What a realistic MVP budget looks like in 2026
The line items that decide the cost of a first release, and the ones founders usually leave out.
Product engineering
Websites built to
load fast and rank.
Company sites, online stores and web apps on WordPress, Shopify or Next.js, built for speed, search and easy editing. For teams whose site is slow, hard to update or no longer matches the business.
10 yearsBuilding software
250+Projects delivered
90%Client retention
NDA before we talk
You own the site from day one
“They work like part of our own team. Same standups, same board, and they push back when a decision is wrong.”
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Trusted by teams in the US, UK, Canada & Europe
What we build
Six kinds of web work we take on most
Most projects start with one site or store. The same design system, hosting and release process then carry the next one.
01
Marketing sites and landing pages
Company sites with a CMS your marketing team can edit, and landing pages built to load fast on mobile.
For exampleA 40-page B2B site on WordPress with reusable page blocks
02
Headless and WordPress builds
Classic WordPress, a headless CMS or a Next.js front end, chosen by how often content changes and who edits it.
For exampleA Next.js front end on headless WordPress for a publisher
03
Shopify and ecommerce stores
Shopify, Shopify Plus and WooCommerce stores, with product data, payments and shipping set up and tested.
For exampleA move from Magento to Shopify Plus with every URL redirected
04
Web apps and customer portals
Logged-in areas, dashboards, bookings and account pages connected to your back-office systems.
For exampleA customer portal for orders, invoices and support tickets
05
Speed, SEO and accessibility fixes
Core Web Vitals, technical SEO and WCAG 2.2 AA fixes on an existing site, measured before and after.
For exampleImage, font and script fixes to pass Core Web Vitals on mobile
06
Hosting, updates and support
Managed hosting, security patches, backups and small changes each month, with an agreed response time.
For exampleMonthly plugin updates and uptime monitoring for a WordPress site
Why Leapstrat
Why businesses choose Leapstrat for their website
A template or site builder compared with a site built by Leapstrat. A template is often the right start for a small site; we help you see where it stops fitting.
Compare
Template or site builder
Leapstrat web build
SpeedHeavy themes and plugins slow pages downBuilt to pass Core Web Vitals on mobile
SearchBasic settings, little control over markupTechnical SEO, schema and redirects planned in
EditingEasy for simple pages, hard for anything customPage blocks your team reuses without a developer
IntegrationsLimited to the plugins availableConnected to your CRM, ERP and payment systems
AccessibilityDepends on the themeTested against WCAG 2.2 AA before launch
Who owns itThe platform, on its termsYou: code, content, domain and hosting
01
A founder on every project
One of our two founders joins the workshop and stays on the project as your point of escalation.
02
Hours that overlap yours
Engineers on shift 09:00–23:00 IST: 4.5 hours with US Eastern, a full working day with the UK and Europe.
03
Handover planned from day one
Code, CMS guides and hosting access are kept ready for your own team to take over.
Moving from an old site? We map every URL and set up redirects so your search traffic carries over.
How we protect your rankings →How a project runs
A typical site live in 10 weeks
Designs are approved before build starts, and you see the staging site at every sprint. The bar shows a typical project, week by week.
011–2 weeks
Discovery and sitemap
We review your current site, analytics and competitors, then agree the sitemap, page types and integrations.
You get: Sitemap, scope and fixed estimate02About 2 weeks
Design
Wireframes, then full designs for each page type on desktop and mobile, reviewed with your team.
You get: Approved designs and a clickable prototype03About 4 weeks
Build and content
Front end, CMS and integrations built in two-week sprints, with content entered or migrated as pages are ready.
You get: A staging site you can click through04About 2 weeks
Test and launch
Speed, SEO, accessibility and cross-browser testing, redirects set up, then launch with Search Console checked.
You get: Live site and launch report05Ongoing
Support and growth
Updates, security patches and new pages each month, with speed and search traffic reported back to you.
You get: A monthly speed and search report
Every sprint:
A demo of the staging site
Speed scores on key pages
Pages ready for content review
An updated estimate if scope changes
Ways to work with us
Pick how the site is built
Most clients start with a fixed scope build, then move to a monthly plan for updates and new pages. You can switch between phases.
