We get asked this every week. "Who else should I talk to?" The honest answer: anyone whose live portfolio and pricing model both check out. Here's the filter we'd use ourselves if we were hiring.
The four-criteria filter
- Live portfolio. Three URLs you can open right now. Mobile-tested. Real client names. Not Behance screenshots.
- Flat-fee pricing. Published or quotable in 24 hours. Hourly billing = scope risk transferred to you.
- 10-day timeline. A studio confident enough to commit to a date is one that's done this before.
- Direct access. A 15-minute call with the actual designer and developer before signing.
What this filter rules out: agencies with account managers between you and the work, hourly billers, studios that "need a discovery call before discussing price," and any team without three live URLs you can open.
What we look for in a portfolio
- Lighthouse scores ≥ 90. Open the site, run Lighthouse from your DevTools.
- Visual range. Are the three sites distinct, or do they all look like the same template?
- Real businesses. Companies you can verify, not "client A" placeholders.
- Recent work. Last 12 months. Web design ages fast.
Pricing benchmarks for 2026
- $105–$300 — single landing page.
- $260–$500 — small business site (4–6 pages).
- $500–$2,000 — web apps, dashboards, e-commerce.
- Above $2,000 — you're paying for org-chart layers, not work. Question why.
Time-zone overlap by region
- US founders. Async-friendly studios reply within 24 hours. Daily progress overnight, your day with revisions ready.
- UK founders. Full GMT working-hour overlap with most remote studios.
- Dubai founders. GMT+4. Same-day replies from morning to early evening UAE time.
If you want one more name on your shortlist, send us your scope. We'll send back a flat quote, a 10-day plan, and the three live URLs to vet us against.