Website Design & Development

Most small business websites are slow because of how they were built, not because of what is on them. A page builder ships a general-purpose engine to every visitor's browser and then asks that engine to draw your page. Your visitor downloads the machinery before they see a single word about your business.

I build sites by hand, in plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The only code on the page is code that page actually needs. That is the whole difference, and it is why a hand-built five-page site routinely loads faster than a page-builder site with the same content.

What you actually get

A custom design, not a template with your logo dropped into it. I start from what your business does and who is trying to find you, not from a layout that was drawn before either of us knew your name.

Every site is mobile-first. Plenty of local searching happens on a phone, often from someone standing outside your door deciding whether to walk in or drive on. If your site is awkward on a phone, you lose that person before you know they existed.

On-page SEO is built in rather than bolted on — real page titles, real headings, structured data, a sitemap that reflects the site's actual shape. None of that is an upsell. It is what building a website correctly means.

You also get me. There is no account manager and no ticket queue. When you call the number on this site, I answer it.

How the work goes

We talk first, for free. I look at what you have now and tell you honestly what I would change. Sometimes that answer is "your site is fine — fix your Google Business Profile first," which is cheaper and not work I need to be paid for.

If we go ahead, most sites are finished within about a week. The bottleneck is almost always content: your text, your photos, your list of services. I can write the first draft, but I need the raw material from you, and how fast that arrives sets the pace.

Nothing launches until you are happy with it. After launch, you email me when something needs changing and I change it — that is what unlimited edits means on the monthly plan.

What it costs

Monthly plans start at $150/month with a six-month minimum and include hosting, your domain, unlimited edits, on-page SEO and support. A one-time build starts at $2,750 and you own the site outright.

Which one is right depends mostly on whether you would rather hold the maintenance yourself. Neither is better; they suit different businesses. I will tell you which I think fits after we have talked, not before.

Is hand-coding really worth it?

It is a fair question, and the honest answer is: it depends on what you need. If you want to publish three blog posts a week and manage everything yourself, a CMS may genuinely serve you better, and I will say so.

But if you are a local business whose website needs to load fast, rank in your own city, and convert the people who find it — and you do not want to become a part-time webmaster — then hand-built is the better trade. You get a lighter site, nothing to update, no plugin that breaks, and no theme to outgrow.

I have written about this at length if you want the technical case: why hand-coded websites beat page builders, how website speed affects your Google rankings, and the mobile-first approach to web design.

Before you hire anyone

Ask whoever you are talking to what the site is built on, who owns it when the relationship ends, and what happens when you need a change made. The answers tell you most of what you need to know. I have written a fuller checklist in the ultimate guide to choosing a web designer in Birmingham and in choosing the best web design firm, and both are worth reading even if you hire someone else.

Start with a conversation

Tell me what your business does and what is not working now. I will look at your current site and give you an honest read on it — free, no obligation, and no pitch attached.

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