Website design & development proposal

DMD Consult
Website Design and Development
Proposal

A structured redevelopment of DMD Consult’s corporate website to create a more premium, international, and scalable digital presence — with a stronger content architecture, clearer presentation of services and expertise, structured People and Projects content, and a platform foundation that can support future growth.

First valueWeeks 8–12

Indicative launch timeline10–15 weeks

Main control pointPhase 0

Slide 02 · DMD Consult goals

A premium global presence, built to grow.

The new website should communicate DMD’s quality, international reach and professional depth with clarity.

Premium international positioning

A polished, professional brand experience

Visible global office network

Clear services and expertise

Experienced team and representative projects

Simple, intuitive journeys for every audience

Responsive across desktop, tablet and mobile

Easy internal publishing through an intuitive CMS

A scalable foundation for future enhancements

Slide 03 · Halo Lab’s plan

DMD Website — Project Plan

A focused, phased path from understanding the business to launching a scalable website.

01Research

→

02Design

→

03Development

Parallel delivery

Development starts as soon as the key pages are approved: Home, Services, Team and Offices.

Slide 04 · Delivery overview

From design direction to a stable launch.

Review the proposed design and technical direction, development estimates, platform options, commercials and delivery risks.

Design Estimate

Custom design: ~2.9 months
AI-accelerated design: ~1.5 months
Two design delivery approaches

Review design estimate →

Technical Direction

Custom WordPress baseline
Next.js + Sanity option
Structured CMS architecture

View technical stack →

WordPress Estimate

45.5–60.5 dev days
Four delivery phases
Indicative roadmap: 10–13 weeks

Review estimate →

Sanity Estimate

52–72 dev days
Four delivery phases
Cloud CMS/frontend model

Review estimate →

Implementation Options

Platform fit
Editorial workflow
Long-term maintenance

Compare options →

Risks & Mitigation

Legacy dependencies
Content readiness
SEO and migration continuity

Assess risks →

Pricing & Commercials

Four commercial combinations
Recommended WordPress baseline
Recurring cost assumptions

Review commercials →

Team & Effort

A focused delivery team with one primary developer per implementation option, supported by part-time QA and project management throughout the engagement.

Team composition

Roles, engagement level and timing across both implementation options.

WordPress / Frontend Developer

WordPress or Frontend Developer · Full-time throughout development

QA Engineer

QA Engineer · Approximately 10h/week, with increased involvement around final validation and release where required

Project Manager

Project Manager · Approximately 10h/week throughout delivery

Delivery Foundations

Supporting delivery details for stakeholders reviewing platform direction, full estimates, implementation options, and delivery risks.

Delivery overview

Review the proposed technology direction, design and development estimates, platform options, commercial structure, recurring cost considerations, and key delivery risks. Select any section to explore the details.

Technical Direction

Custom WordPress baseline
Next.js + Sanity option
Structured CMS architecture
Search, forms, analytics & SEO

Design Estimate

Custom design: ~2.9 months
AI-accelerated design: ~1.5 months
UX/UI Designer + Lead Designer + PM
Two design delivery approaches

WordPress Estimate

WordPress delivery phases
45.5–60.5 dev days
~2.3–3 months development effort
Indicative roadmap: 10–13 weeks

Sanity Estimate

Next.js + Sanity option
52–72 dev days
Four delivery phases
Cloud CMS/frontend model

Implementation Options

Platform fit
Editorial workflow
Operational trade-offs
Long-term maintenance

Risks & Mitigation

Legacy website dependencies
Content readiness
Platform and hosting confirmation
SEO and migration continuity

Pricing & Commercials

Four commercial combinations
Recommended WordPress baseline
Hosting & recurring costs
Price & programme assumptions

Technical Direction

Two implementation models are available for the same website redevelopment scope: a clean custom WordPress rebuild or a Next.js frontend with Sanity CMS.

Custom WordPressCMS for managing corporate pages, Services, Industries, Offices, People, Projects, Insights, Vacancies, navigation, media, and SEO settings.

Custom Theme + ACFClean custom theme with structured fields, reusable templates, content relationships, and controlled editorial components without reusing Divi.

Gravity FormsContact and vacancy-application forms with validation, notifications, spam protection, consent, and CV upload where required.

PHP / JavaScript / CSSCore technologies for templates, responsive layouts, search, filtering, interactions, and WordPress customisation.

