# Rune Web Design - full site text for assistants Rune is a web design and development studio in Chico, California. We build fast, custom websites, e-commerce stores, and web apps for local businesses across the North Valley. Free quotes. Contact: hello@rune.design | (530) 519-3092 | https://rune.design Book a free call: https://cal.com/rune-design/free-intro-call Based in Chico, California. Local web design across Northern California; custom software and contractor websites for clients anywhere in the United States. ## Who builds it Rune is Erik Mellum, born and raised in Chico. He has a Computer Science degree from Chico State and teaches Web Development and the Capstone course at Butte College, so the person building your site is the same one who trains new web developers. Before Rune, Erik spent years building software for larger tech companies. That same reliability and care goes into a local business website as into software people depend on every day. You work directly with Erik from first sketch to launch. No account managers, no offshore handoff, no template farm, just honest local work that's yours to keep. ## Speed, measured Google Lighthouse on mobile, identical throttled conditions: a typical template site scored 65 and loaded in 9.1 seconds; a Rune custom build scored 96 and loaded in 2.8 seconds. ## Services - Websites: Fast, modern marketing sites and web apps that load in a blink and rank well. (Marketing & landing pages; CMS you can edit; SEO and analytics built in) - E-commerce: Storefronts that convert, with smooth checkout, payments, and subscriptions. (Stripe & Shopify; Subscriptions & memberships; Inventory and fulfillment) - Mobile Apps: iOS and Android apps that feel native, from a single codebase or fully native. (iOS & Android; Push, offline, payments; App Store submission) - Desktop Apps: Cross-platform desktop software for Mac, Windows, and Linux. (One codebase, every OS; Auto-updates; Deep OS integration) - Custom Software: Internal tools, APIs, dashboards, and automations tailored to how you work. (APIs & integrations; Dashboards & admin tools; Automation & AI) - Marketing & Growth: Brand, SEO, and analytics to turn a great product into a growing business. (Brand & positioning; SEO & content; Analytics & conversion) ## How work is priced and run Every project is fixed-price and quoted up front, for free. There is no public price list. Clients own the finished site, its code, and its content. Sites built on Skal, our own visual editor, let owners change text, photos, hours, and pages themselves. For companies, engagements take three shapes: - Discovery: A short, fixed-price phase to understand the problem, review your systems, and produce a written plan. (Stakeholder interviews and system review; Architecture and written scope; Fixed quote for the build, yours to keep) - Fixed-scope build: A defined system delivered in visible milestones, from internal tool to customer-facing platform. (A working demo and written status every week; Code in your repository from day one; Documentation and handoff built in) - Ongoing engineering: A senior engineer on a monthly retainer to keep improving a system, or working alongside your in-house team. (Works in your repositories and process; Support after launch; Same engineer who built it) ## Common questions Q: How much does a website cost in Chico? A: Every project is fixed-price and quoted up front, so you know the full cost before we start - no hourly surprises. A simple marketing site, an online store, and a custom web app each sit at different tiers. Tell us what you need and we will send a firm quote for free. Q: How long does it take to build a website? A: Most small-business marketing sites go live within a few weeks. Larger e-commerce stores and custom web apps take longer. You get a realistic timeline with your quote, and we ship fast - several sites in our portfolio were live within days. Q: Do you work with businesses outside Chico? A: Yes. Rune is based in Chico and builds for businesses across Butte County and the North Valley - Paradise, Oroville, Durham, Orland, Red Bluff, Redding, Yuba City, and Marysville - and takes on custom software projects for growing companies in Auburn, Roseville, and Sacramento. Q: Will I own my website and code? A: Yes. The site and its code are yours to keep. There is no proprietary page builder locking you in, and no monthly ransom to keep your own website online. Q: Can you help my business get found on Google? A: Yes. Every site we build ships with local SEO baked in - fast pages, clean structure, structured data, sitemaps, and Google Business Profile guidance - so you show up when Chico customers search for what you do. Q: What kinds of websites do you build? A: Custom marketing sites, e-commerce and online stores, booking and lead-capture sites, and full custom web apps. If it runs in a browser, we can build it - all hand-coded, fast, and mobile-first. ## Service areas ### Web design in Oroville, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/oroville County: Butte County Also serving: Palermo, Thermalito, Kelly Ridge Rune designs and builds websites for Oroville businesses: custom sites that load fast on a phone, show up in local search, and that you can edit yourself. From shops downtown to marinas and guides on the lake, we build for businesses across Oroville, Palermo, Thermalito, and Kelly Ridge, and we are happy to meet in person. Services offered here: - Website design: Custom, mobile-first sites with hours, directions, and a call button at the top of every page. - Local SEO and Google Business Profile: Page titles, service pages, and structured data written for Oroville searches, plus a Google Business Profile that matches your site. - Website redesign: We rebuild older sites around your existing domain, email, and search rankings, with redirects so nothing you have earned is lost. - Seasonal updates on Skal: Summer hours, lake-season specials, and event news, changed yourself in a couple of minutes. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Town pages written for the town: Many web design results for Butte County towns are national companies with the town name dropped into the same template. Every page we write, for our site or yours, is written for its place. