FAQ

Commonly asked questions about our Services. For questions not answered below: info@aligndesigns.co.za

Website Design Service FAQ

Do I own the website if I’m paying monthly?

During the 24-month contract period, you are effectively leasing the fully managed system — similar to a cellphone contract where a cell phone provider manages your device and network while you pay monthly. At the end of 24 months, the website transfers to your full ownership, including the design, content, and all pages. You can then host it wherever you like. If you cancel after the cooling-off period but before the contract ends, the remaining balance is due to take ownership of the site.

What happens if I cancel within the first 20 business days?

Nothing. Walk away with no penalty, no questions, and no hard feelings. The 20-business-day cooling-off period exists because we’re confident in what we deliver – and we want you to make this decision without pressure. If it’s not the right fit, you cancel and that’s it. Keep in mind you also get no website or any further work/assets from us.

Is this just a website subscription, or is it something more?

It’s a full lead generation system that includes a website – there’s a meaningful difference. A website subscription typically gives you access to a website builder and hosting. The Smart Website System by Align Designs gives you a custom-built site plus SEO setup, an AI chatbot, a lead gen tool, automated email follow-up, Google Business Profile optimisation, a Google review template, and a monthly performance report. Every component is set up, connected, and managed for you.

What kind of businesses does this work for?

Any South African service business that gets enquiries and quotes via phone, WhatsApp, or email. Plumbers, electricians, cleaning companies, medical practices, physiotherapists, pest control businesses, solar installers, landscapers, attorneys, and accountants are among the businesses this system is designed for. If your business relies on getting enquiries and converting them into jobs or appointments, this system works for you.

Do I need any technical knowledge to use this?

None. That’s the point of “fully managed.” You don’t log into dashboards, update plugins, or learn any software. The system runs automatically. Your job is to answer qualified leads and do the work. You receive a plain-English monthly report so you always know how your site is performing, but you never touch the back end.

How long does it take to go live?

In most cases, your Smart Website System is live within 10 to 15 business days of completing your onboarding call and you supplying all your content inputs (logo, photos, basic business details). The ICP document is completed in the first week. Design, build, and testing happen in parallel. You review before we publish. Most clients are live within three weeks of signing.

How long will it take for my website to rank on Google?

No honest service provider can guarantee specific rankings or a fixed timeline; and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are misleading you. What we can tell you is that Align Designs has a strong track record of client websites across a wide range of industries reaching the first page of Google, including service businesses, medical practices, and trades.

That said, results vary significantly depending on the level of competition in your specific niche. Some industries are extremely competitive because hundreds or thousands of businesses have been investing in SEO for years. Think insurance and financial services, debt review, property and real estate, or solar energy. In niches like these, reaching page one takes longer and requires more sustained effort.

In less competitive niches and local markets, meaningful progress can come much faster – sometimes within three to six months. What we can guarantee is that every Smart Website is built on a technically sound SEO foundation from day one, and that we apply proven strategies consistently on your behalf.

The system is designed to compound: the longer it runs, the stronger your position becomes. Our honest advice: if you are in a highly competitive industry, set realistic expectations at nine to eighteen months for meaningful organic visibility, and seriously consider adding Google Ads in the short term to generate leads while the SEO builds in the background.

What is NOT included in the Smart Website System?

The Smart Website System covers your website, lead generation tools, AI chatbot, automated follow-ups, Google Business Profile optimisation, review builder, and monthly reporting. What it does not include is additional marketing activity to drive traffic from other channels. Specifically ongoing SEO link building campaigns, Google Ads or Meta Ads management, social media management, email marketing, and video production. Think of it this way: the Smart Website System builds and manages the store. Paid advertising, social media, and content campaigns are separate services that sit alongside it and can be added as your business grows.

Not sure what you need? That is exactly what the free strategy call is for.

SEO – FAQ

Is SEO included when you build my website? Yes. Every website we build includes Foundational SEO at no extra cost. This covers keyword research, full Google property setup (Analytics, Search Console, Tag Manager), sitemap submission, RankMath plugin configuration, and Google Business Profile optimisation. Most web designers treat this as a separate paid service — we include it as standard because a website without it is not set up to succeed on Google.

