UPFORGE LABS
the shop → upforge.io
01 · WEB DEVELOPMENT

Web Development & Website Design · Cincinnati

The web development company behind websites that sell.

Upforge is a Cincinnati web development and website design company. We build fast, custom websites engineered from the first line of code to get found, on Google and in AI answers, and to turn more of every visit into a customer.

  • 150+Websites shipped
  • 231%Avg traffic lift
  • Sub-1sTypical load time
  • 5.0 ★Google rating

Get found first

Found by Google. Cited by AI.

Search split in two. Your customers still Google you, and now they ask ChatGPT too, while Google itself answers with AI. Most websites are built for neither. Ours are engineered for both from the first line of code.

The Google result

yourbusiness.com

Your Business, the obvious first choice

Clear services, real reviews, straight answers. The result that looks like the company people hope to find.

Page one, earned

The AI answer

For that, I'd look at yourbusiness.com, clear services, strong reviews, and they answer the exact question you're asking.

Cited source: your site

Structure Google can read

Semantic pages and structured data on every page, so search engines understand exactly what you do and where you do it.

Answers AI can cite

Clean, factual content, including llms.txt and structured answers, that makes your site the source AI assistants quote when someone asks who to hire.

Speed search rewards

Google ranks fast sites higher. Ours load in under a second, so the speed bar is a head start instead of a penalty.

Authority that compounds

Real reviews, real markup, real internal structure: signals that stack up over months instead of resetting with every redesign.

Then convert

Built to turn visits into customers.

Getting found earns the click. The next three seconds decide everything else.

It opens before they blink.

Under a second on a phone, on cellular, on their worst connection. Visitors stay, read, and buy instead of hitting back.

It makes choosing you easy.

Clear pages, obvious next steps, and design that looks like the company they hope you are. Trust is decided on the first screen.

It does real work.

The features that move a visitor from interested to invoiced, built into the site instead of bolted on.

Online bookingQuote toolsMember loginsPaymentsCustomer portals

With every build

  • Easy content updates

    Edit text, photos, blog posts, and pages yourself, with no developer needed.

  • Connected to your tools

    Online payments, your CRM, and automatic follow-up emails, all wired in.

  • Know what's working

    See which pages turn visitors into customers, and what your marketing earns.

  • Custom features built for you

    Member logins, quote tools, online booking, and custom calculators.

  • Your data, safe and sound

    Automatic daily backups and securely stored customer information.

  • We watch it for you

    Around-the-clock monitoring catches slowdowns and errors early.

Before & After

The same business. A website that finally works.

A slow, dated website quietly costs you customers every day. Keep going to see what we changed.

2 rebuilds in the fleet carry a captured before and a measured after, and the camera stops at each one.

Watson Heating + Cooling's website before the rebuild
Squarespace (Original)
Watson Heating + Cooling's website after the rebuild
Next.js (Rebuilt)

HVAC ServicesStop 1 of 2

Watson Heating + Cooling

What changed

The site Watson Heating + Cooling had, and the one they have now.

Hometown Mortgage's website before the rebuild
Wix (Original)
Hometown Mortgage's website after the rebuild
Next.js (Rebuilt)

Real EstateStop 2 of 2

Hometown Mortgage

What changed

See the difference: from a wix site to a modern, performance-first Next.js application.

The receipts

Real numbers from real projects.

  • 1.2sAverage load timeA 0.1s speed gain lifts conversions 8.4% (Deloitte)
  • 231%Average traffic liftMeasured across client sites after relaunch
  • 48%of sites pass Google's speed barEvery Upforge site does (HTTP Archive Web Almanac, 2024)

Working with Upforge has had an immediate and noticeable impact in our business. This has been one of the smartest investments we made since opening our bar 18 months ago.

Matt · Verified Google review

More than a website

Every site runs on Sonor.

Sonor is our own business platform: analytics, SEO, CRM, forms, and AI in one place. Every Upforge website connects to it automatically, so you can see what's working and act on it without juggling a dozen tools.

AnalyticsSEOCRMFormsSignal AI
Explore the platform

How we build it

From first call to launch day.

A disciplined build with demos every week. You always know where your project stands and what happens next.