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Edit it yourself, no hourly rate: Local website changes are commonly billed by the hour. On Skal, our editor, you change text, photos, hours, and pages yourself, as often as you like. Questions: - Do you meet with Oroville clients in person? Yes. We are local, so an in-person kickoff at your business is easy. After that, most of the work happens over email and short video calls, whichever you prefer. - Can you help an Oroville business show up for visitors searching near the lake? Yes. Clear, fast pages that say exactly what you do and where, plus an accurate Google Business Profile, are what local search runs on. Every site we build ships with that structure, and we set up the profile side with you. - We already have a website. Do we have to start over? Not necessarily. We will look at what you have and tell you honestly whether a rebuild or a focused cleanup makes more sense. If your domain and email already work, we keep them. ### Web design in Paradise, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/paradise County: Butte County Also serving: Magalia, Paradise Pines, Butte Creek Canyon Rune designs and builds websites for businesses in Paradise and Magalia: fast custom sites that explain what you do in plain language and are easy to keep current. We work with businesses reopening, contractors building on the Ridge, and owners starting something new, and we are local, so meeting in person is easy. Services offered here: - Website design: Custom sites with your address, hours, and a map on every page, set up so Google can read them. - New business setup: Website, domain, business email, and Google Business Profile basics, handled together in one project. - Contractor websites: License numbers, project galleries, and an estimate request form that saves and emails every request. - Local SEO: Service and area pages for Paradise, Magalia, and the Ridge, written for the searches your customers use. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Town pages written for the town: Many web design results for Butte County towns are national companies with the town name dropped into the same template. Every page we write, for our site or yours, is written for its place. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Edit it yourself, no hourly rate: Local website changes are commonly billed by the hour. On Skal, our editor, you change text, photos, hours, and pages yourself, as often as you like. Questions: - Do you work with businesses in Magalia too? Yes. We work with businesses across the Ridge, including Paradise, Magalia, and Paradise Pines, and meet in person. - I am just starting my business. Is a custom site overkill? We scope it to what you want. Many new businesses start with a few clear pages, a contact form, and a Google Business Profile, then add from there. You get a fixed price up front. - Can I update the site myself as the business changes? Yes. Sites built on Skal, our editor, let you change text, photos, hours, and pages yourself from a browser or phone, without paying a developer for every small change. ### Web design in Durham, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/durham County: Butte County Also serving: Nelson, Dayton Rune designs and builds websites for Durham farms, ag service companies, and local businesses: straightforward sites that sell direct and help growers and customers find you. We are right here in Butte County and glad to meet at your farm or office. Services offered here: - Farm websites and direct sales: Online order forms, seasonal availability pages, or a full store for nuts, fruit, eggs, or beef by the half. - Websites for ag services: Service pages for the counties you cover, so growers in Glenn and Tehama County can find you too. - Low-maintenance hosting: Sites that run on their own through harvest, with Skal editing whenever you want to change something. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Town pages written for the town: Many web design results for Butte County towns are national companies with the town name dropped into the same template. Every page we write, for our site or yours, is written for its place. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Edit it yourself, no hourly rate: Local website changes are commonly billed by the hour. On Skal, our editor, you change text, photos, hours, and pages yourself, as often as you like. Questions: - Can you set up online ordering for a farm? Yes. Depending on what you sell, that can be a simple request form, a seasonal pre-order, or a full online store with payments. We will recommend the simplest option that fits how you sell. - Do you meet in person in Durham? Happily. We are right here in Butte County. ### Web design in Gridley, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/gridley County: Butte County Also serving: Biggs, Live Oak Rune designs and builds websites for Gridley businesses: fast on a phone, easy to find on Google, and simple to keep up to date. We work with businesses across Gridley, Biggs, and Live Oak, and meet in person to get started. Services offered here: - Website design: Custom sites with click-to-call and a short estimate form at the top of every page. - Service-area pages: Pages naming the places you serve, from Biggs to Live Oak, written so searches from those towns reach you. - Google Business Profile setup: An accurate profile that matches your website, which is what local results are built on. - Hosting and care: We keep the site fast, secure, and online, and Skal lets you make your own updates. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Town pages written for the town: Many web design results for Butte County towns are national companies with the town name dropped into the same template. Every page we write, for our site or yours, is written for its place. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Edit it yourself, no hourly rate: Local website changes are commonly billed by the hour. On Skal, our editor, you change text, photos, hours, and pages yourself, as often as you like. Questions: - Do you meet with Gridley businesses in person? Yes. We are a Butte County studio and glad to meet in person to get started. The rest happens by email, phone, or video, whichever you prefer. - Can you help with our Google listing too? Yes. Every site ships with local SEO structure, and we will set up your Google Business Profile so it is accurate and matches the website. ### Web design in Orland, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/orland County: Glenn County Also serving: Hamilton City, Artois, Capay Rune designs and builds websites for Orland businesses: fast, clear sites built to show up for searches across Glenn County and along I-5. We work with businesses in Orland, Hamilton City, Artois, and Capay, and meet in person. Services offered here: - Website design: Custom mobile-first sites with hours, directions, and photos up top for customers deciding where to go. - Local SEO for Glenn County: Service and area pages for Orland, Hamilton City, Willows, and the other places you work, written so Google understands them. - Websites for ag and trade businesses: Straightforward sites for orchard services, equipment dealers, and trades, with a quote form that saves and emails every request. