Website design
A website that explains the job clearly
TDM Advisory writes, designs and builds small business websites end to end. You get pages that say what the business does, load quickly on an old phone, and send enquiries somewhere a person will read them. The price is a fixed quote agreed before the work starts, and every account is in your name at handover.
What a small business website build includes
A build starts with the words, because most small business sites fail when nobody can tell what the business does, not because the layout is wrong. Once the pages say the right thing, they are designed to stay fast on a five-year-old phone: no heavy sliders, no video backgrounds, and no cookie wall fighting the content. Each page carries one obvious next step, whether that is a call, a booking or an enquiry, rather than three competing in the same sentence. The enquiry form writes to somewhere you check, notifies you, and confirms to the customer that it arrived. Page titles, descriptions, structured data and a sitemap are set up so search engines can tell your pages apart. At handover the domain, hosting and analytics are in your name, with logins, a recorded walkthrough and written notes.
The words first
I write the pages before I design them. Most small business sites fail because nobody can tell what the business does, not because the layout is wrong.
Fast on a five-year-old phone
No heavy sliders, no video backgrounds, no cookie wall fighting the content. Pages load quickly on the connection your customers actually have.
One obvious next step per page
Call, book, or send an enquiry. Not all three competing in the same sentence.
Enquiries that reach a person
The form writes to somewhere you check, sends you a notification, and confirms to the customer that it arrived.
Findable
Correct page titles, descriptions, structured data and a sitemap, so search engines can tell your pages apart.
Yours at handover
Domain, hosting and analytics in your name, with logins, a recorded walkthrough and written notes.
What I will talk you out of buying
Part of the job is saying no to work that will not help. Stock photography of people in headsets makes a small business look like every other small business, so real photographs of the work are better even when they are imperfect. A blog is only worth building if somebody is going to write it, and most owners never do. A full rebuild is the wrong answer when the copy is the actual problem, because new pages saying the same unclear thing will not bring in more work. Monthly fees for a site that does not change are money leaving the business for nothing. If one of these is what you came for, you will hear that before a quote goes out rather than after the invoice.
- Stock photography of people in headsets
- A blog you will never write
- A rebuild when the copy is the actual problem
- Monthly fees for a site that does not change
Questions about the build
What is included in a small business website build?
- The words, the design and the build, done by one person. Pages are written before they are designed, laid out so each one has a single obvious next step, and set up with correct titles, descriptions, structured data and a sitemap. Enquiry forms write somewhere you check and notify you. Everything is quoted as a fixed price once the scope is agreed.
Why is the copy written before the design?
- Because most small business websites fail on explanation rather than layout. If a visitor cannot tell what the business does within a few seconds, no amount of design rescues the page. Writing first settles what each page is for, which pages are needed at all, and what the one action on each page should be. The design then arranges words that already work.
Who owns the domain, hosting and accounts at handover?
- You do, from the start. The domain, hosting and analytics are set up in your name rather than mine. At handover you receive the logins, a recorded walkthrough and written notes, so you can hand the site to someone else at any point without asking my permission or waiting on me to release anything.
Will the site be fast on an old phone?
- That is the target it is built against. No heavy sliders, no video backgrounds and no cookie wall fighting the content, so pages load on a five-year-old handset and an ordinary mobile connection. Most small business customers arrive on a phone, so a site that only feels quick on a desktop with fibre is not actually quick.
Where do enquiries from the website go?
- To somewhere you already check. The form writes the enquiry to a record you can see, sends you a notification, and confirms to the customer that their message arrived. That last part matters: a silent form makes people send the same enquiry to a competitor because they assume yours is broken.
Last updated:
A free review and sample redesign of your website
Send your address and I will write up what is costing you enquiries, where you sit in search, and then design a sample version of your homepage so you can see the difference rather than read about it. No call required to receive it.