What is website design, really?
Website design is how your site looks and how people move through it. But here's the thing most designers miss: if your site looks amazing and nobody buys anything, the design failed. Doesn't matter how pretty it is.
Proper web design is about three things happening at the same time. It has to look right (so people trust you). It has to make sense (so they understand what you do and why they should care). And it has to point them where you want them to go (so they actually buy, book, or get in touch).
Most designers are good at the first one. Some get the second right. Almost nobody properly does all three, because doing all three means you need to think like the person trying to sell the thing, not just someone making art.
How much does website design cost in the UK?
Website design pricing is all over the place. You can hire a freelancer on Fiverr for £200, pay a local agency £2,000-£5,000, or spend £30,000+ with a brand agency in London. Most of the price difference isn't quality, it's overhead.
We price by project because every design job's different. A 5-page service business site needs completely different work to a 50-page ecom brand or a custom booking platform. Here's roughly where projects land:
- Simple service business site (5-8 pages): usually £1,500-£4,000
- Ecommerce brand (home, collection, product, cart, about, policies): usually £3,000-£8,000
- Larger brand site (10-20 pages, custom sections, brand system): usually £5,000-£12,000
- Full platform design (app, booking system, marketplace): usually £8,000-£25,000+
You can get design and development together as one package (usually saves time and makes sense if you don't already have a developer), or just design and we hand over clean Figma files for your own dev to build. Both options work, we'll tell you which makes more sense for your situation.
How long does the design process take?
Most of our design projects take 3 to 6 weeks from kickoff to final Figma file. Here's roughly how that breaks down:
- Week 1: Discovery and strategy, we figure out what each page needs to do, who's using it, and what's going to convert.
- Week 2: Wireframes and structure, mapping the user journey before we design a single pixel.
- Weeks 3-4: Visual design, applying your brand, building out pages, mobile and desktop layouts.
- Weeks 4-6: Revisions, final polish, Figma file handover.
If you need it faster, say so upfront. If you're on a proper timeline and content's ready, we can move. What kills design timelines is slow feedback cycles and content that isn't ready, not the design work itself.
What makes a website actually convert?
A lot of people think good design is the secret to conversion. It helps, but it's not the main thing. What actually makes people buy is a mix of:
- Clarity, do they understand what you do in 5 seconds or less?
- Trust, do they believe you can actually deliver it?
- Relevance, does this feel like it's for them, specifically?
- Ease, is it easy to take the next step without thinking too hard?
Every page we design is built around those four. We place trust signals (reviews, case studies, client logos) where they answer specific objections, not wherever they look nice. We write CTAs that match what people are ready to do at that point in the page, not just "get in touch" on every section. We structure pages so the first screen does the heavy lifting because most people don't scroll as far as you think.
Ecommerce design
If you're selling products, your product page is where the actual sale happens. Most ecom sites treat the product page as an afterthought, stock Shopify template, basic gallery, one paragraph of copy, done. Then they wonder why conversion rates are stuck at 1%.
We design ecom sites with the product page as the hero. Proper image galleries, benefit-led copy, reviews placed strategically, size guides, shipping info, related products, FAQs. Everything a customer needs to buy with confidence, all in one place. Same treatment for collection pages, homepages, and cart, because a dropped cart is usually a design problem, not a pricing problem.
Design for service businesses
Service businesses (agencies, salons, consultants, trades, clinics) have a different job. You're not selling a physical product, you're selling trust. Your website needs to convince someone to book a call, fill in a form, or pick up the phone, all of which are bigger commitments than adding something to a cart.
So we design service sites around trust signals first. Case studies front and centre. Real testimonials with names and photos. Clear pricing (or clear reasons why pricing's a call). Fast booking flows. Minimal friction. Nothing that makes someone think "I don't know what this is going to cost" or "do these people actually know what they're doing?"
Handover or build with us?
When your design's finished, you've got two options:
Option 1, we build it. If you don't already have a developer, or you want one team responsible for the whole thing, we'll build the site too using our web development service. Clean code, fast load times, hosted on our own servers. Usually the smoother option.
Option 2, we hand over Figma files. If you've got your own developer or agency doing the build, we'll hand over properly structured Figma files, components, auto-layout, documented spacing, proper naming. Any half-decent developer can build from what we give them without needing us back every week.
Both options work. We don't push one over the other, whatever makes sense for your setup.
What's included in our design service
- Discovery and strategy session so we actually understand your business before designing anything
- Competitor and market review to see what you're up against and where you can stand out
- Wireframes for key pages before any visual work starts
- Full custom design in Figma, not templates or presets
- Mobile and desktop layouts for every page
- Design system, colours, typography, components, reusable across the whole site
- Revision rounds, usually two included, more if you need them (we'd rather get it right)
- Clean Figma handover file, properly organised, ready for any developer
- Optional dev handover to our web development team if you want us to build it
Common questions we get about design
Do I have to use your development team too?
No. We design plenty of sites that other developers build. Our Figma files are proper, clean, properly structured handover files, any competent dev can work from them. That said, if you don't have a developer and want it built, we can do that too.
Can you redesign my existing site?
Yes, we do redesigns all the time. Send us a link, we'll tell you honestly whether you need a full redesign or just some tweaks. Sometimes the brief answer is "your design's fine, your copy's the problem", we'll say that too.
Do you do branding too, or just websites?
We do both. If you've already got a brand (logo, colours, typography), we'll work within it. If you don't, or if it needs refreshing, we can build a proper brand system as part of the project.
Will I own the design files?
Yes, all Figma files are yours on final payment. We don't hold anything hostage, no ongoing "licence fees", no locked files.
How many revision rounds do I get?
Usually two rounds are included in the project scope. If we need more to get it right, we'll do them, we care more about the site actually working than hitting a revision count.
Do you design for Shopify, WordPress, or custom?
All of the above. The design's the same job regardless of the platform, Shopify, WordPress, Webflow, custom, doesn't matter. What matters is building something that works for your customers.
Ready to get a website that actually earns its keep?
If you're ready for a redesign, a brand new site, or just want someone to tell you honestly whether your current site's the problem, drop us a message. We'll look at what you've got, listen to what you're trying to do, and give you a straight answer about what we'd design and how much it'd cost.
Tell us about your project and let's design something proper.