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - A studio you can meet in person: Most web design results for Glenn and Tehama County towns are out-of-state companies using one page for every town. We are a North Valley studio and meet clients face to face. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Yours to keep: No website-builder subscription holding your pages. The finished site, its code, and your content belong to you. Questions: - Why hire a local designer instead of an online website company? You get one person who builds your site, answers your calls, and meets with you. Many online companies rent you a template for a monthly fee. With Rune, the finished site is yours to keep. - Do you work with other Glenn County towns? Yes. We also work with businesses in Willows, Hamilton City, and across Glenn County. ### Web design in Willows, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/willows County: Glenn County Also serving: Elk Creek, Glenn, Princeton Rune designs and builds websites for Willows businesses: easy to find, easy to contact, and easy to keep current. We work with professional offices, outdoor and hunting businesses, and ag companies across Willows, Elk Creek, Glenn, and Princeton. Services offered here: - Websites for professional services: Clean, credible sites for accountants, insurance agents, and legal offices, with clear contact and appointment options. - Booking for outdoor businesses: Pages that answer trip-planning questions, with inquiry forms or online booking with deposits for guides and lodging. - Local SEO: Page titles, service pages, and a Google Business Profile set up for Willows and Glenn County searches. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - A studio you can meet in person: Most web design results for Glenn and Tehama County towns are out-of-state companies using one page for every town. We are a North Valley studio and meet clients face to face. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Yours to keep: No website-builder subscription holding your pages. The finished site, its code, and your content belong to you. Questions: - Can you build a site that handles bookings for a hunting or guide business? Yes. That can range from a simple inquiry form to an online calendar with deposits. We will recommend the simplest setup that handles your season. - Will you come to Willows? Yes, for a kickoff or whenever a project calls for it. Day-to-day work happens by phone, email, or video. ### Web design in Red Bluff, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/red-bluff County: Tehama County Also serving: Los Molinos, Gerber, Proberta, Manton Rune designs and builds websites for Red Bluff businesses: custom sites that load fast on rural connections, rank in local search, and belong to you. We work with ranches, trades, shops, and restaurants across Red Bluff, Los Molinos, Gerber, and Tehama County, and meet in person. Services offered here: - Website design: Lightweight custom sites that load quickly on spotty coverage, with click-to-call on every page. - Websites for ranch and ag businesses: Cattle sales, hay, equipment, and ranch services presented on a real site that reaches buyers several counties away. - Local SEO and Google Business Profile: Service pages and a matching Google Business Profile, set up for Red Bluff and Tehama County searches. - Facebook page to real website: We build a site Google can index and connect it to your Facebook page and Google listing so all three work together. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - A studio you can meet in person: Most web design results for Glenn and Tehama County towns are out-of-state companies using one page for every town. We are a North Valley studio and meet clients face to face. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Yours to keep: No website-builder subscription holding your pages. The finished site, its code, and your content belong to you. Questions: - Do you work with businesses outside Red Bluff in Tehama County? Yes. We work with businesses in Los Molinos, Gerber, Corning, and across Tehama County. - How do we work together? We meet in Red Bluff to get started, then keep things moving by phone, email, or video. You always talk to the person building your site. - Can I keep Round-Up weekend or seasonal hours current myself? Yes, in a couple of minutes. Sites on Skal, our editor, let you update hours, specials, and events yourself. ### Web design in Corning, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/corning County: Tehama County Also serving: Richfield, Paskenta, Rancho Tehama Rune designs and builds websites for Corning businesses, from online stores for olive oil and farm goods to fast mobile pages for travelers off I-5. We work with growers, tasting rooms, shops, and trades across Corning, Richfield, and south Tehama County. Services offered here: - Online stores: Stores for olive oil and farm goods, so customers who stopped once can reorder from home. Products, payments, and shipping set up to fit your volume. - Mobile sites for travelers: Photos, hours, and directions at the top of pages that load in seconds on a phone. - Websites for trades: Service-area pages for the rural towns you cover and an estimate form that saves and emails every request. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - A studio you can meet in person: Most web design results for Glenn and Tehama County towns are out-of-state companies using one page for every town. We are a North Valley studio and meet clients face to face. - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Yours to keep: No website-builder subscription holding your pages. The finished site, its code, and your content belong to you. Questions: - Can you build an online store for a small farm or olive business? Yes. We build stores with secure checkout through Stripe or Shopify, sized to what you sell. You manage products and orders yourself after launch. - Do you also work in Red Bluff and Orland? Yes. We work with businesses up and down the corridor, including Red Bluff, Orland, and Willows. ### Web design in Redding, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/redding County: Shasta County Also serving: Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Anderson Rune designs and builds websites for Redding businesses: hand-coded sites that load fast, rank in local search, and that your team can edit without calling a developer. We also build the online stores, booking systems, and web apps that grow out of a good website, for businesses across Redding, Anderson, Shasta Lake, and Palo Cedro. Services offered here: - Website design and development: Custom sites built from scratch around your business, fast on every phone. - Local SEO: A page for each service and each town you serve, with the titles, structure, and Google Business Profile setup local results depend on. - E-commerce: Online stores with Stripe or Shopify checkout, subscriptions, and inventory you manage yourself. - Booking, portals, and web apps: Scheduling, quoting tools, memberships, and client portals, built by the same studio that built your site. - Website redesign: Moves off Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress with redirects mapped page by page, so the rankings you have earned carry over. - Hosting and care: We keep the site fast, secure, and online, and your team edits it on Skal. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Hand-coded, not Squarespace: Many Redding web designers build on Squarespace or WordPress themes. Rune sites are hand-built: in our mobile Lighthouse test a typical template site took 9.1 seconds to load and a Rune build took 2.8. - No hourly bill for edits: Some local designers charge as much as $195 an hour for changes. On Skal, our editor, your team edits text, photos, and pages whenever it wants. - Websites and software under one roof: Most local shops are marketing agencies. We also build booking systems, customer portals, and web and mobile apps, with live products in our portfolio. Questions: - Do you meet with Redding businesses in person? Yes, whenever meeting in person helps a project. Day-to-day work runs over phone, email, and video, whichever suits you. - Can you build more than a website? Yes. Rune also builds online stores, booking systems, customer portals, and custom web and mobile apps. See our custom software page for the bigger projects. - We already rank well. Would a new site hurt that? Not if the move is done carefully. We map your existing pages to the new ones with proper redirects so the search rankings you have earned carry over. ### Web design in Shasta County, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/shasta-county County: Shasta County Also serving: Anderson, Shasta Lake, Cottonwood, Palo Cedro, Burney, Fall River Mills Rune designs and builds websites for businesses across Shasta County: Anderson, Shasta Lake, Cottonwood, Palo Cedro, Burney, and Fall River Mills. We build lightweight sites for how rural customers search, on a phone and often on a slow connection, with online booking for rentals and outfitters and service-area pages for trades that travel. Services offered here: - Online booking: Inquiry forms or reservation calendars with deposits, for houseboat rentals, guides, campgrounds, and outfitters. - Websites for trades: Service-area pages for every community you cover, for well drilling, septic, propane, roofing, and ranch services. - Website design: Lightweight custom sites that load quickly on limited coverage, which Google also rewards. - Local SEO: Titles, service pages, and Google Business Profile setup for searches across the county. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Hand-coded, not Squarespace: Many Redding web designers build on Squarespace or WordPress themes. Rune sites are hand-built: in our mobile Lighthouse test a typical template site took 9.1 seconds to load and a Rune build took 2.8. - No hourly bill for edits: Some local designers charge as much as $195 an hour for changes. On Skal, our editor, your team edits text, photos, and pages whenever it wants. - Websites and software under one roof: Most local shops are marketing agencies. We also build booking systems, customer portals, and web and mobile apps, with live products in our portfolio. Questions: - Do you work with businesses in Burney and Fall River Mills? Yes. We work with businesses across Shasta County, including the Intermountain area. We meet in person when it helps and keep things moving by phone and video in between. - Can you set up online booking for a rental or guide business? Yes. We build anything from a clear inquiry form to a full booking calendar with deposits, depending on how you run your season. ### Web design in Yuba City, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/yuba-city County: Sutter County Also serving: Live Oak, Sutter, Meridian Rune designs and builds websites for Yuba City businesses, including multilingual sites in Punjabi, Spanish, and English. We work with family businesses, trucking and ag companies, and trades across Yuba City, Live Oak, Sutter, and Meridian. Services offered here: - Multilingual websites: Real pages in each language, set up so Google shows the right version to the right searcher, instead of a translate button. - Websites for trucking and ag companies: Company sites with quote requests and driver and worker recruiting pages that save and email every application. - Online quoting and scheduling: Quote calculators and scheduling built into the same site. - Local SEO: Page titles, service pages, and Google Business Profile setup for Yuba City and Sutter County searches. