OurProcess—LaunchTimelineforCochraneTrades:FromIntaketoLivein3–6Weeks

01Who This Is For and What You'll Get

You run a plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, or landscaping & snow company in Cochrane, AB. You need a website that books calls and quote requests. No chaos. No jargon. No endless meetings.

This page walks you through our week-by-week launch timeline for trades in Cochrane (3–6 weeks). You'll see exactly what we need from you, what we handle, and how we keep your site fast on phones and easy to maintain.

If you'd rather skip straight to the done-for-you version, see Cochrane trade website services.

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The short version: Most Cochrane trade sites launch in 3–6 weeks. The path: Intake → First-Draft → Content & Proof → Build → QA → Launch.

You provide your services, neighbourhoods, 6–10 photos, and 3–5 review quotes. We ship a refundable First-Draft you can react to, then build a lean, phone-first site with a six-field quote form and a case-quote wall (a grid of real job photos paired with customer quotes).

Launch day covers DNS (the setting that points your web address to your site), SSL (the security certificate that gives your site the padlock icon), form tests, tracking, and a sitemap (a file that lists every page on your site so Google can find them all).

02The 3–6 Week Path at a Glance

We front-load clarity so build time is real — not theoretical. Here's what each week looks like:

Week 0 — Intake. One email with what we need.

Week 1 — First-Draft (credited). Homepage mock, wireframe, sitemap, hero copy.

Week 2 — Content & Proof. You send photos and quotes once. We place them cleanly.

Weeks 3–4 — Build. Lean, mobile-first pages. Forms. Internal links. Speed.

Week 5 — QA. Owner-readable checks. You batch your final tweaks.

Week 5–6 — Launch. DNS/SSL setup, form and auto-email tests, GA4 (Google Analytics 4 — the free tool that shows how many people visit your site) and Search Console (Google's free tool that shows how your site appears in search results) verification, sitemap submission, and redirects.

Why this works: one owner approver, edits batched (not dripped), and a "freeze the hero" rule after Week 2 so we don't churn on the first screen.

03Week 0 — Intake: What We Need in One Email (15–30 Minutes)

Here's the deal: you send the essentials once. We do the rest.

Copy this checklist into your email:

• Services list (the jobs you want more of)
• Neighbourhoods you serve: Riversong, Fireside, Sunset Ridge, Heartland, GlenEagles, Bow Meadows, West Terrace
• 6–10 job photos (before/after, close-ups, permit/safety shots)
• 3–5 review quotes (first name + initial is fine)
• Emergency policy/hours (if applicable)
• Logo and correct phone/email/address
• Any price ranges you're comfortable showing (optional)

Photo tip: one before, one after from the same angle, one close-up, one permit/safety. Tag the neighbourhood in the file name if you can (e.g., valley-repair-fireside-2025.avif).

04Week 1 — First-Draft (Risk-Reversal You Can React To)

Instead of talking about your site, we show it to you.

You'll receive:

• A homepage mock with your promise line, Call Now and Start My Project above the fold, and a proof row
• An annotated wireframe for the rest of the site
• A sitemap (Home, Services hub + job pages, Areas We Serve, Proof, Contact/Quote)
• Hero copy options and where each CTA (Call to Action — the button that tells visitors what to do next) lives

How to Approve Fast

• Mark up the mock with "keep / change" comments.
• Keep edits in one reply from your single approver.
• Defer wording nitpicks to Week 5 (QA) — that keeps us in the 3–6 week window.

Why owners like it: the $200 First-Draft is credited when you proceed. You get clarity without betting big.

05Week 2 — Content & Proof: Send Once, We Place It Cleanly

We turn your photos and quotes into conversion-ready proof. Here's what happens this week:

What We Build

• Case-quote wall (2–3 columns). Each card shows 1–2 photos, a two-line customer quote, and a neighbourhood tag (Fireside, Riversong, etc.)
• Tiny case pages (150–250 words) for your star jobs
• Alt text (the short description attached to an image so search engines and screen readers understand it) and captions that read like humans — service + neighbourhood + one detail
• Areas We Serve with unique blurbs per neighbourhood — doorway-safe (meaning each page has unique, helpful content, not thin filler pages that Google penalizes)

Helpful deep dives (if you want examples):

• Photos & Proof that Build Trust
• Service-Area Pages (Doorway-Safe)
• Before/After Galleries Without Killing Speed

Owner time this week: 15–20 minutes to confirm photo selections and neighbourhood tags.

