Web designer in East Sussex

Web Design East Sussex

East Sussex is a large coastal county in South East England known for its dramatic cliffs, South Downs National Park, and historic towns like Lewes and Rye. The area has a vibrant mix of independent businesses, trades people, consultants and hospitality & tourism. I work with everyone, from photographers to green power innovators to help them tell their story online. Most of the businesses I work with will get their work through:

• Word of mouth - referrals, local reputation

• Repeat business - existing customers coming back, long-term relationships

• Local visibility - passing trade, being known in the local area

• Social media - Instagram followers, TikTok videos

These all form an excellent base but a website can take you to the next level by establishing trust and putting your business in front of a wider customer / client base. This is particularly valuable to ecommerce companies that ship nationally or even internationally. Other businesses may have a website already but it doesn’t reflect their brand or the quality of what they offer. Industries like construction, finance and energy tend to be particularly lacking. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to a client ‘The good news is that your competition’s websites are all terrible so we can definitely make you stand out!’

Platforms I work with:

• Squarespace: The number one choice for the vast majority of businesses. If you’re looking for a platform with industry leading security, powerful SEO features and all of the technical stuff taken care of for you - Squarespace is the way to go. Once the site is set up, you will be able to easily manage it in-house going forwards. You’re not tied to the designer who built it.

• Shopify: If you’re selling a large volume of products or you require a bespoke checkout process - Shopify is the industry leader. It’s not as user friendly as Squarespace but when it comes to the commerce side of things it’s much more powerful and makes it easier to connect to external databases, accounting software or even the hardware in a physical store. While some people note that most Shopify sites have a ‘Shopify’ look - it’s entirely possible to build something completely custom and standout on Shopify - it just takes a bit of technical knowhow. Please note that I would not recommend Shopify to most of my clients, only those with more complex needs than Squarespace can provide for. Check out my Squarespace vs Shopify guide here.

• Wordpress: Founded in 2003, it’s still one of the post popular web platforms in the world. Wordpress is a like a sports car - powerful when handled correctly. You can build pretty much anything on Wordpress but it can be brittle and requires regular maintenance. It’s a road you should avoid if you can.