Market context · verified sources
Where Current pricing sits in the market
Published pricing data puts custom small-business web work in wide
ranges. This is where this build sits against
the same scope class — published figures, named sources, no
cherry-picking.
Current — $1,800vs. Custom small-business brochure sitesFreelance custom build — $500–$10,000+ · WebFX
Agency custom build — $3,000–$30,000+ · WebFX
$0$32K
Current prices $1,200 below the published agency floor — freelancer-range pricing with agency-grade discipline: custom design, schema graphs on every page, question-format AEO headings.
Why the gap? An owner-built shop on a static Astro stack: no project-manager layer, no page-builder licenses, no enterprise overhead priced into the build.
Sources: WebFX
— survey of 2,000+ businesses (2026)
Ranges are published industry figures, not competitor quotes. Your exact scope and price lock in a Statement of Work after a discovery call.
What you get
- Everything in Spark
- 5–7 pages — Home, About, Services overview, Contact, plus 1–3 service detail pages
- 1 custom interactive tool — price calculator, quote estimator, sizing checker, or similar (3–7 inputs, instant in-page output, no backend). Tools like these are uniquely citable AEO surfaces and boost SEO dwell time
- Custom design direction — 2–3 sample pages delivered as a live Astro preview on a private Netlify URL you click and view on your own device (no Figma export needed; real responsive behavior, real fonts, real interactions before production build commits)
- Up to 2 forms (general contact + detailed quote form) routed via Netlify Forms
- Per-page schema (LocalBusiness on Home + Contact, Service on each service detail page, FAQPage on Home FAQ)
- Question-format H2 headings across the site (matches People-Also-Ask + AI prompt patterns)
- Manually-written llms.txt covering site sections + key services + contact (~30–50 lines)
- Google Business Profile linking with NAP consistency check and category optimization
- 2 rounds of revisions included
Why this tier ranks — the 2026 data
2–3 ×
longer dwell time on pages with interactive tools vs static content
Current ships one custom calculator, estimator, or eligibility checker per build. Dwell time is one of the strongest behavioral ranking signals Google watches. (Hashmeta, 2025)
+200 %
AI citation chance lift from FAQPage schema
Google has retired FAQ rich results for most sites, but the underlying schema still drives AI citations. Current ships FAQPage on every page with a Q&A section. (Passionfruit, 2026)
+35 %
higher CTR when your brand is cited inside an AI Overview
Current's question-format H2 headings + manually-written llms.txt are designed to make your site the source AI engines reach for first when answering local-business queries. (OtterlyAI, 2026)
What's included
- ◆ 14-day post-launch warranty for any bugs DP ships
- ◆ Discovery + content-architecture session before design starts
- ◆ Mandatory $20/mo Hosting (covered separately)
First-party data
Current is in its initial release period. As Current example sites launch, their live Lighthouse scores and verified URLs will be linked here.
Frequently asked
How is Current different from Spark? +
Spark is a single long-form page; Current is a 5–7 page architecture with individual service detail pages and per-page schema. If your business has 2–3 distinct services that each deserve their own page (with their own Service schema, their own FAQs, their own conversion path), Current is the right tier. If you only need one strong page, save the money and go Spark.
How long does a Current build take? +
Typically 2–3 weeks from signed contract to live site. The first week is discovery + design direction (we deliver 2–3 sample pages as a live Astro preview on a private Netlify URL you can click and view on your own device — no Figma export needed); the next 1–2 weeks are production build, content integration, and the 2 revision rounds.
What if I have 4+ services I want detail pages for? +
That's a Surge (Tier 3) signal — at 4+ service pages you also typically want booking integration, live Google Reviews, financing widget, and the AEO upgrade (quoted testimonials + dense entity-graph linking). Current can technically host 4+ service pages but you'd be paying for Surge features as one-off add-ons; Surge is cheaper at that scope.
Does Current include a blog? +
No — blog architecture starts at Grid (Tier 4). Spark, Current, and Surge are all content-stable architectures (services, FAQ, gallery — not constantly-updating content streams). If you want to publish blog content as part of an SEO/AEO strategy, the right combo is Grid for the architecture + Growth retainer for the ongoing content. Current is built for stable service offerings that don't change month-to-month.
What kind of interactive tool gets built? +
A single-page utility your customers actually want to use before they call you. Common picks include a price calculator (input service type + size, get an estimated cost range), a quote estimator (financing pre-qualifier, ROI estimator), or a sizing/eligibility checker (does this product or service fit my situation). Constraints are 3–7 inputs, instant in-page output, no backend or third-party integrations. We include it because tools are uniquely citeable by AI engines (a calculator gets quoted in answers more often than a static FAQ does) and they dramatically increase time-on-page versus passive content. See contractortoolstack.com for examples in the contractor vertical. We choose the specific tool during discovery based on what your customers actually want to know before booking.
Ready to start your Current build?
30-minute call · no sales pitch · no commitment.