Next.js (TypeScript)Frontend framework for responsive rendering, dynamic routes, forms, search, filtering, technical SEO, and production delivery.

Sanity + Studio / GROQHosted structured CMS, editorial interface, preview, references, and query layer for connected website content.

Analytics, SEO & ConsentAnalytics, tag management, cookie consent, metadata, structured data, sitemap, canonical rules, and redirect configuration.

Hosting & DeploymentManaged WordPress hosting for Option A, with the existing Bluehost environment retained or replaced subject to Phase 0 validation; or Vercel frontend hosting with Sanity-managed content infrastructure for Option B.

Design Estimate

Two design delivery approaches are proposed for the DMD Consult website: a full custom design process and an AI-accelerated approach. Both are planned for a three-person team comprising a full-time UX/UI Designer, Lead Designer, and Project Manager.

Option 1

Custom Website Design

~2.9 months

Research, two homepage concepts, full UX and UI design, mobile design, and development handoff preparation.

Option 2

AI-Accelerated Website Design

~1.5 months

Accelerated research and concept definition followed by component-driven page production and responsive optimisation.

Option 1 Custom Website Design ~2.9 MONTHS −

1. Research Phase3–4 days

Project Analysis · Competitors Analysis · Moodboard

2. Defining Concepts3–4 days

Creation of 2 concepts for the Main Page: hero section and the second block.

3. UX Design20 days

4. UI Design36.5 days

5. Mobile Version of the Design10 days

6. Preparing Design for Development1 day

Team

Full-time UX/UI Designer · Lead Designer · Project Manager

View detailed design roadmap ↗

Option 2 AI-Accelerated Website Design ~1.5 MONTHS +

1. Research Phase2 days

Project Analysis · Competitors Analysis · Moodboard

Top of the 1–2 day range: the IA covers 9 service lines, 12 sectors, a filterable project archive and a 6-grade people directory.

2. Defining Concepts1.5 days

Creation of 2 concepts for the Main Page: hero section and the second block.

3. Home Page Production2 days

Creation of the Main Page.

Top of the 1–2 day range: the homepage carries the repositioning message plus the office map, statistics band and routing into both template families.

4. Website Production27 days

Design creation — 41 pages: 25 working days · Responsive optimisation: 2 days.

Team

Full-time UX/UI Designer · Lead Designer · Project Manager

Conditions this option depends on

Content, team profiles, project records, and photography are supplied before production starts. Late content changes may move affected pages outside the component-driven production flow.
Feedback is consolidated into single sets per round rather than supplied page by page.
The homepage concept is approved without a change of visual direction. A restart at that point reopens the concept phase.
The 12 sector pages and 9 service pages share one structure each. Structural exceptions are estimated separately.

View detailed design roadmap ↗

WordPress Estimate

Full development estimate for the custom WordPress rebuild. Figures are preliminary planning estimates, not a fixed commitment, and will be refined after Phase 0 validates the technical environment, final content volumes, migration boundaries, and functional depth.

Custom WordPress Rebuild45.5–60.5 dev days

~2.3–3 months development effort.

Delivery structure4 phases

Technical validation, foundation, functionality, migration, launch, and handover.

Phase 0Technical Discovery & Scope Validation2–3 days−

Existing WordPress & Hosting Review

1 day

Validate the current WordPress core, Divi parent and child theme, plugins, custom configuration, forms and email delivery, hosting, PHP/database environment, caching, backups, security, staging, and deployment constraints.

Scope, Sitemap & Functional Validation

0.5–1 day

Confirm the page and template inventory, sitemap and URL hierarchy, CMS sections, content-volume assumptions, People and Project filters, search scope, office-location functionality, forms and uploads, integrations, analytics, consent, languages, and editor roles.

Technical Architecture, Hosting & Migration Baseline

0.5–1 day

Confirm the redevelopment setup, custom-theme and plugin strategy, target hosting, migration method, URL preservation and redirects, release and rollback approach, migration responsibilities, dependencies, and refined estimate.

Phase 1CMS Foundation & Core Website Development12.5–16 days+

Technical Setup

0.5 day

Repository, local setup, staging environment, configuration structure, coding standards, and base deployment workflow.

Custom WordPress Foundation

1–1.5 days

Clean custom theme without Divi dependency, theme scaffolding, asset organisation, selected plugin baseline, WordPress configuration, URL and routing foundation, and shared utilities.

