Early customers
They ask whether this solves their problem. Show the problem in one sentence, how the product works and one clear action: join the waitlist, book a demo or sign up.
Start Your Website
A startup website that earns trust from day one.
Your website has a job: win early customers, open investor conversations and help you hire. 7 Islets starts with that business problem, then designs and builds the site to solve it, and stays with you as you grow. Consultant-led design, then a fast, reviewed build.
Concept example: Kelpwise is fictional.
Who this is for
Stage
- Idea-stage founders
- Pre-seed and seed startups
- MVP and beta launches
- Incubator and accelerator cohorts
- Student startups
- Corporate spin-offs
- Family businesses launching a new venture
Sector
- SaaS
- Fintech
- Healthtech
- Edtech
- Agritech
- Climate tech
- Deeptech
- Hardware
- D2C brands
- Mobile apps
- Marketplaces
- Social enterprises
Your visitors
What should a startup website include?
Four kinds of visitor check a startup's website before they reply to you. Each needs a different answer.
Investors
They ask who is building this and why now. Show the founding team, the market you are going after and a way to request your deck, consistent with what you pitch.
Future hires
They ask whether this is a team worth joining. Show the mission in plain words, the people and a simple careers note, even before you have open roles.
Partners and press
They ask what you do and whom to contact. Give them a short company description, facts you can stand behind and a direct contact.
Concept gallery
What a finished site looks like
Three directions for a seed-stage startup, each shown as a wireframe and a finished design. They use fictional brands and one structure, so you can see what colour, type and imagery change. Name the closest one in your brief.
Quillcove: Clear and professional
Kelpwise: Warm and personal
Brickbay: Detailed and informative
Launch lean
Your MVP website
Launch with what earns trust now and add the rest as you grow.
Live on day one
- The problem and who it is for
- How the product works
- The founding team
- One clear action: a waitlist, a demo request or a contact form
- A short FAQ for buyers
Next, as you grow
- Product and pricing pages
- Documentation or a help centre
- A blog that answers buyer questions
- A careers page
- Customer stories, once customers agree to be named
From first call to a site that keeps improving
How a project runs for a startup
Seven stages take you from the first call to a site that keeps improving. The deliverables below show what a startup project can include; yours are agreed on the call and written into your statement of work.
Stage 1 of 7
Discover
- Brief and founder callYour deck, your customer and the moment that matters: a launch, a waitlist or a raise.
- Business goalsWhat the site must achieve, such as sign-ups, demos or investor meetings, and how we will know it is working.
- Visitor journeyWho will check the site and what each person needs.
- Competitor scanHow others in your space explain themselves.
- SEO strategyThe searches you can realistically win, and which page answers each.
Define
- SitemapEvery page and its job.
- Content planWhat each page says and who writes it.
- MVP scopeThe day-one pages, using the split above.
Design
- Mood boardReferences for tone, colour, type and imagery.
- Colour and typeA palette and fonts that read well on screens.
- Image strategyProduct screenshots, team photographs or illustration, sized and described.
- Wireframes and prototypeWireframes first, then a clickable prototype of the key pages, reviewed before anything is built.
- Logo and brand identityAdd-onAn add-on, if you are launching without one.
Build
- Technology choiceThe options and their trade-offs, then our recommendation.
- Starter componentsA reusable set of sections, so every new page stays consistent.
- FormsWaitlist, demo request and contact, delivered to your inbox.
Test
- Every page, every deviceSpeed, layout, keyboard use and contrast, on phones and desktops.
- Links and formsEvery one tried before launch.
Launch
- Hosting and domainSet up in accounts that belong to you.
- CDN and SSLFast loading wherever visitors are, over a secure connection.
- AnalyticsVisits and form submissions, collected after visitors consent.
- Search ConsoleYour site and sitemap submitted to Google, so you see which searches find you.
Grow
- Website CareContent refreshes and routine checks.
- Growth reviewWhat visitors do on the site, and the next change worth making.
- Search reviewsAdd-onThe SEO add-on reviews what search is bringing in.
Technology
Choosing your stack
The right technology depends on who edits the site, how quickly it must grow and whether it shares code with your product. We recommend one after the brief.
What you provide
- Your deck or a short product description
- The customer you are targeting
- Any brand material you have
- The action you want visitors to take
A consultant helps shape the rest.
Common mistakes we help founders avoid
- Describing the technology before the problem
- Listing every feature on the first page
- Claiming traction or partners you cannot show
- Using a different product description from the one in your deck
Each one costs credibility with the people you most need to convince.
Which plan fits?
Brochure
With a waitlist or demo request.
Discuss a Brochure Website →Business + Blog
So you can publish articles that answer buyer questions.
Discuss a Business + Blog Website →Advanced
For a product that needs sign-in, payments or an integration on the marketing site.
Discuss an Advanced Website →Add-ons for startups
Logo and brand identity
If you are launching without one.
Fundraising support
A pitch deck and an investor section on the site.
Social media and SEO
To start building an audience.
Search and social ads
When you are ready to test paid acquisition.
One team as you grow
Beyond the website
A website is often the first problem a startup brings us, rarely the last. The same team helps with product design, market entry, fundraising and growth marketing, and keeps your website, deck and product telling one story.
- Product Design and UX
- Market Entry and Strategy
- Fundraising and Capital Access
- SEO and Digital Growth
FAQ
Planning and scope
We have not launched yet. Is it too early for a website?
No. A simple site with a waitlist or demo request lets you test interest and gives investors and early customers somewhere to land.
Can you help with more than the website?
Yes. Many startups start with a website and later bring us product, fundraising or growth work. It is the same team, so nothing needs re-explaining.
Can we start small and add to the scope later?
Yes. Many founders launch with the day-one pages and add product pages, a blog or an integration later, each agreed as a change to the statement of work.
Design
We do not have a logo yet. Can you help?
Yes. Logo and brand identity is an add-on. If you would rather launch first, we can start with a clean wordmark and bring in the full identity later.
Can we see more than one design direction?
Yes. We start from a mood board and show a sample page before the build; the number of directions and revision rounds is in your statement of work.
Our product is not ready to screenshot. What do we show?
We use clearly labelled illustrations or a walkthrough from your product designs, then swap in real screenshots.
Build and technology
Can we change technology later?
Yes. Content and design are kept separate from the platform, and source files stay in version control, so a later move is planned work rather than a restart.
Can you work alongside our product team?
Yes. If your team runs the app, we build the marketing site around it and link to sign-up or login. The statement of work sets out who owns which part.
Who owns the website, the code and the accounts?
You do. The domain and hosting are in your name, and the source files are kept in version control and shared with you.
Can our team edit the website after launch?
That depends on the technology you choose. A content management system or visual builder lets your team edit directly; on a static site, changes go through Website Care or your developers.
Launch and after
How will we know if the website is working?
Analytics shows visits and form submissions from visitors who consent, and Search Console shows which searches bring people to the site. Both are set up before launch.
What happens after launch?
Website Care keeps content current and runs routine checks. Business + Blog care adds monthly articles, published after you approve them.
Let’s shape the right website for you
Tell us what you do and what your website needs to achieve. A consultant will help you decide the structure, design and scope.
Start Your Website Brief →