Web development

Websites that grow with you.

For businesses that have outgrown their template. I build the site from scratch around how you sell, with code that stays fast and easy to extend, so the next page or feature doesn’t mean starting over.

What’s included

What the work covers.

A plain list of what the project involves, so you can see where the time and money go.

  • Hand-written front end

    Semantic HTML, modern CSS and plain JavaScript. No framework on a site that doesn’t need one, and no 400 KB of library code that nothing uses.

  • A structure that scales

    Components, templates and naming are decided once, so adding a page later means filling in a pattern instead of inventing a new layout.

  • Custom WordPress where it fits

    Custom blocks, custom post types and an admin your team can use, in place of eleven plugins competing for the same job.

  • Performance in the build

    Image sizes, font loading and scripts are planned while the layout is drawn. Fixing them at the end costs more and helps less.

  • Secure by default

    Hardened forms, sanitised input, up-to-date dependencies and HTTPS throughout. Nothing in the admin is exposed unless it has to be.

  • Handover that works

    You get access, documentation and a walkthrough. Any competent developer can pick it up from there, because nothing is proprietary.

Process

How a project runs.

Scope

What the site has to do, which pages carry that weight and what “done” means. All written down before anything is built.

Architecture

Templates, components, data model and URL structure. The decisions that are expensive to change later come first.

Build

Front end and back end together, on a staging URL you can follow. I use your content as early as I can, because placeholder text hides problems.

Launch

Redirects, analytics, Search Console and backups, then a check once real traffic arrives.

The difference

The usual approach, and mine.

Template build vs custom build
 The usualThis way
Page weightWhatever the theme shipsOnly what the page uses
Adding a sectionFight the builderReuse a component
Plugin countGrows every monthAs few as the brief needs
UpdatesHope nothing breaksSmall surface, predictable
OwnershipTied to the theme vendorEntirely yours

Questions

What clients ask before they hire me.

No. WordPress makes sense when you want to edit content yourself, which suits most businesses. If it doesn’t fit, a static or custom build is faster and cheaper to run, and I’ll tell you so.

Usually. I review what’s there and tell you whether it’s worth extending or rebuilding. Sometimes the build is sound and only the performance and SEO need work.

You know the business best, so the words are usually yours. I give you the structure, length and purpose for each section, and I edit what you send.

The site is yours and you’re free to walk away. If you’d rather not think about updates and backups, ongoing care is available separately.

Two structured rounds at design stage and one after the build are included. Anything beyond that is quoted before it starts.

Next step

Send me the brief.

Two or three lines about the business and the goal are enough to start. I reply within one business day.