Structured CMS Architecture & Admin UX

2–2.5 days

Structured content types for Services, Industries, Offices, People, Projects, Insights, and Vacancies, together with taxonomies, fields, relationships, validation, ordering, visibility, permalink rules, archives, and admin controls.

Global UI, Navigation & Shared Components

3–3.5 days

Header, desktop/mobile navigation, footer, breadcrumbs, buttons, cards, grids, global CTAs, pagination, reusable sections, shared listing patterns, office cards, project cards, people cards, and standard responsive states.

Core Corporate & System Templates

5.5–7 days

Homepage with positioning and routing content, statistics, International Presence teaser, featured Projects, Leadership and Insights sections; About DMD; Contact layout; generic legal/text template; Search Results layout; 404 and agreed utility states.

Global CMS Settings & Editorial Controls

0.5–1 day

Contact and office details, social links, editor roles, global settings, featured-content controls, reusable global content, media fields, image alt-text support, and basic page metadata controls.

Phase 2Structured Content, Functionality & Migration Readiness21–28 days+

Services & Industries

3.5–4.5 days

Services Hub, reusable Service Detail template, Industries Hub, reusable Industry Detail template, CMS queries, ordering, structured relationships with People, Projects and Insights, related-content routing, and required empty states.

International Presence

2.5–3 days

International Presence page, CMS-managed offices, regional capability blocks, office cards and contacts, moderate-complexity map or location interface, associated People and Projects, and responsive behaviour.

Leadership & People

3–4.5 days

Leadership Team page, Our People directory, grouping and filtering by grade, expertise and office, Individual Staff Profile template, qualifications, biographies, selected project experience, office and LinkedIn information, and related content.

Projects & Experience

3.5–4 days

Projects / Experience index, project grid, filters by sector, service and location, URL/query state, pagination, no-results state, statistics band, reusable Project / Case Study template, and relationships with People, Services, and Industries.

Insights & Careers

3–4 days

Insights index, reusable Insight / Article template, categories and authors, related content, Careers landing page, open roles, reusable Vacancy Detail template, vacancy metadata, and active/expired states.

Forms, File Handling & Email Delivery

2–2.5 days

Contact enquiry form, vacancy application form, server-side validation and sanitisation, CV upload, file restrictions, spam protection, consent, SMTP or agreed email delivery, notifications, success states, and error states.

Site-wide Search & Related Content

1.5–2 days

Search across agreed content types, Search Results functionality, exclusions, lightweight relevance handling, pagination, no-results state, and reusable related-content queries.

Analytics, Consent & Social Integration

0.5–1 day

GA4, GTM or agreed analytics, cookie consent, consent-aware script loading, agreed tracking events, LinkedIn, and approved social links.

Technical SEO & Migration Readiness

1.5–2.5 days

Redirect framework, representative migration test, XML sitemap, robots.txt, canonical rules, metadata output, Open Graph, structured data, archive/indexing rules, obsolete vacancy handling, taxonomy handling, and cutover checklist.

Phase 3Content Migration, Validation & Launch10–13.5 days+

Approved Content Migration Support

1.5–2 days

Migration of approved legacy content, limited representative population of supplied structured content, image transfer, metadata, internal links, final redirects, final content updates, broken-link checks, and content validation.

Deployment Preparation & Configuration

1.5–2 days

Production WordPress and database setup, environment configuration, database/media migration procedure, SMTP, caching, SSL/domain configuration, deployment workflow, backups, rollback, maintenance mode, and cutover setup.

Regression Fixing from QA and UAT Cycles

3–4 days

Resolution of critical and high-priority CMS, forms, uploads, search, People and Project filters, validation, content relationship issues, edge cases, and retesting support.

Cross-Platform Testing & Compatibility Fixes

1.5–2 days

Responsive corrections, browser and operating-system issues, map, form, upload, layout, and interaction fixes.

Release

1 day

Final database and media sync, production deployment, DNS/domain updates where required, redirect activation, cache purge, forms/email/analytics smoke checks, and critical-page validation.

Post-Release Monitoring & Testing

1–1.5 days

Error and log review, forms, uploads, redirects, analytics, search, filtering, critical pages, performance baseline, and response to immediate production issues.

Documentation & Knowledge Transfer

0.5–1 day

Theme/code structure, CMS model, plugin/configuration register, deployment and maintenance notes, backup/recovery guidance, administrator access, credentials, and source-code handover.