Discovery & strategy

1–2 weeks

We look at your current site, learn your business goals, and map out how visitors should move through the site. You get a clear plan in plain language, so there are no surprises later.

  • Goals and audience mapped
  • Honest review of your current site
  • Clear written plan
  • Fixed-price proposal

Design & prototyping

2 weeks

We design every key page with your brand front and center. You get a clickable preview to walk through before we build anything, and accessibility is built in from day one.

  • Layouts and mockups
  • Designed around your brand
  • Clickable preview to try
  • Built to be accessible

Development & testing

4–8 weeks

We build your site on a private test link where you can watch it come together. Weekly demos keep you in the loop, and we test it thoroughly so it's fast and bug-free at launch.

  • Watch it on a private test link
  • Weekly progress demos
  • Connected to your tools
  • Tested for speed and quality

Launch & optimization

1 week

We take your site live with no downtime, train your team to manage it, and stay on for 30 days after launch. A check-in 90 days later makes sure it keeps performing.

  • Zero-downtime launch
  • Your team trained
  • 30 days of support included
  • 90-day performance check-in

Pricing

Yes, it costs real money. And it’s worth every dollar.

A website built to rank, load fast, and convert isn't a line item you forget. It's the hardest working part of your business. Here's what it costs, and why it pays you back.

The average custom website, designed and built end to end

$9,000

Most projects land around $9,000. Where yours falls depends on scope, not on guesswork, and you get one fixed price before a line of code is written.

÷ about $250 / month over three years

Less than a part-time hire, for the salesperson that never clocks out.

  • It pays for itself

    A fast site that ranks and converts brings in business month after month, long after the invoice is paid. A cheap site quietly costs you customers, then costs you again to rebuild it right.

  • It never clocks out

    Your website is the first thing customers check before they trust you. It works every hour, answers questions, and sells while you sleep. No salary, no sick days.

  • One price, no surprises

    You get a fixed price before we start. No hourly meter, no scope-creep invoices. The number we agree on is the number you pay.

What changes the price

  • How big it is

    A focused five-page site costs less than a large site with many sections and content types.

  • What it has to do

    A brochure site versus one with logins, accounts, a customer dashboard, or custom tools.

  • What it connects to

    Wiring in payments, your CRM, scheduling, and the other tools you already run on.

  • How custom it is

    Online booking, member areas, quote tools, calculators, and features built just for you.

  • Who writes the content

    Whether you bring the words and photos, or we research, write, and source them for you.

  • How fast you need it

    A standard eight to ten week build versus a launch pulled forward to a tight deadline.

Every project is different. Tell us what you need and we'll send a clear, fixed-price proposal, usually within 48 hours.

Get your fixed-price proposal

Let’s build you a website that sells.

Two ways to start, both free. Send your project details and we'll reply with a real plan, or grab a time and talk it through with an engineer. No pressure, no sales script.

  • A real engineer, never a salesperson
  • A clear, fixed-price proposal within 48 hours
  • Honest advice with no obligation

Start a project

Tell us about your project.

A sentence is plenty. A real engineer reads every message and replies within one business day with how we’d build it and what it would cost. No sales script.

Rather talk it through? Book a free 30 minute call or call (513) 951-1110.

See how custom compares

Free website review

Want proof before you commit?

Request a free review of your current site: performance, design, and search visibility, with real numbers and an honest verdict. Two live sample reports are on the audit page, so you can read one before you ask.

Get your free review

Everything You Need to Know About Web Development

What makes an Upforge website different from a template?

We build your site from scratch around your business, not from a one-size-fits-all template. That means it looks like you, loads fast, and does exactly what you need. Template sites tend to be slow, look like everyone else's, and break the moment you want something custom.

Can you rebuild or move our existing WordPress site?

Yes. Moving a site to us is one of the most common things we do. We keep all your content, set up redirects so you don't lose your Google rankings, and usually make the site 50 to 80% faster in the process. Most clients are surprised how much smoother everything feels afterward.

How long does a website take to build?

Most projects take 6 to 12 weeks. A simpler site of 5 to 10 pages takes 6 to 8 weeks. A larger site with custom features like logins, booking, or a customer dashboard takes 10 to 12 weeks. If you're working toward a hard deadline, tell us and we'll plan around it.

