Guides.
Answers to the questions clients ask me about websites: what they cost, how to choose someone to build one, and how to look after it.
Start here
Web designHow to choose a web designer in the UKSEOLocal SEO for Welsh businessesSecurityWebsite maintenance checklistPricingHow much does a website cost in the UK?BusinessWelsh business website statisticsWeb designWordPress vs Squarespace: which is better for UK businesses?GlossaryWebsite terms explained
All guides by topic
What a website costs
- How much does a website cost in the UK?UK web designers who publish their prices typically start a small business website at £500 and an online shop at £1,470, from the 262 designers in…
- How Much Does a Personal Website Cost?A personal website costs anything from nothing (a DIY builder) to £10,000 or more for a high-end custom build, plus yearly running costs. A profess…
- The Real Cost of Poor Website Performance (UK Data)A slow website costs you customers before they see a thing: Google's 2016 research found 53% of mobile visits were abandoned when a page takes more…
Free tool: Website cost calculator
Planning a website and choosing who builds it
- How to choose a web designer in the UKLook at their real work on your phone, ask who will build your site and what happens after launch, and get a fixed price and a written contract tha…
- WordPress vs Squarespace: which is better for UK businesses?For most UK small businesses that want to grow online, WordPress is the better choice: you own the site, you get far more control over SEO, and the…
- Small Business Website Checklist: What Your Site NeedsA small business website needs to load in a couple of seconds, work well on phones, show why people can trust you, be secure with SSL and backups,…
- Web Design Tips for Welsh BusinessesA website that works for a Welsh business is built around what customers need, not what the owner likes: it works well on a phone, loads in under t…
- Welsh Language Website Requirements: Legal GuideWelsh Language Standards apply to organisations that the Welsh Language Commissioner has issued a compliance notice to, mainly public bodies, not t…
- Web Accessibility Standards: What's Required in 2026In 2026, UK businesses are expected to make their websites usable by disabled people under the Equality Act 2010, and those selling covered product…
- How Next.js Makes Websites Faster (And Why It Matters)Next.js makes websites fast by building pages in advance, loading only the code each page needs, and automatically resizing and compressing images.…
- AI Website Features vs Traditional Web DesignAI website builders are quick and cheap but produce generic, often slower sites. The best results come from a developer who uses AI tools to work f…
- Claude AI for Business: Practical Uses for Your WebsiteClaude is most useful as a capable assistant: drafting website content, answering routine customer questions and turning messy processes into clear…
- Custom Web Tools: Transform Your Website's User ExperienceCustom tools such as calculators, estimators and comparison tools give visitors something useful to do on your site instead of just reading. That k…
- Mobile-First Website Design: Why It MattersMost of your visitors arrive on a phone, and Google ranks your site on its mobile version. Designing for the small screen first forces clear priori…
- The Psychology of Web Design: What Makes Your Visitors Click?Visitors click when a website feels familiar, trustworthy and easy: a button colour that's easy to spot, a layout that follows how people scan a pa…
- Typography Trends for Welsh Business WebsitesGood typography makes a business website easier to read and more trustworthy. Stick to two complementary fonts, choose ones that are clear on a pho…
- Micro-Animations: How Small Movements Make Big Website ImpactsMicro-animations are small, purposeful movements, like a button that responds when pressed or a form field that highlights as you type. Used sparin…
- Welsh business website statisticsThere were 194,000 private sector businesses in Wales at the start of 2025, and 94.6% of active Welsh enterprises are micro-businesses with fewer t…
Free tool: Website cost calculator
Getting found on Google and winning enquiries
- Local SEO for Welsh businessesLocal SEO is how your business gets found when people nearby search for what you do, in Google's map results and the ordinary results below them. F…
- How to Check if Your Website is Working for Your BusinessA website is working if it brings in enquiries or sales, not just visitors. Track conversions in Google Analytics, check Search Console for the sea…
- How to Improve Your Website Trust Score: A Complete Guide for Welsh BusinessesYou improve a website's trust score by fixing the technical basics first (a valid SSL certificate, fast pages, no broken links), then showing clear…
- Local Business Digital Strategy: Beyond Just Having a WebsiteA website works best as the hub of a wider local strategy: a well-kept Google Business Profile, social media and email that point back to your site…
- Cardiff Business Directory Listings: Complete GuideStart with your Google Business Profile, then add a handful of directories your customers use, such as Yell, Yelp or a trade-specific site. Keep yo…
