How we work
How we work: one proven process, from your first audit to live, supported, and improving.
The same disciplined operating system runs every project, a new website, a brand, or an AI automation. You always know who’s accountable, what happens next, and what you’ll have at the end of each step.
Most agencies hand you a four-box diagram and hope you don’t ask harder questions. We’d rather answer them up front.
Two things are true of every project we take: it begins with an audit, not an assumption, and it has a clear path whether you’re starting from zero or rebuilding what you already have.
TRUSTED BY TEAMS THAT SHIP
Click any platform to read verified customer reviews.
Where you start
DOOR-FROM-SCRATCH · 16:9 Door one
DOOR-REBUILD · 16:9 Door two, our specialty
Two starting points. One front door.
There are only two kinds of buyer in the world: people starting from zero, and people fixing what they already have. Both are in the right place, and both begin the same way, with a free audit that tells us (and you) the truth about where you stand.
DOOR-FROM-SCRATCH · 16:9Build from scratch
No site, no brand system, no automation yet, or what exists is a placeholder. We start with discovery instead of an existing asset: your goals, your market, your customers, and what “winning” looks like. From there we build the real thing, once, properly.
- New website
- New brand identity
- First automation / AI system
DOOR-REBUILD · 16:9Rebuild what exists
You already have a website, a brand, or a manual process, and it’s holding you back. This is our outbound specialty: we are experts in redesign, redevelopment, rebranding and re-automation. We audit what you have first, because you can’t protect what you haven’t measured, then we replatform, refresh, migrate or rebuild without losing the equity (traffic, rankings, recognition, data) you’ve already earned.
- Website redesign & replatform
- Rebrand & refresh
- Re-automating a broken workflow
Same front door, either way. The audit is free, and it ends with a written, honest read of where you stand.
The core
PHASE-DISCOVERY · 4:3
PHASE-SCOPING · 16:9
PHASE-DESIGN-PROTOTYPE · 16:9
PHASE-BUILD · 16:9
PHASE-QA · 4:3
PHASE-LAUNCH · 4:3
PHASE-SUPPORT · 16:9
The 10Turtle process, phase by phase
Seven phases, in order. Each one ends with something real in your hands (a document, a prototype, a tested build), not just “an update.” Phases 1 and 2 are where projects are won or lost; we spend real time there so the later phases run fast and clean.
Phase 01 Audit & Discovery: we earn the right to recommend anything
Every engagement opens with a structured audit and a discovery workshop. For a rebuild, we crawl and assess what you have, the technical health of the site, its SEO and traffic, the UX, the brand’s real-world consistency, or the manual workflow’s bottlenecks. For a from-scratch build, discovery replaces the audit: we dig into your goals, market, competitors and customers. Either way, the output is evidence, not opinion. This phase exists because skipping it is one of the most common reasons digital projects stall, blow their budget, or quietly lose the rankings they used to have. Both doors end at the same place: a shared, written understanding of the problem.
Rebuild Audit the existing asset first.
From scratch A discovery workshop replaces the audit.
PHASE-DISCOVERY · 4:3Phase 02 Strategy & Scoping: we agree the plan before we touch the work
We translate the audit into a written scope of work, what we’re building, what’s explicitly in and out, the success metrics, the timeline with milestones, and the deliverables at each phase. For web, this includes the sitemap and information architecture; for brand, the strategy platform (positioning, messaging, personality); for AI, the use cases and a measurable success threshold. A clear scope here is the thing that protects your budget later: it’s what turns “can you just add one more thing?” into a calm, visible decision instead of silent scope creep.
Rebuild Includes the migration & redirect plan up front.
From scratch Defines the full architecture from zero.
PHASE-SCOPING · 16:9Phase 03 Design & Prototype: you see it before we build it
Nothing goes into production unseen. For web, we move from wireframes to high-fidelity design to a clickable prototype in Figma, so you experience the real thing, mobile-first, conversion-led, and approve it with confidence. For brand, we explore distinct creative directions, then develop the chosen route into a full visual identity. For AI, this is where we design the solution and run a tightly scoped proof-of-concept (a 4–6 week pilot* with a hard stop) to validate that it actually works against your success metric, before anyone invests in a full build.
Rebuild Carry forward what’s worth keeping (equity, proven templates, data); redesign the rest.
From scratch Designs start clean.
PHASE-DESIGN-PROTOTYPE · 16:9Phase 04 Build & Engineer: specialists make it real, in visible increments
Approved designs become a working product. We build in increments so you can see momentum and give feedback against something real, not wait months for a single reveal. Web and platform work (Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, custom) is built by the dedicated dev team; brand assets are produced and packaged into guidelines; AI systems are engineered, integrated with your existing tools, and prepared for production. Where a change request appears mid-build, it’s logged, costed and approved through change control, so the trade-off (time / budget) is always on the table, never a surprise.
