Why you should see a working draft before paying a web designer

The problem with the usual way

The typical process runs: discovery call, proposal, deposit, then — weeks later — the first design. By the time you see whether the designer “gets” your business, you’ve already paid. If it’s wrong, you’re negotiating revisions instead of choosing someone else.

What a working draft is (and isn’t)

A working draft isn’t a mood board or a static mock-up. It’s a real web page you open on your phone: your services, your words, the actual layout, clickable. It won’t have every page or feature yet — that’s what the paid build is for — but it answers the only question that matters at this stage: is this the right direction?

How our five-stage process works

1. Discover. You tell us about the business. A few lines is enough, or twenty minutes on Zoom or Google Meet.
2. Define. Within 24 hours we reply with what we’d build, what it would cost and how long it would take.
3. Design. We build a working first draft and send you a link — usually within a few days. If it isn’t right, you owe nothing.
4. Build. Approve the draft and you get a one-page scope with a fixed price. Then a 50% deposit and the production build.
5. Refine. Two full revision rounds, launch, and the final 50%. The site, code and domain are yours.

Questions to ask any web designer

• Can I see something built for my business before I pay?
• Is the price fixed, and is it in writing?
• Will the domain be registered in my name?
• Who will I actually talk to while it’s being built?
• What happens — and what does it cost — after launch?

See it before you pay for it: start with a free draft.

Common questions

Do web designers build a draft before payment?

Most ask for a deposit first. Pabloch Tech builds a working first draft for free, and you pay a 50% deposit only after approving it.

What is the Discover, Define, Design, Build, Refine process?

It is Pabloch Tech’s five-stage workflow: understand the business, propose the approach and price, build a free working draft, do the paid production build, then refine with two revision rounds and launch.