Affordable web design in Wales

Professional Web Design & Development Services

Websites range from simple collections of unchanging 'static' pages to marvels of dynamic interactivity. We offer professional website design and development, which means we can develop a wide range of online systems. To clarify:

Website Design involves more than just wrapping your site content in pretty graphics and putting it online. Web content must cope with different browsers, screen sizes and user preferences – issues that print designers and artists often aren't used to handling. A good web designer will ensure your site is usable, accessible and functional under a wide range of circumstances, and will also follow best practices whilst coding to optimise the site's search engine performance.

Web Development builds 'behaviour' into websites using programming languages that either run on the visitor's browser (or 'web client') or on the web server. The main 'client-side' technologies – Javascript and Flash – mostly focus on adding interactivity to the visitor experience. Most 'server-side' systems use PHP to manipulate MySQL databases, creating 'dynamic' sites such as blogs, forums and full e-commerce systems that rebuild themselves as new content is added. We prefer such 'open source' technologies for server-side development – they are generally cheaper and more flexible than proprietary systems, and can also be customised or fixed without expensive support from a vendor.

We base our prices on a range of standard packages, any of which can be extended and customised by further work at our standard hourly rate. We also provide services that aren't strictly covered by these two terms, such as domain management, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), logo design, and content creation. Click on the tabs below to learn more about our design and development services.

  • Domain Names & Hosting

  • Website Design

  • Web Development

  • E-Commerce

  • Other Services

Any professional website needs its own domain name and web space hosting. Whilst some free, cheap and not-so-cheap 'DIY' services work around this, they offer far less control, and rarely impress customers or search engines. Buying new domains and hosting is easy; buying the right domains and hosting takes experience. A website designer or developer usually needs more access to these services than the site owner, so it's easiest if we also set them up for you. If you do fancy a bit of DIY, some of the free services can still be useful – for pointing visitors (and search engines) back to your main site.

Website design is packaging – and means different things to different clients. Some want a quick, cheap wrapper for their site content; others want something pretty enough to actively sell their wares, yet not too expensive – and others want an entire visitor experience built around their brand image. We can provide any of these at cost-effective prices, as follows:

  • Free Layouts – we offer a selection of free website designs, and can customise colours, header images, logos, text and content images as required.
  • Templates – more sophisticated pre-designed templates are available, though these generally require more customisation, and are best selected to match your site content. We will be happy to present a selection after the initial consultation, up to a budget limit set by you. Some clients also present us with complete designs ready to be sliced up and coded – we're happy to do this, though print designs may need extra adaptation to be suitable for the web.
  • Bespoke Design – The complexity of designing and coding an unique website design depends largely on the compexity of the content it is to contain. Static sites and blogs are relatively simple, yet three rough drafts and one final coded design can easily take several days to complete; designs for more advanced interactive or dynamic sites can take a week or more.

Web pages that do more than simply presenting pages of information have 'behaviour'. Even the simplest visitor response forms have to be programmed – usually to check that the data entered into them is valid, and to forward that data to an email address or database.

Generally, the more complex and unique the process, the longer it will take to develop, and in such cases, clear initial goals are essential, as changes are always easier and more cost-effective before code is written. Whilst flexibility always increases complexity, pre-coded snippets may handle common functions, and common types of dynamic site exist as pre-built packages that can be adapted to suit a wide variety of requirements, often with plug-in modules providing their less essential features. Some such packages are proprietary, yet 'open source' packages are free. Yes, freeNo, there's no catch - many techies just enjoy coding, and want to make the world a better place.. So we prefer those, and only charge for configuring, styling and customising them, saving you thousands of man-hours of development time. Examples of common dynamic systems include:

  • Blogs – regular news items are a great way to keep custormers and search engines interested in your site. Blogs let you add press releases and articles easily, and can be integrated into almost any site. They also allow visitors to leave feedback, increasing customer loyalty, whilst giving you the final say about what gets published on your site.
  • Forums – like blogs, forums are great for developing loyal customer communities; blogs let you lead the discussion, whilst forums encourage greater customer participation in multiple conversation threads.
  • Galleries – these include artist portfolios, photo galleries, photo sharing communities, and product galleries (though we'll cover e-Commerce separately). These can be built in many ways, including simple collections of static pages – web development can add interactive or dynamic features such as slideshows, adding new images, community features and '3D photo wall'-style displays.
  • Content Management Systems – a 'CMS' is like a multi-author blog, managing site content as discrete blocks that may be complete pages, or subsections of a page.

Selling goods and services online allows businesses to reach wider markets and to trade 24/7. Whilst Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs) and the Data Protection Act (DPA) may add extra requirements (e.g. publishing Terms & Conditions of sale), opening an online shop is still far simpler and cheaper than setting up traditional retail premises.

  • Simple e-Commerce – basic e-Commerce facilities can be added to almost any site, with secure transactions handled by a Payment Bureau (e.g. PayPal, who also offer a simple shopping cart system). Such systems can handle donations and payments for services or subscriptions, as well as retail.
  • Full e-Commerce – a full e-Commerce 'e-shop' can be created using packages that include retail-oriented features such as shopping carts, stock control, downloadable products and customer management. Various payment methods and extra features can commonly be added as plug-in modules.
  • Secure e-Commerce - to handle credit-card payments directly, you'll need an Internet Merchant Account with a bank, a Payment Services Provider, and a dedicated server secured by an 'SSL' certificate. SSL certificates generally provide a site graphic and the padlock icon of 'https://' websites, so can also be used to increase consumer confidence, even if a Payment Bureau is used.

We offer many other services that can contribute to your successful web presence, including:

  • Content Creation – Online, as in print, 'Content is King'. The prettiest site will only attract visitors who find its content useful and/or interesting. We aim to create sites that please you by pleasing your intended audience, which improves site traffic and sales. You know what you want to say – let your customers define how you say it. Whilst clients usually provide finished text and images, we have a range of skills that can help with content creation, under your direction.
  • Text – we can write content for your site from detailed outlines or rough drafts prepared by you.
  • Images & Animations – photo optimisation, photomanipulation, stock, 3D, graphs, diagrams, illustrations. Info on web typography here?
  • Logo Design – as with site design, a logo can be anything from a simple graphic to an entire brand. We offer both a simple logo design service and a more in-depth option involving thorough brand analysis.
  • Site Stats – many sites perform poorly simply because their owners never see any visitor stats. Knowing how many visitors your site gets, what they are looking for, and which pages interest them, is essntail for cost-effective marketing. We can provide monthly summaries or full access to a stats analysis package, as required.
  • SEO – Search Engine Optimisation is an ongoing process, as competitors work to improve their own search engine positioning. This involves 'on-page' techniques, like finding effective keywords and editing content to effectively promote them, and 'off-page' techniques like link building. There are also pitfalls – 'black-hat' techniques can get your site banned, 'grey-hat' techniques are dubious, and even 'white-hat' techniques can be overdone, risking search result penalties. Important Free Advice: never trust any firm that flat-out guarantees to get your site on the first page of Google (other than by sponsored links); the only semi-reliable ways of doing this won't actually do you any good.