The Authority Build
Everything it takes to launch, done once and done right.
The Authority Build is the one-time work that puts the Dealer Authority System on your website. It starts with a conversation about what you know, and it ends with a live site that teaches your customers the way you would.
It covers your authority interview, your Authority Profile, a full set of educational articles written in your voice, your product pages, the site itself, and the measurement that shows you what it produces.
Billed in four parts as you approve each stage. See the Tier Hub for what each tier includes.
Why the Build Comes Before the Monthly
Most of the work happens before your site launches. Your interview, your Profile, every article, your product pages, and your site all get built first. The Authority Build pays for that work directly, so your monthly Authority Operation pays for ongoing work, not for recovering setup costs.
What most dealer websites actually have
Products added inconsistently across brands
Promotions changed and never cleaned up
Apps installed, forgotten, still billing monthly
Content updated piecemeal across years
Technical debt accumulated quietly
Why the foundation matters
If foundation work were skipped, your site would inherit whatever state your previous website was in, including all the inconsistency, duplicated apps, and accumulated technical debt.
Foundation work gets done once and gets done right; ongoing operation runs on stable ground rather than inherited debt. A clean start prevents long-term friction.
The Six Parts of Your Authority Build
Every Authority Build includes all six. None of them are optional add-ons.
Your Authority Interview
One recorded conversation, about 90 minutes, where you talk about the questions your customers ask and how you answer them. This is the raw material for everything else.
Your Authority Profile
We turn that conversation into a written record of how you teach, what you believe, and the stories that prove it. Every article on your site is written from it.
Your Educational Articles
Pro includes 5 topic hubs with 6 to 8 articles under each one. Charter includes 10 hubs with 8 to 12 articles under each one. Every article is written in your voice and about your market.
Your Product Pages
One Large and one Standard manufacturer Pack of your choice. Sizes of the same model appear together on one page, and every specification is checked before launch.
Your Website Build or Migration
Your site is built fresh or migrated into the Dealer Authority System, with clean architecture, proper redirects, and a review of every app so you stop paying for what you no longer need. (See the cleanup savings below.)
Measurement and Onboarding
Analytics, search tracking, and AI answer tracking, set up so you can see which pages bring you buyers. Plus a walkthrough so you and your team understand how the system works from day one.
From Access to Launch
The site work follows the same structured process for every dealer. What varies is depth, a dealer migrating from an existing website has different work than one starting fresh, but the steps are the same.
Timeline · The site work itself typically takes 3 to 5 weeks. Your full timeline, including your articles, is set in your scope statement.
Access & Initial Review
We access your current environment (theme, apps, domain, structure) and document what's there.
Site Evaluation
We determine what should stay, be replaced, or be removed: legacy apps, outdated themes, conflicting code.
Clean Build Planning
We define the best path forward (reuse, full rebuild, or hybrid) and confirm it with you before work begins.
Site Development
We build within the Dealer Authority System. During this phase, your existing site remains live and untouched.
Domain & Technical Alignment
We finalize domain setup, redirects, and indexing, including the work that protects your existing search visibility.
Site Testing and Your Review
We verify navigation, functionality, and stability against real-world use cases. Then you have 15 days to review the finished site and ask for corrections.
Launch
When you accept the site, it goes live and Authority Operation begins, billing from the first of the following month. The switchover happens at launch, not at kickoff, so your existing site stays live through most of the process.
What Actually Happens During the Transition
The most common question from dealers switching sites is: "What happens to my current website while you're building the new one?" Here's the honest answer.
Your existing site stays live until launch
The build happens in parallel. We build the new environment separately; your current site keeps serving customers throughout. You don't go dark during the build.
Your URL and domain stay yours
Your domain is your property. At launch, we point your domain at the new site. Customers continue using the same URL they always have.
Your search visibility is protected
If you have existing rankings or backlinks to specific product pages, we map those URLs to the new site's equivalents and configure proper redirects. Your SEO history transfers rather than resets.
Your customer accounts and order history are preserved
Customer data, order history, and account credentials migrate with you. Customers shouldn't notice the transition beyond a modernized site.
What doesn't transfer automatically
Some things don't move cleanly between websites. These are flagged during evaluation (Step 1) so there are no surprises at launch: custom code specific to your old website, third-party app data tied to apps you're removing, theme customizations without equivalents in the Dealer Authority System, and content that conflicts with the new site structure.