Rebuild Preserve working integrations & content during the build.
From scratch Stand up the full stack.
PHASE-BUILD · 16:9Phase 05 QA, Accessibility & Security: nothing ships until it earns it
QA is a dedicated phase, not an afterthought someone squeezes in on launch day. We test functionality, forms and integrations; verify the design across browsers and devices; tune performance and Core Web Vitals; check accessibility against WCAG 2.1–2.2 AA; and review security and data handling. For e-commerce, that includes payment and PCI DSS readiness; for AI, it includes accuracy, guardrails and edge-case behaviour. This is where “looks finished” becomes “is finished.”
Both doors Same bar for rebuilds and new builds, a redesigned site is held to the identical standard as a fresh one.
PHASE-QA · 4:3Phase 06 Launch & Migration: we protect what you’ve already earned
Launch is planned, not improvised. For a new build, we deploy cleanly and verify everything live. For a rebuild or replatform, this is the highest-risk moment and we treat it that way: a full redirect map (every old URL to its new home), content and data migration, SEO preservation, and a deployment timed to minimise downtime, so you don’t trade an old site for a traffic cliff. We monitor closely through launch and the stabilization window that follows.
Rebuild Migration with redirects and rankings protected first.
From scratch Clean deployment.
PHASE-LAUNCH · 4:3Phase 07 Support, Optimize & Re-automate: the loop that keeps paying off
Launch is a milestone, not the finish line. We stay on through maintenance, updates and optimization, fixing, improving, and measuring against the success metrics we agreed in phase 2. For AI systems, this is where ongoing monitoring and retraining live, so the model keeps performing in the real world instead of drifting. And when a part of your stack ages out, the process simply loops: we audit it and improve it, which is exactly where many of our redesign and re-automation projects begin.
The loop This phase is the bridge between “build” and “rebuild”, today’s launch is tomorrow’s audit.
PHASE-SUPPORT · 16:9Notice phase 07 points back to phase 01. Today’s launch is tomorrow’s audit, when a part of your stack ages out, the same process simply loops, which is exactly where many of our redesign and re-automation projects begin.
Three crafts, one backbone
One process, expressed three ways
The seven phases never change, but a Shopify replatform, a rebrand, and an AI agent build don’t look identical inside them. Here’s how the same backbone flexes across our three pillars, web, branding and AI automation, each run by its own dedicated specialist team.
| Phase | Web build / redesign | Branding new / rebrand | AI Automation new / re-automate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit & Discovery | Site / SEO / UX audit or discovery workshop | Brand audit or discovery deep-dive | Workflow & data audit; use-case discovery |
| Strategy & Scoping | Sitemap + information architecture | Brand strategy platform | Use cases + success threshold |
| Design & Prototype | Wireframes → Figma prototype | Visual identity directions | Solution design + 4–6 wk proof-of-concept |
| Build & Engineer | Platform build (Shopify/WP/Webflow/custom) | Asset production + guidelines | Build + integration + MLOps/LLMOps setup |
| QA & Accessibility | Cross-browser, performance, WCAG, PCI | Brand consistency QA | Accuracy, guardrails, edge cases |
| Launch & Migration | Deploy + redirect map + SEO preservation | Brand rollout across touchpoints | Production deployment + monitoring |
| Support & Optimize | Maintenance + CRO + iteration | Brand governance | Monitoring + retraining + scaling |
Notice the third column. Increasingly, the most valuable thing we ship isn’t the website or the brand, it’s the AI automation running quietly behind it: the agent that answers customers, the workflow that no longer needs a human to push it. AI is a co-equal pillar at 10Turtle, not an add-on, and it follows this exact same disciplined process, discovery, a scoped pilot, real QA, monitored production.
The operating model
How we run it: the part most agencies won’t put in writing
A process is only as good as the way it’s operated. Here’s the operating model behind ours, and every answer below is written into your scope and contract, not left to trust.
Who’s on my team: and is anything outsourced?
One accountable partner under one roof, with a dedicated expert team for each capability, a dedicated Web/Shopify team, a dedicated Branding team, a dedicated AI team. You get specialist depth and a single point of accountability. No outsourcing. No white-label markup. The craft lead who starts your project is the one who finishes it.
How do we communicate?
A named point of contact, a shared project workspace, and a regular cadence of updates and reviews, so you’re never wondering “what’s happening with my project.” Reviews happen against real artefacts (prototypes, staging builds), not vague status notes.
How are revisions and “one more thing” handled?
Each design phase includes defined review rounds. Anything beyond the agreed scope goes through simple change control: we log it, show you the time/budget impact, and you decide. The scope you signed in phase 2 is the thing protecting your budget, and the research backs it up: a clear scope of work is the single biggest safeguard against scope disputes.
