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Web Design / Derby

Web design for Derby businesses that want to be taken seriously

Derby is a proud engineering city in the East Midlands, and the firms in it compete for the same customers. A templated website is easy to overlook. I design and build the one that gives yours a proper first impression.

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10+ years designing and building websites for local firms Custom WordPress, not a theme with your logo swapped in Based in Watford, about 99 miles away, serving Derby by call, video and in person
Why Derby firms call me

Web design for Derby businesses

Derby is an East Midlands city with a long engineering and manufacturing heritage, a university, a strong rail and aerospace supply chain, a busy professional services sector and a customer base across Derbyshire. Customers compare options online, and your website is usually where that comparison starts.

Built to be found by people searching in Derby

Pages that say plainly what you do and where you do it, structured data that matches your Google Business Profile, and a site fast enough on a phone for someone searching on the move.

Custom, not a theme

Designed around your services and your customers, then built in custom WordPress, so the site does what your business needs rather than what a template allows.

Positioned against a crowded field

Clear messaging about what you do and who for, so a visitor comparing several firms can see quickly why yours is worth a call.

One person accountable, start to finish

The person you brief is the person who builds it, and the person you call when something needs changing a year from now.

In a city where firms compete for the same customers, the website has to make a clear case quickly.
What changes

The Derby website most firms get vs. the one built for you

The common approach

  • A template with Derby swapped in
  • Promises of page one with nothing to back them up
  • A fee that grows as the project goes on
  • No one to call once it is live

How I do it

  • A site built around what makes you different
  • Honest advice on which searches are worth competing for
  • A clear scope and price agreed before work starts
  • Support from the person who built it
Questions people actually ask

FAQ

Why hire a web designer in Derby rather than a large agency?

With an agency you get an account manager and a rotating team. Here you get the person who actually writes the code, which matters most when something needs changing two years after launch.

Is a web designer different from a WordPress developer?

Not here. The same person designs the site and writes the code, so nothing is lost between a designer's mock-up and a developer's build, and there is one person to ask when something needs to change.

Do you work with Derby businesses even though you are based in Watford?

Yes. I am based in Watford, about 99 miles away. Most of the process is calls and shared screens, which works the same from Watford as from anywhere else, and I can travel to you at the key moments, such as the kick-off and the launch.

Which parts of Derby and the surrounding area do you cover?

Derby city centre, Chaddesden, Mickleover, Allestree, Belper and Long Eaton are all fine. Where your customers are matters more than where your office is.

What kinds of business do you build for?

Engineering and manufacturing firms, professional services, clinics, trades, hospitality and independent retailers are all a good fit. The common thread is a business that wants a site built around how it actually wins work, rather than a template with its name on it.

Will a new website help me show up in Derby searches?

A properly built site gives you the foundations: fast pages, clear service and location content, structured data and a Google Business Profile that matches it. It cannot guarantee a ranking in Derby, and anyone who promises you a position is guessing. What I can promise is that the technical groundwork is done properly.

How much does a website cost?

It depends on what the site has to do, because a brochure site and a booking system are different jobs. I would rather look at what you need and then give you a figure than quote from a menu. My guide to what freelance web developers cost in the UK sets out the ranges.

Can you help if my current site was built by someone else and just needs fixing rather than replacing?

Sometimes, yes. It depends what is underneath it. A quick look at the existing build usually tells us whether it is worth patching or genuinely faster to start again properly.

Proof

Sites I built that are running right now

Open any of them. These are live businesses trading on the site, not mockups, and each one has a write-up of what was built and why.

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Also serving
Hertfordshire Watford St Albans Welwyn Hemel Hempstead Stevenage Hatfield Hitchin Harpenden Bishop's Stortford Letchworth Barnet Finchley Harrow Wembley North London London Hertford Luton Dunstable Berkhamsted Potters Bar Royston Baldock Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire Essex Milton Keynes Colchester Cambridge Oxford Northampton Peterborough Birmingham Bristol Manchester Southampton Norwich Brighton Reading Bedford Leicester Nottingham Leeds Coventry Sheffield Cardiff Liverpool Newcastle Exeter Portsmouth Plymouth Swansea Bournemouth Hull York Cheltenham Wolverhampton Lincoln Gloucester Ipswich Swindon Bath Preston Stoke-on-Trent Sunderland
What clients say
I have worked with Terry for over seven years now and I couldn't be happier with my website. Terry has exceeded my expectations.
Jas
I have been dealing with the directors of the company for a long time now for our marketing, social media, web design etc. Our experience has been excellent and they have really improved our sales and presence in the hospitality market.
La Royale
Available for projects

Tell me what's broken, or what you're starting.

One email or a fifteen-minute call. I read and reply to every one myself.

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