01. Discovery
We sit down, in person or over a call, and go through your goals, what isn't working now, and what you want out of the site once it's live.
I build websites that just work. For the people visiting, that means finding what they came for without having to think about it. For the people running it, it means adding content without ringing a developer first. And for you, it means a site that gets found and does the job you built it for.
Most of the sites I build are for businesses and organisations who have outgrown what they've got. Sometimes that's something cheap and quick from five years ago that's now holding everything back. Sometimes it's a first proper website after years of making do. Either way you want someone who'll ask what the site is meant to achieve before working out what it should look like.
I also work with agencies who've won the project and need a developer they can put in front of a client. If that's more your situation, there's a page for that.
I start with questions, not code. Before anything gets built I want to know who the site is for, what you need them to do when they get there, and where the current one is letting you down. That usually reshapes the brief for the better.
From there you're in the loop the whole way, with the site online to look at as it comes together, so there's nothing to be surprised by at the end. Everything gets built to be edited by you. If you have to come back to me every time a phone number changes, I haven't done my job properly.
I build on WordPress. It runs a huge chunk of the web, which means it's well supported, well documented, and you'll never struggle to find someone to work on it after me. That last part matters more than people think.
What I don't do is page builders that lock you in, or themes bought off a marketplace and bent into shape. Everything is built properly, with content blocks you can rearrange yourself. If your project would genuinely be better on something else, I'll say so.
Every build is a bit different and I'll adjust to what you need, but this is the rough shape of every project I take on.
We sit down, in person or over a call, and go through your goals, what isn't working now, and what you want out of the site once it's live.
The structure comes first, the navigation and how the site is split up, then the visual design on top of it. I design flexible content blocks rather than fixed page templates, so your content fits the site instead of the other way round.
Where I get into my flow. The designs get built out across every device size, browser and platform, with every content row made properly editable. The site stays online to preview the whole time, so you can check in whenever you like. Accessibility, speed and SEO get handled as I go rather than bolted on at the end.
Testing happens throughout, but this is your dedicated window to sit with the site on your own devices and make sure you're genuinely happy with how it looks, feels and works. Reporting anything you find is simple, whatever your technical ability.
More a moment than a phase, and one I've done hundreds of times, so downtime stays at the absolute minimum. Also a fair excuse for a small celebration.
However much or little you want. Some people take it from here themselves, some want me on hand for updates, maintenance and content. Whatever suits.
A mobile-first rebuild of Wales' bilingual helpline service for young people. Built with Promo Cymru for a service that's been running for 25 years, so it had to be quick, quiet and easy to use on a phone in a hurry, with ten years of content brought across from the old site.
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"Alex is an exceptionally reliable developer who consistently delivers. He has excellent communication skills and can talk through trade-offs and make valuable suggestions."
Got a website project coming up?
Leave me a message and tell me what you're working on, and I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit.
