A new website is the one point where search structure, page content, tracking and cookie consent can be planned together, rather than patched in after launch. This page explains how I approach web design and development for UK businesses that need a first website, or a replacement for one that cannot be saved.
What a search-first build changes
Many small business websites are let down by the order they were made in. The menu was drawn to fill a template, the copy was written to fit the boxes, and SEO was left for later, so the site has a polished home page and no page at all for the service that pays the bills. Fixing that after launch means rewriting pages, changing URLs and adding redirects.
I reverse the order. I start with the searches your customers make, group them so that each page answers one, and only then plan the menu and brief the design. You get a site Google can crawl and understand from the first day, enquiries counted in Google Analytics 4 from the first visitor, and a cookie banner that follows UK rules. You do not get instant rankings: a new site still has to earn its place, but it starts without self-inflicted problems.
Who this suits, and who it does not
It suits UK businesses that need a proper website for the first time, or whose current site is past sensible repair: a builder template nobody can edit, a platform the business has outgrown, or logins that left with the last supplier. It fits best where the website’s job is to produce enquiries, as it is for most service businesses, professional practices and B2B firms.
It is a poor fit if you need a site live within days, if you want the design approved before anyone has decided what the pages say, or if your current site already ranks well and only needs a new look. A full rebuild then puts working pages at risk for little gain.
Which web service do you need?
Several different jobs get called “a new website”. Match your situation to the right one before you ask anyone for a quote.
| Your situation | Where to start |
|---|---|
| You have no website, or the one you have cannot be fixed | A new build, as described on this page |
| The site works and brings in enquiries, but looks dated or converts poorly | A redesign of the website you already have |
| You need one page for a Google Ads or Facebook campaign | A landing page built for paid traffic |
| You are replacing a site that already gets search traffic | A new build planned alongside website migration SEO, so the old pages’ search value is carried across |
| You sell products online | An ecommerce build, scoped separately because payments, delivery options and product feeds change the job |
| You cannot tell whether the current site is worth keeping | A look at how to decide between fixing and rebuilding first |
What a new website build includes
Keyword research and a sitemap
Before any design work, I research the terms your customers use and map one primary term to each planned page, so no two pages compete for the same search. It is the same method as my keyword research service, applied to a site that does not exist yet. The output is a page list and a site architecture that keeps every important page within a few clicks of the home page.
Page briefs and copy
Each page gets a short brief covering the search it targets, the questions a visitor arrives with and the action you want them to take. Copy is written to that brief in British English and approved before design starts, so the layout fits the words. If you would rather write the pages yourself, the briefs tell you what each one has to cover.
Design for phones first
Layouts are designed for a phone screen first, because Google indexes the mobile version of your pages. I keep the templates few (home, service, article, contact, and a location page only where one is justified), so the site stays consistent and easy to edit. Images are compressed, scripts are limited to what each page uses, and the result is tested against Core Web Vitals on a mid-range phone, not just on a fast office connection.
Technical SEO foundations
Short, readable URLs, one H1 per page, a unique title and meta description for every page, correct canonical tags, an XML sitemap, and structured data that describes your business and its services. For a business serving a particular area, the name, address, phone number and service area match your Google Business Profile exactly, which is the groundwork that local SEO builds on later.
Tracking and cookie consent
Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager are set up during the build, with form submissions, phone taps and email clicks recorded as key events. A cookie banner decides what loads: under PECR and UK GDPR, analytics and advertising tags generally need consent first, and the ICO expects rejecting cookies to be as easy as accepting them. Each event is tested before launch, so the first month’s figures can be trusted.
Decisions to make before design
A few early decisions shape everything after them, so I would rather settle them in the first week than discover a disagreement at design sign-off.
- Platform. For a service business that will edit its own pages, I would normally choose WordPress, because it is widely supported and not tied to one host or one developer. A shop may suit Shopify or WooCommerce better, and a five-page site that rarely changes can sit happily on Squarespace.
- Domain. A .co.uk signals a UK business at a glance, though a .com can rank in the UK too. If you already own a domain with some history, keeping it is usually the better choice.
- Content sign-off. One named person approves each page. Websites stall when copy goes round a committee.
- Editing after launch. If someone in your business will add pages, the editor has to be simple enough for them, which rules out some heavily customised builds.
- Connections. Booking systems, a CRM and email marketing tools are cheaper to plan in than to bolt on afterwards.
- Account ownership. The domain, hosting, analytics and Search Console should be registered to your business, with suppliers added as users, so you keep everything if a supplier leaves.
How I run a website project
Every project runs through the same seven stages, and the written scope says who is responsible for each part before any work starts.
- Scoping call. What the site must do, what exists now, your deadline and your budget, followed by a written scope with the page list, platform and cost.
- Research and sitemap. Keyword research, a look at the sites you compete with in search, and the page plan, agreed with you before anything else starts.
- Briefs and copy. A brief for every page, then the copy for your approval.
- Design. The main templates for phone and desktop, with your real copy in place, for your comments.
- Build on a staging site. Pages, technical settings, forms, tracking and consent, all on a private copy hidden from search engines.
- Testing. Forms, events, links, redirects, speed and basic accessibility, worked through against my website launch SEO checklist.
- Launch and the weeks after. Search engines are let in, Search Console is verified and the sitemap submitted, then I watch indexing and enquiry tracking over the following weeks to catch anything the tests missed.
Mistakes common on UK business websites
- Launching with search engines still blocked. The WordPress setting that discourages search engines, or a noindex tag left over from staging, keeps a finished site out of Google entirely. Nothing looks wrong to a visitor, so it can go unnoticed for months.
- Tags firing before consent. A banner that appears while Google Analytics and the Meta pixel are already running has asked too late, because the cookies were set before the visitor chose.
- One page for every service. A single “Services” page listing eight things gives Google nothing specific to rank for any of them.
- Borough pages with the name swapped. Near-identical pages for Camden, Islington and Hackney help no reader and risk being treated as doorway pages. A location page earns its place only when there is something genuinely different to say about the area.
- Missing company details. A limited company must show its registered name, company number, registered office address and the part of the UK it is registered in on its website. The privacy policy should describe what the site actually collects, not what a template assumed.
What you receive
- The finished site on your own domain and hosting, with administrator access in your business’s name.
- The keyword map, so new pages can be added later without competing with existing ones.
- The page briefs and approved copy.
- GA4 and Tag Manager with tested key events, a verified Search Console property and a submitted sitemap.
- A cookie banner configured for the cookies the site actually sets, with the list your privacy and cookie policies need.
- A handover on editing pages and publishing articles, and on the few settings to leave alone without a check.
What affects the cost
The price of a website depends mainly on the number of distinct page templates, how much copy has to be written, the integrations involved (booking, CRM, payments) and how much existing content has to be moved and redirected. The number of pages matters less than people expect: twenty service pages sharing one template take far less work than five pages that each need their own layout.
Each quote is written in GBP after a free audit or a first call, and agreed in writing before any work starts.
Next step
Tell me about your business, the website you have now (if any) and when you need the new one through my contact page, and I will reply with the questions that decide the scope. If you already have a site and are unsure whether it needs replacing, ask for a free SEO audit first: it shows what is worth keeping before you commit to a rebuild.