How long does SEO take to show results? It depends on your niche and how competitive it is. A brand new website typically takes 1–3 months before Google even begins indexing it properly. From there, most of our clients in non-competitive local niches start seeing page one results within a few months. In highly competitive industries or for national SEO, the realistic timeframe is 3–12 months of consistent effort. SEO is a long game but the results compound over time in a way that paid ads never will.

Can you guarantee I’ll rank on page one of Google? No, and you should run from anyone who says they can. Google’s algorithm is constantly changing and no one controls it. What we can tell you is that our approach is ethical, proven, and built on strategies that produce real results for real South African businesses. We show you exactly what’s happening every month, in plain language.

What’s the difference between local SEO and national SEO? Local SEO gets you found when someone nearby searches for your service – “plumber in Johannesburg” or “dentist near me”. Your Google Business Profile, citations, and Google Reviews all play a major role here. National SEO is about ranking for broader search terms across South Africa that aren’t tied to a specific city. This requires ongoing work: quality backlinks, consistent optimisation, and time. Most local service businesses only need local SEO. National SEO is for businesses targeting clients across multiple cities or competing in high-traffic, non-location-specific searches.

What are citations and do I need them? A citation is any mention of your business name, address, and phone number on an authoritative website or directory. They help Google verify that your business is legitimate and well-established. Not every business needs them immediately but if you’re in a competitive local niche and your Foundational SEO and reviews are already in place, citations are often the next move. It’s a once-off exercise, not a monthly recurring cost.

How important are Google Reviews for SEO? Extremely important for local search. Google starts surfacing businesses more prominently once they have around 30 genuine reviews. More importantly, you want to have more reviews than your top local competitor. No technical SEO work can fully compensate for a sparse review profile. We give every client a simple WhatsApp and email template to make asking for reviews after each job quick and painless.

How much does Ongoing SEO cost and what does it include? Ongoing SEO starts at R10,000 per month. This covers up to 15 target keyword phrases, quality backlink acquisition, keyword research and strategy, on-page optimisation, technical auditing and fixing, 10 local directory listings, 24/7 campaign tracking, and monthly performance reports. There are no long-term contracts – you can cancel with 30 days’ notice. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied after your first month.

Do I need Ongoing SEO or is Foundational SEO enough? For most local service businesses such as plumbers, electricians, medical practices, contractors – Foundational SEO combined with a consistent Google Review strategy is enough to perform well locally over time. Ongoing SEO is for businesses that want to rank nationally across South Africa, are in highly competitive local markets, or want to aggressively grow their organic search presence beyond what the foundations alone can achieve.

Google Ads – FAQ

How much does Google Ads cost? There are two separate costs. Our management fee is R2,000/month – this covers campaign setup, monthly optimisation, and reporting. Your ad spend is paid directly to Google and is completely separate. We recommend starting at R50/day (around R1,500/month) to generate enough data to optimise your campaign. You’re in control of that budget and can increase or decrease it at any time.

Do I sign a long-term contract? No. Google Ads management is month-to-month. You can cancel with 2 weeks’ notice before your next billing cycle. There are no refunds on the current month’s management fee.

Is my ad spend paid to you? No. Your ad spend goes directly to Google. You add your payment details inside your own Google Ads account and Google charges you separately – usually at the end of the month. We never touch your ad budget unless you approve it.

What types of ads do you run? For local service businesses (plumbers, electricians, medical practices, contractors, etc.) we run Search ads — text ads that appear at the top of Google when someone searches for your service. For online stores, we run Shopping ads that display your products with images and pricing directly in Google search results.

Will Google Ads work for my business? Google Ads works well when someone is actively searching for your product or service and there’s a clear intent to buy or enquire. It works best for local service businesses, professional services, and e-commerce. It’s less effective for very low-margin products, businesses with a low average transaction value, or highly niche services with very low search volume in your area.

