Web design
Websites written by hand, not assembled from plugins.
Proper code instead of plugins and page builders means lightning fast sites, and twenty years of practice means I write it quickly enough to charge a fraction of what an agency would.
Under the bonnet (hood, if you’re an American reading this)
Why I don’t use WordPress
About 40% of the web runs on it, and I get why. It’s quick to start with. But look at what a typical site ends up carrying: a theme, then a page builder, then a caching plugin to undo the mess the page builder made, then a security plugin keeping an eye on the other three. That’s four things that can break, and all of them want updating.
I don’t do any of that. Your site is HTML and CSS, with JavaScript only where it’s actually doing a job. It loads in under a second, it’ll still work in five years, and nothing’s going to fall over at midnight because someone stopped maintaining a plugin.
The fair objection is editing, and it’s a good one. If you want to add pages yourself, I’ll wire up a proper CMS so you can, without going near any code. If you change something twice a year, just email me and I’ll do it.
Speed
Nothing loads that doesn’t need to, so pages turn up before you’ve finished waiting for them.
Security
No login page and no database. There isn’t much there to hack.
Cost
I build quickly, so it costs you less. That’s saved time, not corners cut.
Longevity
A page written in 2005 still works today. That’s the point.
Honest comparison
Me, an agency, and a template
Process
How a build actually goes
If you already have a site, this gets considerably easier. Your existing site is a brief that has already been written: the content exists, so we start by editing rather than staring at a blank page.
Conversation
What the site needs to do, who it is for, and what is wrong with the current one.
Structure
Pages, hierarchy and copy direction agreed before a single pixel is placed.
Design
Real design in the browser, on real content. No pretty mockups that cannot be built.
Build
Hand-coded, tested on real devices, accessible by default rather than by audit.
Launch
DNS and analytics checked, then it goes live, and stays looked after.
Speed
Why site speed matters more than you probably realise
Two reasons, and they compound. Visitors leave slow pages: bounce rates climb sharply for every extra second, and the person who leaves never sees your phone number. Google also uses speed as a ranking signal, so a slow site is harder to find in the first place.
That means a slow site costs you twice: fewer people find you, and fewer of the ones who do stick around long enough to get in touch. It is the least visible problem on most websites and one of the most expensive.
You do not have to believe me, and you shouldn’t. Google publishes a free tool that measures this, and it takes about thirty seconds to use.
Put your own domain in and run the test. Look at the mobile score, because that is what most of your visitors are using.
Then run jameswarrack.com through the same tool, so you are comparing like with like rather than trusting a claim on a web page.
Do the same to a competitor or two while you are there. That comparison is usually the moment this stops being an abstract discussion.
Pricing
What it costs
All of it
£500+ VAT
My day rate is £250 and most sites take two days, so that is the number for a typical build. I confirm it in writing once we’ve discussed what you’d like, and it does not move afterwards.
then £35 a month + VAT, to keep it running
Included at that price
- Bespoke design, not a template
- Hand-coded and responsive, tested on real devices
- Structure and copy guidance as we go
- Contact form and privacy-friendly analytics
- GDPR compliant cookie notice, privacy and cookie policies
- Launch, DNS and go-live handled for you
Included from launch
The looked-after plan
£35 a month + VAT
Everything below, for less than most agencies charge for a monthly report nobody reads. A £60 a year WebsitePulse.io Pro plan is part of it, so roughly a seventh of the fee pays for itself before I do anything.
- Fast hosting, backups and the SSL certificate
- Up to an hour of content changes each month
- WebsitePulse.io Pro monitoring included, worth £60 a year
- Me on the phone if anything looks off
- No logging in, no dashboard, no plugin updates
Bigger jobs are simply more days at the same rate. Every site I build is looked after on the plan, because a site nobody is watching is how you end up needing a new one.
Anything to do with your email – authentication, deliverability or BIMI – is separate work with its own price. Ask and I’ll quote for it alongside.
FAQs
Questions people actually ask
Can I update it myself?
The blog, yes. I’ll wire that up so you can write and publish posts yourself in a clean editor, with no way to break the layout. For anything else – a price, a photo, a new page – just send it over. Those are quick, and they’re covered by the monthly plan.
What about SEO?
Clean semantic markup, fast loading, sensible structure and proper metadata are most of it. I will not sell you a monthly SEO retainer, because for most SME sites that is a subscription to a spreadsheet.
Why is it cheaper than an agency?
No account manager, no project manager, no office, no reselling my time at a markup. Just the person doing the work, working quickly because he has done it many times before.
Next step
Send me the site you have now
I’ll tell you what’s slowing it down, what I’d change, and what it would cost to rebuild. No charge, and no follow-up sequence afterwards.