Sanity Estimate

Full development estimate for the Next.js + Sanity implementation. Figures are preliminary planning estimates, not a fixed commitment, and will be refined after Phase 0 validates the technical environment, final content volumes, migration boundaries, and functional depth.

Next.js + Sanity52–72 dev days

~2.6–3.6 months development effort.

Delivery structure4 phases

Technical validation, foundation, functionality, migration, launch, and handover.

Phase 0Technical Discovery & Scope Validation2.5–4 days−

Current Website & Migration Source Review

1–1.5 days

Validate the existing WordPress and Divi structure, available content and media, vacancies and forms, URL estate, metadata, extraction options, source hosting, and production cutover constraints.

Scope, Sitemap & Functional Validation

0.5–1 day

Confirm page/template inventory, sitemap and URLs, CMS sections, content-volume assumptions, People and Project filters, search, office-location interface, forms/uploads, analytics, consent, integrations, languages, and editor roles.

Target Architecture & Operational Baseline

1–1.5 days

Confirm Next.js rendering strategy, Sanity dataset, preview, cache and revalidation, frontend hosting, form processing, email delivery, CV handling, search approach, migration mapping, redirects, deployment cutover, and rollback.

Phase 1CMS Foundation & Core Website Development15–19 days+

Technical Setup

0.5 day

Next.js and TypeScript project, repository, Sanity project, local/staging configuration, environment variables, and frontend hosting connection.

Sanity Content Architecture & Site Settings

2–2.5 days

Schemas for Pages, Services, Industries, Offices, People, Projects, Insights, and Vacancies; references; taxonomies; validation; slugs; ordering; shared settings; contact/social data; metadata fields.

Editorial Experience & Preview

1.5–2 days

Studio organisation, document grouping, editor navigation, reference selection, draft preview, validation feedback, media handling, basic roles, and editorial guidance.

Frontend Data & Rendering Foundation

1.5–2 days

Sanity client, shared GROQ queries, typed models, image handling, preview integration, cache/revalidation, relationship queries, missing-content handling, errors, and not-found states.

Global UI, Navigation & Shared Components

3–3.5 days

Header, desktop/mobile navigation, footer, breadcrumbs, buttons, cards, grids, CTAs, pagination, reusable sections, office/project/people cards, loading, empty, and responsive states.

Core Corporate & System Templates

6–7.5 days

Homepage, About DMD, Contact, generic legal/text template, Search Results layout, 404 and utility states, integrated with the Sanity content layer.

Global SEO & Technical Configuration

0.5–1 day

Default metadata, canonical logic, Open Graph, organisation schema inputs, sitemap/robots foundation, routing, and URL configuration.

Phase 2Structured Content, Functionality & Migration Readiness24–33.5 days+

Services & Industries

4–5.5 days

Services Hub, Service Detail, Industries Hub, Industry Detail, GROQ queries, structured relationships with People, Projects and Insights, related-content routing, and empty states.

International Presence

2.5–3.5 days

International Presence page, CMS-managed offices, regional capability blocks, office cards, moderate-complexity map/location interaction, related People and Projects, responsive behaviour.

Leadership & People

4–5.5 days

Leadership Team page, Our People directory, grouping/filtering by grade, expertise and office, Staff Profile template, qualifications, biographies, project experience, office/LinkedIn data, and related-content queries.

Projects & Experience

4–5.5 days

Projects index, project grid, filters by sector/service/location, URL state, pagination, no-results state, statistics, Project / Case Study template, and relationships with People, Services, and Industries.

Insights & Careers

3.5–4.5 days

Insights index and article template, content types, categories and author references, Careers landing page, open roles, Vacancy Detail template, and active/expired states.

Forms, File Handling & Email Delivery

2.5–3.5 days

Contact and vacancy forms, Server Actions or API routes, validation, sanitisation, spam protection, rate limiting, CV restrictions/storage or delivery, email notifications, consent, logging, and response states.

Site-wide Search & Shared Content Queries

1.5–2 days

Search across agreed content types, Search Results functionality, query strategy, exclusions, lightweight relevance, pagination, no-results states, and shared related-content queries.

Analytics, Consent & Social Integration

0.5–1 day

GA4/GTM or agreed analytics, cookie consent, consent-aware loading, tracking events, LinkedIn, and approved social links.

Migration Tooling & Technical SEO Readiness

1.5–2.5 days

WordPress-to-Sanity field mapping, representative import, asset handling, redirect register, sitemap, robots, canonical, Open Graph, structured data, archive retirement, and cutover checklist.