06Weeks 3–4 — Build for Conversion (And Phone Speed)

We ship a lean, mobile-first site that feels instant and routes people to the next step.

You'll see:

• Single decisive hero (no slider). Call Now and Start My Project visible on mobile.
• Six-field quote form: Name, Phone, Email, Address, Service dropdown, Notes + optional photo
• Auto-emails + secure lead log — so no leads vanish
• Internal links that read like answers: Services → Proof → Quote

How We Keep It Fast on Phones

• Responsive images in AVIF/WebP (modern image formats that load faster than JPG or PNG) with srcset/sizes (code that tells the browser which image size to download based on the screen)
• Fixed image dimensions to avoid page jump (layout shift)
• Minimal scripts on the first screen

Related posts (owner-friendly, no jargon):

• Quote Forms that Trades Love
• Minimal-bloat Build & Core Web Vitals

07Week 5 — QA You Can Understand (No Dev-Speak)

We run a Go-Live checklist and show you proof. Here's what we test:

• Form submits on mobile — auto-emails received, lead saved in the database
• Tap-to-call buttons and phone number formatting
• Mobile speed snapshot of Contact/Quote (first screen, no layout jump)
• Crawlable links and simple metadata. 404 (the "page not found" error visitors see when a link is broken) sweep and redirect list if you're replacing an old site
• Accessibility basics: headings, focus states, alt text on new images

Your job this week: reply once with batched edits. Think "three bullets, one reply." We apply those and move to launch.

08Week 5–6 — Launch Day (And the 72-Hour Window After)

We handle the technical side. You double-check the business details.

What We Do

• DNS/SSL/CDN (Content Delivery Network — servers that load your site faster for visitors) setup
• Verify GA4 and Search Console. Submit sitemap.
• Final form test (auto-email + database logging)
• Check tap-to-call links and CTA buttons on mobile
• Publish a short GBP (Google Business Profile — your free business listing on Google Maps) post that links to a relevant page (optional but recommended)

What You Do

• Confirm hours, phone, address displayed everywhere
• Forward any day-one feedback as one email (we handle quick fixes fast)

The first 72 hours: small cache settling is normal. We monitor uptime and speed, and stand by for any quick tweaks.

09How to Launch Faster (And What Slows Things Down)

Faster launches:

• Approve the First-Draft in 24–48h
• Nominate one approver for all decisions
• Send photos and quotes in Week 2 (don't wait)
• Keep edits batched (one reply/week)

Slowdowns to avoid:

• Rewriting the hero after Week 2 (breaks speed & flow)
• Piecemeal edits (five tiny emails instead of one — that slows everything down)
• Last-minute policy changes (emergency response or warranty text)
• New features mid-build (e.g., calculator) → we'll scope it after launch

10After Launch — Monthly Care (No CMS Needed)

You email or text changes. We publish and prove them.

Monthly Care includes:

• 1 hour of edits (copy tweaks, photo swaps, seasonal lines, review chips)
• Uptime/security monitoring
• Form deliverability test + spam check
• Mobile speed snapshot (one key page/month, rotating)
• One GBP post (you supply photo + 2-line blurb)
• A monthly change log email with screenshots and results

Prefer details? Read No CMS, No Problem.

11Owner Scoreboard (Speed + Leads on One Screen)

Here's a simple scoreboard you can copy into Google Sheets to track your site's performance each month.

| Category | Metric | |----------|--------| | Throughput | Projects launched ≤ 6 weeks (this quarter) | | Throughput | Start My Project CTA clicks (this page) | | Throughput | Call taps & Quote form submits (site-wide) | | Quality | Contact/Quote LCP / INP / CLS (speed metrics Google uses to score how fast your site feels on phones) | | Quality | Form deliverability pass (yes/no) | | Operations | First-Draft → Approval (median days) | | Operations | Number of proof cards added (case-quote wall) | | Operations | Monthly Care shipped (yes/no) |

Need help wiring the measurement? See Tracking Calls & Forms the Simple Way.

12Related Reading

• Pricing: Website Cost for Cochrane Trades
• Forms: Quote Forms that Trades Love
• Proof: Photos & Proof that Build Trust
• Local structure: Service-Area Pages (Doorway-Safe)
• Speed & UX: Minimal-bloat Build & Core Web Vitals
• Tracking: Tracking Calls & Forms the Simple Way
• Maintenance: No CMS, No Problem