Helping Kiwi businesses do better online
See your new website before you pay a cent.
Tell us about your business and we'll design your new homepage on spec — completely free. No obligation, no credit card, no catch. Love it? We build the rest, host it and look after it for one simple monthly price.
Why free? Because the quickest way to show you we're any good is to just show you. If it's not for you, walk away — no hard feelings, nothing owed.
Sound familiar?
Most small business websites are quietly costing them work
Payroll, stock, staff, GST, the phone that never stops. The website slid down the list years ago — and now it's quietly letting you down.
It looks broken on a phone
Most of your customers find you on their phone first. If it's tiny, slow or clunky, they bounce — straight to a competitor.
The person who built it vanished
You can't get a simple change made, no one answers, and you're not even sure who controls your domain anymore.
You tried a DIY builder and got stuck
Hours lost in a fiddly editor, and it still doesn't look the way you want. That's not your job — it's ours.
We've been on your side of the counter
We know what it takes to run a small business in New Zealand
Because we've done it. Our founder didn't just design for small businesses — he built and ran them. A nail salon group that grew to four Auckland sites and forty staff. A Vietnamese restaurant group. Rosters, rent reviews, IRD, the 6am start and the 9pm cash-up.
So we don't build websites that win design awards and nothing else. We build websites that work hard for your business — that get found, get trusted, and get the phone ringing.
The LaunchKit difference
Done for you, then looked after — for good
Done-for-you
You tell us about your business in a quick chat. We do the rest and show you a live preview. No editors, no homework.
Everything included
Hosting, security certificate, your domain, backups, monitoring and small edits — all in one predictable monthly price. No surprises.
Local & accountable
Auckland-based, real people. Something needs changing? Email or call and it's handled — we don't disappear.
We use smart tools to build fast — then a design team with 24 years and three continents behind it checks every single page. No robot left unsupervised.
How it works
From "I really should sort my website" to done — in about a week
Tell us about your business
A 5-minute form or a 10-minute call. Your services, your details, and any photos or logo you have — or we'll pull what we can from your current site.
We build your site
Fast, done-for-you, and checked by our professional design team. Usually ready to view in 3–5 days.
See it — then decide
We send you a live preview of your homepage. Love it? We'll get you live. Not quite right? Tell us and we'll have another crack. Still not for you? Walk away — no cost, no hard feelings.
We launch & handle everything
Domain, security, going live — and we make sure your email keeps working. You don't touch a thing.
We stay with you
Hosting, security, and up to four small changes a month — email them through and they're usually live the same day. No dashboard to learn. Your website is handled from here on.
What's included
One plan. Everything your website needs.
- Custom, mobile-first website
- Up to 5 pages
- Secure hosting (fast & reliable)
- SSL security certificate
- Your domain & DNS managed
- Email kept safe during setup
- Automatic backups
- Security & uptime monitoring
- Your logo tidied up — or a wordmark
- Up to 4 small changes a month
- Built-in SEO foundations
- Structured for Google & AI search
- Real, local support
Simple pricing
One plan that covers the lot
No hidden fees. No lock-in — cancel anytime. Your domain is always yours.
LaunchKit Care
Everything done and looked after, for one simple monthly price. No lock-in — cancel anytime.
- Custom mobile-first site (up to 5 pages)
- Hosting, SSL, domain & DNS managed
- Email continuity protection
- Backups, security & uptime monitoring
- Up to 4 small changes a month
- Built-in SEO & AI-search foundations
💡 Pay annually and get a month free
🔓 No lock-in, ever. Cancel anytime. And if you'd like to keep your site, it's yours to take — all the files, ready to host anywhere — for a one-off $199.
Examples
The kind of sites we build
Every one designed to do a job: win the customer who's checking you out on their phone, right now, while they're deciding between you and the next lot.
Design examples — a taste of the range we build. Click any to open the full page.
What owners say
Businesses that stopped worrying about their website
"Sorted the whole thing in a week and I haven't had to think about it since. If I need a change I just email and it's done."
"Our old site looked ancient on a phone. The new one actually brings in enquiries — and they handle the tech so I don't have to."
"Local, easy to deal with, and they answer the phone. After being ghosted by our last developer, that's everything."
Example reviews — we'll replace these with real pilot-client testimonials at launch.
