How to pick a Sanity CMS development company. What good agencies do differently, red flags to avoid, and what a Sanity build actually costs.
What Sanity development actually involves
Sanity is not a one-week install. A proper build has five distinct phases:
1. Content modelling. The schemas you set up on day one are the foundation of everything after. Get them wrong and every future editor complaint traces back to the model. Get them right and content becomes an asset, not a liability. This is where senior judgement matters most.
2. Sanity Studio configuration. The editor UI is custom-built. Preview panes, structure builder, custom input components, workflows. If the agency ships the default Studio without customisation, they've done a third of the job.
3. Front-end build. Almost always Next.js. TypeScript, App Router, Tailwind, the design system in code. GROQ queries, typed content hooks, ISR or on-demand revalidation.
4. Content migration. From Webflow, Framer, WordPress, or a spreadsheet. Scripts, cleanup, verification. Underestimated on every project until it isn't.
5. Editor onboarding. Real people using the Studio for the first time. Documentation, walkthroughs, adjustments to the schema based on what breaks in the first week.
An agency that skips or rushes any of these is going to leave you with a codebase that ranks and a Studio your editors never use.
What good looks like
Six things to look for:
A portfolio of live Sanity + Next.js sites. Not case studies. URLs you can visit and inspect.
Named engineers on the account. Not a bench with rotating juniors. Sanity work rewards continuity.
A structured content workshop as part of scoping. If they price the build without modelling the content first, they're guessing.
A demo of a custom Studio. Ask to see a Studio they've built. If it looks like the default, they haven't done the custom work.
TypeScript everywhere. Generated types from the schema. Typed GROQ. If it's untyped, the maintenance cost is going to bite you.
A clear cutover plan. Redirects, SEO verification, staged DNS, monitoring. Not "we'll flip it Friday and see."
Red flags
Fixed-price quotes without a content workshop
Proposal templates that look identical for Sanity, Contentful, and WordPress
No named engineers, only account managers
No live production references
Timelines that promise a full rebuild in two weeks
Anyone who calls themselves "full-stack Sanity experts" without shipping the front-end code as well
What a real Sanity engagement costs
Rough shape, for a growing UK business with a marketing site, a blog, and one to two dynamic content types:
Discovery and content modelling: 1-2 weeks
Design (if not already done): 2-3 weeks
Build (Sanity Studio + Next.js front end): 4-6 weeks
Content migration and QA: 1-2 weeks
Cutover and support: 1 week plus retainer
Total: 8-14 weeks, with pricing that scales to the scope. Anyone quoting materially less on a real business site is either scoping something smaller than you need or planning to cut corners you'll pay for later.
Where Goodspeed Studio fits
Goodspeed is a UK-based studio building on Sanity plus Next.js for businesses in the £2M-£25M range. We've migrated sites off Webflow, Framer, and WordPress onto Sanity, and we build new ones from scratch on the same stack. Our engineers named on your project are the ones who ship the code.
Typical engagements look like:
Migration: Existing site on Webflow, Framer, or WordPress, moved to Sanity plus Next.js with the design carried across
New build: Design from scratch (or from Figma) through to a production Sanity Studio and Next.js site
Retainer: Ongoing feature work, schema evolution, editor support, and marketing updates
Next step
If you're weighing a Sanity CMS build and want a straight conversation about scope, cost, and timeline, talk to Goodspeed. We'll tell you where Sanity fits and where it doesn't for your business, before you sign anything.
Harish Malhi
Founder of Goodspeed
Harish Malhi is the founder of Goodspeed, one of the top-rated Bubble agencies globally and winner of Bubble’s Agency of the Year award in 2024. He left Google to launch his first app, Diaspo, built entirely on Bubble, which gained press coverage from the BBC, ITV and more. Since then, he has helped ship over 200 products using Bubble, Framer, n8n and more - from internal tools to full-scale SaaS platforms. Harish now leads a team that helps founders and operators replace clunky workflows with fast, flexible software without writing a line of code.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does a Sanity CMS development company do?
Content modelling, Sanity Studio customisation, front-end build (usually Next.js), content migration, and editor onboarding. Skip any of these and the build won't hold up.
How do I choose a Sanity CMS development company?
Look for live production Sanity sites, named engineers, a content workshop in scoping, TypeScript everywhere, and a real cutover plan. Skip fixed-price quotes without a content workshop.
How much does a Sanity CMS build cost?
Priced to scope. A typical growing-business build sits in the 8-14 week range. Anyone materially cheaper is scoping smaller or cutting corners you'll pay for later.
Should I hire a freelancer or agency for Sanity?
For a new marketing site build, an agency with continuity is safer. For iterative maintenance on an existing Sanity site, a specialist freelancer works well.
What's the typical timeline for a Sanity website build?
8-14 weeks: discovery and content modelling (1-2 weeks), design (2-3 weeks), build (4-6 weeks), content migration (1-2 weeks), cutover and support (1+ weeks).
Do Sanity development companies handle CMS migrations?
Yes. Common requests: migrate from Webflow, Framer, WordPress, or Contentful to Sanity plus Next.js. Migration includes content transform scripts and a redirect map.
What's included in a Sanity retainer?
Ongoing feature work, schema evolution, editor support, marketing updates, and monitoring. Retainers are common because Sanity sites tend to grow feature-by-feature after launch.
What's a red flag when hiring a Sanity development company?
Identical proposals for every CMS, no named engineers on the account, no live production references, timelines that promise a full rebuild in two weeks, or hand-wavy content workshops.
