Introduction
A few years ago, a presentation website built from scratch took me between 15 and 20 hours of actual work. Design, structure, content, code, testing, launch - each stage consumed manually, step by step. At a rate of 50 euros per hour, the math was simple and unpleasant for the client with a limited budget: a decent website started from 750–1,000 euros.
Today I deliver the same level of quality - and even better from a technical point of view - in 8–10 hours. The price of the Essential package dropped to 499 euros. We didn’t cut quality. We cut friction.
What changed? One essential thing: we integrated artificial intelligence into every stage of the process, not as a replacement for thinking, but as an amplifier of it.
What the process looked like before
Essentially, every web project has the same repeatable steps:
1. Briefing and understanding the client’s business - 2–3 hours of questions, notes, clarifications.
2. Information architecture - which pages, which sections, which main messages. Another hour or two of thinking and sketches.
3. Content writing - the most time-consuming part of a presentation site. A developer rarely sends you ready-to-publish texts. Usually you get a list of ideas, a few sentences and the hope that “you know what to do with them”. This could mean 4–6 hours of writing, rewording, aligning with the brand tone.
4. Technical development - site structure, code, basic integrations. 6–8 hours for a well-built static Hugo.
5. Testing and launch - 1–2 hours.
Total: 15–20 hours. Price for the client: 750–1,000 euros.
What changed with AI in the process
We didn’t replace any steps. We compressed them all.
Briefing became more in-depth in less time
Before the first meeting with the client, I use AI to research their industry, competition, and domain-specific language. I go into the briefing already informed. My questions are more precise, the time spent is halved, and the client feels like they’re talking to someone who understands their business - not a developer taking notes.
Information Architecture - from sketch to proposal in 30 minutes
A process that used to consume hours of solitary thinking now works differently: I describe the client’s business, the site’s objectives and the target audience to an AI model, ask for 3 architecture variants, critically evaluate them and choose or combine what makes sense. I don’t accept the first proposal - I use it as a starting point for my own thinking. The result is better and comes faster.
Content - the biggest time saver
This is where AI has made the biggest practical difference. Starting from the briefing notes, I can generate a complete draft of texts for all the site’s pages in 45–60 minutes. Next comes human editing - the most important part - where I check the tone, remove clichés, add details specific to the client’s business and make sure the message is authentic.
The process is not “AI writes, I publish”. It’s “AI does the hard sketching, I turn it into something real”. The difference from writing everything from scratch is huge.
Technical development - Hugo and reusable components
For static sites built with Hugo, I developed a library of optimized components and templates that AI helps me quickly adapt to each project. I don’t rewrite a header, footer or testimonial section from scratch - I adapt them according to the brief, check the generated code line by line and implement. PageSpeed 100/100 is not a bonus - it’s the standard.
Testing - more systematic, not shorter
Here AI doesn’t save time directly, but it improves quality. I use checklists generated and verified with AI for each type of site, so I never forget to check an important element. Human error decreases, rework decreases.
Result in numbers
| Stage | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Briefing + research | 2–3 hours | 1–1.5 hours |
| Information architecture | 2–3 hours | 1–1.5 hours |
| Content writing | 4–6 hours | 2–2.5 hours |
| Technical development | 6–8 hours | 4–5 hours |
| Testing and launch | 1–2 hours | 1–1.5 hours |
| Total | 15–22 hours | 9–12 hours |
Reducing time means price reduction for the client - from 750–1,000 euros to 499 - 650 euros for the Basic Essential package - and greater capacity for me to take on more projects without reducing quality or working harder.
What this means beyond the web - lessons for any organization
Optimizing my web development process isn’t a story about technology. It’s a story about how you think about the repeatable processes in any activity.
The principles that worked for me work just as well in managing a team, a medical practice, a law firm, or any organization that does the same kind of work repeatedly.
**First principle: identify the steps with