Website Design

How a website project actually runs

We start by working out what the site has to do. What you are promoting, selling or explaining, and what you want a visitor to do once they arrive. That turns into a set of page designs, sometimes called a sitemap, which we go through together. We usually present them as PDFs or flat A3 plans, and we deliberately keep them a bit rough. We call them digital sketches. Loose drawings invite honest opinions in a way a polished mockup does not, and it is far cheaper to change your mind at this stage than later. We both went to art school, sorry. The plans go back and forth with plenty of input from you until there is a clear, practical picture of how the site will look and work. Once you have signed those off, we build the real thing on a hidden test link. You get the link as it comes together, so nothing is a surprise. It is not unusual to adjust things once you can click on them. Then we test properly across devices, and we encourage you to do the same on whatever you have to hand. Once it is polished, it launches.

Why we build on WordPress

WordPress runs a very large share of the web, which is not an argument on its own, but it does mean three useful things. It is open source, so you are not renting your own website from a platform that can change its pricing or its rules. It is malleable, so we design what suits your business rather than picking the least bad template. And it is well enough documented that if we got hit by a bus tomorrow, any competent developer could pick your site up. It also means you can run your own content. Every project ends with a tutorial session so you know how, and we would much rather you updated your own opening hours than paid us to do it.

What a website costs

Two broad shapes, and we will tell you honestly which one you are. Mid level bespoke, roughly £2,000 to £4,000 plus VAT. The most common shape we build. Typically six to eight pages showcasing the services and people behind a local business: team profiles, service descriptions, clear calls to action. Often social feeds, some custom animation, and branding worked properly into the structure rather than dropped on top. Advanced bespoke, roughly £4,500 to £6,500 plus VAT. Sites with unusual or demanding functionality, especially anything selling online. Dynamic product or property listings, checkout and payment, integrations with systems you already use. These need more planning, so we spend longer on the flat plans making sure everyone is confident before we build. Those are estimates, not a menu. You get a fixed figure before we start.

Where AI fits

We use AI tools in the early stages, exploring layout directions and moving through options faster than we could by hand. It does not design your site and it does not write your code. What it does is mean you see more good options before we commit to one, which is where most of the value in a design process actually sits.