We work with a clear sequence — from the first concept to production. Every stage has a defined output, a defined milestone, and nothing starts without written agreement.
This is the sequence for Kernel Build projects. Hosting and server work follows a parallel path — see below.
We design one homepage concept using AI-assisted design — at no cost. You see the direction, the visual language, and the layout before committing to anything. This is a real design, not a wireframe. You own the output regardless of next steps.
We align on direction, scope, page count, and deliverables — all in writing. Once you approve the concept direction, a 50% deposit confirms your project slot. This isn't an upfront payment for work done. It's a mutual commitment — you commit to the project, we commit our capacity to you.
Custom WordPress theme development in full — on a staging environment. No page builders. No canvas bloat. Hand-coded semantic HTML, schema baked in, performance baseline configured. You review on staging before anything goes live.
We handle the staging→production deploy. DNS, SSL, sanity checks — everything verified before handover. You receive full documentation covering the infrastructure, theme, and anything you'd need to maintain or hand to another developer. Remaining 50% is due at this point.
Nothing goes into production without agreed, written scope. Page count, revisions, deliverables, price — all fixed before deposit.
Every build is reviewed on a staging environment first. You approve before anything is deployed to your live domain.
Every project ends with written handover notes. Infrastructure, theme, credentials structure — documented so you're never dependent on us to know what's running.
Additions to scope are priced separately, approved in writing before any extra work begins. No surprise items on the final invoice.
50% deposit at direction lock. 50% at launch. No full upfront. No open-ended billing. You pay for results, not promises.
For hosting clients, critical outages get a real response at any hour. Not a ticket. Not a queue. A direct response to a site-down event.
Server setup, migrations, and managed hosting follow a separate flow — faster and more direct than build projects.
Kernel Deploy — production-ready from day one, fully documented.
Kernel Host + Kernel Care — onboarding to ongoing, no surprises.
We're explicit about boundaries so there's no ambiguity mid-project.
The first step costs nothing. Send us your project details and we'll respond with a free homepage concept for qualifying build projects.
Free concept for qualifying Kernel Build projects. 50% deposit only after direction is approved.