Mule
The Mule process

From first email to live site.

Six stages, 2–6 weeks total depending on tier. Plain language, fixed price held in writing, no surprise invoices. Here’s what each stage actually contains, what you give us, and what you get back.

01 · Day 0–3

Brief

A real conversation about what's broken and what you want to be true in twelve months. We don't pitch — we listen, then ask the questions that decide scope.

You bring
A sentence about your business, the problem you're trying to solve, and (if you have one) a rough budget.
We deliver
Same-day reply by email. One follow-up call if needed. A written brief that names the scope, price, and timeline in one page.
02 · Day 3–10 (skipped for site-only projects)

Brand

If the project includes brand, we draft logo direction, type pairing, colour, and voice — small first, reviewed together, refined before any pixel goes into the site.

You bring
Strong opinions about your business and customers; reference work you like and reasons why; willingness to push back honestly when we miss.
We deliver
Two rounds of direction. Guidelines doc shipped at the end of week one so the brand survives the next vendor.
03 · Day 7–28

Build

The site, the system, the supporting tools — written by the people who wrote the brief. Hand-coded, mobile-first, accessibility-aware, schema-rich.

You bring
Copy you've written or copy you want us to write; photography if you have it or art direction if you don't; reviews at each major milestone.
We deliver
A staging URL within the first week. Progress check-ins at week-ends. Source code in a repository you own from day one.
04 · Day 21–35

Ship

On-time launch on a hosting account you own. DNS swap planned, redirects mapped, sitemap submitted, analytics verified before we go live.

You bring
Final approval on copy and content; access to the existing domain registrar if we're cutting over from an old site.
We deliver
A launch checklist, a redirect map, a written handoff doc with every credential and where it lives.
05 · Day 28–42

Polish

Post-launch QA. Copy passes, browser-pass on the platforms your real customers use, Core Web Vitals verification, fixes to anything we missed.

You bring
Honest feedback in the first two weeks; flag anything that looks wrong even if it's small.
We deliver
Two weeks of active polish at no extra cost. Bug fixes in days, not quarters.
06 · Ongoing (optional)

Maintain

Optional light retainer — analytics review, monthly polish, content updates, and being reachable when something breaks. From $99/month, add or drop any time.

You bring
Optional. The site stays online with or without it.
We deliver
Monthly analytics summary, security patches, content updates, same-business-day reply when you write in.
Common questions

About working together.

  • How long does a Mule project actually take?

    Starter Presence ships in 2-3 weeks from kickoff. Brand + Web in 3-5 weeks. Full Suite in 4-6 weeks. The clock starts the day we receive your materials and your deposit.

  • Do you do calls, or is it all over email?

    Mostly email. We do one kickoff call to align on scope, then occasional calls when a project genuinely benefits from one. Most of our clients prefer it that way — calls take time the work doesn't.

  • What if I want changes mid-project?

    Small changes are part of the work. Scope changes (new pages, new features, redirected goals) get a quick written re-scope and we agree on the new number before anyone codes. No surprise invoices.

  • What happens if I miss the brief deadline?

    We pause your slot and reschedule for the next available window. Most often that's two to four weeks later. We don't run two projects on the same week — quality drops when we do.

  • Do you sign NDAs?

    Yes, standard mutual NDAs are fine. If your in-house template includes ownership-of-work clauses that conflict with our owner-of-record policy, we'll flag it before signing.

Start the brief.

Send a sentence about your business. Same-day reply from Mule Digital, signed by a human. Last reviewed 2026-05-13.