# How I Work — Zephyr Pixels Process

> One developer (Matthew Rhoads), start to finish. Fixed project pricing, first preview within days, 95+ Lighthouse on every build, 30 days of post-launch support included.

## What makes this different

- **Fast start** — no discovery decks or strategy sessions; I learn by building. First preview in days, not months.
- **Direct developer access** — you work with the person writing the code. Fast answers, fast decisions.
- **Fixed pricing** — one price, one project, agreed before any code is written. No hourly tracking, no budget surprises.

## The approach

1. **I listen first.** Every project starts with understanding your business, customers, and goals.
2. **I build fast.** Next.js plus Sanity Partner expertise means weeks, not months. No bloat.
3. **I optimize relentlessly.** Performance is built in from day one; every launch scores 95+ on Lighthouse.
4. **I stick around.** The same person handles the update next quarter or the fix two years from now.

## Solo developer vs. agency

Agencies are the right call for big multi-team builds; for most small-business sites the overhead outweighs the benefit. The honest differences:

| | With me | Typical agency |
|---|---|---|
| Who you talk to | Me — the person writing your code | An account manager relaying messages to a team |
| Pricing | One fixed price, agreed before work starts | Hourly billing, estimates, and change orders |
| First preview | Days — I learn by building | Often weeks of discovery and strategy decks first |
| After launch | Same person, on call for years; 30 days of support included | Handoff to a support queue or retainer team |
| When more hands are needed | I bring in a trusted designer or copywriter and stay your single point of contact | Staffing changes mid-project; new faces to brief |

## What every project includes

- Custom development — hand-coded Next.js/React, no page builders or templates
- 95+ Lighthouse performance: optimized images, lazy loading, edge caching
- Sanity CMS integration: live preview, custom schemas, real-time collaboration
- Mobile-first responsive design
- Technical SEO, schema markup, sitemaps, analytics integration
- 30 days of post-launch support (ongoing maintenance available)
- Training, production deployment, domain setup, SSL

## Contact

- Email: hello@zephyrpixels.dev
- Start a project: https://zephyrpixels.dev/contact
- See the work: [/case-studies.md](/case-studies.md)