Will my website show up on Google?

Yes. We build every site so Google can read and rank it properly from day one, and we set up the technical groundwork that helps you climb the results. Paired with our SEO work, that means more people find you without paying for ads. On average, our clients see a 231% lift in traffic.

Can I update the website myself after it launches?

Absolutely. We build your site so you can change text, swap photos, and add blog posts or pages without a developer. We also train your team on how to manage it, and we're here if you ever want us to handle updates for you.

What happens after my site launches?

You get 30 days of support included for any fixes or tweaks. After that, we offer maintenance plans from $199 to $799 a month that cover updates, security, monitoring, backups, and priority support. We don't ship your site and disappear. Many clients stay with us for years.

Can we make changes while the site is being built?

Yes. We show you progress every week, so you can give feedback early and often. Adjusting features along the way is normal and expected. Large changes may affect the timeline or budget, and we'll always tell you upfront before anything changes.

Will my website be fast?

Yes, and we treat speed as a requirement, not a nice-to-have. Our sites load in about 1.2 seconds, and every build ships passing Core Web Vitals, something only 48% of mobile sites manage (HTTP Archive Web Almanac, 2024). A slow site loses customers before they ever see your offer, so we make every site fast and keep it that way.

What is included in the price?

Design, development, testing, launch, 30 days of support after launch, and clear documentation. We also train your team so they're comfortable managing content on their own. You get one fixed price upfront with no hidden fees.

Do you offer ongoing support and maintenance?

Yes. Our maintenance plans run from $199 to $799 a month depending on what you need. They cover security updates, performance monitoring, content updates, backups, and priority support, so your site stays fast, secure, and current long after launch.

Do I own my website, and what is Sonor?

The website is yours. The design, the content, the code we write for you, and all of your data belong to you. Sonor is the platform your site connects to, and it's ours: it's what runs the analytics, the CRM, the forms, the SEO tooling, and the AI features, so a small business gets all of that working from day one without hiring anyone to maintain it. You use Sonor rather than buy it, and we'd rather tell you that now than have you find out later. If you want a site with its own backend instead, that's a custom build and we price it accordingly. Custom software is different again: an application or portal build comes with its own backend and you own 100% of it.

Industries We Build For

Custom web development tailored to your industry’s requirements and audience.

AEC

We build the digital side of pursuit for architects, engineers, and contractors: firm sites that survive a prequalification review, and per-market microsites that rank where you're actually chasing work.

Healthcare

We build patient portals, online scheduling, and intake automation for healthcare practices.

Dental

We build practice websites with procedure-specific pages, online scheduling integration, and patient education content that converts clicks into booked appointments.

Legal & Law Firms

We build client portals, intake automation, and document workflows for law firms.

Real Estate

We build the real-estate web: condo and listing search people actually finish, agent and brokerage sites that turn a name search into a call, sites for builders selling their own homes without an agent brand behind them, and portfolio dashboards for investors who have outgrown the spreadsheet.

Property Management

We build the leasing side: a real website per community, portfolio sites that hold a whole market, vanity domains that land on the right property, and tour and application flows that run at 9pm on a Sunday.

Home Services

We build marketing websites with service area pages, online booking integration, and review automation for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and landscaping companies.

Automotive

We build service scheduling portals, customer communication tools, and DMS integrations for dealerships and shops.

Restaurants & Hospitality

We build custom online ordering, reservation systems, and loyalty programs for restaurants.

E-commerce

We build custom storefronts, headless commerce platforms, and subscription systems for brands that need more than Shopify can offer.

SaaS

Customer portals, subscription billing, admin dashboards, internal tools, and APIs.

Manufacturing

We build quoting automation, ERP integrations, and shop floor tools for manufacturers.

Professional Services

We build authority websites with deep service pages, resource centers, and client portal integration for accounting firms, consultancies, and insurance agencies.

Wealth Management

We build client portals, digital onboarding, and reporting dashboards for financial advisors and RIAs.

Aesthetic & Med Spa

We build branded booking systems, digital intake and consent, and loyalty programs for med spas and aesthetic practices.

Tourism & Hospitality

We build direct booking platforms, itinerary tools, and guest portals for hotels, tour operators, and attractions.