Cedar Studios is cheaper upfront — why pick Neely?

Their $3,500 buys a clean 5-page hand-coded site, and that's a fair deal for what it is. Neely's range starts at $1,200 for a launch page and ladders up — so you pay for the scope you actually need, whether that's a simple site or a CMS-driven lead engine with Shopify and automation. Compare what's in scope, not just the sticker.

Do you both really avoid WordPress?

Yes — we both hand-code for speed and control instead of leaning on WordPress page builders. It's a genuinely shared philosophy. The difference is how far the build goes: Cedar focuses on lean sites; we also build content hubs, stores, and operations systems on the same fast foundation.

Head-to-head

Neely Solutions vs Cedar Studios

Cedar Studios is the closest match to how Neely thinks about the web: hand-coded, fast, anti-WordPress, and refreshingly transparent about pricing. It's a real, well-run studio. The difference is scope — they focus on lean 5-page sites, where Neely ladders from a starter site up to CMS hubs, Shopify, and full operations systems.

Modern buildCedar Rapids, IA78mobile

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At a glance

The short version

Mobile PageSpeed

Neely Solutions

90 / 100

Cedar Studios

78 / 100

Pricing

Neely Solutions

Published from $1,200

Cedar Studios

Publishes pricing: $3,500 upfront +$25/mo, or $175/mo subscription.

Build

Neely Solutions

Hand-coded Next.js

Cedar Studios

Astro 4 (hand-coded)

You own the site

Neely Solutions

Yes — code & content

Cedar Studios

Usually — confirm first

Speed, measured

The same test, side by side

Google PageSpeed Insights scores the experience real visitors get. Higher is faster.

Mobile PageSpeed

0–100

Neely Solutions90

Cedar Studios78

Desktop PageSpeed

0–100

Neely Solutions100

Cedar Studios98

90+ good50–89 needs workunder 50 poor

Source: Google PageSpeed Insights (Lighthouse), measured June 2026.

Time to load (mobile)

1.6× slower

Neely Solutions3.3s

Cedar Studios5.3s

Largest Contentful Paint — how long until the main content actually appears on a phone. Visitors leave long before a slow page finishes.

Side by side

Capability for capability

Green is a clear strength; amber flags a gap. We mark their genuine strengths too.

Capability

Neely Solutions

Cedar Studios

Build & stack
Hand-coded Next.js, performance-first
Astro, hand-coded (modern)
Build & stack
Neely Solutions
Hand-coded Next.js, performance-first
Cedar Studios
Astro, hand-coded (modern)
Mobile PageSpeed
90 mobile · 100 desktop
78 mobile · 98 desktop (fast)
Mobile PageSpeed
Neely Solutions
90 mobile · 100 desktop
Cedar Studios
78 mobile · 98 desktop (fast)
Pricing
Published from $1,200
Published: $3,500 / $175·mo
Pricing
Neely Solutions
Published from $1,200
Cedar Studios
Published: $3,500 / $175·mo
Scope
Sites, CMS, Shopify, AI, ops systems
Lean 5-page sites
Scope
Neely Solutions
Sites, CMS, Shopify, AI, ops systems
Cedar Studios
Lean 5-page sites
E-commerce / CMS
Shopify + CMS hubs
Custom CMS at enterprise tier
E-commerce / CMS
Neely Solutions
Shopify + CMS hubs
Cedar Studios
Custom CMS at enterprise tier
AI & automation
Productized add-ons
Not a focus
AI & automation
Neely Solutions
Productized add-ons
Cedar Studios
Not a focus
Locality
Dubuque / Tri-State
Cedar Rapids
Locality
Neely Solutions
Dubuque / Tri-State
Cedar Studios
Cedar Rapids

The build, scored

How we stack up, at a glance

Speed is the measured score; the rest is our honest read from the research. The further out, the stronger.

Speed is the measured PageSpeed score; the other axes are our assessment from public research. Detailed, even-handed notes are in the table above.

The honest take

Where each of us fits

Where we win

Same anti-WordPress, performance-first philosophy — and 90/100 vs their 78/98
A full offer ladder: starter sites → CMS hubs → Shopify → custom operations
Productized AI add-ons (concierge, missed-call rescue, content)
Iowa-local to the Dubuque / Tri-State area specifically
Both transparent on pricing — compare scope, not just sticker

Where Cedar Studios is strong

Modern hand-coded (Astro) builds — genuinely fast
Publishes pricing ($3,500 / $175·mo) — rare and good
Strong organic SEO for a small studio

Choose Cedar Studios if: Businesses that want exactly a clean, fast, 5-page hand-coded site with hosting handled, at a clear price, and don't need e-commerce, a content engine, or custom operations work.

Switching is easy

What moving to us looks like

No lost rankings, no lock-in, no babysitting. Here's the whole move.

Step 1
We map & migrate
We pull your existing content, pages, and assets and set up 301 redirects, so the rankings and links you've already earned carry straight over.
Step 2
We rebuild, you review
A fast, modern build on your content. You review it on a private staging link and we refine it together before anything goes live.
Step 3
Launch in ~3 weeks — you own it
We flip it live with no downtime and hand over the code and content. No builder lock-in, no plugin lease, nothing to babysit.

Common questions