Website Design

A website is a tool, not a brochure

Most business websites underperform not because they look wrong but because nobody agreed what a visitor is supposed to do. The site tries to do everything and does none of it clearly.

So we start with what the site is for: who lands on it, what they are trying to find out, and what you want to happen next. Design follows from that. It is a far less exciting first conversation than picking colours, and it is the one that decides whether the site works.

Bespoke design, no bought template with your logo dropped in
Mobile-responsive, tested on real screen sizes rather than assumed
Built for accessibility: keyboard navigation, contrast and structure
A content management system you can genuinely use yourself
Search-engine and AI-readable structure built in, not bolted on
Hosting, domain and certificate handled by the same people

2008

Designing since

Same team, same company

Own

CMS

Built and maintained here

100%

Responsive

Every screen size

Supplier, not three

Design, domain and hosting

How we build websites

Design and build both happen in-house. You deal with the people doing the work rather than an account manager relaying messages, and you see it taking shape rather than being presented with a finished thing you have to react to.

Sites are built on our own content management system. That is unusual, and it is deliberate: there are no third-party plugins in the stack that can stop being maintained, no theme that breaks on an update somebody else shipped, and when something needs changing we change it rather than waiting for an upstream release. If the CMS needs to do something it does not do yet, that is a development job we can take on rather than a limitation you have to design around.

It also means the system is one you can actually use. Routine changes, such as text, images, a new page or a staff update, are yours to make without coming back to us and without being able to break the layout while you do it.

Launch is the start, not the end

A website is not finished when it goes live. That is the point at which it starts needing attention. Certificates expire, software needs patching, and an unmaintained site becomes a liability faster than most people expect. We keep it updated, monitor that it is up, and renew what needs renewing. That side of things is covered under security, and the domain the site answers on is renewed on the same basis.

It is also built to grow. A structure that can take another section or another service without being rebuilt is worth far more over five years than a design that only works at the size it launched at. If what you need goes past pages and content, such as logins, records or a process with data behind it, that is web application development rather than a website, and we do that too.

What's Included

Everything covered under Website Design

From the first conversation about what the site is for, through to keeping it current years later.

Planning and Structure

Working out who the site is for and what it needs to do, then shaping the page structure and navigation around that before any design work starts.

Design and Build

Bespoke design in your brand, built as a fast, responsive, accessible site. Developed here, not subcontracted, and shown to you as it progresses.

Content Management

Your site on our own CMS, with a walkthrough so you can edit text, images and pages yourself, and no plugin ecosystem to go stale behind it.

Hosting

Hosting on our own infrastructure, with updates, patching, certificate renewals and uptime monitoring once the site is live.

Questions

Website design questions

Will I be able to update the site myself?

Yes. Sites are built on our own content management system and we show you how to use it, so text, images and pages are yours to change without coming back to us for every edit.

Do you use WordPress?

No. We build on a content management system we wrote and maintain ourselves, and we host client sites on it. The practical difference is that there is no plugin ecosystem in your website that can stop being maintained, and no theme update from a third party that can break your layout.

Do you handle the domain and hosting too?

Yes: domain registration and renewals, hosting, certificates and DNS. The domain can sit on your own registrar account or be held and managed on ours, whichever suits you. Either way the renewals are our job, so a site does not go dark because a reminder went to an inbox nobody reads any more.

What do you need from us to get started?

Less than people expect. A conversation about what the business does and who you want the site to reach is enough to begin. Copy and photography can come later, and we will tell you what is actually needed rather than asking for everything up front.

What happens after the site goes live?

We keep it updated and patched, monitor that it is up, and renew the certificates. Launch is when a website starts needing attention, not when it stops.