Phase 3Content Migration, Validation & Launch10.5–15.5 days+

Approved Content Migration Support

2–3 days

Source extraction, Sanity import, representative content population, asset import, reference linking, metadata mapping, final redirects, final content updates, content validation, and broken-link checks.

Deployment Preparation & Configuration

1.5–2.5 days

Production hosting, Sanity production dataset, environment variables, CORS/tokens, revalidation, form/email/storage configuration, deployment workflow, monitoring, domain/SSL, export, backup, and rollback procedures.

Regression Fixing from QA and UAT Cycles

3–4.5 days

Resolution of critical/high-priority frontend, CMS, preview, query, revalidation, forms, uploads, search, People and Project filter defects, edge cases, and verification support.

Cross-Platform Testing & Compatibility Fixes

1.5–2 days

Responsive, browser, device, rendering, map, form, and file-upload compatibility corrections.

Release

1 day

Final Sanity import, frontend deployment, DNS/domain updates, redirects, revalidation, forms/email/analytics smoke checks, and WordPress cutover.

Post-Release Monitoring & Testing

1–1.5 days

Runtime errors, forms/uploads, Sanity queries, revalidation, redirects, analytics, search, filtering, critical pages, performance baseline, and immediate production fixes.

Documentation & Knowledge Transfer

0.5–1 day

Frontend architecture, Sanity schemas, Studio organisation, query layer, preview/revalidation, integrations, deployment, export/backup, maintenance, credentials, and source-code handover.

Implementation Options

Both options deliver the same approved website scope. The decision is therefore about the preferred balance between immediate simplicity, long-term scalability, integration flexibility, migration effort, operational model, and whole-of-life cost.

Custom WordPress Rebuild

Recommended baseline

A clean custom WordPress rebuild designed around DMD’s approved website structure, without carrying the existing Divi implementation forward as the technical foundation. It provides the most proportionate route for the currently confirmed corporate website scope.

Familiar editorial environment Lower infrastructure change Single primary website platform Broad support-provider ecosystem Simpler migration path More predictable operating model

Best fit: current-scope delivery, operational simplicity, provider flexibility, and value for money.

Next.js + Sanity

Strategic alternative

A headless architecture using Sanity as the structured content platform and Next.js as the independently deployed frontend. It provides a stronger long-term foundation where the future roadmap includes a more flexible, integration-rich, regional, multilingual, or multi-channel digital platform.

Scalable structured content API-first integration model Independent frontend evolution Regional & multilingual readiness Multi-channel content reuse Greater performance & SEO control

Best fit: long-term scalability, integration flexibility, regional expansion, and independent frontend evolution.

Where the approaches differ

The launch scope remains consistent across both options; the main differences are in content architecture, frontend independence, migration effort, maintenance responsibilities, and long-term extensibility.

Content architecture

Custom WordPress

Structured content is implemented through custom post types, taxonomies, fields, and controlled templates.

Next.js + Sanity

Content is modelled as reusable structured documents and references, making relationships and future schema evolution more flexible.

Frontend & integrations

Custom WordPress

CMS and frontend remain within one primary application, with integrations implemented within the WordPress environment.

Next.js + Sanity

The frontend operates independently from the CMS and can integrate with CRM, recruitment, search, mapping, marketing, personalisation, and other services independently of the CMS rendering layer.

Performance & SEO

Custom WordPress

Performance and technical SEO depend on theme quality, plugin governance, hosting, caching, and ongoing optimisation.

Next.js + Sanity

Next.js provides direct application-level control over rendering, caching, asset delivery, metadata, structured data, routing, sitemaps, and redirects.

Security & maintenance

Custom WordPress

The public website and CMS operate within the same application and require ongoing WordPress, PHP, plugin, hosting, security, backup, and database maintenance.

Next.js + Sanity

The public frontend is separated from the editorial environment while Sanity manages the core CMS infrastructure; frontend APIs, dependencies, integrations, and access controls still require governance.

Migration

Custom WordPress

Existing content remains within the WordPress ecosystem, reducing the amount of transformation required during migration.

Next.js + Sanity

Existing WordPress content must be extracted, mapped, transformed, and imported into the new Sanity content model.

Long-term scalability

Custom WordPress

Well suited to the confirmed corporate website scope and capable of continued growth within a disciplined structured implementation.

Next.js + Sanity

Provides a stronger foundation where content must support multiple regions, languages, channels, applications, or increasingly complex integrations.

