ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Hi, my name is Trudy, I am a Web Designer and Web Developer from Borough Green, Sevenoaks, Kent. I chose to name my website 'Web Seedlings' as with my own business, I want to help small businesses and sole traders grow and flourish into successful companies by helping you not only to attract more customers, but to create a platform for business networking with a practical, contemporary and visually appealing website.
I am a Diploma qualified Web Designer but also have design and editing history throughout my career along with two Design Degrees.
My fresh up-to-date knowledge of Responsive Web Design, design focussed styling and interactivity (UI Design) and User Experience Design (UX Design); focussing on content strategy, means that your website will be crafted to provide an optimal viewing and interactive experience across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones).
Please browse my examples of work and contact me so we can unfold your ideas and aspirations.
info@webseedlings.org.uk | 07443 918083
Why choose a Web Developer over a DIY platform?
If you are looking for a more bespoke website, personalised research into your business goals and objectives, SEO strategy and ongoing maintenance (with any text updates you may require, stress free, all included in the monthly fee), then a Web Developer is for you. Although DIY platforms can be cheaper, they offer limited customisation, require you to be hands on which takes time and often offer packages with pre-determined features and limited support. It’s also worth noting that many of these sites offer free trial periods which means you could lose everything if you decide not to pay the monthly fee after a certain amount of time. And even if you choose a paid option, it may end up costing you more than hiring a professional developer in the long run!
With this in mind, Web Seedlings understands when starting a new business just how important it is to get known, but how you achieve this on a tight budget, which is why I offer a lower cost website with an affordable monthly maintenance fee, built from scratch and tailored to your specification, but isn't the cost of a large agency.
Researching the user experience
When building a website it's not just the technical skills involved, but understanding how a consumer takes their journey to reach your site and how they navigate effectively through your pages.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Steve Jobs
The first process will involve getting to know you and your business, understand your competitors and what you want the consumer to get from your site. This research will then be used to identify the trending keyword search phrases and create content that is relevant, understanding consumer priorities and the advice they are looking for. Web Seedlings will then build a bespoke and stunning website centred around the keywords and objectives of your business, that not only is a 'shop window' for your business, but is unique in its own design and functionality with targeted and uncluttered content.
We are all pressed for time and want to find the answer to our questions as quickly as possible, so building a minimalist but informative website is crucial. Every consideration is made for the user experience, engagement and how best to organise your content for a seamless journey through your pages.
More freedom, flexibility and longevity
At Web Seedlings, websites are built from scratch in raw HTML code that does not rely on third party Content Management Systems (CMS) or Website Builders that have restrictive templates, advertising and plugins to slow your pages down when loading. Web Seedlings websites therefore have more freedom, flexibility and longevity, but more importantly, can create a unique design just for you which isn't just a 'fill the template' exercise. Most consumers will only wait between 6-10 seconds for a page to open before they abandon it. For example, Google takes page load speed so seriously that it’s now a ranking factor. In other words, if your pages don't load quickly enough, your site may slip lower down on Google's results pages.
Configured to index your site
My packages are specifically tailored around Small Businesses, giving you a Web Design that is configured to allow Google (and others) to find and index your site, which is the first essential step towards driving more business to your website.
I will also maintain your site so you don't have to spend valuable time on the phone to a support team.
Every website needs to be 'hosted' somewhere - i.e. all the files, images and databases that make up a website need to be stored on a server and maintained. All Web Seedlings websites are hosted with the UK based company Krystal, established in 2002, who provide Award-Winning In-house 24/7 UK Based Support, are rated the best web hosting company by many popular review sites (with a 4.9/5 'Excellent' rating with Trustpilot) and use the LiteSpeed Web Server, ensuring your website will load faster.
Looking after your website
At Web Seedlings I believe a website is not simply just a one-off exercise, websites also need to be maintained, not only from a technical and security perspective, including software/browser updates and bug fixes, but also by keeping the content fresh and up-to-date, which is why Web Seedlings refresh your website on a regular basis, to ensure its presence on the internet is always current and thus helping with your Google ranking. The technical maintenance for your site is included in the monthly fee.
Informing your customers
2018 saw a significant change for online privacy and data protection, and the introduction of the EU's General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) were extensive. Regarding Brexit and the EU, GDPR has now been made part of UK law and renamed the ‘UK GDPR’. There are Privacy & Data protection guides available on the internet which relate to most businesses which I can help you with if needed, and I will provide the text you will need for the cookie page.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - It's no longer enough to simply put a website on the internet, you also need to ensure it can be found! At Web Seedlings all these factors can play a role:
Fresh, unique, organised and easy for your target audience to read. I can help write new, or refresh, your existing web page content ensuring keywords or phrases help to improve your visibility.
A well-structured site provides your visitors quick and easy access to find what they want, but it also provides search engines a sense of your priorities and the role a page plays in the bigger picture of a website.
The world is mobile, by chosing a responsive website, mobile friendly websites are now a key ranking factor for Google. I can ensure your website works across mobile phones, tablets and desktop computers giving visitors on any device the best experience of your business. With the fact that mobile devices account for half of global internet traffic, it means that having a mobile-friendly website is no longer a luxury, but a must.
Once you have your completed website, this isn’t a guaranteed formula for internet success. I would also recommend that you reinforce your presence with regular marketing and content updates, in order to keep visitors coming back to your site, increasing your visibility, but this also helps with your ranking too. Web Seedlings can either provide support guides in creating accounts or direct support with your social media. Minor alterations to existing or promotional text is included in the monthly fee.