Service
Web Design & Development
Fast, custom sites built for search from the first line of code.
A website has one job: turn a stranger into an enquiry. That needs three things working at once, and most sites only manage one. It has to load fast enough that people stay, be structured so search engines can rank it, and make the next step obvious.
We build on WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Laravel, Drupal and React. Not because we are trying to be everything, but because the right answer genuinely changes depending on what you sell, who updates it, and what you have to spend.
We are not a WordPress agency. We are also not a Shopify agency or a Squarespace agency. Ask a single-platform shop which platform you need and you can predict the answer before the meeting, because their recommendation is the only one they can deliver.
What we build on, and when
- WordPressThe sensible default for a content-led site with a team that needs to publish often. Enormous plugin ecosystem, easy to hire for. The trade is maintenance: plugins are also the most common cause of slow, broken and hacked sites, so it needs looking after.
- ShopifyIf you sell products, start here. Payments, tax, inventory, shipping and checkout are solved problems and rebuilding them elsewhere is rarely worth it. The trade is a monthly fee and less freedom outside the checkout.
- Squarespace and WixGenuinely good for a small brochure site that needs to look sharp and launch quickly on a modest budget. We will say so when that is the honest answer. The ceiling arrives when you need something the platform does not do, and it arrives suddenly.
- LaravelFor sites where speed, structure and control matter more than convenience. Nothing loads that you did not put there. This site is built on it, which is why it scores 100 on mobile PageSpeed with a fifty-three second video on the homepage.
- DrupalWhere the content model is genuinely complicated - many content types, strict editorial permissions, multiple languages, or an organisation that needs to prove who changed what.
- React and JavaScriptFor the parts of a site that behave like software rather than pages. Booking flows, configurators, calculators, dashboards. Used where it earns its weight, not as a default.
The honest recommendation is sometimes the cheap one. A three-page site for a sole trader does not need a custom build, and quoting one would be taking your money. If Squarespace is the right answer we will say so, help you set it up properly, and spend the difference on getting you found instead.
What's included
- Discovery and structureWhat each page is for and which search it answers, agreed before design starts. This is the part that decides whether it ever ranks.
- Custom designBuilt around your business, not a theme with your logo dropped in. Even on a template platform, the layout is yours.
- Performance engineeringStatic caching, modern image formats, deferred scripts and properly compressed media, targeted at 90 or better on mobile.
- SEO foundationsSchema, clean URLs, internal linking, metadata and a sitemap built in rather than bolted on by a plugin afterwards.
- AccessibilityContrast, focus states, keyboard navigation and screen reader labels. It is also the same work that makes a site legible to search engines and AI assistants.
- Content managementA back end where you can add a page or update copy without calling us, on whichever platform we have used.
- Migration and redirectsExisting rankings preserved. Old URLs mapped and 301 redirected, never dropped, with publish dates carried across so your archive does not look brand new.
Common questions
Which platform will you recommend for me?
We cannot tell you before we know what you sell, who updates the site and what the budget is. What we can tell you is that the recommendation will not be decided by what is convenient for us to build. If the honest answer is Shopify, it is Shopify.
Is WordPress still a good choice?
For a lot of businesses, yes. It is the most common CMS in the world for good reasons: easy to publish on, easy to hire for, and there is a plugin for almost everything. The risk is that same plugin ecosystem, which is why WordPress sites get slow and get hacked. It needs maintaining, and we will say so rather than pretend otherwise.
Why is your own site not on WordPress?
Because our brief was speed, a video-heavy homepage and total control of the output, and Laravel with a flat-file CMS was the right tool for that brief. It is not a claim that Laravel is right for you. Different brief, different answer.
Will I lose my Google rankings?
Not if the migration is done properly. Every existing URL is either kept or 301 redirected, and publish dates carry across so your content does not look brand new. Ranking loss after a rebuild is almost always a redirect map that was never made.
Can I update it myself?
Yes, and that is deliberate. Every section is a pre-styled block in the back end, so adding a service or a page is filling in a form. A site you have to phone someone to change is a site that goes stale.
Do I own the site?
Yes. Code, content, domain and hosting account all stay yours. Nothing is built inside an account you cannot access, and if you leave you take the whole thing with you.
What does it cost and how does payment work?
Every build is scoped and quoted before you commit. Development and out-of-scope work is $145 plus GST an hour. Build work is 50% on signing and 50% on delivery, where delivery means handed over to you - deliberately not the same thing as go-live, so you are never paying the balance for something you have not seen working.
How long does a build take?
A small brochure site is usually a few weeks. A larger custom build or an ecommerce migration takes longer, and the variable is almost always content and approvals rather than development.
Be Seen. Be Found. Be Remembered.
Tell us what you sell and who needs to update the site. We will tell you which platform fits, even if the answer is the cheap one.
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