---
title: "Agencies: a client site, from brief to go-live"
description: "Take a client website from a written brief to a private draft, a review the client can trust, and a launch on the client's own hosting, keeping every decision yourself."
new_in: "3.5"
---

!!! abstract "In short"

    | | |
    |---|---|
    | **Who it’s for** | Agencies and freelancers who build sites for clients |
    | **What you end with** | A site on the client’s own hosting, a review report to hand over, and a link the client saw at every step |
    | **What you need** | A Ysra plan with cloud, the client’s brief, and later their hosting sign-in |
    | **Ysra features** | [Cloud projects](../developer/cloud.md), [Publish and Deploy](../developer/publish-and-deploy.md), [Mayz reviews](../developer/mayz.md), [connectors](../integrations/plugins.md), voice |
    | **Your time** | About an hour of yours across a week, most of it in client conversations |

## The situation

A three-person agency has signed a local architecture firm. The brief: a
five-page site with a projects gallery, a contact form that emails the
office, and the firm’s brand colours. The client wants to see progress, but
not a half-built page at a confusing address. And when it launches, it must be
on **their** hosting account, so they own it.

Most of the hours in a job like this go into the build and into getting a draft in
front of the client. That is the part Ysra takes on. The agency keeps the
conversations, the taste, and every decision about what goes live.

## How it goes

<div class="steps" markdown>

### Start a cloud project from the brief

In Code’s start box, open **Where** and choose **New cloud project**: “No
repository needed.” Paste or attach the brief, with the logo and a few photos:

```text
Five-page site for Hallam & Ode Architects: Home, Projects (a filterable
gallery), Studio, Journal, Contact. Brand colours #1C2B2A and #E8E2D6,
serif headings. The contact form emails studio@hallamode.example.
Keep it fast on phones.
```

Ysra keeps the project’s files in its cloud between turns, so the agency’s
computers can be closed while it works.

### Let it build, and steer as it goes

The thread turns the brief into acceptance criteria and a plan, then builds.
Each turn runs on a private cloud machine of its own, starting from the saved
files. Ask for changes in plain words (“the gallery filter should remember
the last category”) and the work continues from where it is.

### Publish a private draft

Say “publish it”. The site goes on Ysra at an address of its own, **private**:
only you can open it. Check it on your phone first.

### Show the client

Choose **Share**: now anyone with the link can see it. Send the link. After
each round of feedback, **Republish**: the address stays the same, so the
client’s bookmark keeps working.

### Have it reviewed before launch

Before anything goes on the client’s hosting, choose **Review this with
Mayz** under the finished work, or say “review this with Mayz”. Mayz works on
its own copy and
changes nothing. It reports a verdict (**Ready**, **Needs work** or
**Unsafe**) with each finding’s evidence. Tick what you want fixed, choose
**Fix selected**, then review again: the next report lists what is **Fixed**
and what is **Still there**.

### Deploy to the client’s hosting

The contact form needs a server to send email, so this part is a deploy, not a
publish. Say “deploy it”. If no hosting is set up yet, Ysra asks **Where do
you want to deploy it?** and links to the page where you connect the
client’s hosting account. Follow
the live card until **Preview live**, then try the form yourself.

### Go live

When the client approves the preview, choose **Go live**. The card ends on
**Live**, and the bell confirms it. Save the Mayz report as a PDF for the
handover pack.

</div>

## Why it works this way

!!! info "Why a cloud project, not a folder on your computer"

    Nobody has to keep a laptop open, and the whole team can follow the same
    thread. The files stay in one place between turns, and nothing leaves that
    place unless you download, publish, deploy or add a repository.

!!! info "Why Publish for drafts and Deploy for launch"

    A draft only has to be seen, so Publish is the right tool: it is free,
    takes seconds and is private until you share it. The launch has to run the
    contact form and belong to the client, so it goes to their hosting with
    Deploy, through a preview first.

!!! info "Why review with Mayz and not just look at it"

    Looking at a site shows you what is on the page. Mayz also reads the code,
    so it finds what isn’t visible: a form anyone could flood with messages, a
    key left in a script, a page that breaks on a small phone. Each finding
    comes with evidence you can check, so you can show the client exactly what was
    reviewed.

## Variations

=== "Brief it by voice"

    Driving between clients? Choose **Talk with Ysra** in the start box and
    describe the job. Your first real request starts the thread; small talk
    doesn’t. Ysra tells you aloud when a step is done, and each call leaves one
    line in the thread, such as *Voice · 4 min · 48 credits*. Ysra
    understands English, French and Arabic, Darija included, and answers in
    your language.

    Voice uses more credits than typing: about 12 a minute, billed on what is
    actually used. Each plan includes voice minutes a month: 10 without a
    plan, 60 on Starter, 300 on Pro, 1,000 on Max and 120 per seat on Team.
    At 15 minutes Ysra checks in (“Say continue to keep going”), and a quiet
    minute ends the call unless Ysra is still working.

=== "The client already has a repository"

    Connect GitHub and choose the client’s repository under **GitHub
    repositories** instead of **New cloud project**. Ysra works on a branch of
    its own, and you open a pull request when you’re happy. See
    [Code in Ysra’s cloud](../developer/cloud.md).

=== "Feedback arrives in Slack"

    With Slack connected in [Plugins](../integrations/plugins.md), mention it
    in the thread: “@slack read the client channel since Monday and list the
    changes they asked for.” In a Code thread, Ysra can search and read
    Slack, but not post. To reply to the client from Ysra, ask in **Ask**,
    where each post waits for your approval on a card.

## Good to know

!!! tip "Before you promise a client"

    - **Publish is for websites.** Anything with a server, a form that sends
      email, or a database goes through Deploy, to the client's own hosting.
    - **Published sites** can be up to 50 MB each, 10 at a time per person.
      Unpublish old drafts as you go.
    - **Cloud time comes with each plan:**

        | Plan | Tasks at once | Longest task | Cloud hours a month | Starts an hour |
        |---|---|---|---|---|
        | Starter | 1 | 1 hour | 20 | 6 |
        | Pro | 2 | 2 hours | 80 | 15 |
        | Max | 4 | 4 hours | 250 | 30 |
        | Team, per seat | 2 | 2 hours | 40 | 15 |

        Without a plan there is no cloud: “Ysra’s cloud comes with a plan.
        Pick one in Billing, or run this on your own computer."
    - **Ysra never blocks.** If you ship work whose checks fail, it goes
      through, and the receipt line says what ran. Deciding when it’s ready is
      your job.

## What it costs

| Step | Credits |
|---|---|
| Building and changing the site | The work, plus the cloud machine’s time, both in credits. The thread shows what it used; see [Limits and costs](../workspace/limits.md#cloud-machines) |
| Publishing drafts | None |
| A Mayz review | The review’s work, like any other task |
| Deploying | No charge from Ysra for the deploy itself; the hosting bills its own builds |
| Voice, if you use it | About 12 credits a minute |

## Related

- [Publish or Deploy](../developer/publish-and-deploy.md)
- [Mayz reviews](../developer/mayz.md)
- [Code in Ysra’s cloud](../developer/cloud.md)