Website Discovery · Beachaven Villas
Hi — I'm Stephanie, Christina's daughter and the designer-developer she's recommending for your new Beachaven website. I run SJ Design & Development, a small studio in Vienna, Austria, where most of my work is custom websites for retail, hospitality, and service businesses across Europe and the US — places that wanted something more thoughtful than a template. Beachaven is squarely in my wheelhouse: real character, twenty-plus units worth telling stories about, and a beautiful photo and video library to build the whole site around.
To put together an accurate proposal, I'd love a few details about how the operation works today and where you'd like to take it.
About this page. Twelve short questions — most of them are just click-the-option. Your answers save automatically as you go, so you can come back later if you get interrupted. At the bottom, you'll see an estimate that updates live based on what you choose. When you're done, tap Send my answers and I'll follow up with a written proposal within a couple of business days.
Prefer a quick call instead? If you'd rather walk through the questions together — or have anything you'd like to discuss live — you can book a 30-minute call at calendly.com/asksj/connect. No pressure either way.
How do you handle bookings and availability today?
This tells me what your new site needs to plug into.
When a guest finds a unit they like on the new site, what should they be able to do?
This is the biggest decision on the project — it shapes how the site works.
Who'll write the description for each unit?
Each unit page needs a short, vivid description that helps guests pick.
Happy with the Beachaven name and look, or would you like to refresh the brand at the same time?
If we're rebuilding the site anyway, refreshing the logo/colors/fonts is a low-cost win.
Would you like real guest reviews pulled in from TripAdvisor / Google / Airbnb, and shown on each unit's page?
Visible reviews are one of the strongest trust signals on a rental site. Guests trust other guests far more than marketing copy.
Would you like the site built to formal accessibility standards, with an audit and a published accessibility statement?
"Accessibility" means the site genuinely works for everyone who tries to use it — including older guests with weaker eyesight, people using screen readers, people who navigate with a keyboard instead of a mouse, color-blind users, and so on. About 1 in 8 Americans has some kind of disability, and many more benefit from accessible design — older travelers especially, who make up a large slice of the Siesta Key audience.
Two reasons this matters for Beachaven specifically:
1. It's already part of who you are. Unit 59 is wheelchair-accessible — Beachaven already welcomes guests with mobility needs. A website that works for everyone reinforces that, and helps those guests actually find and book the unit instead of giving up partway through.
2. It's also real legal protection. Florida has the highest rate of website accessibility lawsuits in the US — plaintiff law firms run automated scans against small rental sites, and settlements typically run $5,000–$30,000. A real audit plus a published accessibility statement on the site is the strongest defense against that.
Your current site has an Owners section. What's it for today, and what would you like it to do on the new site?
Just want to make sure I include what your owners actually need.
Who signs off on website decisions on your end?
Helps me plan around your approval process so things don't stall.
Want to move your office email to a professional address while we're at it?
Your current email is Beachaven@verizon.net. Verizon is winding down their email service — at some point that address will stop working. Moving to office@siestakeybeachaven.net on Google Workspace is more professional, more reliable, and lets you set up multiple addresses.
Also worth considering — the domain itself. You're on siestakeybeachaven.net today. The much shorter beachaven.com is currently listed for sale on the domain aftermarket (around $3,500 buy-now last I checked, with payment plans available).
Not a requirement — your current domain works fine — but a shorter .com is more memorable, more brandable, and easier to say on the phone. Worth flagging for the board if it's something you'd consider. Note it in the box below if you want me to look further into it.
For the 2 units and clubhouse still being rebuilt — would you like "Coming soon" placeholder pages with an email signup, or leave them off the site entirely until construction is finished?
Either way, we add the real pages once they're rebuilt. The question is just whether to show interest now or wait.
When would you like the new site live?
Anything else we should know?
Open-ended — websites you love, things that bug you about the current site, features you've been wishing for. Anything.
Custom-designed website built around your 400–600 photos + 20 slideshow videos · three polished page templates (studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom) used for all 20 functional units · full photo gallery + embedded slideshow video on every unit page · optional "Returning soon" placeholder pages for the 2 rebuilding units + clubhouse · amenities · rates · area guide · inquiry forms · a simple admin so the office can update any unit in five minutes · mobile-first, fast loading.
Everything above, plus a real availability calendar synced from your existing booking system (or from each owner's Airbnb / VRBO feed) and shown on each unit page.
Everything above, plus a direct-booking experience — guests pick dates and pay on the site without leaving for Airbnb. We style your booking system's checkout to match the new site so the flow feels seamless and you keep the OTA commission.
After launch — two simple pieces:
Hosting + maintenance: ~$15–25 / month. Covers the actual hosting (Cloudflare), the content-management system, SSL certificate, uptime monitoring, and routine security updates. Much less than the $80/month you're paying today on SiteBuilder.
Changes & additions: included for the small stuff. I'll train Ania to handle the everyday updates herself — adding new photos to a unit, swapping out testimonials, editing rates, posting news. No extra cost for those.
Bigger changes: if you later want a new section, design tweaks, or new functionality, those are billed hourly only when you ask for them — no monthly commitment. A monthly retainer is available if you'd prefer hands-off care, but it's completely optional.
The timing on this couldn't be better — if we move forward, I can begin work on your new site the week of May 25th (kickoff between May 25 and 29, once the deposit is in). When you tap Send my answers below, I'll send a written proposal back within a couple of business days, with a firm price inside the range above and a clear schedule.
Terms in brief: 50% deposit to start, balance due upon publication of the finished site. Anything added beyond the agreed scope after we begin (extra pages, new features, additional design rounds) is quoted and added to the final balance — nothing surprise-bills you.
Any questions before you hit send? Email me directly: sj@asksj.com, or grab a 30-min slot at calendly.com/asksj/connect.