Guides
The four questions, answered honestly.
Every buyer asks the same four things before they hire anyone: what does it cost, what goes wrong, is this even right for me, and should I fix what I have. Most agencies answer the first with “it depends” and skip the rest. Here are 16 pages that answer all four across everything we do — including the ones where the answer is that you should not hire us.
Looking for how to actually run the marketing rather than how to buy it? That is in the playbooks.
Web design & development
See the serviceWhat it costs
What does a custom website actually cost?
A custom small-business website is a scoped one-time build plus a monthly from $150. The build is the variable — it moves with page count, how much has to be designed rather than assembled, and whether commerce, booking or a CRM connection is in scope. A template site costs less and is a different product.
What goes wrong
What goes wrong with custom website projects?
Most website projects fail on content and approvals rather than code. The expensive failures are the silent ones: a form that stops sending, tracking that was never verified, and a site that renders for humans but returns an empty page to search engines and AI assistants.
Who it is not for
Who should not hire Revio for a website?
If you need the cheapest possible site, if a template already matches how you sell, if you want design with no build attached, or if nobody on your side can own content and decisions, a custom build is the wrong purchase. Each of those has a better and cheaper answer.
Rebuild or fix
Should you rebuild your website or fix the one you have?
Fix it if the structure is sound and the problems are specific — slow pages, weak copy, broken tracking, missing content. Rebuild when the structure itself is the problem: you cannot add a page without a developer, the platform blocks what you need, or the site is unreadable to machines by design.
Mobile app development
See the serviceWhat it costs
What does a mobile app actually cost?
A custom app is a scoped one-time build plus a monthly from $299. The largest single decision is native versus a progressive web app — a PWA costs meaningfully less because it is one codebase with no app-store review. Apps typically take eight to sixteen weeks.
What goes wrong
What goes wrong with mobile app projects?
The most expensive app mistake is building the wrong kind — going native when a progressive web app would have done the job for far less. The second is having no plan for getting it installed. Most failed apps work correctly and are simply never used.
Who it is not for
Who should not build a mobile app?
If you have no repeat customers, no way to drive installs, or your website already does the job on a phone, an app is the wrong purchase. Apps reward frequency. Without repeat usage, the install requirement makes an app strictly worse than a good mobile website.
Rebuild or fix
Should you rebuild your app or fix the one you have?
Fix it when the app works and the problems are features, performance or design. Rebuild when you cannot access the developer accounts, when the framework is abandoned, or when the app was built native and should have been a web app. Access is the one that decides it outright.
Ad management
See the serviceWhat it costs
What does Google Ads management cost?
Management is from $1,000 per month and media spend is billed separately, directly to your own ad account. For a local service business, a workable starting budget is roughly $1,000 to $1,500 per month in media on a tightly targeted campaign — enough to gather signal without buying traffic you cannot service.
What goes wrong
What goes wrong with Google Ads campaigns?
The most common and most expensive failure is conversion tracking that does not work, because every other decision is then made on bad data. Close behind: sending traffic to a page that does not match the ad, and negative keyword lists that do not block what people assume they block.
Who it is not for
Who should not run Google Ads?
Do not run ads if you cannot answer leads within minutes, if you cannot service more work, if your budget is under roughly $1,000 a month in a competitive category, or if nothing on your site can convert a visitor. Ads amplify an existing system; they do not create one.
Rebuild or fix
Should you fix your Google Ads account or start over?
Almost always fix it. An existing account holds conversion history that the bidding algorithms depend on, and starting fresh discards it. Rebuild campaigns inside the same account rather than creating a new one — and never create a new account just to escape poor performance.
CRM integration & setup
See the serviceWhat it costs
What does CRM setup cost?
CRM work is from $500 per month, separate from whatever the platform itself charges. The platform licence is the small number; configuring it around how you actually sell — pipeline stages, lead routing, automated follow-up, reporting — is the work that determines whether anyone uses it.
What goes wrong
What goes wrong with CRM implementations?
CRM projects fail because nobody uses the system, not because the software is wrong. The usual cause is a pipeline modelled on a vendor template rather than how the business actually sells, so entering data feels like overhead with no return to the person doing it.
Who it is not for
Who should not get a CRM?
If you have very few leads, no sales process worth systematising, or nobody willing to maintain it, a CRM adds admin and returns nothing. A CRM organises an existing process — it does not create one, and it will not fix a lead-generation problem.
Rebuild or fix
Should you fix your CRM or replace it?
Usually fix it. Most complaints about a CRM are configuration problems that follow you to the next platform, and a migration costs data quality and months of adoption. Replace only when the platform genuinely cannot do what you need, or when you do not control the account.