Gardener

Hi, we’re Gardener, a technology partner that gets in the weeds with you.

Founded by Ian Hatcher-Williams in New York City, we work collaboratively with clients to identify their business goals and strategize their digital landscapes as something to grow into, not grow out.

Gardener is a technology studio that builds websites. 9 out of 10 projects are ecommerce related and the businesses we primarily serve generate anywhere from $2-10M in revenue per year.

The practice also functions as a “studio-as-case-study” — a way to share resources and learnings on how to operate a business in the creative industry. It doesn’t exist to grow and grow towards an acquisition, but rather be just one example of a human-sized business that can fluctuate and evolve as needed.

Whether you've been referred to us from a colleague, or found our work in the wild, we start with a quick email exchange and 30-minute intro call. If it feels like a good fit, we move onto scoping your project.

It is very common for prospective clients to come to Gardener without a design team in place, and we will gladly connect you with our network of longtime collaborators.

All development scopes correspond with a tandem design scope to ensure alignment and prevent anything slipping through the cracks.

Example Web Development Proposal
Example Master Service Agreement

We work with the design team to provide a content outline to you that specifies all required copy and asset specifications. We will then train all teams on entering content directly into the CMS, along with example pages and products fully populated.

Once initial content is populated, we start QA; it has two parts:

1. We deliver a bug tracker to triage requests, and update you on progress as we head to launch. We reserve a fixed period, typically 1 week, for both teams to go through the staging site and make notes on tweaks, fixes, and suggestions on anything that doesn't feel quite right.
2. We pause user testing, and enter launch preparation. This period is reserved for addressing any requests before launch. We provide frequent check ins through this process, and are often in communication on a daily basis as we work through the list.

After completing QA, it's time to launch. We then hand off all hosting information, 3rd party service credentials, and other documentation.

After launch, we reserve a 30 day period to be available to you for a smooth launch. Generally this is for small fixes that went unnoticed, tutorials of the CMS, and general support. After that 30-day period, there are several options for ongoing support of your project:

• We collectively cultivate new versions to the existing project, which follow a miniaturized version of our existing process.
• Hire Gardener for an ongoing maintenance retainer. These are generally in the $2-8k/mo range.
• Gardener can help you hire a cost effective development team and act as an ad hoc CTO until one is hired.

The average Gardener website proposal is currently $68k*

*This is based on an average of the last 6 project proposals; last updated August 2024. Projects are scoped based on all the historical time tracking data of the studio, so as to remain competitive and surprise-free.

Gardener releases yearly transparency reports that cover how the business is doing and what we learned while doing it: profit and loss, new business, and operations.

2022 Perennial Report
2021 Perennial Report
2020 Perennial Report
2019 Perennial Report