Your website should work as hard as you do.
We build custom websites for small and medium-sized businesses that look sharp, load fast, and turn visitors into customers. No templates. No drag-and-drop builders. No shortcuts.
Built to turn attention
into inquiries.
A sharper site guides visitors from first impression to booked call.
Local Search
Your site shows up when people in your area are ready to hire.
Clear Service Page
Visitors immediately understand what you do and who you serve.
Trust Signals
Real proof builds confidence before you say a word.
Quote Request
One clear next step turns interest into a booked call.
of users judge your credibility based on website design alone
Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab
of visitors leave a site if the layout is unattractive or confusing
Adobe State of Content
is all it takes for a visitor to form a first impression of your site
Behaviour & Information Technology
What we do
Custom website design is the practice of building a website from scratch using hand-written code — no Squarespace, no WordPress templates, no drag-and-drop builders. Max Design Labs builds custom websites for small and medium-sized businesses in Minneapolis and nationwide, with 2 to 4 week delivery. Projects typically start around $399, and every quote is custom to your scope. Every site is designed around your specific business goals, optimized for local search, and built to load fast on any device.
Sound familiar?
You're embarrassed to send people to your site
You're invisible on Google when local customers search for you
Your competitors look more polished than you online
Your site is slow, broken on mobile, or both
You don't know where to start
Your site looks fine but still isn't bringing in leads
Your website is often the first impression your business makes. Let's make it a good one.
People search for what you offer. They're finding someone else.
In Minneapolis and across the country, most new clients start with a Google search. If your site isn't showing up, that job goes to a competitor. A properly built website is the foundation of getting found locally.
Template platforms like Squarespace and Wix are slow and bloated. Google uses page speed and Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor, and template bloat directly hurts your score. We build every site from scratch in clean, fast code that ranks well and loads fast. And because it's fully custom, it looks like your business, not like everyone else on the same $15 theme.
How a custom site gets you found
A fast, clean, custom site doesn't just look better. It ranks better.
- Fast load times: Google ranks faster sites higher in local results
- Clean code structure that search engines can read and index properly
- Proper headings, meta tags, and page speed baked in from day one
- No template bloat slowing down your mobile load time
Built the way it should be.
Every site starts as clean, hand-written code. No templates, no page builders, no bloat.
- Built from scratch. No templates, no drag-and-drop builders.
- Faster load times and stronger Google search rankings
- Looks and performs exactly as designed, every time
- We handle all updates, blog posts, and SEO on your behalf
Fully managed option available
Many of our clients stay on our monthly plan so they never have to touch the site themselves. We handle updates, blog posts, and ongoing SEO work on your behalf.
| Feature | Custom Coded | Squarespace / Wix |
|---|---|---|
| Custom design | ✓ | ✗ Template |
| Load speed | Fastest | Slow |
| Google rankings | Strongest | Weaker |
| Ongoing cost | Optional plan | Monthly subscription |
| Starting price | Custom quote | $16 – $65/mo |
What's included in every build.
Keep it simple with a monthly plan.
Not interested in managing your website at all? We handle everything so you can focus on your business.
Hosting
We host your site on fast, reliable infrastructure. No dealing with GoDaddy support, no mystery downtime. We handle it.
Maintenance & Updates
Need to change your hours, add a new service, update a photo, or fix something? Send us a message. We take care of it.
SEO Package
Ongoing keyword targeting, content updates, technical SEO monitoring, and monthly reporting in plain English.
These can be added individually or bundled. We'll recommend what makes sense on the discovery call.
How it works.
Discovery Call
20 to 30 min, freeWe learn your business, look at your current site, and figure out which build type fits your goals and budget.
Design & Build
2 to 4 weeksYou see the design before anything goes live. We build on your feedback, not our assumptions.
Launch & Handoff
Your site, fully yoursWe launch it together, walk you through everything, and set up your monthly plan if you want one.
Also available
Prefer WordPress?
Custom code is our standard build, but if you want to log in and manage your own content, we also build custom-designed WordPress sites. Same custom design, never a template, just with the flexibility to edit things yourself.
- Log in and edit your content anytime, no developer needed
- Add blog posts, new pages, and service updates yourself
- Custom design built for your brand, never a template
Common questions.
Projects typically start around $399, but every quote is custom. After the discovery call you get a clear, specific price for your project with no vague estimates and no hidden fees.
Custom-coded is our standard build for every project — it's faster and ranks better. If you need to log in and update your own content regularly, we also offer custom-designed WordPress builds. We'll help you decide on the discovery call.
It's doable if you're comfortable in a text editor. We offer teaching packages for clients who want to learn how to make changes. For most clients we recommend the maintenance plan so you never have to think about it.
No problem. We work with what you have, or help you migrate to a better setup if it makes sense for your situation.
We can assist with copy as an add-on, or work with content you provide. We cover this in the discovery call.
That's where our maintenance plan picks up. If you prefer not to add a plan, the site is fully handed off with no strings attached.
Yes. Max Design Labs is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We work with small and medium-sized businesses across the Twin Cities and nationwide.
Ready for a website you're proud of?
Start with a free review of your current site. We'll tell you exactly what's not working and what we'd do to fix it.
20–30 min · Free · No obligation