# Client onboarding: research, mocks, then build

<!-- updated_at: 2026-04-20 20:36:00 -->

## What “onboarding” means here
We are not a ticket queue that asks for your logo and disappears. The early days are about **alignment**: what the business is trying to earn, what the customer needs to believe, and what the site or system must make obvious in the first ten seconds.

## Phase 1 — Research
We read what you have (analytics if available, current site, competitor set), talk to the people who answer the phone, and map **jobs-to-be-done**. If something is unknowable, we say so and pick a cheap experiment instead of a fantasy spec.

## Phase 2 — Mockups & prototyping
Before we pour concrete, we sketch: **wireframes**, **content outlines**, and sometimes a **clickable prototype** so stakeholders can disagree early—when it is cheap.

## Phase 3 — Build with receipts
Once direction holds, we move into implementation with **milestones** you can see: staging links, changelog-style updates, and clear acceptance checks.

> If you want speed without clarity, we are the wrong firm. If you want clarity *and* speed, we will push hard on decisions so build time is not eaten by thrash.

---

[Start the conversation](/#intake) · [Read pricing expectations](/pricing)


## Structured data (JSON-LD)

The public **HTML** page at `/onboarding` emits `application/ld+json` with the following `@graph` (Organization, WebSite, WebPage, Article, BreadcrumbList, plus any custom nodes from **SEO JSON-LD extra** in Admin). Assistants should treat the HTML URL as canonical for search; this block is for parity and tooling.

```json
{
    "@context": "https:\/\/schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/#organization",
            "name": "That One Firm",
            "url": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/#website",
            "name": "That One Firm",
            "url": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebPage",
            "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding#webpage",
            "url": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding",
            "name": "Client onboarding: research, mocks, then build",
            "description": "The first couple weeks are heavy on discovery—research, prototypes, and mockups—so the build phase is not guesswork.",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/#website"
            },
            "dateModified": "2026-04-20T20:36:00+00:00",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Article",
            "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding#article",
            "headline": "Client onboarding: research, mocks, then build",
            "description": "The first couple weeks are heavy on discovery—research, prototypes, and mockups—so the build phase is not guesswork.",
            "datePublished": "2026-04-20T20:36:00+00:00",
            "dateModified": "2026-04-20T20:36:00+00:00",
            "mainEntityOfPage": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding#webpage"
            },
            "author": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/#organization"
            },
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/#organization"
            },
            "url": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding"
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Client onboarding: research, mocks, then build",
                    "item": "https:\/\/thatonefirm.com\/onboarding"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}
```