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Every page written for search: Page titles, descriptions, and structured data written for the searches you want to win, on every page, not just the homepage. - Edit it yourself: Sites on Skal, our editor, let you change text, photos, and pages without a support ticket or an hourly bill. Questions: - Can you build a website in more than one language? Yes. We build multilingual sites with separate pages for each language, set up so Google shows the right version to the right searcher. You provide or approve the translations, so they sound like you. - Do you also work with businesses in Marysville? Yes. We work with businesses on both sides of the river, in Yuba City and Marysville. - Can you add a job application page for drivers or seasonal workers? Yes. An application form that saves submissions and emails them to you is a common addition, and you can edit it each season without a developer. ### Web design in Marysville, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/marysville County: Yuba County Also serving: Olivehurst, Linda, Wheatland, Beale AFB Rune designs and builds websites for Marysville businesses, from shops in the historic downtown to services near Beale Air Force Base. We work with businesses across Marysville, Olivehurst, Linda, and Wheatland. Services offered here: - Website design: Custom sites that show your storefront, tell your story, and make hours and events easy to find. - Local SEO: Service and area pages for Olivehurst, Linda, and Wheatland, with a Google Business Profile that matches. - Reviews front and center: Your Google reviews linked from the site, so families new to Beale can see what locals say about you. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Hand-built, so it loads fast: Every Rune site is written by hand instead of assembled in a page builder. In a side-by-side mobile Lighthouse test, a typical template site loaded in 9.1 seconds and a Rune build in 2.8. - Every page written for search: Page titles, descriptions, and structured data written for the searches you want to win, on every page, not just the homepage. - Edit it yourself: Sites on Skal, our editor, let you change text, photos, and pages without a support ticket or an hourly bill. Questions: - Do you work with businesses near Beale Air Force Base? Yes. We work with businesses across Yuba County, including Wheatland, Olivehurst, and Linda. - How long does a website take? Most small-business sites go live within a few weeks. You get a realistic timeline and a fixed price with your quote. ### Web design in Auburn, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/auburn County: Placer County Also serving: Meadow Vista, Newcastle, Loomis, Cool Rune designs and builds websites for Auburn businesses: hand-built sites, online stores, event registration, and custom software from an engineer-led studio. We work with businesses across Auburn, Meadow Vista, Newcastle, Loomis, and Cool. Services offered here: - Website design: Fast, polished custom sites for restaurants, shops, wineries, and professional firms. - Event registration and payments: Registration, waivers, capacity limits, and payments for races, rides, festivals, and classes. - E-commerce: Online stores with Stripe or Shopify checkout that you manage yourself. - Local SEO: Page titles, service pages, and Google Business Profile setup for Auburn and Placer County searches. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Hand-built, not Wix or a theme: Many foothill web designers build on Wix or off-the-shelf WordPress themes. Rune sites are hand-built: 2.8 seconds to load in our mobile Lighthouse test, against 9.1 for a typical template site. - Pages written for their topic: No town-swapped template pages. Every service and location page is written for what it covers, which is what Google rewards. - Websites and software from one studio: Stores, event registration, portals, and custom apps, from an engineer-led studio with live software in its portfolio. Questions: - Do you meet with Auburn businesses in person? Yes, whenever a project calls for it, with video, phone, and email in between. You always work directly with the engineer building your site. - Can you build event registration with payments? Yes. We build registration flows with secure payments, capacity limits, and confirmation emails, sized to the event. ### Web design in Grass Valley, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/grass-valley County: Nevada County Also serving: Nevada City, Penn Valley, Lake Wildwood Rune designs and builds websites for Grass Valley and Nevada City businesses: custom-designed around your brand, hand-built for speed, and yours outright. We work with makers, galleries, wineries, restaurants, and technical companies across Nevada County. Services offered here: - Custom website design: Sites designed around the real look and feel of your business, not a template. - Online stores: A store you control, with standard payment processing and no marketplace cut on every sale. - Sites and portals for technical companies: Sites that speak credibly to technical buyers, with customer portals or product documentation when you want them. - Local SEO: Page titles, service pages, and Google Business Profile setup for Grass Valley and Nevada City searches. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - Hand-built, not Wix or a theme: Many foothill web designers build on Wix or off-the-shelf WordPress themes. Rune sites are hand-built: 2.8 seconds to load in our mobile Lighthouse test, against 9.1 for a typical template site. - Pages written for their topic: No town-swapped template pages. Every service and location page is written for what it covers, which is what Google rewards. - Websites and software from one studio: Stores, event registration, portals, and custom apps, from an engineer-led studio with live software in its portfolio. Questions: - Do you work with Nevada City businesses too? Yes. We work with businesses in Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley, and across Nevada County. - Can I sell products on my site without paying a marketplace cut? Yes. We build stores with checkout through Stripe or Shopify, so you pay standard payment processing, not a marketplace commission on every sale. ### Custom software development in Sacramento, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/sacramento County: Sacramento County Also serving: West Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Davis Rune builds custom software for Sacramento companies: web applications, integrations, internal tools, and customer portals, for healthcare, agriculture and food, construction and engineering, and firms that work with state government. The senior engineer you talk to is the one who writes your code. Erik Mellum has spent more than a decade building production software, including as a founding engineer on an enterprise product at Zoom and at Y Combinator-backed Quartzy, and has delivered complete systems, from database to finished product. Services offered here: - Internal tools: Scheduling, quoting, inventory, and compliance tools built around how your team works, with permissions and an audit trail. - Systems integration: CRM, ERP, accounting, field service, and payment platforms connected with reliable APIs and background jobs. - Customer and partner portals: Secure logins where clients see project status, documents, invoices, and reports. - Legacy modernization: Aging internal apps and websites rebuilt step by step, with the business running on them the whole time. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - The engineer you meet writes the code: Several firms that rank for software development in the Sacramento region deliver through offshore or nearshore teams. At Rune, the senior engineer on your first call is the one who builds your system. - Your code, in your repository, from day one: The code lives in a repository your company controls, with documentation your team can maintain. Nothing to hand back if we ever part ways. - A working demo every week: Progress you can click on, with a short written status alongside it. Questions: - Do you work with mid-size companies, or only small businesses? Both. Our local web design serves small businesses, and our custom software work is built for growing and mid-size companies with real systems, real users, and requirements around security and reliability. - How do engagements usually start? Most start with a short, paid discovery phase: we learn the problem, look at your existing systems, and come back with a written scope, architecture, and a fixed quote. You can take that plan anywhere, but most clients have us build it. - Can you work alongside our in-house IT or development team? Yes. We can own a project end to end, or work inside your repositories and processes alongside your team, with code, documentation, and handoff your people can maintain. - Who owns the code? You do, from day one. The code lives in a repository your company controls, along with the documentation. ### Custom software development in Roseville, CA URL: https://rune.design/web-design/roseville County: Placer County Also serving: Rocklin, Lincoln, Granite Bay, Citrus Heights Rune builds custom software for companies in Roseville, Rocklin, and Lincoln: operations tools, integrations, and customer-facing platforms, plus the website to match. The engineer you meet is the one who builds your system, a founding engineer on an enterprise product at Zoom, working in person with your team when a project benefits from it. Services offered here: - Operations software: Scheduling, dispatch, quoting, and reporting tools that let a growing company handle more work without more admin. - Construction and home services platforms: Estimates, job tracking, and customer updates connected to the field, built around the software you already use. - Websites for B2B sales: Sites that answer technical questions and hand leads cleanly to your sales process. How Rune differs from other studios in this market: - The engineer you meet writes the code: Several firms that rank for software development in the Sacramento region deliver through offshore or nearshore teams. At Rune, the senior engineer on your first call is the one who builds your system. - Your code, in your repository, from day one: The code lives in a repository your company controls, with documentation your team can maintain. Nothing to hand back if we ever part ways. - A working demo every week: Progress you can click on, with a short written status alongside it. Questions: - Do you work on-site in Roseville? Yes. In-person working sessions are part of how we run projects, especially during discovery and launch. - What size projects do you take on? Anything from a focused integration or internal tool to a full customer-facing platform. Larger work starts with a discovery phase and a fixed, written scope. - Can you support the software after launch? Yes. We offer ongoing support and development, with the same engineer who built it. ## Industries ### Contractors & trades (nationwide) URL: https://rune.design/industries/contractors Rune builds custom websites for contractors and trade businesses anywhere in the country. They load fast on a phone, rank for the towns you work in, and run on Skal, our editor, so you change photos, services, and your license number yourself. Trades served: Fencing, Roofing, HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Concrete & flatwork, Landscaping & irrigation, Gutters, Painting, Pools & courts, General contractors, Cabinetry & remodeling What is included: - Fast on a phone: Hand-built pages, not a page builder. Click-to-call and "request an estimate" are always one tap away. - Pages for the towns you serve: Service-area and service pages written for the searches you want to win, with the structure Google uses for local results. - Edit it yourself on Skal: Open a page, change the text or drop in photos from the last job, hit Publish. From a laptop or from the truck. - Every estimate request saved: Submissions are stored on your site and emailed the moment they arrive, so a lead never depends on one inbox. - License and insurance up front: License number, bonding, and insurance live in one place and show everywhere they should. Change it once, it updates everywhere. - Your real work, shown well: Project galleries built around your own photos, organized by service, so homeowners see what you actually build. Questions: - Do you build websites for contractors outside California? Yes. We are based in Chico, California, and build for contractors anywhere in the US. Everything runs over phone, email, and video, and you work directly with the person building your site. - Can I really update the site myself? Yes. Sites built on Skal let you edit text, swap photos, add pages, and change business details like your phone or license number on a visual canvas. No code, and no developer in the loop. - Will the site help me show up on Google in the towns I work? That is what it is built for. Fast pages, service and service-area pages written for real searches, structured data, and guidance on your Google Business Profile, which matters just as much as the site for local results. - I do not have good photos of my work. Is that a problem? Not to get started. We launch with what you have and set up galleries you can add to from your phone after each job. Real jobsite