Websites for small businesses and sole traders.
Most of the people I build for don't want a big website. They want something that loads quickly, says what they do, and doesn't cost them money every month for the privilege of existing.
Based in Bridgend, working across South Wales and remotely anywhere in the UK.
How I build
I design and build the whole thing myself, so there's nobody to hand you off to and no account manager in between. You tell me what the business does and who you're trying to reach, I put something together, and we go back and forth until it's right.
Most of what I build is static, meaning there's no content management system behind it and no database. Those sites load quickly, hosting a basic one usually costs nothing, and there's nothing sitting there needing security updates every month. For a lot of small businesses that's the right answer, because the site needs to say what they do and the details don't change much from one year to the next.
If you do want to get in and change things yourself, that's a different build and I'm happy to do it. A blog you post to, a menu that changes every week, events, a shop window you keep updating: all of that wants a CMS behind it, and I'll set one up so you can edit without worrying about breaking the site. It needs hosting that can run it and there's software to keep updated, which is the trade-off.
Most small businesses are better off static, but it depends entirely on how much you plan to change. Tell me what you're picturing and I'll tell you which way I'd go.
What you end up with
Three things, all of them registered or set up in your name rather than mine.
The site
Designed and built from start to finish, either as a static site or with a CMS behind it if you want to edit things yourself. Most small businesses end up with static, because it's faster and there's less that can go wrong. With a static build there are no ongoing monthly costs at all: the only thing you pay for is renewing your .com or .co.uk once a year, at list price, and I take no commission on it.
The domain
A .com or .co.uk registered in your name rather than mine. If you ever want to move it somewhere else, it's yours to move and you don't need my permission.
The hosting
For a basic static site this usually costs nothing at all. A CMS needs hosting that can actually run it, and bigger sites sometimes do too, so I'll tell you before we start if yours is one of them.
The rest of it
A website on its own isn't much use if the email attached to it goes to spam, so I'll usually check that at the same time. If your quotes and invoices have been disappearing, that's worth reading about separately.
If you're selling more than a handful of products, a plain site probably isn't the right answer and Shopify is usually the better fit. I'd rather tell you that at the start than build you the wrong thing.
Questions people ask first
Can I edit the site myself afterwards?
You can if you want to. If editing matters to you, I'll build it with a CMS so you can log in and change text, add pages or post updates. If it doesn't, a static site is simpler and changes come through me instead. Worth deciding before we start, because it changes how the site gets built and a CMS costs you more upfront.
Who owns the domain and the site?
You do. The domain is registered in your name, and the site is yours. Nothing is tied to an account of mine that you'd have to prise it out of later.
I've already got a site. Can you work on that instead?
Depends what it's built with. Tell me what you've got and where it's hosted and I'll tell you honestly whether it's worth fixing or worth starting again.
What happens when I need something changed?
You message me and we work out a plan. Small changes are usually quick. There's no support contract to sign first.
Tell me what you're after.
Even a rough idea is enough to start with. I'll tell you what I think it needs, and if I don't think you need a new site, I'll say that too. I aim to reply within a working day.
Say hello