Website Diagnosis Consultations
Stop guessing at your website.
Website Diagnosis Consultations are for business owners who want clear, independent direction before committing to the next piece of digital work.
Lou creates a still and rich place to be able to think through and come up with answers together. Make the call! Lou will not shoehorn you into something that’s not right for you. You’ll come away knowing more than what you did.
Moya Sayer-Jones, Only Human Stories
There’s a gap in digital help. I work in it.
Most businesses end up choosing between two options — and neither quite fits.
A VA or junior designer may be affordable and responsive, but they are waiting for your instructions. You still need to know what to ask for, what to prioritise and whether the proposed fix will solve the real issue.
An agency has the expertise, but you are also paying for overhead, account management and a strategy deck designed for the version of your business that existed when you signed the contract.
I spent 15 years inside agencies. I know how much work can be done on autopilot: tasks ticked off against a plan nobody has revisited in 12 months, while the business itself has moved on.
I work differently. There is no team to feed and no retainer to justify. Just a clear-eyed look at what you are trying to achieve, what is getting in the way, and the most sensible way forward.
General Consultation
A website diagnosis consultation
$65 fixed fee
This is a 30 minute diagnostic consultation for business owners who are unsure what their website or digital setup needs next.
You may be:
- Lost in the weeds of platforms, plugins, features, SEO advice and conflicting opinions
- Unsure whether you need a few targeted improvements, a proper rebuild or something else entirely
- Concerned your current website is not pulling its weight, but not sure why
- Worried about spending money in the wrong place
- About to brief a designer, developer or agency and want an experienced second opinion first
- Trying to make decisions about your website without becoming the accidental technical expert in your own business
This is not a generic “pick my brain” call. It is a focused diagnosis: we look at where you are now, where you want the website to help take your business, and what needs attention first.
What you leave with
The outcome is clarity.
You will leave with:
- A clear recommendation for your next step
- A better understanding of what needs to change, what does not, and why
- Practical priorities, so you can stop treating every issue as equally urgent
- Advice you can use yourself or take to the person doing the work
- Confidence to invest in the right area, rather than choosing the loudest or cheapest suggestion
Sometimes the answer will be “yes, this needs a rebuild.” Sometimes it will be “no, do not rebuild this yet.” Both answers can save you a great deal of money and distraction.
Prefer not to meet?
Direction Finder, Express
Introductory price: $95
If you would rather not schedule another call, choose a meeting free website report.
You send through your website, background and questions. I review the material and send you a written report and/or recorded Loom video with the same considered diagnosis and practical next-step advice—on your own time, without a meeting.
This is a good fit if you:
- Prefer to take information in at your own pace
- Have a specific website question or decision to work through
- Want something you can revisit or share with a business partner
- Do not need the back-and-forth of a live conversation
Which option suits you?
| If you need… | Choose… |
|---|---|
| Space to talk through several moving parts, ask follow-up questions and make sense of a complex situation | Consultation call — $65 for 30 minutes. |
| A thoughtful expert review and clear recommendations without adding another meeting to your calendar | Direction Finder, report (& no meetings) — $95 introductory price |
| Someone to immediately start implementing defined tasks | This may not be the right first service; a consultation can help establish what those tasks should be |
All packages are paid upfront. GST is not applicable as I am not registered for GST.
I came to Lou wanting to know if I could use paid ads to boost my webinar series attendants. Beyond that, I had no knowledge, info, or path! Lou asked questions that not only helped me to ultimately choose that paid ads were NOT correct for me, but helped me make better business decisions. That 30 minute conversation has helped guide my strategy better than any randomly chosen paid ad service ever could. Thank you, Lou!! You’ve got my trust for life!
Emry Kettle, Child Behavior Specialist
A sensible place to start
Consultation is often the best starting point when you are stuck, overwhelmed or wary of committing to a larger project without a proper diagnosis.
You do not need to arrive with the right terminology, a detailed brief or an answer already in mind. You just need to be clear about what feels difficult, uncertain or not quite right.
We will work out the rest.
FAQs
What’s actually covered in a consultation session?
This consultation looks at the decision in front of you — not just the website itself. We’ll talk through what you are trying to achieve, what is currently getting in the way, and whether the most sensible next step is a targeted fix, clearer content, better SEO foundations, a rebuild, or something else.
You’ll get practical, independent advice on what to prioritise, what can wait, and where not to spend money unnecessarily. It is not a technical audit with a long checklist of minor issues; it is a structured diagnosis designed to give you direction.
What do I need to prepare before we meet?
You do not need to prepare a formal brief or know the technical language. Before the session, send through your website link, any relevant background, and the questions or decisions you are stuck on.
It’s also helpful to think about what you need the website to do for the business — such as generate better-fit enquiries, explain a service more clearly, support sales, or make your business easier to trust. If you have received quotes, recommendations or conflicting advice, you are welcome to bring those along too.
How is a consultation different from just hiring you to build a site?
A consultation is for deciding what should happen next. A website project is for doing the work once that direction is clear.
This is deliberately independent: you can take the advice and implement it yourself, hand it to an existing team, use another provider, or ask me to help with the next stage if it is the right fit. There is no obligation to proceed into a website project.
Is a consultation a good fit if I’m not sure what I need yet?
Yes — this is exactly what it’s for.
Many people book because they don’t know whether their website needs a few changes, a full rebuild, better messaging, stronger SEO, a different platform, or simply a clearer plan. You don’t need to arrive with the answer. You just need to know that something is not working as well as it should, or that you are hesitant to invest without more certainty.
How long does a consultation take, and how is it delivered?
The initial meeting goes for 30 minutes, we can arrange more on the call if you need them. You will receive clear next-step advice during the session, with any agreed notes or follow-up guidance outlined afterwards.
If you prefer not to meet, you can choose the recorded Direction Finder instead. You send through your website, context and questions, and I respond with a personalised Loom video you can watch when it suits you. It covers the same core diagnosis, without needing to find space in both calendars.
What happens after a consultation?
You will leave with a clearer sense of what to do next — and, just as importantly, what not to spend time or money on yet.
That might mean making a few focused improvements to your existing website, refining your messaging, sorting out SEO foundations, planning a rebuild, or pausing a proposed project that is not solving the right problem.
There’s no obligation to hire me for the next stage. You can implement the recommendations yourself, pass them to your existing designer, developer or VA, use another provider, or ask me to help if the work is a good fit.
The point of this consultation is not to funnel you into a bigger project. It is to make sure your next decision is a sensible one.
Is this just a paid website quote?
No. A website quote tells you what a provider would charge to deliver a particular scope of work. This happens before that stage: it helps establish whether that scope is the right answer in the first place.
A quote assumes you already know what you need — a new website, a rebuild, SEO work, new functionality or a particular platform. But when you are still trying to work that out, it is easy to ask for the wrong thing and receive a perfectly reasonable quote for work that does not solve the real problem.
The consultation is paid because it is the strategic work: reviewing your situation, asking the right questions, applying experience and giving you an honest recommendation. You are not paying for a sales call or a pitch disguised as advice.
You are welcome to take the recommendations to another designer, developer or agency. There is no obligation to work with me afterwards.