photos, even from a phone, beat stock photos every time. - Do I own the website? Yes. The site, the code, and your content are yours. There is no page-builder subscription holding your website hostage. ## Case studies ### Homeschool.fit (Web App) URL: https://rune.design/work/homeschool-fit Live site: https://homeschool.fit Built with: Next.js, GraphQL, PostgreSQL, Kubernetes Homeschool.fit is the deep end of what Rune builds: a complete software-as-a-service platform for homeschool families, spanning curriculum planning, automatic schedule generation, progress tracking, a book and poetry catalog, and family community features. It runs as a multi-app system with a GraphQL API, PostgreSQL, background job workers, and Kubernetes deployment, plus an iOS and Android app. It is the proof that when your project outgrows a brochure site, the same studio can carry it all the way to a real product. What we built: - Full SaaS: accounts, subscriptions, scheduling engine, progress reports - GraphQL API with type-safe end-to-end codegen - Background schedule-generation workers and multi-pod deployment - Published mobile apps, live in the App Store and on Google Play - Marketing site, blog, and vendor portal in the same platform ### FlemDog Science (Web App) URL: https://rune.design/work/flemdog-science Live site: https://flemdog.rune.design Built with: Next.js, Payload, Stripe, Postgres FlemDog Science is a YouTube channel of kitchen-science experiments with over 200,000 subscribers. The channel is a feed; families wanted a course. We imported all 180 public videos with his own descriptions, filed them into subjects and units from his playlists, and gave every lesson a printable lab sheet written for three age bands. The videos stay free. A membership opens the lab sheets, and a family adds its kids once so each lesson points at the right sheet for each of them. He runs the whole thing from the site: sign in, and every page grows its own controls, from pasting a YouTube link to dropping a PDF onto an age band. What we built: - Whole channel imported from YouTube, descriptions and chapters included - Subjects, units, and lessons instead of an upload feed - Lab sheets gated per age band behind a Stripe membership - Edit while browsing: publish, reorder, upload, and reply to families without leaving the page - Feedback threads on every lesson, emailed both ways - Fast pages: the video player only loads when someone presses play ### NorCal Surfaces (Site + CMS) URL: https://rune.design/work/norcal-surfaces Live site: https://norcalsurfaces.rune.design Built with: Next.js, Payload, Puck, Postgres NorCal Surfaces builds game courts and covers tired concrete with Rubber Stone, Vuba Stone, and epoxy flake, from Butte County to Redding and Sacramento. The site had to do two jobs at once: explain four very different products to homeowners and contractors, and show up when someone in Redding searches for a pickleball court. So it is built like a search campaign: nine service pages, two buyer guides, and fourteen town pages, each written for the search it is meant to win, with an interactive court planner and a rotating Rubber Stone color picker to make the products tangible. It runs on Skal, so the owner changes prices, photos, and copy himself, and it still scores 100 on Google's mobile speed test. What we built: - Interactive 30 by 50 court planner: pick the lead sport, see the ghost lines - Rubber Stone color picker built from the manufacturer chart - 29 pages targeting specific searches across Northern California - Owner edits copy, photos, and price tables on the Skal canvas, from a phone if he likes - Quote requests saved and emailed the moment they arrive - Lighthouse 100 on mobile, on the CMS build ### Willard Fence Co. (Site + CMS) URL: https://rune.design/work/willard-fencing Live site: https://willardfencecompany.com Built with: Next.js, Payload, Puck, Postgres Willard Fence Co. builds chain link, ornamental iron, wood, vinyl, and ranch fence across Butte, Glenn, and Tehama counties, from a four-foot dog run to a twelve-foot court enclosure. They had no website, and no job photography online either. Stock fence photos would have shown someone else's work, so the site draws instead. Pick a material and a height in the hero and a dimensioned elevation of that exact fence appears, with a person for scale. The same drawings run through every service page, town page, and the material schedule. It is built to win local search the way a contractor actually gets work: nine service pages, fifteen town pages, and guides that answer the questions homeowners ask before they call, like permit heights, who pays for a shared fence, and the new ember-resistant rules for homes in fire zones. It runs on Skal, so the company edits its own pages, phone number, and license details. What we built: - Interactive fence drawer: choose a material and height, get a dimensioned elevation - Drawings instead of stock photos, so nothing on the site misrepresents their work - 29 pages: services, 15 towns, and homeowner guides - Structured data on every page for services, breadcrumbs, and FAQs - License number and contact details edited once in Skal, updated everywhere - Estimate requests saved and emailed the moment they arrive ### Streamline Fencing (Site + CMS) URL: https://rune.design/work/streamline-fencing Live site: https://streamlinecms.rune.design Built with: Next.js, Payload, Puck, Postgres Streamline Fencing Inc. is a custom fence and gate contractor in Chico whose previous site was a slow template build. We rebuilt it around their real branding - the mountain wordmark, a warm timber palette - and their actual work. Then we moved it onto Skal, our own CMS. Dayton signs in, drags blocks around a live canvas, changes his phone number or adds a page, and hits Publish. No developer in the loop, and no monthly platform rent for the privilege. What we built: - Real logo and brand carried into a custom design - Owner edits copy, photos, and page layout himself on a visual canvas - Contact form submissions stored and emailed the moment they arrive - Capabilities ledger covering wood, vinyl, aluminum, steel, and gates - Click-to-call and estimate CTAs throughout ### Yeti Launch (Desktop App) URL: https://rune.design/work/yeti-launch Live site: https://get.foundation/ Built with: Electron, Node, macOS, Windows ZURB built Foundation, the front-end framework that ran a good share of the web before Bootstrap took the