Web developer in Petaluma, California
I'm Greg Drake. I run a one-person web practice here in Petaluma, building fast, secure sites for businesses across Sonoma County and the North Bay. I make sure Google and AI tools like ChatGPT can read exactly who you are, so you show up when people search. I work in person or over a screen share.
Updated July 2026
Greg Drake Digital is a one-person web development practice in Petaluma, California. Greg Drake builds fast, secure websites, improves visibility in Google search and AI answers, and maintains client sites month to month. He serves Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Novato, and the rest of Sonoma and Marin counties.
Websites that load fast and belong to you.
Most of my work is small-business websites: a restaurant, a contractor, a real estate professional, a shop, a firm. Every build follows the same rules.
New websites
The standard build
Your story on clean, fast pages with no database and no plugins, so there is nothing to hack and nothing to patch. Built so Google and AI tools can read exactly who you are, what you do, and where you work. What a build includes →
Rebuilds and rescues
When the current site is the problem
A slow, aging, or hacked site replaced with a foundation that measures well, or an emergency fix when the site is down right now. The same-day rescue lane is here.
Everything after launch
Care, visibility, and honest advice
Month-to-month site care, Google and AI search visibility work, and consulting when you need a second opinion on tools or vendors. The full list of services →
How this differs from hiring an agency.
You talk to the builder
There is no account manager between you and the person doing the work. You explain the problem once, to me, and I am the one who fixes it.
Evidence before opinions
Every recommendation starts with a measurement that carries its date. You see the same numbers I see, before and after the work.
You own everything
The domain, the site, the content, and every account are registered to you from day one. If you ever leave, it all goes with you.
Fixed quotes in writing
One written number per project, agreed before work starts. No hourly meter, and every proposal includes what I recommend you not buy.
Built for Google, and for AI answers.
Two kinds of search decide who gets found now. The familiar one: showing up when people search Google. And the newer one: showing up when someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI "who should I hire in Petaluma?" and gets a short list of names.
I build sites both can read. That means the code carries plain labels stating who you are, what you do, and where you work, and the pages actually answer the questions your customers ask. Then I measure it: what the AI tools say about you today, dated and documented, and what they say after the work. Nobody can guarantee a ranking or an AI mention, and I will not pretend otherwise. What the work does is make it more likely that Google and AI answers describe you accurately, and the measurements show whether it is moving. The evidence page shows a documented case.
Where I work.
I live and work in Petaluma and serve businesses in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Novato, and the rest of Sonoma and Marin counties. In-person meetings are easy anywhere in the North Bay. Beyond that, everything works over email and a screen share.
Straight answers, before you email.
How much does a website cost in Petaluma?
As of July 2026, most North Bay small businesses pay roughly $2,000 to $10,000 for a site built by a solo professional, and $10,000 to $50,000 or more through an agency. DIY builders advertise less but typically cost $200 to $600 a year in subscriptions, plus your own hours. I quote a fixed price in writing after a free baseline reading, so you see the number before any work starts. The full breakdown is in my article on what a website costs in Sonoma County.
How long does a website take?
Most of my builds take two to six weeks from the day I have your content to the day the site is live. The biggest variable is not the code, it is how quickly the words and photos come together. When a real deadline is driving, a rush build can ship in days, with what ships first agreed in writing.
Do you work with WordPress sites?
Yes, for rescues, ongoing care, and audits. Plenty of good businesses run on WordPress, and I am glad to keep those sites healthy. New sites I build a different way: plain, fast pages with no database and no plugins, which means there is nothing for an attacker to break into and nothing that needs patching every month.
Do you do SEO and AI search optimization?
Yes, both. SEO means showing up when people search Google. AI search optimization means showing up when someone asks a tool like ChatGPT who to hire. I do the work for both and measure the results with dated readings. What I will not do is promise a guaranteed ranking or a guaranteed AI mention, because nobody honest can.
Do you only work with Petaluma businesses?
No. Petaluma is home base, and I work in person across Sonoma County, Marin County, and the rest of the North Bay. Beyond that I work remotely; a screen share covers almost everything the kitchen-table meeting used to.
See where your site stands before you spend a dollar.
Send one web address. I send back five dated measurements of how your site is doing, each explained in one sentence, free. Or just email me what is bothering you, in your own words.