Web Design
Websites that are designed to generate the right kind of customers and build trust from the outset
We specialise in working with businesses who may only be operating with a small number of people internally and currently have no one dedicated to managing their website full time. That business may be a sole trader who is launching their first website, or a rapidly expanding business whose website and digital offering has fallen behind.
What's included
- Custom design and build, not a generic template
- Technical SEO foundations from the first line of code
- E-commerce builds (WooCommerce) where needed
- Ongoing technical support after launch, so nothing gets forgotten or abandoned
Who it's for
Any business who feels that their current site is holding them back in some way, be it speed, feeling a bit dated or simply not being capable of generating enough customers. Although our specialism is working with tattoo studios and in aesthetics and beauty - areas where we have extensive understanding and experience - we are not limited by industry and are open to enquiries from businesses across Sheffield, Yorkshire and beyond.
What building a good website involves
There is a big difference between a website that is live, and a one that is working effectively. A domain, a template and a contact form are all that is needed to get a business online, and for some that is enough. For most businesses, however, it isn't - because the best website builds consider how people can find your site, how trust is built once they arrive, and how they are encouraged to commit to your offering in favour of a competitor's.
A good website build starts with a structure that works for both search engines and potential customers alike. The design and copy needs to be relevant, functional, eye-catching and engaging; providing a true reflection of why your business does what it does, and why it does it best. It also needs to include less glamorous (but highly important) technical groundwork, such as page speed, clean code and correct markups. It requires a structure that is built and organised with your customers in mind, so you can shape the way your visitors view and think about your business.
And finally, it needs to be built for mobiles, since most website visits now happen on a phone rather than a desktop. When a site has only ever been tested on a laptop screen, it shows instantly.
How the process runs
Discovery
Understanding what your business does and who you are trying to reach, gathering any content, photography and branding that already exists along the way.
Design
Designing a handful of pages for your site. This is so that we can agree on the general direction and ensure our visions are aligned before committing to the full build.
Full Website Build
It will take two to six weeks to build your site depending on its scope and complexity. Progress stays visible and contact remains throughout.
Review
Everything gets checked and thoroughly reviewed before anything goes live, rather than treating the website launch as the first real test.
Launch & aftercare
Usually the fastest part of the whole process with aftercare starting on the same day, not weeks later or only when any issues arise.
Built this way for
What we need from you, and when
The speed, quality and ease of a website build relies quite heavily on input from you at specific points during it's progress. Letting you know exactly what we need from you before it's required helps us to give you the most accurate timeline. To begin with, we will need a clear sense of who your website is for (target audience) as well as what your website needs to achieve. We will also ask for any photography, copy and any branding that already exists, even if it is a working progress. During the design, it is your feedback that we will need - best given promptly and as one consolidated response rather than trickling in over several separate messages (scattered feedback is one of the biggest causes of delay). Finally, just before the launch, we will ask you to sign off on the website's copy, functionality and the design itself, as well as provide us with access to the domain and hosting for the site to go live (if applicable). None of this needs to be perfect, the most important thing is good communication.
Want to talk through what stage your project is at before reading on?
That conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing either.
How much does a website cost?
What a website costs depends on a specific set of factors rather than being a single number that applies across the board. Here are some of the key factors that will determine the cost of your build:
Page count
A five-page brochure site, or portfolio site is a very different build to a fifty-page site with several service areas.
Existing content
Whether the website copy and photography already exists or needs creating from scratch is one of the biggest, most often overlooked factors.
Ecommerce or booking
Payments, bookings or integrations with a CRM or stock system all factor into the cost of a site.
Bespoke vs template
A design built from scratch takes longer than working within an existing, well-built system.
Clarity of the brief
A rough idea that needs shaping takes more time than one that's signed off and ready to build.
Feedback speed
How quickly a client turns around decisions and content affects the timeline more than almost anything else.
Why 'it depends' isn't avoiding the question of cost
The cost of your website really does depend on what you need. The most important thing is that we understand, before any work starts, which factors apply to your project specifically and why, so that any conversation about how much your website will cost is an accurate and fair reflection of the work needed. This discussion works both ways too, as it is an opportunity for you to be able to tailor and prioritise what it is that you really need against what your budget allows.
What we build our websites in
Most of our website builds run on WordPress, and for anything requiring ecommerce, we use WooCommerce. The existing functionality of these tools helps us to speed up the development process, meaning a website build is quicker to deliver and more affordable that it would be to build everything from scratch. For projects that need something leaner and faster than WordPress can offer, we tend to pair with Astro, ie: Headless Wordpress paired with Astro or Astro paired with Payload - or we can do a fully static Astro build. The route we take will be determined by what we decide will work best for your business long term, all of which will be discussed at the initial stages of your project.
What happens after your website is launched
The launch of your site is not the end of the job, but the beginning of a new phase of work. A site left entirely alone after launch will rapidly lose value and is more likely to begin breaking down in a way that is hard to spot until it is too late. Websites that work well need to be closely monitored and maintained to achieve the best results, requiring regular updates, security patches and the occasional fix as browsers, plugins and the wider internet continues to advance, evolve and develop. Our ongoing support covers that maintenance, plus the smaller changes and additions most businesses need as they grow, without every request turning into a fresh quote and another wait.
More from us at Millside Creative
If you are keen to know more about what our work looks like in a specific region, check out how we work with businesses in Sheffield, Grantham and Nottingham. If you're still working out what you need before a first conversation, you might find our pieces about what to prepare before briefing a web designer and why a live website isn't the same as a working one useful starting points. If you're weighing up a specific project, there's more on how the cost of a website build is dictated, whether you need a rebuild or just a refresh, and factors that delay a website build. Once a site is live, how to successfully set up a Google Business Profile and why your local business isn't appearing in Google search results cover what comes next.
Proof point
The same technical foundations, architecture, schema and site speed, that held up across a 12-location tattoo studio chain's infrastructure go into every site we build, whatever the size of the business.
FAQs
Common questions
Is this too much for a small, straightforward website?
No. The same process applies whether the build is five pages or fifty, and a straightforward site benefits from the same technical foundations as a larger one.
Do you only work with businesses in Sheffield?
Not at all! Sheffield is where we're based and we love working with local businesses, but we are also proud to work with businesses across Yorkshire and beyond - including clients we've kept with us from our original location when we first founded the business.
What do you build websites on?
WordPress, WooCommerce and Elementor for most projects, or Astro for projects that need something leaner and faster than WordPress can offer. Which one fits depends on what the site needs to do.
Will my new site keep the search rankings my current one has?
That's core to how we approach a rebuild or migration, not an afterthought. Technical SEO foundations, schema and a clean URL structure are built in from the first line of code, and migrations are handled with that specifically in mind.
Do you offer support after the site is live?
Yes. We don't treat launch as the end of the relationship, we stay involved so nothing gets forgotten about or neglected once the site is live.
How much does a website cost?
We quote per project once we understand the scope, instead of working from a fixed price list. Book a call or send an enquiry and we'll be in touch to discuss your needs.