Frequently Asked
The questions business owners actually ask, answered plainly.
Before you spend a penny, you should know how this works. What it costs, how long it takes, who owns what, and how I work. No jargon, no pressure. If something is not here, message me on WhatsApp.
trust and doubts
The worries you have before you even ask
Fair question. Most people I talk to have been let down before. So I work differently. Before you pay anything, you fill in the free roadmap and I send a real plan: the keywords you can actually win, a design idea, and a realistic timeline. If it is not a fit, you keep it and walk away. You judge me on the work, not the pitch.
Understood. A one-off build has no ongoing contract once the work is done. An SEO plan has a 6-month minimum, because search really does need that long to move. After those six months you can cancel any time with 30 days notice. No contract that rolls on by itself, no hidden exit fees.
Yes. Over 70% of UK searches happen on a phone, so mobile is built in from the start. Easy-to-read text, a tap-to-message button, fast loading. Show me your current site on your own phone and I will point out what is slowing it down.
No. Most of the businesses I work with are one to fifteen people. Trades, clinics, salons, solo consultants, small firms. The whole model is built around small businesses, local or UK-wide, not big corporates.
That is the point. No buzzwords for the sake of it. If I cannot explain why something matters for your business in one plain sentence, it does not go in the plan. You should never feel awkward asking a question.
You deal with me, from start to finish. No account manager, no junior taking over, no “the team will look into it”. One person who knows your business, your customers, and your site.
pricing and payment
What it costs, and how you pay
One-off builds are Get-Found £900, Get-Leads £1,700, Sell-Online £2,500, by the scope you need. Full details on the pricing page.
Because they are usually a way to hide what you are getting. I price two honest ways: by the size of the site for a one-off build, or by the amount of SEO work per month for an ongoing plan. No padded tiers, no features locked away to push you up a level.
Three steps: 50% to hold your slot, 25% on day 30, 25% on day 60. So a Get-Found build at £900 is £450, then £225, then £225.
Automatic monthly Direct Debit. The fee is set only by your SEO level: Core £500, Growth £900, Performance £1,600. Whatever the size of the site.
No. The one cost outside my fee is hosting and your domain, paid straight to the providers, about £60 to £120 a year in total. I tell you that on day one and never mark it up.
No, and I will not pretend to be. The work is built to bring in real enquiries and to be owned by you. Cheap sites usually cost more later, when you have to rebuild or move them.
Yes. Site scope and SEO level are separate. You could pair a Get-Found-sized site with the Performance plan and pay the flat £1,600 a month, with no design fee on top.
the two routes
A build only, or a build plus SEO
A one-off build is for businesses that already have customers, from referrals, social, or word of mouth, and just need a good site they own. The monthly plan is for businesses that need Google to bring new customers every month: a custom build plus ongoing SEO.
The one-off build. You own it, I support it for 90 days from your contract start, and there is no monthly fee. If you later decide to grow through search, you can move to the monthly plan.
Two reasons. First, search does not move in weeks. It moves in months. Six months is the honest minimum to see real movement. Second, a good site is an ongoing job, not a one-time drop. I keep improving the copy, content, and structure as your data comes in, instead of handing over a template and disappearing. That takes real commitment from both sides. After the first six months, you can cancel any time with 30 days notice.
Twelve, in most cases. On the 12-month plan, if you need a new site it is included, £900 to £2,500 of design built in. If you already have a site, you get the same value back: one month of the fee credited across the year. The 6-month plan has neither, so a 6-month client needs to already own a working site, or buy a one-off build first.
No, because you do not need one. Instead you get the same value back: one month of the fee credited and spread across the twelve payments. For example, Growth at £900 a month works out at £825 a month. A full £900 month saved over the year.
Yes. “Included with the 12-month plan” is about how the design is paid for, not about who owns it. Your site, domain, hosting, and files are yours from day one, no matter what. The 12-month term is a commitment to the work. It is not a hold on your site.
If a monthly invoice is unpaid for 72 hours, three days, from the charge date, I pause work until it is cleared. It is written into the agreement, so there are no surprises. Clear the balance and work starts again.
timeline
How long the whole thing takes
Within 10 to 14 working days from the day I have your full content brief. The start point is the brief reaching me, not the day you sign.
The live site is fast. The 90-day window, counted from your contract start, is for the finer work: refining the copy, filling in detail, the small changes that make it properly yours. It is steady work together, not three months of waiting.
Honestly, 3 to 6 months for first movement, 6 to 12 for real ranking on local and lower-competition terms. Competitive or national markets, like solicitors or accountants, can take 8 to 18 months. You will know which group you are in before you sign.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, depending on what is already booked in. I would rather tell you “no, but here is the real date” than say yes and let you down. Send the roadmap and I will be straight about timing.
process and revisions
How a project actually runs
Always with the free roadmap. You fill in a short form, about 12 questions, and I send back a custom plan within 5 working days. No payment, no pressure. Paid work begins only after you have seen the plan and agreed the route.
A real plan, not a sales call. Three to five keywords you can realistically win, a design idea for the layout, a 3 to 6 month timeline with steps, and a clear recommendation on which build scope fits. Sent as a clean document. If it is not a fit, it is yours to keep.
A build includes two full design revision rounds, covering the layout and the look. A round is one set of change requests, done together. Anything beyond that is £45 an hour, so the scope stays clear and the project does not drift.
