Website and digital project rescue
Find out what you've really got, and whether to fix it, change agency or stop.
For when a website or platform build has slipped, blown its budget or gone quiet. I review the code, the paperwork and the invoices, then tell you plainly what you've got, what it will take to finish and what I'd do.
What should you do when your web agency stops delivering?
Get an independent read before you escalate, pause payments or walk away. A project rescue assessment looks at what's actually been built, what's been invoiced and what's left, then recommends one of three paths: fix the engagement, finish with someone else, or stop and restart with a better brief.
Who'd be looking at your project
- More than ten years Leading digital delivery at agencies and in-house
- Head of Digital A large residential home builder, 2024 to 2026
The Digital Project Manager Member since 2022
Check it yourself
Signs a project needs rescuing
If three or more of these are true, you're not imagining it.
- Updates have stopped being useful. The last genuinely useful status report was weeks ago.
- Replies are getting shorter and slower. And they take longer to arrive each time.
- The person running your project has changed. Quietly or formally, since kick-off.
- Deadlines slip in bigger chunks. One week becomes a month, then a quarter.
- Direct questions get reassurance. Not answers.
What you get
An independent assessment from someone who has sat on both sides of the table.
Your three options
Most stalled projects can be put back on track. The assessment tells you whether yours is one of them.
| Compared on | Fix it and carry on | Finish and change agency | Stop and restart |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it fits | The work so far is sound, and a specific fix would unblock it: resourcing, scope or governance. | The relationship has broken down, but what's been built is worth keeping. | What's been built has drifted from the brief, or extending it isn't safe. |
| What happens | Scope is tightened, a new rhythm is agreed and the build carries on. Most projects land here. | You agree an end point, take what's usable and run the next phase with someone else. | You fix the brief and start again. Costly now, usually cheaper over a year than dragging it on. |
Fix it and carry on
- When it fits
- The work so far is sound, and a specific fix would unblock it: resourcing, scope or governance.
- What happens
- Scope is tightened, a new rhythm is agreed and the build carries on. Most projects land here.
Finish and change agency
- When it fits
- The relationship has broken down, but what's been built is worth keeping.
- What happens
- You agree an end point, take what's usable and run the next phase with someone else.
Stop and restart
- When it fits
- What's been built has drifted from the brief, or extending it isn't safe.
- What happens
- You fix the brief and start again. Costly now, usually cheaper over a year than dragging it on.
How pricing works
Nothing starts until you've agreed the price.
- A free 20-minute callTell me what's going on. I'll ask about the project, the systems around it and what you need.
- A ballpark by email, when the scope is clearFor most jobs, such as a rescue assessment, or a cleanup when the agency has already gone and left a half-finished build or undocumented code, I can send a ballpark after the call.
- Paid scoping, when it isn'tIf the work means learning your internal systems and processes, such as staying on as your client-side lead through delivery, the assessment is the scoping: the next stage is priced from what it finds.
How it works
Most assessments are delivered within 5 to 7 business days of kick-off.
- FreeA 20-minute callYou tell me what's happened. I tell you whether an assessment is worth doing.
- Kick-offAccess to everythingRead access to the code, project tools, documents and invoices.
- The reviewCode, paperwork and invoicesI go through the build, the paperwork and the money, and ask the questions nobody has had time to ask.
- 5 to 7 business daysReport and recommendationWhat you've got, what's missing, what it will take to finish, and what I'd do.
Case study · Large residential home builder
The builder's website project had been stalled for three years when I arrived. I made the hard call to stop patching and start again: a new brief, a $250K+ tender and launch eighteen months later. Conversion rate up 75%.
Read the case studyCommon questions
How much does a project rescue assessment cost?
It depends on the size of the project and how many vendors are involved: a small site in trouble and a half-built platform with four vendors are different jobs. After a free 20-minute call I can usually send a ballpark by email, and the assessment is a fixed price.
Should we fix it, restart or walk away?
Usually fix it. Most stalled projects can be put back on track with tighter scope, better resourcing or clearer governance. Restarting is rarer, and usually right when it happens. Sunk cost is the trap: the only question is which path gets the most value from where you stand today.
Can another developer take over a half-built website?
Often, yes. The honest test is whether a good new team, looking at the code, would want to continue it or start again. The assessment answers that before you brief anyone, and lists what a new team would need to pick it up.
How do we get our code, files and logins back from the agency?
Read your contract first: most include IP ownership and handover terms. Then list what you need, such as the code repository, hosting, domain, CMS admin, analytics and design files, and ask for it in writing. The assessment includes that list for your project, and what to ask for first.
Whose side are you on, ours or the agency's?
Yours, but not blindly. I spent years agency side, so I know what “we're nearly done” means at week 18, and I also know when the client's brief is the real problem. The report says what the evidence shows, including when the fix is on your side.
Will you try to sell us a rebuild?
No. If a rebuild is the right answer I'll say so and explain why, and you can take that to any team. If I could do the work, with Keal Collective on a larger job, I'll tell you up front so you can choose freely. If you'd like me to stay on and see it through, I can do that as your client-side lead.
Our agency has gone quiet. Is that a rescue?
It's the most common trigger. Silence usually means the project is losing money for them, the team has changed, or bad news is being sat on. Here's what to do in the first two weeks. If the silence carries on, an independent assessment is the next step.
Not sure what you've actually got?
Tell me what's happened on a 20-minute call. I'll tell you whether an assessment is worth doing, and if it isn't, what I'd do instead. No pitch, no obligation.
Book a 20-minute call or send me a message. I answer both myself.