Questions
worth asking.

Yes. Still Lake Studio offers structured payment plans for qualifying projects. Payments are tied to clear project milestones — not arbitrary billing cycles — so you always know what you're paying for and when.

Many clients across Canada and the United States choose this option to spread the investment without compromising the depth of the strategic work. The payment structure is outlined before you commit to anything.

It depends on scope, complexity, and the level of strategy involved. Still Lake Studio doesn't do one-size-fits-all pricing — every project is scoped individually based on what your business actually needs.

What's constant: every build includes AI-cited Schema.org markup, semantic HTML architecture, E-E-A-T authority signals, and conversion-first design as standard. Pricing is discussed transparently during the discovery call, and you receive a detailed proposal before committing to anything.

Service-based businesses, professionals, and established brands across Canada and the United States who've outgrown their current website. Clients include wellness clinics, professional service firms, creative studios, consultants, and anyone whose livelihood depends on whether a stranger decides to trust them within the first three seconds of landing on their site.

The industry varies. The goal doesn't: a website that builds authority, converts visitors, and gets cited by both search engines and AI tools.

It depends on the complexity of the build, how ready your content is, and where you fall in the schedule. Because Still Lake Studio maintains a deliberately small client roster, every project gets proper strategic attention — not a rushed turnaround.

What won't happen: radio silence for weeks, or a launch date that keeps sliding. Timeline is confirmed before any work begins. You'll know exactly what to expect — key milestones, your review windows, and your launch date — upfront.

Primarily Squarespace — and that's a deliberate choice, not a default one.

Unlike WordPress, Squarespace doesn't require plugin management, manual security patches, or third-party hosting. Security, updates, and infrastructure are handled by the platform. That means your site stays fast, stable, and secure without needing a developer on retainer.

Every Still Lake Studio build layers custom code, Schema.org structured data, and AI-cited architecture on top of Squarespace's native capabilities — so you get a platform built for stability with strategy built for dominance.

WordPress can work — when it's actively maintained, regularly updated, and properly secured. For most service-based businesses, that translates into hidden ongoing costs, plugin conflicts, security vulnerabilities, and a site that quietly degrades when nobody's watching.

Still Lake Studio builds on platforms where those problems don't exist. The result is a site you can actually maintain yourself — or hand off to Still Lake Studio for ongoing strategic refinements — without worrying about what's breaking in the background.

It's not just included — it's the architecture. Every Still Lake Studio website is built with semantic HTML structure, Schema.org structured data markup on every page, E-E-A-T authority signals, Core Web Vitals optimisation, proper heading hierarchy, meta structure, and Google Search Console setup.

This isn't "we'll add some keywords later" SEO. It's structural — built into the foundation of your site from the first file.

Advanced ongoing SEO strategies, content creation for topical authority, and AI discoverability refinements are available as a separate retained service for businesses ready to go deeper.

It means your website is built to be surfaced and cited by AI tools — not just indexed by Google.

When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overview a question in your industry, those tools pull answers from specific sites. The ones with Schema.org structured data, semantic HTML architecture, E-E-A-T signals, and topical authority. Sites without that architecture? Invisible to those queries.

Every Still Lake Studio build includes AI-cited architecture as the default. It's not a premium add-on. It's not a future upgrade. It's the baseline — because in 2026, being invisible to AI search is the same as being invisible, period.

Yes. Still Lake Studio builds on platforms with built-in security, managed hosting, and minimal third-party dependencies. Your site is stable by design — not by luck.

You can update content yourself, or engage Still Lake Studio's ongoing maintenance service for monthly updates, SEO upkeep, Schema.org refreshes, and strategic refinements. Either way, you're not left wondering what's happening under the hood.

Yes — and the support is strategic, not just technical. Ongoing post-launch options include content updates, design refinements, SEO maintenance, Schema.org markup refreshes, and monthly strategic consulting.

Some clients want a retained relationship where their site continually improves as their business evolves. Others prefer to manage independently after launch. Both work. The right arrangement is determined before launch — not after you discover something's broken.

Absolutely. Still Lake Studio is based in Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, British Columbia — but the studio is fully remote and works with clients across all of Canada and the United States.

The entire process — discovery, strategy, design, development, revisions, and launch — is conducted remotely. Whether you're in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, New York, Austin, or Los Angeles, the work is the same: deep, strategic, and built to outperform.

Brittany Holmes is the founder and lead strategist at Still Lake Studio. She didn't come up through design school — she came up through 20+ years in IT infrastructure, systems architecture, and digital operations. That background is the reason every Still Lake Studio website is built with the kind of structural rigour most designers don't even think about.

She personally reviews every inquiry, builds every site, and treats every project like it's the only one on the roster — because at any given time, there are only a handful.

Most web designers start with aesthetics. Still Lake Studio starts with architecture.

Every website includes AI-cited Schema.org markup on every page, semantic HTML structure, E-E-A-T authority signals, conversion-first design psychology, and Core Web Vitals optimisation — as the baseline, not as premium add-ons. That foundation comes from 20+ years of IT systems thinking, not a weekend design course.

The roster is deliberately small. The attention is deliberately deep. The result is a site that doesn't just look good in a screenshot — it earns its keep every single day.

Submit an application at stilllakestudio.ca/apply. It takes about five minutes. Tell Brittany what's not working, what you need, and what success looks like. Honest answers get honest responses.

Brittany personally reviews every application and responds within 2 business days. If there's a fit, you'll book a discovery call. If there isn't, she'll tell you that too — directly and without wasting your time.

Currently accepting enquiries for Q2 2026 engagements. Remote-friendly across Canada and the United States.