- Website Optimisation in Cardiff: A Step-by-Step GuideTo optimise your website, first measure it with PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals, then fix speed (images, caching, UK hosting), get the techn…
- How Google's AI Updates Affect Your Website: What Welsh Business Owners Need to KnowGoogle's AI now judges how helpful and experienced your content is, not how many keywords it contains. Welsh businesses do best by answering real c…
- Schema Markup for Local Businesses: The Types That MatterSchema markup is hidden code that tells Google exactly what your business is, where you work, when you're open and how to contact you. For local bu…
- Core Web Vitals: How to Fix Your Site SpeedCore Web Vitals measure how fast your main content loads (LCP), how quickly the page responds to taps and clicks (INP) and how much it jumps around…
- AI SEO Tools: Which Ones Are Worth Paying ForA few AI SEO tools help: content analysers like Surfer SEO, technical crawlers like Screaming Frog and keyword clustering in Ahrefs. AI content wri…
- Writing Meta Descriptions with AI: A Practical GuideAI tools are good at drafting meta descriptions, but not at finishing them. Give the tool real context about the page and customer, ask for five to…
- Google Analytics 4 Setup Guide for Welsh BusinessCreate a GA4 property at analytics.google.com, install it with the official Site Kit plugin on WordPress, raise data retention to 14 months, exclud…
- Understanding Your Website Analytics: A Non-Technical Guide for Business OwnersMost business owners only need five numbers from their analytics: visitors, where they come from, bounce rate, time on site and how many become enq…
Free tool: Website trust score
Looking after your website
- Website maintenance checklistKeep a website healthy by working to a schedule: glance at uptime and security alerts daily, update software and check backups weekly, test speed a…
- Small Business Website Security UK: Protect Your SiteMost small business website hacks are preventable. Use secure UK hosting, keep an SSL certificate in place, apply updates promptly, take daily back…
- What to Do When Your Website Gets Hacked: Recovery Guide for UK Business OwnersAct fast but don't start deleting: change all your passwords, call your host, screenshot the damage and put the site in maintenance mode. Clean it…
- PHP2Shell: what the October 2026 PHP security flaw means for your websiteIf your website runs on PHP (that includes every WordPress site), it needs updating to PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 or 8.2.35 now. Attackers are alre…
- Website Backups: What Every Business Owner Should KnowBack up your whole website, files and database, automatically every day, keep copies somewhere other than your web server, and test that you can re…
- Website Backup Hosting: BT 999 Failures Show WhyEvery system fails eventually, even BT's 999 service, so your website needs automatic daily backups stored away from the main server, a UK host wit…
- SSL Certificate Migration: Secure Your SiteEvery website needs an SSL certificate so it loads over HTTPS: without one, browsers show a 'Not Secure' warning, forms can fail and Google ranks y…
- Why UK Website Hosting Matters for Your BusinessHosting your website on UK servers makes it load faster for UK visitors, supports your local SEO, keeps customer data under UK data protection law…
- Moving Your Website to UK Servers: A Cardiff Developer's GuideTo move a website to UK servers safely, back everything up, set up and test the site on the new server before going live, lower your DNS TTL a day…
- Why I Choose Krystal for Cardiff Business Websites: Speed Tests & AnalysisI host client websites with Krystal because their UK data centres give Welsh visitors fast response times, their LiteSpeed servers and built-in cac…
- Green Web Hosting in Wales: Environmental Impact of UK Data CentresEvery page view uses energy, so a website has a carbon footprint. Hosting on UK servers powered by renewable energy, and keeping the site light wit…
- When to Update Your Website Content (And When Not To)Update the things that go out of date: contact details, opening hours, prices, team changes, legal pages and a steady trickle of useful blog posts.…
- Why Your Business Emails Are Going to Spam (And How to Fix It)Business emails usually go to spam because the domain isn't set up with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, the sender has a poor reputation, or the email looks s…
- The Future of Third-Party Cookies and Your Website: What UK Businesses Need to KnowThird-party cookies are already blocked by Safari and Firefox and by many Chrome users, even though Chrome itself has kept them. Expect gaps in adv…
- New Browser Features That Affect Your WebsiteBrowser updates rarely break a well-built website, but tighter privacy rules, blocked mixed content and tougher speed expectations can quietly stop…
Free tool: PHP security check
Running a WordPress site
- WordPress Hosting Wales: Your Complete GuideMost Welsh small business WordPress sites only need good UK shared hosting at around £5 to £15 a month, from a provider with SSL, daily backups and…
- WordPress Security: Settings Every Site NeedsMost WordPress hacks exploit basic mistakes, so the basics stop most attacks: a unique admin username, strong passwords with two-factor authenticat…
- How to Speed Up Your WordPress Website: Complete GuideMost slow WordPress sites are fixed by better hosting, one caching plugin, images resized and served as WebP, fewer plugins, a cleaner database and…