Whole-of-Life Considerations

The options differ not only in initial implementation effort, but also in how the website is hosted, maintained, supported, and transferred to a future provider.

Custom WordPress

Managed WordPress hosting
Security and platform maintenance
Backups and recovery
Selected commercial plugin licences
Ongoing technical support

Keeps the CMS, frontend, forms, and most website administration within one primary platform, generally resulting in a simpler operating and support model.

Next.js + Sanity

Next.js frontend hosting
Sanity subscription and usage
Frontend dependency maintenance
Transactional email / form-processing services
Storage, monitoring, or external search where required

Reduces responsibility for maintaining the underlying CMS server and database infrastructure, but introduces more independently operated services and application layers.

Exact recurring costs should be confirmed during Phase 0 once hosting requirements, expected traffic, content volumes, form usage, storage needs, and selected third-party services are validated.

Recommended Implementation Direction

WordPress for the confirmed scope; Next.js + Sanity where future scalability becomes a primary driver.

Based on the currently confirmed requirements and available website review, Custom WordPress Rebuild is the recommended baseline for the initial redevelopment. The recommendation is based on proportionality rather than on WordPress being technically stronger in every category: it provides the clearest balance between functional requirements, implementation effort, operational simplicity, provider flexibility, and whole-of-life cost.

Next.js + Sanity represents the stronger strategic platform where the future roadmap extends beyond the current scope — particularly where future priorities include multilingual or regional experiences, substantial third-party integrations, multi-channel content reuse, more complex editorial requirements, or frequent independent frontend evolution.

Platform positioning: Custom WordPress is the recommended implementation direction for the confirmed scope, while Next.js + Sanity remains the strategic alternative for more complex future requirements.

Risks & Mitigation

The main delivery risks relate to the existing technical environment, content readiness, final functional depth, platform and hosting decisions, and the migration of content and URLs into the new structure.

TechnicalExisting Website and Hosting Dependencies−

Potential Impact

Administrative or hosting access may reveal additional plugins, custom code, form configuration, backup limitations, or deployment constraints that are not visible from the current public website.

Mitigation

Review the current WordPress environment, hosting, forms, backups, and deployment constraints during Phase 0, then confirm the redevelopment approach, hosting model, migration method, and launch plan before implementation.

ContentContent Readiness and Final Volumes+

Potential Impact

Delayed, incomplete, or materially larger content volumes could affect population, internal linking, migration, QA, and release readiness.

Mitigation

Confirm required content inputs, expected entry volumes, delivery dates, and approval responsibilities during Phase 0, with a content-readiness checkpoint before launch.

PlatformPlatform and Hosting Confirmation+

Potential Impact

Delayed confirmation between Custom WordPress and Next.js with Sanity would affect CMS configuration, infrastructure, form handling, migration tooling, deployment, ongoing maintenance, and operating costs.

Mitigation

Confirm the preferred implementation option and production hosting model at the end of Phase 0, using the same functional scope and documented operational implications for both approaches.

FunctionalityInternational Presence Functionality+

Potential Impact

A more advanced map, globe, animation, geolocation feature, or third-party location-data integration could require additional implementation and testing beyond the moderate-complexity office-location experience included in the current scope.

Mitigation

Confirm the required interaction model, content dependencies, provider, responsive behaviour, and accessibility expectations before implementation. Treat advanced geographic functionality as a separately assessed addition.

FunctionalitySearch, Filtering and Content Relationships+

Potential Impact

Advanced faceted search, autocomplete, external indexing, complex filter combinations, or additional relationships between People, Projects, Services, Industries, Offices, and Insights could increase CMS and frontend complexity.

Mitigation

Confirm searchable content types, filter criteria, URL behaviour, pagination, related-content rules, and expected result relevance during Phase 0. Keep the initial release focused on the approved search and relationship model.

MigrationSEO and URL Continuity+

Potential Impact

Changes to existing URLs, removal of outdated pages, incomplete redirect planning, or inconsistent metadata could lead to broken links and reduced search visibility after launch.

Mitigation

Prepare and approve a URL and redirect register, preserve relevant URLs where practical, and validate redirects, canonicals, metadata, sitemap, robots rules, structured data, and broken links before launch and during post-release checks.

MigrationLegacy Content Migration+

Potential Impact

Existing content may require manual extraction, cleanup, or restructuring because parts of the current website may be embedded within the existing page-builder implementation rather than maintained as structured content.