About the founder
Twenty-four years of design. And a fair few years behind the counter.
I'm Joe Mansell. I've been a designer for most of my working life — art director in New York, Los Angeles and London through the first internet boom, and since 2002, owner and creative director of Mansell Design here in Auckland, doing brand and web work for bigger clients.
But the part that matters for you is the other half. I've also built and run small businesses myself — so I know exactly what a website has to earn before it's worth having. That's why LaunchKit exists: professional design, priced and delivered for a business that's already flat out.
- 24 years running Mansell Design, Auckland — brand, web and art direction
- Senior art director in New York, Los Angeles & London
- Co-founded The Art of Nails — grew to 4 Auckland salons and ~40 staff
- Co-founder and operator, Indochine Kitchen restaurant group
- University of Otago — BCom (Economics) and Postgraduate Diploma in Design
Questions
Good questions, straight answers
Is the free homepage really free? What’s the catch?
No catch. We design your homepage on spec and show you a live preview — free, no obligation. We’ll do a round of tweaks to get it right, and if it’s still not for you, walk away, no cost, no hard feelings. Love it? We make it official, build out the rest, and get you live.
What if I already have a domain?
Perfect — we manage it for you, and it stays registered in your name. You always own your domain.
Will my email break when you move my site?
No. Email safety is our number-one priority. We record every setting before we touch anything, so your email keeps working right through the switch.
What counts as a "small change"?
A text edit, swapping a photo, or updating your contact details, hours, prices or team — each one under about half an hour. You get four a month, included. Email them through and we'll usually have them live the same day. Bigger jobs — a new page, a layout change, new functionality, a redesign — we quote first so there are no surprises. And if your site needs changing more often than that, tell us and we'll find you a plan that fits.
Do I need to supply photos, logos and content?
Only what you'd like to. Send us whatever you have — your logo, photos and a few words about your business — and we'll build around it. Not much to hand? We'll pull what we can from your existing website or social pages. And if you'd like it to really shine, we offer professional photography and graphic design on request.
Can I cancel? Am I locked in?
No lock-in — cancel any time. If you'd like to keep your site when you go, it's yours to take (all your files, ready to host anywhere) for a one-off $199. Your domain always stays in your name.
Is this just a template?
We start from a proven framework, then customise it for your business, colours and content. No two LaunchKit sites look the same.
Why pay for a logo when AI makes them free?
Because a logo isn't a picture — it's a set of files and a decision. Free tools hand you a PNG. We hand you a mark that works stitched on a polo shirt, cut in vinyl on your van at three metres, and at 32 pixels in a browser tab: proper vectors your signwriter can actually use, one-colour and reversed versions, colours in Pantone for print, typefaces properly licensed, and an IPONZ availability search before you put it on a truck. Plus the bit no tool can do — deciding what your mark should say, given what your competitors already look like. We make the decisions. The tools make the pixels.
That's the Brand Kit, $699 — a brand-new mark, an evolution of the one you've got, or a fresh start. Same price, same kit. It includes your business card and letterhead artwork ready for the printer, a letterhead template you can actually type into, your email signature, and your logo cropped correctly for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and your Google Business Profile.
My logo is an old JPEG. Is that a problem?
Not at all — and it doesn't cost you anything. Tidying up your existing logo so it looks sharp on your new site is included in your build. If you'd like the full set of files — the ones your signwriter, printer and embroiderer will ask for — that's the Brand Kit.
I don't have a logo at all. Do I need one first?
No. We'll set your business name properly — the right typeface, the right spacing, in your colours — and it'll look sharp on your site from day one. That's included, at no extra cost, and plenty of businesses never need more than that.
When you're ready for a proper mark — one you can put on a van, a shirt and a business card — the Brand Kit is there. It's never a prerequisite.
What about getting found on Google?
Every site is built with the technical SEO foundations — fast, mobile-first, structured for Google and AI search. Ongoing SEO work is an optional add-on.
Get started
Get your free homepage
Tell us a little about your business and we'll design your new homepage on spec — free, no obligation, no credit card. See it before you decide anything.
- Free homepage, built on spec
- No obligation, no credit card
- We reply within 1 business day
See it first, then decide. Love it and we'll get you live. Not quite right? We'll have another crack. Still not for you? Walk away — no cost, no hard feelings.