I write the finished copy for your pages, set up for search, and you review and approve it before launch. Your brand photos are yours to provide. You know your business better than anyone, and the final say is always yours.
Yes. I can launch with a clean text logo made from your business name, and swap in a full logo later when you are ready.
Where it makes sense and works out, yes. In the first few working days I try to get on-site in Edinburgh or Glasgow to get a feel for the place. For clients elsewhere, I do this over a call.
seo and results
What SEO can and cannot do
The most common thing I hear. Nine times out of ten it was not a time problem, it was a keyword problem. The last company chased broad terms that take a year or more, instead of the searches you can realistically win. I show you the keyword plan up front in the roadmap, so you see what I am aiming at before you commit.
Yes, and it helps to know why. AI search, like Google’s AI answers and ChatGPT, is becoming another place customers find businesses, not a replacement for search. The same basics that rank you, clean structure, correct information, real content, are what get you quoted in AI answers too, so I build for both. For local searches, someone looking for a plumber or a physio nearby, normal search still does most of the work. For information and national searches, AI matters more every month. Either way, it is part of the plan.
No, and be careful with anyone who does. Google does not sell positions, and rankings change all the time. What I can do is build on the things that really move rankings, and show you a realistic timeline up front.
Often, yes, especially where competition is lower. The roadmap shows you which searches you can realistically win and where the gap is.
No. Local SEO is one of three lanes: local, UK-wide, and international or online shops. I am based in Edinburgh, but a lot of the work is national and online. The roadmap matches the plan to where your customers are.
Edited by someone who knows your business, fine and common. Raw, unedited copy straight off any tool is a real risk, the kind that can trip Google’s helpful-content filters. Real, specific detail about your business and customers is what makes a page work. That is the part I do not skip.
ownership
Who owns what, and who pays for what
You do, paid straight to your hosting and domain providers. A domain is about £10 to £20 a year. Good managed hosting is about £50 to £100 a year. So around £60 to £120 a year in total, paid straight to the providers. I keep your costs low and your ownership clear, and I set both up with you in your first week.
You own every part from day one. The domain, the hosting, all files, the WordPress install. I handle the setup and the work for you. If you ever stop working with me, your site stays yours. No lock-in.
Because that is the trap that locks you in. If I held your hosting and domain, leaving would mean losing your site. Paying the providers directly keeps everything in your name and your control. I set it up with you in week one.
care and support
What happens once the site is live
Every build includes a 90-day support window, counted from your contract start. Monitoring, security, and small fixes. Training and guidance are built into the site, and I give you email support for the different parts of it. If something is missing, I add it to the site quickly or explain it by email. After the window, you can take a care plan or pay as you go.
£90 a month, billed every three months, £270. It covers core and plugin updates, security checks, a backup before any update, post-update checks, and up to 2 hours of small text or image edits a month. It is for one-off-build clients who want it handled for them.
No. All maintenance, security, and technical updates are already in your monthly plan. You never pay twice.
Hourly support is £45 an hour, one-hour minimum. Or buy a prepaid pack of 3 hours for £120, tracked for you, no expiry.
technical build
How it is built, and why
WordPress, using the built-in Gutenberg editor with a light theme. No Elementor, no Divi, no heavy page builders.
For a simple five-page site, Wix is fine. The trouble comes two or three years in, when you want to grow and the platform locks you in. WordPress gives you full control of SEO, structure, and speed, and you own it. Starting right costs less than moving later.
Yes. A clean Gutenberg build, a light theme, and good hosting keep it fast. That matters because Google rewards it and impatient visitors do not wait around.
The layout is made to look great on desktop and work cleanly on mobile. Easy-to-read text, a tap-to-message button near the top, fast loading. With over 70% of UK searches on a phone, this is not optional.
Standard booking embeds like Calendly are styled and included at no extra cost across all scopes. A full shop comes with Sell-Online. Bigger custom features, like membership areas or special plugins, change how the site works, so I quote those separately once the details are clear.
wordpress help
Fixing and looking after WordPress sites
Both. If you already have a WordPress site, I can fix it, speed it up, secure it, move it, or take it over and look after it. This work is billed by time: £45 an hour, or a 3-hour block for £120.
Yes. Message me on WhatsApp or through the contact page and I will come back the same day. I work on a safe copy and back up first, so fixing it does not make things worse.
Yes, this is common. I help you get back control of your site, hosting, domain, and logins, then look after it properly from there. You own all of it.
Yes. I plan the move so your links and redirects are kept, so your rankings and your email carry over.
Usually, yes. I find what is slowing it down, fix the real causes, and show you the before and after.
Yes. A broken checkout, failing payments, or VAT and shipping set up wrong are common WooCommerce fixes.
Yes. I can build a clean custom feature, made to fit, without piling on heavy plugins.
No. I work on a safe copy first and back up before any change, so the live site stays safe until the fix is tested.
reviews and law
Reviews, the law, and doing it properly
No, and be careful with anyone who offers that. Under UK law, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, fake, paid-for, and gated reviews are illegal, and it is being enforced. What works, and is legal, is steadily earning real reviews, which Google rewards more anyway.
No. Paying for or gating reviews is against UK law now. I will help you build an honest review habit instead, asking every happy customer at the right moment, which is what really moves both rankings and trust.
Yes. They are a real part of local ranking and one of the biggest trust signals for new customers. Recent, real reviews matter more than a pile of old ones.