Mitigation

Validate a representative migration sample during Phase 2, confirm the approved content set, and complete content, media, metadata, internal-link, and redirect checks before production release. Broader content cleanup or archive migration can be assessed separately.

FunctionalityForm and Recruitment Workflow Requirements+

Potential Impact

CV retention, secure file handling, notification routing, spam protection, consent requirements, or integration with an external HR or CRM platform may increase implementation and operational complexity.

Mitigation

Confirm submission fields, file restrictions, retention rules, email delivery, consent requirements, and any external-system handoff before finalising the form implementation. Keep external HR or CRM integration outside the baseline unless specifically approved.

Pricing & Commercials

A commercial comparison of the four proposed design and implementation combinations, together with the recommended CMS direction, indicative recurring costs, and the assumptions that may affect final price or programme.

Commercial Options

AI Accelerated

Custom WordPress

12 000 EUR

22,425 EUR – 29 250 EUR

34 425 – 41 250 EURPlus indicative third-party recurring baseline: $599.88 / year (equivalent to $49.99 per month).Excludes conditional usage, taxes, domain renewal and support/maintenance services.

~ 3–4 monthsUsing waterfall approach

AI Accelerated

Next.js + Sanity

12 000 EUR

25,350 EUR – 35 100 EUR

37 350 – 47 100 EURPlus indicative third-party recurring baseline: $1,080 / year (equivalent to $90 per month).Excludes conditional usage, taxes, domain renewal and support/maintenance services.

~ 4 monthsUsing waterfall approach

Full Custom Design

Custom WordPress

23 200 EUR

22,425 EUR – 29 250 EUR

45 625 – 52 450 EURPlus indicative third-party recurring baseline: $599.88 / year (equivalent to $49.99 per month).Excludes conditional usage, taxes, domain renewal and support/maintenance services.

~ 4–5 monthsUsing waterfall approach

Full Custom Design

Next.js + Sanity

23 200 EUR

25,350 EUR – 35 100 EUR

48 550 – 58 300 EURPlus indicative third-party recurring baseline: $1,080 / year (equivalent to $90 per month).Excludes conditional usage, taxes, domain renewal and support/maintenance services.

~ 5–6 monthsUsing waterfall approach

Recommended for DMD

Recommended implementation baseline

Custom WordPress Rebuild

For the currently confirmed corporate website scope, Custom WordPress provides the clearest balance between required functionality, delivery effort, editorial familiarity, operational simplicity, support-provider flexibility, and whole-of-life cost. The recommendation is based on proportionality rather than on WordPress being technically stronger in every category.

Next.js + Sanity remains the strategic alternative where future priorities shift towards substantial integrations, regional or multilingual expansion, multi-channel content reuse, or more independent frontend evolution.

Third-Party, Hosting & Recurring Costs

The figures below provide an indicative baseline for third-party platform, hosting, and licence costs based on the currently proposed implementation setup and current public vendor pricing. Conditional services are shown separately and are not included in the baseline totals.

Option A

Custom WordPress

Indicative third-party recurring baseline $599.88 / year Equivalent to $49.99 per month · Excludes conditional usage, taxes, domain renewal and support/maintenance services

Baseline recurring servicesIncluded in the total above

Bluehost Business — Managed WordPress Hosting

12-month renewal pricing used for the annual baseline. Includes SSL, CDN and managed WordPress updates.

$15.99/mo

ACF PRO — Personal

One-site licence for structured fields and content relationships.

$49/yr

Gravity Forms — Basic

One-site baseline licence for contact and recruitment forms.

$59/yr

Cookiebot CMP — Premium Small

Indicative consent-management baseline for the current website scope, covering up to 350 subpages per domain with no traffic limitations.

$16/mo

Transactional Email Service

Reliable SMTP/API delivery for website form notifications. Brevo Starter is used as the pricing reference; the final provider will be confirmed during Phase 0 based on the selected hosting setup, expected email volume, deliverability requirements, and any existing email services.

from $9/mo

Included / no incremental licence fee

GA4 / Google Tag Manager$0 licence fee
SSL / CDN / managed WordPress updatesIncluded in hosting

Conditional / usage-based

Map / Location API$0 baseline; usage-based if selected
External Search ServiceNot required for the current baseline; additional cost applies if introduced
HR / CRM PlatformSubject to selected system

Option B

Next.js + Sanity

Indicative third-party recurring baseline $1,080 / year Equivalent to $90 per month · Excludes conditional usage, taxes, domain renewal and support/maintenance services

Baseline recurring servicesIncluded in the total above

Sanity — Growth

Planning baseline assumes three paid Editor / Developer / Admin seats. Viewer seats do not consume paid seats.

