Website Design Services

Building a website for you or your business can seem a little daunting if you have never done it before or do not want to have learn new skills.

A great website shouldn’t cost the earth. For many small businesses and individuals, the "standard" way of building websites using clunky, expensive systems like WordPress or Drupal is overkill.

I do things differently.

I build static websites for cash-strapped small businesses, sole traders, freelancers and  local startups who want transparency on price, proof it works, and quick reassurance that it’s low-maintenance and professional.

Customised and Personalised content and forms .

A static website can still have all the functionality you need and often fits in better with existing setups. And I prefer to use methods that are free and likely to remain so.

Here is one example - Personalisation of contact forms. We have all seen the standard contact form:

With just a little bit more thought and planning you can publish something like this that collects more information in a frictionless way.

As more than 90% of the people I work with have a Google account this is a much better (and spam free) way of implementing a contact form. Forms are easily customisable to your trade and you get email notifications when they arrive.

Mobile first: More than 70% of local searches are from mobile.

The web is a very different place these days and your website should look natural and work seamlessly on a mobile phone or tablet. All my websites are fully mobile responsive.

Below: On mobile the hamburger menu appears at the top left, search at the top right and the logo in the centre.

Writing style is different for mobile as well. Sentences need to be shorter and concise as a paragraph on a desktop website looks like a massive chunk of text on mobile which will put people off.

Website speed.

A slow website is a lost opportunity. Google prioritises speed, and so do your customers.

Below: Our static designs load almost instantly because they don’t have to "talk" to a slow database every time a page is clicked. 

By specialising in static website design, I build sites that are fast, incredibly secure, and tailored exactly to your needs. Whether you need a professional portfolio, a local trade landing page, or a digital brochure for your business, I can create designs that turn visitors into customers.

As an added bonus there is no need to update the technology behind the website all the time as you have to when you use a content management system like WordPress.

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation.

At its simplest, SEO is the process of improving your website so that it ranks higher in search results when people look for products or services related to your business.

Below: Sorry I can't show what keywords the sites rank for or what traffic it brings but over the last 6 months the average position in Google search results has been 3.5.

Think of it as digital matchmaking: you are trying to make your website the most relevant and high-quality "answer" to the questions people type into Google.

Imagine search engines as digital librarians. They have three main jobs:

• Crawling: Scouring the internet to see what every page is about.
• Indexing: Organising those pages in a giant catalogue.
• Ranking: Deciding which page is the "best" answer when someone searches.

If you want a site to rank well, you generally focus on these things:

On-Page SEO: Using the right keywords in your titles and text so search engines know what you’re talking about.

Off-Page SEO: Getting other reputable websites to link to yours (this acts like a "vote of confidence").

Reputation: This is things like positive reviews, recommendations and mentions. For a local business 3 star reviews or better are by far the biggest ranking factor in search.

Technical SEO: Ensuring your site is crawlable, fast, secure, and easy for mobile users to navigate.

The Goal is more visibility. The higher you appear on the page, the more likely people are to click on your site instead of a competitor's.

Images and video.

Real images help get your message across and any prospective customer is going to want to see your work.

I can help you take quality images and get the best out of them on your site.

Below: I can deal with 4k video so you can really showcase your product.

Self hosted or from sites like YouTube.

Analytics, monitoring and webmaster console.

I can set up and help you get the most out of these free services. You can keep track of your visitors and see who is clicking through to your site from search.