general approach

If you want I can go away and come back with a finished website, but my preference is to work closely with you, fine-tuning the design until it is an accurate reflection of you, or your business, on the web.
If you are local to West Wales, I am more than happy to come out for site visits, but otherwise will work from email and phone consultation.

web standards

All of my pages are hand-coded and validated by the W3C markup validation service. Validation is one of the simplest ways to check whether a page is built in accordance with Web standards, and provides one of the most reliable guarantee that future Web platforms will handle it as designed.
A page may or not display the validation icon (see the bottom of this page) depending on the client's wishes.

hosting and domain registration

If you already have a web-host, where possible, I will work with that. If you don't then I will recommend a host and registrar that I for used for over ten years and arrange that side of things as well. I won't charge you the earth for this, as my business is web design, not reselling web space.

content management systems

Database-driven webapps breathe life into a website and can give you direct control over the content of your site. As well as providing the usual links management, image-management, shop and blog facilities, I can tailor a webapp to your precise needs. Some of the apps I have created in the past include:

  • holiday let booking calendars
  • enquiry records
  • membership, password and subscription administration
  • password protected client areas
  • gallery and site-wide image management
  • online surveys
  • noticeboard
  • page-specific text and image management
  • herd management and diary
  • blog
  • ecommerce applications

As well as writing my own webapps, I implement and customise some reputable ready-made applications, such as Wordpress, Zen Cart, or phpBB.

artwork and graphics

I am skilled in the use of Photoshop and Illustrator, so can prepare any images that you may have for use on the web. Alternatively, I can produce artwork myself from scratch. I will also use online image resources such as iStock for cost-effective and royalty-free images.

pay-as-you-go updates and site maintenance

Once the site is up and running, any site updates or maintenance can be done eiher on a contractual basis or on a pay-as-you-go basis. The latter option is usually better where updates are not too frequent, but I will help you decide which is the best option for you. As the web develops and coding practices change, I will make suggestions when appropriate to keep the site up to date and fully compatible with modern browsers.

search engine optimisation

My sites are built with search engine requirements in mind, from the ground up, and I will work with you to ensure you achieve high rankings in the main search engines.

welsh language websites

I have a rudimentary understanding of the welsh language, and can just about hold a conversation in it. I am, however, particularly interested in creating sites in welsh and welcome enquiries for welsh language websites.

My costs are based on how much time it takes to build the site. It can range from a few days work at a few hundred pound for a small business to several thousand pounds for a large organisation with complex content management systems and databases. Please contact me with your needs and ideas and I will let you know whether I can help, and how much it should roughly cost.