- How to Choose WordPress Plugins (And Avoid Bad Ones)Only install a plugin you need, and check first that it is recently updated, widely used, compatible with your WordPress version and has an active…
- Setting Up WordPress SEO: The Basics Done RightTo set up WordPress SEO properly, install an SEO plugin such as Yoast, run its first-time configuration, write a unique title and meta description…
- Adding a Contact Form to WordPress: A Simple GuideWordPress has no contact form built in, so install a form plugin such as WPForms, create a simple form, set where submissions are emailed, add it t…
- Creating a WordPress Staging Site for Safe TestingA staging site is a private copy of your WordPress website where you can test plugins, themes and updates before they touch the live site. The easi…
Free tool: PHP security check
Websites for your type of business
- Restaurant Website Design UK: What Your Site NeedsA restaurant website needs a menu that is easy to read on a phone, direct online ordering so you keep more of each order, a simple table booking fo…
- Cafe Online Ordering Systems That Work in WalesFor most independent Welsh cafes, the best online ordering system is one built into your own website, such as WooCommerce with a food ordering plug…
- Beauty Salon Booking Systems That ConvertA salon booking system converts when clients can see live availability and book in three quick steps on their phone, with automatic reminders, depo…
- Estate Agent Website Features That ConvertThe estate agent websites that convert get the basics right: property search that understands local areas, detailed property pages with floor plans…
- Accountant Website Design UK: Building Trust OnlinePeople only hand financial documents to an accountant they trust, so an accountancy website has to show trust signals: real photos and bios, visibl…
- Quote Forms That Convert: A Guide for TradespeopleA quote form that converts asks for five things only: name, phone number, email, postcode and a short description of the job. Make it easy to use o…
Free tool: Website trust score
For financial advisers
- How to keep up with FCA changes as a small advice firmSet aside ten minutes a week, look only at what the FCA has published for the kinds of work your firm does, and write down any deadline. The FCA's…
- What to do if your firm is clonedIf the FCA warns that a clone firm is using your name or FRN, tell your compliance support, warn your clients with the fraudsters' exact details, a…
- Local SEO for Financial Advisers: Getting Found in Your AreaFinancial advisers get found locally by completing their Google Business Profile, building a page for each area they serve, keeping their name, add…
- Financial Adviser Website Calculators: The Tools That Generate LeadsPension, retirement, mortgage affordability, investment and inheritance tax calculators give IFA website visitors a useful answer straight away. Of…
Free tool: FCA updates
For web designers and developers
- Bricks Builder vs Elementor: Which Should You Choose?Choose Bricks Builder if you want clean code and faster pages and are happy to learn some CSS. Choose Elementor if you want lots of templates, plen…
- Using Bricks Builder with WooCommerce: A Complete GuideBricks Builder works well with WooCommerce because it outputs clean HTML and CSS and has dedicated shop elements for products, archives, cart and c…
- Bricks Builder Conditions: Show Content DynamicallyBricks Builder conditions let you show or hide any element based on who is visiting, what device they use, the date or a custom field. Add them fro…
- Bricks Builder CSS Grid: Building Complex LayoutsSet a Bricks container's Display to Grid, define its columns with fr units, then place or span elements across the grid and change the columns at e…
- Bricks Builder Query Loops: Dynamic Content Made EasyA Bricks Builder query loop is one design template that repeats for every post, product or custom post type matching your criteria. Turn on the loo…
- Creating Custom Headers in Bricks Builder: A Complete Step-by-Step GuideIn Bricks Builder you build a header as a Header template set to show on the entire website, with a container holding your logo and a Nav Menu elem…
- Optimising Bricks Builder for Speed: A Complete Performance GuideBricks is already one of the faster WordPress builders. To make it faster still, load CSS per page, upload images at their display size in WebP, cu…
- Next.js Image Optimisation: Faster Loading, AutomaticallyNext.js optimises images for you: its Image component serves modern formats like WebP and AVIF, picks the right size for each screen and loads imag…
- 5 JavaScript ES6 Features Every Web Developer Should KnowThe five ES6 features that make the biggest day-to-day difference are arrow functions, template literals, destructuring, the spread and rest operat…
Can't find an answer.
A couple of sentences is plenty. I read every message myself and usually reply within about an hour during the working day.
- 1I'll reply with a few questions, or a price if I already have enough to go on.
- 2If it sounds right, we have a quick chat and agree what's included.
- 3No pressure and no obligation. If it's not a fit, I'll tell you.
Prefer to talk? Book a video call, or email me at hello@webcardiff.co.uk.