. Decide who owns it first; we can help with that in Bearings.

Sometimes the answer is a better process, not AI at all.

S.05Questions

Website questions, answered plainly.

Why custom-built? Why not Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress?

Squarespace and Wix get you live in a weekend, but they cap what you can do, slow down as you grow, and lock your content into their platform. WordPress is flexible but security-fragile and plugin-heavy. Custom Next.js gives you sub-second loads, full design control, no platform fees, and a codebase you can hand to any developer. The site you see right now is the kind we build.

How long does a custom site take to build?

Brochure and small marketing sites: 3 to 5 weeks from kickoff. Larger sites with custom features, CMS, or AI integrations: 6 to 10 weeks. We use the Compass Method: Bearings (discovery, 1 week), Charting (design and content sign-off, 1 to 2 weeks), Heading (build with weekly reviews), True North (measure post-launch).

Will the site be SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ready out of the box?

Every site ships with on-page SEO best practice (structured data, semantic HTML, sitemap, robots, OG images, fast Core Web Vitals), GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) for AI search engines (entity-rich content, citable structure, schema markup), and tracking wired up (analytics, conversion events). You can also add our SEO, GEO & AIO service.

What does ongoing maintenance look like?

Two options. Self-managed: we hand off the code and any developer can extend it. Managed: a Managed Compass plan covers hosting, monitoring, weekly tuning, content updates, and a monthly review. A plan follows a build; it is never required.

Can I edit content myself, or do I need a developer?

Yes, you can edit it yourself. Marketing pages and content go into a CMS (Content Management System), chosen per build, so you, your marketing person, or your assistant can edit copy, swap images, and publish new pages without touching code. Structural design changes still come through us.

S.07Next step

Plot your course.

A free 30-minute Bearings call. You and the Compass team, talking about your business. An honest read on what to fix first, and whether AI belongs in it.

Book Your Bearings Call

Or reach the Compass team directly: batwal@compassaigroup.com, 416-409-2112