oxygen. Starting a Foundation project meant a terminal, Node, npm, and a build toolchain - a real wall for designers who wanted to make something without becoming a build engineer first. Yeti Launch was the answer: a desktop application that installed and built Foundation projects in one click. Pick a template, name it, go. The app handled the toolchain underneath so the person using it never had to think about it. It was built with Electron and shipped as a real desktop app on macOS and Windows. Erik built it as a 1099 intern at ZURB. What we built: - One-click install and build for Foundation projects - Cross-platform desktop app built with Electron - Removed the terminal and toolchain setup entirely - Shipped to designers as a downloadable application ### SP3-SiteHazards (Custom Software) URL: https://rune.design/work/sp3-sitehazards Live site: https://sp3risk.com/sp3-sitehazards/ Built with: PostGIS, Node, Docker, GDAL, PDF Engine Haselton Baker Risk Group builds seismic risk software for structural engineers. SP3-SiteHazards answers a question that used to cost an engineer hours of manual work: what natural hazards threaten this specific building site? Type an address, get a report covering liquefaction, landslides, tsunami inundation, fault zones, past-event ShakeMaps, and seismic hazard analysis. The interesting problem was not the report - it was the data. HB Risk had the hazard information as shapefiles, and the obvious approach was converting them with ogr2ogr per lookup. That works, and it is slow. Digging into their shapefiles turned up the better answer: stand up a PostGIS server, load the hazard data once, and let the database answer spatial questions directly. We worked with their team to get that running, which turned a per-file conversion step into a real query. The scope was the whole system: the database modeling, the backend server, authentication, the web API, a CLI tool, the static HTML and assets, and the PDF-generation engine spanning front and back end. Everything was dockerized. The design was ours too. It was estimated at 250 hours up front and delivered on time, in about four weeks - hand-written, years before AI coding assistants existed. To be clear about the credit: Rune delivered the prototype. HB Risk took it from there, hardened it, and brought it fully to market. It is a product they sell today under their SP3 platform. What we built: - The complete system: data modeling, backend, auth, web API, CLI, and front end - PostGIS server replacing per-lookup ogr2ogr shapefile conversion - PDF-generation engine spanning front and back end - Address in, engineered hazard report out - Dockerized end to end - Estimated at 250 hours, delivered on time in roughly four weeks - Delivered as a prototype, taken to market by the client ### Skal CMS (Product) URL: https://rune.design/work/skal-cms Live site: https://streamlinecms.rune.design Built with: Next.js, Payload, Puck, Postgres Every small business we build for hits the same wall. A custom site looks right and loads fast, but changing a phone number means emailing a developer. A template builder solves that and charges rent forever, in exchange for a site that looks like everyone else's. Skal is the third option, and we built it because we got tired of explaining the trade-off. It is a visual canvas bolted onto a real Next.js build: the owner opens a page, drags blocks around, edits text in place, and publishes. The public site is still a custom build we wrote, and the content lives in a database they own. It ships with the practical pieces too - contact form submissions stored and emailed on arrival, roles so an office manager can edit copy without holding every key, and site-wide details like phone and license number that update everywhere at once. What we built: - Visual canvas editing where the preview is the real page - Add and reorder pages without a developer - Lead capture stored on the site and emailed the moment it arrives - Roles and email invitations for real teams - Optional AI drafting a section you approve or throw away - Content in your own database, on a site that is still a real custom build ### KeyQuest (Game / Web App) URL: https://rune.design/work/keyquest Live site: https://piano.homeschool.fit Built with: Next.js, TypeScript, Canvas, Web Audio KeyQuest started as a question a lot of parents ask: how do you get a child to want to practice? The answer here is not a chore chart. It is a Pokemon-inspired world - the Land of the 88 Keys - where Professor Octave sends you on quests and you catch songs by actually playing them on the piano. The instrument is the controller. The whole score is generated. Rather than licensing loops or hand-sequencing every track, the game carries a custom song generator built on music theory - scales, modes, chord function, voice leading, and section forms - so a piece is composed from rules rather than assembled from samples. Every track in the game, including the one below, came out of it. The design constraint is the interesting part. Before the world opens each day, the game puts up a practice gate: a timer, the actual assigned pieces, and a line that says there is nothing to win here, just the playing. The map only unlocks when a grown-up confirms the practice happened. The game cannot be farmed for progress without the instrument. What we built: - Practice gate: the adventure stays locked until real practice is logged and a parent confirms it - Assignments a teacher or parent can edit - pieces, scales, and minutes - Catch and collect songs by playing them on a real piano - Full original score generated by a custom music-theory song engine - Pixel-art world with NPCs, quests, and a jukebox - Per-player saves mirrored server-side, so clearing a browser never wipes a year of progress - Signed login tokens scope every save to its own player ### Beginner to Web Master (Course Site) URL: https://rune.design/work/beginner-to-web-master Live site: https://webmaster.homeschool.fit Built with: Next.js, Framer Motion, GraphQL Beginner to Web Master is a course landing site built to do one thing: walk a visitor from curiosity to enrollment. Every section is an animated step in that story. Because course sites live and die on first impressions, performance was a feature: the page scores 90+ on Lighthouse with full animation running. What we built: - Scroll-driven animated storytelling - 90+ Lighthouse performance score - Single clear conversion path to enrollment