FAQ - Honest Answers, No Marketing Speak Frequently Asked Questions
Every question I get from people thinking about a trade website template. Grouped by topic, answered straight, no marketing speak.
About the templates
Are these real websites or just mockups?
Real websites. Every template you see in the catalogue is a live site you can visit right now. None of them are wireframes. None of them are screenshots from a Figma board. They were built to be live trade sites and they are running as live trade sites today.
Can I see the templates before I buy?
Yes. Every template card on the home page links to the live site. Click any one and you are looking at the real thing - the same site you would get, with someone else's branding and content. Once you have picked one, the only thing that changes is the branding, colours, copy, and photos.
How many pages does each template have?
Most templates have 8 to 12 pages. The exact count is on the template detail page - some have 6 service pages, some have 9. Every template has a home, an about, a services overview, individual service pages, a contact page, and a quote-request flow.
Can I add more pages later?
Yes. On the monthly plan, content updates and new pages are included - email me what you want and it ships. On the buy-out plan, you have the source code and can add pages yourself, or come back to me for a per-job quote.
Customisation and content
Can I customise the colours?
Yes, within reason. Each template has a colour identity that works - the navy and amber on the electrician template, the green on the landscaping template - because the colours have been chosen to fit the trade. You can ask me to swap them for your own brand colours and I will do it, as long as the contrast and accessibility still hold up.
What if I do not have a logo?
I will make you one. A clean wordmark or a simple icon - nothing fancy, but enough to look professional from day one. If you later want a proper brand identity from a designer, you can swap it in and I will update the site the same day.
What if I do not have photos of my work?
I will source stock photography that fits the trade. It will not be as good as photos of your own work - which is why I usually nudge you to take a few on your phone before we go live - but it will be good enough to launch with. Your own photos can replace the stock as you take them.
Who writes the content?
I do, based on the details you send me. You give me your services, your area, your guarantees, your quirks. I write the page copy. You read it before it goes live and tell me what to change. After that, every content update is included on the monthly plan.
Can I write my own content?
Absolutely. If you would rather send me your own copy, I will use exactly what you send. The only thing I ask is that I get to nudge anything that is going to hurt your search rankings - bad headlines, missing keywords, that sort of thing.
Domain names
Why do some templates come with a domain and some do not?
Most templates ship with a researched, keyword-matched .co.uk domain that I have already bought - electricalman.co.uk, landscapingexperts.co.uk, that kind of thing. They were caught from daily Nominet drops because they are exactly the words people type into Google. The few that do not ship with a domain are running on a .netlify.app subdomain and you bring your own.
Can I bring my own domain instead?
Yes, on any template. If you already own a domain you would rather use, I point the new site at it. The included domain (where there was one) just gets parked or transferred to you to do what you like with.
Do I own the included domain?
On the buy-out plan, yes - the domain transfers to you on completion at no extra cost. On the monthly plan, I hold the domain and run it on your behalf, but it transfers to you at any time if you ever want to move on. There is no captive billing, no domain hostage situation.
What happens to the domain if I cancel?
It transfers to you. No exit fee. No clawback. The domain is yours - it always was, I was just holding it for you while you were on the monthly plan.
Hosting and updates
Where is the site hosted?
On Netlify. Same place I host my own sites, including the one that powers this catalogue. It is fast, reliable, and the performance scores prove it. SSL is automatic. CDN is automatic. You do not have to think about any of it.
What does same-day update actually mean?
If you email me with a content change before 4pm on a working day, it is live by the end of the day. New phone number, fixed typo, updated service area, added testimonial - all same-day. Bigger changes (a new page, a redesign of a section) get a quick timeline from me upfront, but most are still under 48 hours.
Do I get a CMS to log into?
No, and that is on purpose. CMS dashboards are how small business sites end up broken - someone with no training clicks the wrong button and the homepage is gone. Email me, I update it, you check it, we are done. Faster, safer, no learning curve.
What if my site goes down?
It will not. Static Astro sites hosted on Netlify have effectively no downtime - there is no database to crash, no PHP runtime to fall over, no plugins to conflict. In the unlikely event something does break, I get the alert before you notice and it is back inside minutes.
The free SEO month
Is the first month of SEO really free?
Yes, and it is the same Breakthrough work I do for paying clients on the £330/month tier. I do not invoice you for it later. I do not bury it in the next month's bill. The free month is the proof, not the trap. Full detail on /pricing/.
Do I have to take the SEO month?
No. If you only want the website and you are handling marketing yourself or already have an agency, just say so when you buy and I will skip the SEO setup. The £49/month or £995 price is the same either way.
What happens after the free SEO month?
Three options. Stay on Breakthrough at £330/month and the work compounds. Drop to Ignite at £169/month for a lighter version. Or walk away and just keep the website at £49/month. I will tell you which one fits your situation honestly.
Payment, refunds, and walking away
How do I pay?
Stripe handles it. Card or Apple Pay. Same as buying anything else online. The £49/month is a recurring subscription you can cancel any time. The £995 buy-out is a one-off payment.
Can I get a refund?
If something has gone wrong on my end - the site is broken, the deliverable is not what was agreed - I refund the affected month or the buy-out, no argument. If you have changed your mind after I have done the work, the right move is usually to cancel next month rather than refund the last one.
What if I outgrow the template?
Good. That is what is meant to happen. When the template stops fitting - because your business has grown, your services have shifted, your brand has matured - you graduate. You can keep the domain, get the source code on a buy-out, or come up to webuildstores.co.uk for a full custom build at retainer rates.
Is there a contract I have to sign?
No. Nothing to sign. Stripe handles the payment, I handle the work, you keep paying as long as you are getting value. If you stop getting value, you cancel and we both move on. The Anti-Trump principle: I never want anyone trapped in a relationship that is not working.
About me
Who is behind StoreBuilder?
I am. Tony Cooper, 26 years building websites, based in Telford. StoreBuilder is the templates side of what I do - my main work is at webuildstores.co.uk where I run a 30-cover boutique consultancy for small businesses on retainer. The templates exist so people who are starting out can get a professional site without paying retainer prices.
Why is the client list capped at 30?
Because it is the only way I can promise same-day updates and actually do the SEO work I am offering. Any agency that says they have hundreds of clients is either lying or treating each one like a number. I would rather serve 30 people properly than 300 people badly.
Can I just talk to you before buying?
Yes. Phone is 01952 407599 and email is tony.cooper@webuildstores.co.uk. No discovery calls, no booking system - just call or email and we have a conversation. If I am on another call I will get back to you the same day.
Still got questions?
Read more about the process and the pricing, or call me directly.
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Plus your first month of Breakthrough SEO (£330 value) included free.