The site you are looking at right now.
Built from scratch in Next.js. Sub-second loads on the edge. Ranked and citable by AI search. Designed around how your buyer actually evaluates you, not a Squarespace template everyone has seen. This page is the proof of concept.
Custom Websites from Compass are designed and built from scratch in modern React (Next.js by default), edge-hosted for sub-second loads, SEO and GEO ready out of the box, and AI-integrated only where the integration earns its keep. The whole site you are reading right now is built this way — Lighthouse 95+, Canadian-hosted data, schema markup throughout. Built for Canadian SMBs across every vertical Compass serves. Brochure sites start at $8,000 CAD; mid-size marketing sites with CMS run $15,000–$30,000; sites with custom features or AI integrations run $25,000–$60,000.
Four phases. No mystery week-to-week.
The Compass Method applied to a website build. Same phases as every Compass engagement, with website-specific deliverables at each stage.
One week of conversations about the business. Mood boards come later.
Four phases. One site that works.
Bearings, Charting, Heading, True North. No mystery weeks. No surprise reveals. You see the work as it ships.
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.
Charting · design the system
Brand tokens, typography, color palette, component library, and 3-5 hero page designs signed off before any production code is written. You see the site before you commit to the build.
Heading · build with weekly reviews
Production-ready Next.js with shipping checkpoints every Friday. You stage-test new pages as we go. No big-bang reveal three months in. The site goes live in pieces, not all at once.
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 + design based on what real visitors actually do.
Same craft. Your buyer.
Every site is built around how your specific buyer evaluates a firm in your category. The pattern below shows what we have shipped.
Project portfolio that closes deals
Case-study pages structured around what procurement actually evaluates: scope, deliverables, schedule performance, cost performance. Filterable by sector. AI-extracted from your past SOWs so you do not have to write them from scratch.
Practice-area pages that rank
Long-form practice-area content optimized for both Google and AI search. Schema markup for FAQ, Lawyer, and LegalService. Lead capture wired into your matter intake. Privacy controls that satisfy Law Society compliance.
Listing site that beats the franchise template
Your listings in your design, with MLS feed integration, neighbourhood pages with real data, and conversion forms that send qualified buyers directly to your CRM. Mobile-first, sub-second loads, ranks for the buyer searches that actually convert.
Booking site that does not lose customers
Class schedule, membership signup, and intro-session booking all in one flow. Mindbody or Wellnessliving integration done right - the funnel from "see schedule" to "book a class" is 3 taps, not 8.
Modern stack. No platform lock-in.
The exact framework and CMS (Content Management System) depend on what you need. The principles below hold on every build. Code you own. Any developer can extend it.
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: 3-5 weeks from kickoff. Larger sites with custom features, CMS, or AI integrations: 6-10 weeks. We use the Compass Method - Bearings (discovery, 1 week), Charting (design + content sign-off, 1-2 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 bolt on our dedicated SEO & GEO service.
What does ongoing maintenance look like?
Two options. Self-managed: we hand off the code and you can have any developer extend it. Managed retainer: a flat monthly covering content updates, security patches, performance monitoring, and small feature additions. Real numbers scoped during the Bearings call. Most clients start managed and shift to self-managed once their team is comfortable.
Can I edit content myself, or do I need a developer?
Yes. Marketing pages and content go into a CMS (Content Management System) - the specific platform is 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.
How much does a custom website cost?
Every site is custom-scoped. The bill depends on: number of unique page templates, whether you need a custom CMS or a no-code one, integrations to CRM / booking / payment systems, depth of brand-system work, whether AI features are baked in, and multi-language scope. Simple brochure sites are the lightest entry. Real numbers come out of the free Bearings call once we have scoped what you actually need vs. what you think you want.
A buyer who waits 3 seconds for your page is gone.
Google data: a site that loads in 1s converts 3x better than one that loads in 5s. A site that scores 90+ on Core Web Vitals ranks visibly higher than one that scores 60. A site that AI search can read gets cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity. The site on this page is the kind we build.
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Plot Your
Course.
A free 30-minute Bearings call. Two operators talking about your business. No deck. No pitch. Just an honest read on whether AI is the right tool - and if so, where I'd start.