I live on the North Side. I run a small team. We sell merch and help a few local groups with sites. Over two years, I hired four San Antonio web design shops. Real work. Real money. Some wins. Some headaches. Here’s what went down.
Need the full play-by-play with every receipt? I posted an extended breakdown over on 2 Experts Design that gets into all the gritty budget math.
And yes, I still eat a breakfast taco before a kickoff call. It helps.
First Project: A Food Truck Site That Needed Speed and Spanish
The job: A bilingual site for my cousin’s taco truck near Pearl. Menu, map, photos, and a pop-up schedule. Simple, but it had to look sharp on phones.
Who I chose: Chile Media.
- What they used: WordPress with a simple builder and a menu plugin. They handled Spanish copy too.
- The look: Bright, clean, and not cheesy. They used real photos (grease stains and all). It felt like San Antonio.
- Tools we touched: Google Drive, Trello, and a shared Figma link for mockups.
What worked:
- They got the bilingual flow right. Toggle at the top. No weird machine text.
- Mobile speed jumped. My PageSpeed mobile score went from 43 to 89 after launch. I checked on Lighthouse and GTmetrix to be sure.
- They set up schema for the map and hours. Our “taco truck near me” clicks grew in two weeks.
What bugged me:
- Edits took a day longer than promised during Fiesta. Fair, but I wish they warned me.
- The menu plugin broke on one Android phone. They fixed it fast, but still, nerves.
What I paid: $4,900 plus $75/month hosting. Worth it.
Second Project: A Shopify Store for a Tiny Boutique
The job: A clean store for my friend’s Southtown boutique. 60 SKUs, pickup in-store, simple shipping, reviews.
Who I chose: Odd Duck Media.
- Platform: Shopify.
- Feel: Minimal, but warm. Clear photos and big buttons. You can shop while in line at H-E-B. That was the goal.
- Extras: They set up Klaviyo emails and basic SEO. We used Slack for updates.
What worked:
- Checkout felt smooth. Apple Pay worked right away. No silly steps.
- They fixed image sizes. Load time went from 6.1s to 2.3s on 4G. You could feel it.
- SKU rules made sense. My friend learned fast. “I can do this,” she said. And she did.
What bugged me:
- The custom filtering cost more than the quote. They said it was “out of scope.” I get it. But I wish we caught that detail early.
- The first blog template looked too “stock.” We asked for a tweak. They gave it. No drama.
What I paid: $8,700 build. Then $450/month for SEO and light updates.
Third Project: A Nonprofit Redesign With ADA in Mind
The job: A nonprofit that runs after-school programs on the West Side. The old site was slow and hard to read. We needed clear text, strong contrast, and real forms that worked.
Who I chose: Gray Digital Group.
- Platform: WordPress with a custom theme.
- Focus: Accessibility basics (alt text, color contrast, keyboard use) and simple content flow.
- Tools: Basecamp, weekly Zooms, and a shared content calendar.
What worked:
- They cared about screen readers. You could tab through the site and not get lost. That matters.
- Donations went up. Not huge, but up. The form stopped timing out on mobile.
- They trained our staff. Short videos. No fluff. We still use them.
What bugged me:
- The intake form had three rounds of edits. Everyone had an opinion. That dragged on.
- The homepage hero looked amazing… and then we found it was heavy. They swapped the video for a lighter clip. Simple fix. But we lost a week.
What I paid: $18,200. Hosting and support at $220/month.
Fourth Project: A Fast Brochure Site with a Tight Deadline
The job: A three-page site for a pop-up event. We had 12 days. It had to be live before a Spurs game promo. No room for drama.
Who I chose: J12 Designs.
- Platform: Webflow.
- Style: Bold, event-first, with a clean schedule and map.
- Process: A short Figma wireframe, quick text, and go.
What worked:
- They hit the date. No slips. We launched the morning of the game.
- Webflow was fast on mobile. The site felt snappy, even on spotty LTE at the AT&T Center.
- They handed off a loom video on how to update the schedule. Super clear.
What bugged me:
- Edits after launch were billable in 15-minute blocks. It adds up. Not bad, just plan for it.
What I paid: $3,600 flat. Webflow hosting extra.
What I Learned (Sometimes the Hard Way)
I love pretty sites. But looks fade if it loads slow. I learned that the hard way.
- Ask for mobile speed checks before launch. Ask them to show you Lighthouse scores on your pages, on a phone, not just a laptop.
- Make a content list early. Photos, bios, store policies. Missing content stalls builds.
- Get clear on support. How fast do they fix a bug? What’s included? What counts as “new” work?
- If you need Spanish, say it on day one. And ask who writes the Spanish. Humans, not a machine.
- Pick tools you can run. Shopify if you sell. WordPress if you publish a lot. Webflow if you want crisp pages and a quick build.
- If your site leans on live video chat or adult cam features, do your homework first—check out this detailed CAM4 review so you can see how a mature streaming platform handles traffic surges, user safety tools, and payout logistics before you scope a custom build.
Likewise, if you want to understand how a location-specific adult directory structures its city pages for maximum local SEO punch, the Rubmaps Westfield case study breaks down category grouping, review moderation, and discreet UI cues you can borrow for any hyper-local listing project. - Track the basics. I use Google Analytics, Search Console, and Hotjar heatmaps. Simple, but it shows what people do.
Who I’d Call Again (And Why)
- Chile Media for local food and retail with Spanish needs.
- Odd Duck Media for small Shopify stores that want SEO baked in.
- Gray Digital Group for nonprofits, healthcare, and ADA care.
- J12 Designs for fast event sites or clean one-pagers.
Another studio I’m eyeing is Sila Web Design LLC—this first-person take shows they can hit deadlines without the bloated price tag.
For a sharp mix of strategy and design without the sticker shock, I’ve bookmarked 2 Experts Design for my next round of web work.
I also met folks at Geekdom who freelance well. If you have one clean task, a solo pro can work. Just keep scope tight.
Ballpark Costs I Actually Paid
- Brochure site, 3–5 pages: $3k–$7k.
- Shopify with 50–100 SKUs: $7k–$15k.
- Nonprofit with custom theme and training: $15k–$25k.
- Monthly care: $75–$500+ based on tasks.
Prices shift with content, plugin needs, and rush timelines. Fiesta season can slow things down. Plan ahead.
Little Things That Made a Big Difference
- Real photos. Not fake stock smiles. San Antonio has a look. Use it.
- Clear buttons. Big text. High contrast. Your grandma should read it fine.
- Short forms. Only ask for what you need. People bail on long ones.
- A 404 page that helps. Add a search bar. Add a “Call us” link. Feels small. It’s not.
On the flip side, if you’re drowning in weekly landing-page tweaks and ad graphics, you might flirt with an unlimited-design subscription—I tried one and shared the unfiltered pros and cons in this real-take review.
Final Take
San Antonio web design has range. You can find slick, fast, and friendly. You can also get lost in the sauce if scope gets fuzzy. The teams above did solid work for me. Each had a lane. I stayed in it, and things went well.
Would I hire local again? You know what? Yes. It’s nice when your designer gets the Spurs joke and the Fiesta schedule. And when they answer a text before lunch at Mi Tierra.
If you’re stuck choosing, tell me your project shape, budget, and timeline. I’ll point you to the right fit. I’ve got the scars and the wins to prove it.
— Kayla Sox