Custom design
I start from a blank file. Not a theme.
No templates. No page builders. I write the pages for your brand and code only what the site needs. From £2,500.
Most small-business sites share the same bones.
Same layouts. Same stock. Same About block. Same three-column services. When the skeleton is identical, looking different is hard.
Then the only lever left is price. Years of a real brand get poured into the same box as a company that started last month.
Themes also drag around features you do not use. A five-page site on WordPress or Squarespace often loads the same pile as a shop. Slow scores. Rankings that match.
I sit with the brief and start empty. No marketplace component. No CSS kit for one button. Code that does the job and stops.
What that means
Nothing borrowed from a marketplace.
- Designed for your brand
- Created, not restyled. If two of my sites look the same, I have failed.
- Only the code it needs
- I aim for under a second and 95+ on Lighthouse. No theme bloat.
- I write the markup
- HTML and CSS for this job. No unused library for one animation.
- Smaller to attack
- No plugin farm. No WordPress admin. Less surface.
- Built to last
- No theme update that breaks the header. Clean code stays fast.
The difference
Theme vs written
95+
Lighthouse target. Themes often sit at 40 to 60
<1s
What I aim for. Themes often take 3 to 5
Yours
No shared theme DNA
How it works
How a custom build runs
- The brief
- What you do, who it is for, who is nearby. That drives the design.
- The look
- From scratch. Not a theme with the logo swapped.
- The build
- I code it. Clean HTML. Little JavaScript. Fast on purpose.
- Live
- 12 months hosting and Saffron Analytics. You own the files.
Price
Price
From £2,500
Often less than three years of a paid template platform. And you own it.
View full pricing- Design from a blank file
- No theme, no page builder
- 95+ Lighthouse target
- 14 to 21 working days on a standard build
- 12 months hosting and Saffron Analytics
- You own the code
Questions about a custom site
What does custom actually mean here?
I start empty. No WordPress theme, no Squarespace template, no component kit. Layout, type, colour, spacing: made for you.
Is it more expensive than a template?
Up front, yes. Builds start at £2,500. Squarespace Business over three years is about £1,188 and you own nothing. Mine includes a year of hosting. Total cost of ownership is often lower.
How long does it take?
Standard builds: 14 to 21 working days after we lock the design. A shop: about 4 to 6 weeks. Fighting a theme is slower than writing it.
Can I change the words later?
Yes. A small CMS if you change things often. If you do not, a care plan or a one-off change is usually simpler.
Why not WordPress?
It is a compromise for everything. Bloated, needy, and a plugin farm. I would rather give you a small, fast site you own.
What do I own when it is done?
The code, the design files, the live site, the content. Pay the last invoice and it is yours. I will not hold it hostage.
If you are tired of looking like the next tab
Send the current site and what you want. I will say if I am a fit.