Websites for local businesses · Based in Smiths Station, AL
Hey, I’m Austin. I design and write websites for local businesses, the kind that get a customer to pick up the phone instead of hitting the back button. If you’re near Columbus, Phenix City or Auburn, let’s sit down and talk it through. If not, video works just as well, and you won’t have to find parking.
Concept sites · the businesses are invented, the design is real
Home base is Smiths Station, Alabama. I’ll gladly drive anywhere from Columbus and Phenix City to Auburn and Opelika to talk shop, and if you’re farther out, phone and video work just fine.
Concept work
Before I had client sites to show off, I built these. Each one is designed around how its customers actually decide, and each is clearly labeled as a concept, so nobody goes looking for a flower shop that doesn’t exist.
Auto repair
Built for
Drivers searching on a phone, often next to a car that won’t start.
On the site
View the concept site
Coffee shop
Built for
People choosing where to spend a slow morning.
On the site
View the concept site
Lawn & landscape
Built for
Homeowners comparing lawn companies by the yards they’ve done.
On the site
View the concept site
Florist
Built for
Someone buying flowers for an occasion, often the same day.
On the site
View the concept site
The build
A one-page site and a site with online booking and client logins are different jobs, so they cost different amounts. Every package includes the design, the writing and launch on your own domain, and every price is right here.
$997
A one-page site
Looking established and getting the call: who you are, what you do, and how to reach you.
In full up front, or half to start and half at launch
$1,997
Up to 5 pages
Several services, or customers who want the details before they call.
In full up front, or half to start and half at launch
$3,497
Up to 12 pages and one connected feature
Booking or taking payments online, or showing up in searches across several towns.
In full up front, or half to start and half at launch
From$5,000
Logins, portals, memberships and bigger stores
A site people log in to: client portals, staff, contractor or consultant portals, memberships, stores with 50 or more products, or connections to your own software.
In full up front, or half to start and half at launch
Add-ons, like an extra page or form, online booking or payments, start at $150. Your written quote lists everything before you pay.
What each package includesIn every package
After launch
Hosting, updates and a person who answers your email. Every plan has the same services; the difference is how many hours of edits you get each month.
Every plan includes hosting and uptime monitoring, content and text updates, small design tweaks and email support. Optional. Cancel anytime by email or your billing link. Unused hours don’t roll over. Sites with logins or a store need a Care Plan, quoted with the build.
A one-minute form, then a detailed questionnaire and a short call. You get a written quote and a launch date before you commit to anything.
You don’t have to write a word. I draft everything, and you approve it.
2 rounds of changes, then your site goes live on your own domain.
Who you’ll work with
Soft Systems Studio is one person, and that person is me. I’m based in Smiths Station, Alabama, and I build websites for local businesses. If you’re around Columbus, Phenix City, Auburn and Opelika, we can sit down in person. Anywhere else, we’ll do it by phone, email and video.
You work with the person designing your site from the first call to launch day. No handoffs, and no “let me check with the team.” I’m a little particular about the small stuff: how it reads on a phone, how fast it loads, whether the next step is obvious. I use AI tools to work quickly, and I check every page myself, usually more than once.
— Austin Hodges
Got a question I didn’t think of? Ask it in the quote form or by email. No question is too small.
It depends on how much the site needs to do. A one-page site is $997. Up to 5 pages is $1,997. Up to 12 pages with online booking, payments or a blog is $3,497. Sites with logins, memberships or a bigger store are quoted, from $5,000. Every package covers the design, the writing, the build and launch on your own domain. Hosting and edits after launch are optional Care Plans at $150–$200/month.
Start your quote: a one-minute form, then a detailed questionnaire about what your site needs to do. I recommend a package from your answers and send you a written quote listing everything it includes, before you pay anything.
Pay in full before work starts, or half to start and half at launch — your choice, on any package. Either way, your site goes live once it’s paid in full. Cancel before work starts for a full refund. Payments go through Stripe.
It depends on scope, so I'll give you a specific date during your intake call — before you commit to anything, not after.
Yes — I use AI tools to move faster, but every site is personally designed and reviewed by me before it ships. It's just me; there's no team of designers behind the scenes.
Every package includes 2 rounds of revisions before launch. A round is one list of everything you’d like changed — I make the changes and send the updated site back to you. Extra rounds are $150 each.
That’s what the Care Plans ($150–$200/month) are for: hosting plus 2, 3 or 4 hours of edits a month, depending on the plan. Unused hours don’t roll over. Without a plan, changes are quoted before any work starts.
You do. You register it in your own name (usually about $12 a year), and I connect it to your site and walk you through the setup.
The concept sites above are my work: sites I designed and built for invented businesses, each clearly labeled as a concept. Soft Systems Studio is new, so there aren't client sites to show yet.
Hosting is included with every Care Plan ($150–$200/month). Without one, I hand over your finished site files and help point your domain wherever you choose to host it. Your site stays live on my hosting for 30 days after launch while you move it.
I’m based in Smiths Station, Alabama. I meet clients in person around Columbus, Phenix City, Auburn and Opelika, and I work with local businesses anywhere else by phone, email and video call.
Yes. Most of the work happens by phone, email and video anyway, so where you are doesn’t change the price, the process or the timeline.
A minute to start. I reply within 24 hours.