What if I already have a website built by someone else? We’ll take an honest look at your existing site. If it’s technically sound, properly optimised, and built to convert visitors, we can discuss running ads. In most cases, websites not built with SEO and ads in mind result in higher costs per click and lower conversion rates. In those cases, we’ll recommend building a new website first – not to upsell you for the sake of it, but because a poor landing page actively costs you money on every single click.

Why do you only build websites from scratch? We don’t edit or patch existing websites built by other developers because we can’t verify how they were built or whether they meet the technical standards needed for SEO and Google Ads performance. When we build, we control the entire foundation: hosting, speed, on-page SEO, conversion structure, so we can stand behind the results.

How long before I see results from Google Ads? Your ads can go live within days of setup. However, Google’s algorithm needs time to learn which searches, times of day, and audiences perform best for your campaign. The first 4–8 weeks are typically an optimisation phase. Most clients start seeing consistent, quality leads from month 2 onwards, though this varies by industry and ad spend.

Can you guarantee results? No, and be cautious of anyone who says they can. Results depend on factors that no agency fully controls: your industry’s competition level, your ad spend, your website quality, and Google’s algorithm. What we guarantee is a well-structured campaign, honest monthly reporting, and ongoing management that gets better over time.

What’s the difference between Google Ads and SEO? SEO builds your organic presence on Google over months and years. Google Ads puts you at the top of Google immediately, but you pay for every click. SEO is the long game – Google Ads bridges the gap while you wait for organic rankings to build. Used together, they create a complete Google presence: paid traffic now, organic traffic growing in the background.

Ecommerce Web Design Service FAQ

Old Site to New Site

Costs involved?

Platform used?

Payments & Courier integration

After going live

Website Maintenance – FAQ

Why does my website need monthly maintenance? WordPress websites run on themes, plugins, and software that are constantly being updated by developers. When those updates aren’t applied, security vulnerabilities build up and things eventually break. Monthly maintenance keeps your site current, secure, and functioning correctly — the same way regular car services prevent small issues from becoming expensive repairs.

What if I just leave my website and don’t do maintenance? Your site will continue to work – for a while. But over time, outdated software becomes a security risk. Plugins fall out of sync. Design issues appear. And because there are no regular backups, if something does go wrong there’s no easy way to recover. What could have been a quick fix becomes a costly rebuild. Most of the “my website got hacked” or “my site suddenly broke” situations we see are the result of unmaintained websites.

Is maintenance included if I’m on the Smart Website System? Yes. If you’re on our 24-month Smart Website System contract, website maintenance is fully included – no extra charge. It’s part of the fully managed service alongside hosting, your AI chatbot, automated quote flow, and monthly reporting.

What does the R350/month plan cover? It covers everything in our monthly maintenance process: a pre-maintenance backup, all software and plugin updates, troubleshooting and fixing any issues that arise from those updates, and a post-maintenance backup stored securely in the cloud. You also get a monthly maintenance report showing what was updated and confirmation of site being secure.

Do you maintain websites built by other developers? No, we only maintain websites we’ve built ourselves. We’ve run into too many problems in the past when taking over someone else’s work. Unknown build quality, undocumented customisations, and existing issues make it impossible for us to stand behind the results. If you need maintenance and your current site wasn’t built by us, the conversation usually starts with a new build.

What happens to my backups if I cancel? We keep only the most recent monthly backup at any given time – the clean version of your site after that month’s updates are done. If you cancel, we stop performing maintenance and send you that latest backup. From that point it becomes your responsibility to store it safely. One important thing to know: the older a backup gets, the more likely it is to have compatibility issues if you ever need to restore it in the future. A backup from two years ago may not upload cleanly onto a current server environment. This is exactly why we recommend staying on monthly maintenance – a fresh, current backup is always worth more than an old one.

Is there a contract for the standalone maintenance plan? No. The standalone R350/month plan is month-to-month. You can cancel at any time – we just ask for reasonable notice before your next billing date.