$15/seat/mo

Vercel — Pro

One deploying team seat is included in the platform fee, together with $20/month of usage credit.

$20/mo + usage

Cookiebot CMP — Premium Small

Same indicative consent-management baseline as the WordPress option, covering up to 350 subpages per domain with no traffic limitations.

$16/mo

Transactional Email Service

from $9/mo

Included / no incremental licence fee

GA4 / Google Tag Manager$0 licence fee
Sanity Studio hosting / CDN / image pipelineIncluded within plan allowances

Conditional / usage-based

CV File StorageIncluded within Vercel allowances or external storage, depending on the final retention model; additional usage may apply
Map / Location API$0 baseline; usage-based if selected
External Search / HR / CRM ServicesNot required for the current baseline; additional cost applies if introduced
Advanced MonitoringOptional if operational requirements increase

Preliminary third-party cost baseline. Baseline totals use current public vendor list pricing and exclude conditional usage-based services, taxes, domain renewal and any separate support or maintenance agreement. The final provider selection, hosting configuration, plan tiers, paid user seats, usage allowances and recurring costs will be validated during Phase 0 — Technical Discovery & Scope Validation. Costs may change with the final sitemap, traffic, storage and file-retention requirements, form volumes, integrations, billing terms and future vendor pricing.

Key Assumptions That May Affect Price or Programme

Existing technical environment

Pricing assumes no material hidden dependencies are discovered within the current WordPress, Divi, hosting, form, or deployment setup. Additional legacy constraints identified during Phase 0 may affect migration or implementation effort.

Final content volumes

The baseline is based on the currently understood reusable template scope and limited migration support. Significantly larger volumes of People, Projects, Insights, Vacancies, Offices, or other structured content may affect population and validation effort.

Functional complexity

Search, filtering, office-location functionality, forms, and content relationships are estimated at the currently defined corporate-website level. Advanced search, complex filtering, geolocation, custom animation, or deeper workflow logic may require additional effort.

Third-party integrations

External CRM, HR/recruitment, advanced search, marketing automation, personalisation, or other API-based integrations are not assumed unless explicitly included in the final scope.

Migration and SEO

The baseline assumes selective migration of approved current content, standard redirect planning, and technical SEO continuity. Broader archive migration or substantial legacy-content restructuring may affect scope.

Feedback and content readiness

Programme timing assumes timely access, review feedback, platform confirmation, and progressive availability of approved content during implementation.

Relevant Halo Lab experience

Two closely related transformation challenges.

Evidence that Halo Lab can shape both the positioning and the information architecture behind DMD’s new website.

Pluto spend-management platform shown on a tablet in the Halo Lab case study

Pluto · UAE and international markets

Repositioning a focused offer as a globally credible platform

Pluto faced a similar shift: evolving from narrow corporate-card positioning into a comprehensive spend-management platform with the credibility to serve companies across the Middle East and North America.

View the Pluto case study →

TalentEdge · Professional services

Organising expertise, people and proof around client needs

TalentEdge’s information architecture closely mirrors DMD’s proposed sitemap. It demonstrates how a professional services firm can structure services, expertise, people, locations, case studies and insights into one clear experience.

Visit the TalentEdge website →

DMD ConsultWebsite Design and DevelopmentProposal

A premium global presence, built to grow.

DMD Website — Project Plan

From design direction to a stable launch.

Design Estimate

Technical Direction

WordPress Estimate

Sanity Estimate

Implementation Options

Risks & Mitigation

Pricing & Commercials

Team composition

WordPress / Frontend Developer

QA Engineer

Project Manager

Supporting delivery details for stakeholders reviewing platform direction, full estimates, implementation options, and delivery risks.

Commercial Options

Recommended for DMD

Custom WordPress Rebuild

Third-Party, Hosting & Recurring Costs

Custom WordPress

Next.js + Sanity

Key Assumptions That May Affect Price or Programme

Existing technical environment

Final content volumes

Functional complexity

Third-party integrations

Migration and SEO

Feedback and content readiness

Two closely related transformation challenges.

Repositioning a focused offer as a globally credible platform

Organising expertise, people and proof around client needs

DMD Consult
Website Design and Development
Proposal