Website development
Custom website development
We build your design into a real website by hand: quick to load, secure underneath, and with an editor your team can use without calling us.
- Built by handNo page builders, no theme
- Secure by defaultChecked before every launch
- Easy to editAn invite and one page of instructions
Design and development: what's the difference?
Design
Design decides how your site looks and how people move through it: the pages, the layout, the words, the colours and type, and how things move. You see it as finished pages before anything is built.
Development
Development builds that design into a working website: the code, the editor your team uses to change it, its speed and security, the forms that reach your inbox, and getting it live on your domain.
We do both, so the site you approved is the site that goes live, down to how it moves. Nothing gets lost between a designer and a separate developer.
Inside every site
What goes into the build
Four layers, built together by the same people. The parts nobody sees, until they're missing.
- 01
The design you approved
We build from the design you signed off, down to the spacing and the motion. What you saw is what goes live.
- 02
Hand-written code
No page builder and no plugins it doesn't need, so each page carries only what it uses. Built to work with a keyboard, a screen reader or the page zoomed in.
- 03
An editor for your team
Change words, swap photos and add pages yourself, in an editor chosen for your team: simple for a few pages, or a full content system with roles for many editors.
- 04
Hosting and security
We can host your site on Cloudflare's global network and look after it, or hand it to your own hosting. Either way it is locked down before it goes live.
Also in every build
Search built in
Clean page addresses, titles, descriptions, structured data and a sitemap, set up as part of the build so search engines read each page the way people do.
Accessible
Proper headings, labels and focus, readable contrast, and pages that still work when the text is made larger. Checked while we build, not patched at the end.
Forms that reach you
Enquiry forms with a bot check to stop spam, sending each message straight to your inbox.
Private by default
No ad trackers unless you want them, and a cookie notice that asks rather than assumes.
Fast on a phone
Many of your visitors will arrive on a phone, sometimes on a slow connection. So we build for the phone first and keep every page light.
Each page loads only what it uses. Photos are sized for the screen they land on, so a phone never downloads a picture made for a big monitor. The fonts load early, and the words show while the pictures arrive.
What we leave out
- Page builder code
- Plugins the site doesn't use
- Desktop-size photos on a phone
- Trackers you didn't ask for
Secure underneath
Every site goes through our security checklist before it goes live. Most of it is invisible to your visitors, which is the point.
HTTPS on every page
Every page is served over a secure connection, on your own domain.
Strict browser rules
Security headers and a content security policy tell browsers to run only the site's own code, so injected scripts are blocked.
Forms with a bot check
Your enquiry form checks for bots before anything is sent, so you get messages, not spam.
Only the code it needs
We keep third-party code to what the site needs, and nothing tracks your visitors unless they agree.
An editor your team can use
Your site goes live with an email invite to edit it and one page of instructions. From then on you change the words, swap photos and add pages yourself, without calling us and without touching code.
Right for the size of your team
A simple editor for a site of a few pages, or a full content system where larger teams have roles, so each person sees what they need.
Yours to keep
The site is yours. We can host it and look after it for you, and if we do, small changes are free. Or you can host and look after it yourself. Your domain, your content and your site stay yours.
Built by us
Bristol ISoc
A student society's site that its committee edits themselves. It launched with its own film.
Questions people ask.
Anything else? hello@darbcreative.com. We reply within one working day.
What do you build websites with?
Hand-written code on a modern stack, with an editor chosen for your team. No page builders and no off-the-shelf themes.
Who hosts the website?
We can host it and look after it for you, or you can host and look after it yourself.
Will my website be secure?
Every site goes through our security checklist before it goes live. We keep third-party code to what the site needs, and set strict browser security rules.
Can my team edit the site?
Yes. It goes live with one page of instructions and an email invite to edit it. Larger teams can have roles, so each person sees what they need.
How long does it take?
Usually two to nine weeks, depending on the size of the website.
Can you change things for me after launch?
Yes, for a fee. If we look after your site for you, small changes are free.
Ready when you are.
Tell us about your business. We reply within one working day.
Let's make yours →