Home/Process

Four steps, no surprises.

Every PortaWork build follows the same four-stage process. Predictable, transparent, and built for catching problems before they cost you anything.

01 Week 1

Discover — scope, fit, quote.

We start with a 60-minute call to understand your brand, your products, your current setup, and what "done" looks like. We follow up with a written brief, a scope, and a fixed quote. Nothing else starts until you've signed off.

What we do
  • Discovery call with your team
  • Technical audit of current store (if migrating)
  • Written project brief & scope
  • Fixed quote with payment terms
What you walk away with
  • A clear scope you can share internally
  • A timeline with milestones
  • A fixed price — no hourly surprises
02 Weeks 2–3

Design — pixel-perfect, in Figma.

We design the storefront fully in Figma — homepage, PLPs, PDPs, cart, key system pages — before a single line of theme code gets written. Two formal review rounds. Asynchronous feedback throughout.

What we do
  • Brand & component system in Figma
  • Key page designs (desktop & mobile)
  • Interaction states & motion notes
  • Two formal review & revision rounds
Your role
  • Feedback on each milestone
  • Sign-off before the build phase begins
  • Provide brand assets & product imagery
03 Weeks 3–5

Build — Shopify, done cleanly.

We build on a dedicated Shopify development store with a custom theme. You get a shared staging URL from day one, weekly live demos, and async updates in between. We catch and fix accessibility, performance, and SEO issues during the build, not after.

What we do
  • Custom Shopify theme from scratch
  • Catalog, collection & page setup
  • App & integration configuration
  • Performance, accessibility & SEO baseline
  • Weekly demos + async updates
What you see
  • A live staging URL, password-protected
  • Weekly progress demos
  • Honest status — green, yellow, or red
04 Week 6 + 30 days

Launch — DNS, redirects, handover.

DNS, redirects, payment gateway testing, and the full launch checklist worked end-to-end. We stay on for 30 days of post-launch support and ship written handover documentation your team can actually use.

What we do
  • DNS & domain cutover (zero downtime)
  • 301 redirect map deployed
  • Payment, shipping & tax verified live
  • Search engine resubmission
  • 30-day support: bug fixes, tweaks, training
What you walk away with
  • A live, fast, accessible storefront
  • Written handover docs for your team
  • 30 days of fixes & refinements included
Ready to begin?

Step one takes a single call.

Tell us about your store. We'll come back with a written brief and a fixed quote within a week.

Book discovery