What if a deadline slips: on either side?
Timelines are built with milestones and realistic buffer. We flag risk early rather than at the deadline. And because content and feedback delays are the most common cause of slippage, your responsibilities (and dates) are written into the plan too, it works both ways.
What do I actually own and receive?
At every phase, a concrete deliverable (see the phases above). At the end: the live product, the source files / brand assets / system, and the documentation to run it.
Honest timelines
How long will it take?
Honest ranges, based on real projects, not a number designed to win the deal. Your timeline depends far more on complexity, stakeholder count, and how ready your content is than on page count alone. We give you a firm milestone plan in phase 2.
A scoped pilot is how we keep AI projects out of “pilot purgatory”, AI initiatives without a defined, measured pilot routinely stall before production; industry research repeatedly finds that the large majority of enterprise AI pilots never reach production.*
Checkable, not a slogan
Why this process holds up
Discipline isn’t a slogan here, it’s checkable. Clients rate us across the platforms buyers (and AI assistants) actually trust. The work below shows the process at full stretch.
Trustpilot0/5Rated Excellent · 34 reviews*
G20/5Verified reviews*
Clutch0Client reviews*
GoogleVerified reviews*
Real, per-platform scores, never a uniform 5★. Figures marked * are pending owner verification before launch.
10
What it's like to actually work with us
Platforms & partners
Shopify*
WordPress*
Webflow*
Wix*
Anthropic*
The platforms we build on
Peer partnerships that strengthen the platforms we build on. We build on Anthropic’s models as a partner, not a dependency, never “under” or “through” anyone.
Shopify*WordPress*Webflow*Wix*Anthropic*Partner status and exact tiers marked * are pending owner verification before launch.
Built in, not bolted on
Security, accessibility & compliance: checked in phase 05
Accessibility and compliance aren’t a final-day scramble; they’re a dedicated QA phase on every project. They’re both an expertise we deliver for clients and a standard we hold ourselves to.
ISO 27001 * SOC 2 * ADA / WCAG 2.1–2.2 AA GDPR CCPA PCI DSS readiness QA licenses *
Items marked * are representative and pending owner verification before launch.
Process questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
A seven-phase process used for every project: (1) Audit & Discovery, (2) Strategy & Scoping, (3) Design & Prototype, (4) Build & Engineer, (5) QA, Accessibility & Security, (6) Launch & Migration, and (7) Support, Optimize & Re-automate. It runs the same way across web, branding and AI automation, with a dedicated specialist team for each.
Both — and rebuilds are a specialty. 10Turtle are experts in redesign, redevelopment, rebranding and re-automation. Rebuild projects begin by auditing the existing asset so its value (traffic, rankings, recognition, data) is protected; from-scratch projects begin with a discovery workshop instead.
Roughly 8–12 weeks for a marketing website, 16–24+ weeks for complex e-commerce, 12+ weeks for a redesign with migration, 8–16 weeks for a rebrand, and a 4–6 week pilot for AI automation before the full build. The exact timeline, with milestones, is set in the scoping phase.
You work with one accountable partner under one roof, with a dedicated expert team for each capability — a dedicated Web/Shopify team, a dedicated Branding team, and a dedicated AI team. Work is done in-house: no outsourcing and no white-label markup.
Each design phase includes defined review rounds. Anything beyond the agreed scope goes through simple change control — it's logged, the time and budget impact is shown to you, and you decide. The signed scope of work is what keeps the project and your budget protected.
Launch isn't the end. 10Turtle stays on for maintenance, optimization and — for AI systems — monitoring and retraining, all measured against the success metrics agreed during scoping.
A migration starts with a full audit and a redirect map (every old URL mapped to its new home), plus content migration and SEO preservation, with deployment timed to minimise downtime — so a redesign doesn't cost you the rankings you've already earned.
Security, data handling and WCAG 2.1–2.2 AA accessibility are checked in a dedicated QA phase before launch, alongside GDPR/CCPA and (for e-commerce) PCI DSS readiness. ISO 27001 and SOC 2 are pending verification.*
Start with a free audit. We'll review your website, brand, or workflow and show you exactly how the seven-phase process would apply to your project, at /free-audit/.
Your project deserves a process this clear.
Two doors, seven phases, one accountable team. The next step is a free audit: a clear-eyed read on where you stand, and exactly how phases 1 through 7 would play out for you.
Get your free auditStart at phase 1
Ready to see your project mapped to this process?
The fastest way to know whether we’re the right partner is to put your situation in front of us. A free audit gives you a clear-eyed read on your website, brand, or workflow, and exactly how phases 1 through 7 would play out for you. No obligation, no pressure.