Color scheme
Mode
These are the eight color schemes from the Thuban family of Mac apps. The whole page recolors, and text stays readable in every one.
Thuban Studio / Web design and care · Charlotte, NC and remote
Five thousand years ago, travelers steered by Thuban, the pole star of its age. Your website has the same job: be the fixed point customers find when they search. We design it, build it, and look after it every month after launch.
Measured live, in your browser
This page loaded in …
Read from this page’s own Performance API timing, on your connection, just now. Not a canned score. Your site gets the same lean build.
Built for local businesses like these
Sector 01 / Services · design, build, care, grow
A website is not a brochure you print once. Hours change, phones change, plugins go stale, and search results move. Every Thuban Studio site comes with a care plan, so there is always someone keeping it current.
01.1 / Design
Layouts drawn for your customers and for the phone in their hand first. You react to real pages in your colors and words, not a mood board.
01.2 / Build
Lean, hand-built pages with contact forms, maps and click-to-call wired up and tested on real phones before launch.
01.3 / Care plan · included with every build
The form quietly stops sending. The holiday hours never get updated. A security patch gets skipped. A care plan means one place to send changes, and someone watching the site every month so you don’t have to.
Included with every build and priced in your written quote. Bigger additions are quoted separately.
01.4 / Grow
Your Google Business Profile set up and kept accurate, local SEO for the neighborhoods you serve, and booking, reviews or online ordering added when your business is ready for them.
Fig 1.1 / Live · eight schemes
These are the eight color schemes of the Thuban apps. Each swatch recolors this page, and every text color is re-checked for contrast on the switch.
Fig 1.2 / Live · measured in your browser
…
From this page’s Performance API timing on your connection. No canned score: if it’s slow here, the needle says so.
Fig 1.3 / Precession · 25,772-year cycle
Earth’s axis wobbles, so the pole star changes. Even a fixed point needs looking after. So does a website.
Sector 02 / Redesign · 2009 → now
Drag the handle, tap anywhere on the picture, use the arrow keys, or pick a view with the buttons below it. Hollis Creek Hardware is a fictional business; the left side is the kind of site many local shops still run, the right side is the same store rebuilt.
Fig 2.1 — Before / after · Hollis Creek Hardware (fictional)Drag, tap, arrow keys or buttons
50% old / 50% new
Concept demo · fictional business · built in HTML and CSS for this page.
Open now, the phone number and directions sit at the top, because that’s what most visitors came for.
Tap targets sized for phones, text you can read without pinching, and a layout that reflows instead of shrinking.
No “last updated 2009.” The care plan keeps hours, holidays and photos right without you touching code.
Sector 03 / Responsive · concept demo
Scroll and the frame shrinks from desktop to tablet to phone, or pick a size. The layout inside reflows on its own: navigation folds, columns stack, and a call bar appears where a thumb can reach it.
Fig 3.1 — Viewing: Desktop · 1040 px
Calder Street PT is a fictional clinic. Concept demo.
Sector 04 / Concept demos · three invented brands
Thuban Studio is new, so instead of borrowed logos here are three invented local businesses, each with its own brand and a different scope of work. Every name, price and review on them is made up; the layouts, features and care that went into them are what you’d get.
Fig 4.1 — Walk-in barberVintage newsprint
Fig 4.2 — TaqueriaBright maximalist
Fig 4.3 — Landscaping crewAiry Scandinavian
Sector 05 / Get a quote · free first consult
Every site is priced to its scope: how many pages, what it needs to do, and how soon you need it. Send a few details and you get a written quote after a free consult, before any work begins.
Reach the studio directly
Based in Charlotte, NC. Working with clients anywhere.
Sector 06 / Process · survey → chart → build → launch → keep watch
Five steps, in this order, every time, named the way a navigator would. Most sites go from consult to launch in two to four weeks.
Free · about 30 minutes
By phone, video, or in person around Charlotte. We talk about who your customers are, what they search for, and what your current site gets wrong. You get a written quote.
Week 1
You see your homepage in your colors and your words before any code is written. Revision rounds are built into every plan.
Weeks 1–3
Pages built, forms wired, maps and Google Business Profile connected, then tested on real phones and slow connections.
Weeks 2–4
Domain pointed, analytics on, and a short walkthrough of how to request changes. Rush launches in under 7 days are available.
Every month after
Hosting, security updates, backups and small edits. Email or text a change and it gets handled.
Sector 07 / FAQ
It depends on scope: how many pages, whether you need features like booking or online ordering, and whether the writing and photos are ready. After a free consult you get a written quote with the real number before any work begins, and the monthly care plan is part of that quote.
Hosting, security updates, backups and small content edits such as new hours, a menu change, a staff photo or a seasonal banner. Bigger additions, like a new section or a new feature, are quoted separately so there are no surprises.
Third-party services are paid by your business directly, in your own name: your domain name (yearly), business email such as Google Workspace (monthly), payment processing fees if you sell online, and any paid booking or ordering subscription. The care plan covers hosting, security updates, backups and small content edits. Anything else is in your written quote up front, so there are no surprises.
Typically two to four weeks from the consult, depending on how quickly content and feedback come back. If you need to be live sooner, a rush launch in under seven days is available and is quoted separately.
No. Charlotte-area businesses can meet in person; everyone else works with the studio remotely by phone, video and email. The process and pricing are the same.
No. Hollis Creek Hardware, Calder Street PT, Ironleaf, Lucero Azul and Greenrow are invented businesses, labelled as concept demos, built to show the kind of work each plan includes. Their names, prices and phone numbers are made up.
Your logo if you have one, a few photos of your work or space, your hours and service list, and a sense of what customers ask you most. If writing isn’t your thing, copywriting can be part of the project.
It is built and tested to WCAG 2.2 AA: keyboard use, visible focus, color contrast in every color scheme, reflow on small screens, and reduced motion. If anything is hard to use, call or text (919) 987-6455 or email hello@thubanstudio.com. The accessibility statement in the footer has the details.