Dealers migrating from an existing website don't lose their site, their URL, their customers, or their search history. What they lose is the technical debt.
Your Role During the Build
You provide
Business information (location, service area, hours, contact)
Product confirmations (which brands and lines you stock)
Site access (current website, analytics, domain)
Brand assets (logos, custom product photos)
Decisions when asked (approval points, migration choices)
TSG handles
Your Authority Profile and every article
Product pages, catalog cleanup and spec checks
Site build or migration, governance, technical setup
App audit and recommendations
Domain and DNS management, launch coordination
Measurement setup and your onboarding session
How much of your time it takes
Most dealers ask this first. The honest answer is about five and a half hours, spread across the whole build.
90 minutes · Your authority interview
45 minutes · Confirming your Profile sounds like you
30 minutes · Confirming how we will build your site
30 minutes · Approving your content plan
45 minutes · Reviewing three sample articles
20 minutes · Checking specs on brands you know well (optional)
60 minutes · Reviewing and accepting the finished site
We ask for your time at the points where it changes the result. We do not ask you to read forty articles. We ask you to check three of them, early, so the rest come out right.
You don't need to know Shopify. You provide inputs and approve decisions. TSG does the work.
Activities Outside the Build
The Build covers everything it takes to launch. It does not include:
Ongoing optimization
Handled through Authority Operation after launch.
Additional manufacturer Packs
Your Build includes one Large and one Standard Pack. Other brands you carry are priced by category.
Configurator setup
Separate SafeBuilder add-on for 4+ option products.
Content after launch
New articles based on how your market responds come through Authority Operation.
Promotional setup
Handled by Promotion Engine for custom promotions beyond manufacturer campaigns.
Custom development beyond baseline
Scoped as separate work when needed.
Why these boundaries matter: The Build stays focused on what it takes to launch. That's what keeps it predictable and fairly priced. A build that tries to cover everything never finishes, and costs more than it should.
Your First-Year Investment
The full first-year picture is the Authority Build plus twelve months of Authority Operation. No teaser pricing, no surprises that grow into the relationship later.
$17,500 Authority Build + $3,000/month × 12
Your Build includes one Large and one Standard manufacturer Pack of your choice. Other brands you carry are priced separately by category.
$22,500 Authority Build + $6,000/month × 12
Custom site design, deeper Authority Profile work, and one Large and one Standard Pack. After launch, new brands are added with no Pack fee.
The other way to build this is to hire people. Doing it in-house takes at least two, a web designer and a web developer.
Median annual wages, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025. Before benefits and payroll taxes.
Either one of those hires costs more than a full year of Pro. And neither would know the safe business. That takes a third person, someone who has spent years learning how safe buyers think and what makes them trust a dealer. That is not a job you can post.
With TSG, that team is already assembled. It combines 26 years in the safe industry with a designer and a developer, all working on your site. You don't hire, train, manage, or replace anyone. And when an employee leaves, what they know leaves with them. What we build stays on your site.
A standalone Shopify agency typically charges $8,000 to $15,000+ just to build a site and load a catalog, with no articles and no ongoing relationship. Pro's $53,500 first-year total covers your interview, your Profile, every article, your product pages and your site, plus twelve months of operation, content development, promotion handling, and Search Authority Engine, purpose-built for safe retail.
Want your specific number? Request a Free Evaluation →What Launching From a Clean Foundation Looks Like
What starts happening
Your website reflects what you actually sell, accurately
Customer-facing pages are structured, professional, and fast
Technical infrastructure operates cleanly (analytics, indexing, integrations)
Monthly app costs drop as redundant tools retire
Your team understands the system and can operate it confidently
What stops happening
Accumulated technical debt causing unpredictable problems
Apps you're paying for that nobody uses
Inherited inconsistencies creating customer confusion
Website maintenance feeling like a constant uphill battle
The result: launching from a clean, accurate foundation, with no guesswork.
Start With a Clean Foundation
The Authority Build is where every TSG relationship begins. It establishes the foundation everything else runs on, and once it's complete, your site operates as intended.
If you're ready to understand what your Authority Build looks like, which brands need Packs, whether SafeBuilder applies, migration scope for your existing site, request a Free Evaluation. Three business days, written scope statement, no commitment.
The standard isn't what makes the content good. The dealer is.