Fixed scope projectA site with a clear launch dateMost sites
Dedicated podA team that keeps shipping
Staff augmentationWeb developers inside your team
Best for
New sites, stores and redesigns
Web apps and stores with a roadmap
Teams with a web or product lead
Pricing
Fixed price per release
Monthly rate for the whole pod
Flat monthly rate per engineer
Led by
Our delivery lead, against milestones
Our delivery lead, reporting to you
Your own engineering lead
Team
Designer, developers and QA, set by the scope
Lead, developers, designer and QA
From one developer, month to month
How it works →
How it works →
How it works →
Fixed scope project
A site with a clear launch date
Most sites- Best for
- New sites, stores and redesigns
- Pricing
- Fixed price per release
- Led by
- Our delivery lead, against milestones
- Team
- Designer, developers and QA, set by the scope
Dedicated pod
A team that keeps shipping
- Best for
- Web apps and stores with a roadmap
- Pricing
- Monthly rate for the whole pod
- Led by
- Our delivery lead, reporting to you
- Team
- Lead, developers, designer and QA
Staff augmentation
Web developers inside your team
- Best for
- Teams with a web or product lead
- Pricing
- Flat monthly rate per engineer
- Led by
- Your own engineering lead
- Team
- From one developer, month to month
Client result · Media and publishing · United States
0.9s
Page load time after the rebuild
A headless WordPress rebuild that loads in under a second
ChallengeA busy WordPress publishing site slowed down under heavy traffic, and editors waited on developers for layout changes.
ApproachWordPress kept as the CMS for editors, with a new Next.js front end, image optimisation and edge caching.
ResultPages load in 0.9 seconds, and editors build new layouts from reusable blocks without a developer.
Next.jsWordPressTypeScriptVercel
See all client results →
Not sure whether to fix or rebuild?
Send us the URL. On a 30-minute call we will tell you what is slowing the site down, whether to fix or rebuild, and what it should cost.
Industries and technologies
Websites for seven sectors, on the platform that fits
The sector sets the rules for accessibility, privacy and payments. We recommend a platform by how often content changes and who edits it.
Industries
SaaS and B2BFintechHealthcareLegal and professional servicesRetail and ecommerceLogisticsTravel Sector not listed? Book a call →
Front endReact · Next.js · TypeScript · Vue.js · Tailwind CSS · Angular
CMSWordPress · Headless WordPress · Sanity · Strapi · Contentful
EcommerceShopify · Shopify Plus · WooCommerce · Stripe
Hosting and operationsAWS · Vercel · Cloudflare · Docker · CI/CD
Security and ownership
✓ NDA signed before discovery✓ Domain, hosting and code in your name✓ SSL, backups and security patches✓ Consent-ready cookies and forms
FAQ
Questions about web development
Platforms, search and support after launch. Anything else, ask on the call.
Most sites fall between $8k–$30k. It depends on the number of page types, integrations and content to migrate. After a 30-minute call we send a written estimate within one working day.
We map every old URL to a new one, set up redirects, keep titles and structured data, and watch Search Console after launch so traffic carries over.
It depends on who edits the site, how often content changes and what it must connect to. We recommend a platform in discovery and explain the trade-offs in writing.
Yes. Pages are built from reusable blocks in the CMS. We train your editors and leave a short guide at handover.
Yes, on a monthly plan covering hosting, backups, security patches and small changes. You can also host it yourself; the accounts stay in your name.
Often, yes. A one-week audit checks speed, SEO and accessibility, then we send a fix-first list and say whether a rebuild would cost less.
Insights
All web articles →
Read before you start
Hiring
Dedicated team or fixed-price project: how to choose for your next build
Most software engagements fail the brief before anyone writes code, because the commercial model does not match how the work will actually change. A dedicated team and a fixed-price project are both valid. They answer different questions. Choose a dedicated team when the roadmap will move A dedicated team is the right shape when you […]
Engineering
Shipping an MVP in 12 weeks with a distributed team
Twelve weeks is enough to put a product in front of real users. It is not enough to build the version you will be embarrassed to throw away later if the first month is spent negotiating the backlog. Week 0 is a decision, not a workshop Before the first sprint, name the user, the job […]
Tell us what your site should do.
Send the details for a written estimate within one working day, or talk it through with one of our founders first.