Website design agencies plan, design, build, and launch websites for businesses. They focus on creating websites that support specific business goals, like generating leads, improving credibility or helping sales teams.

What’s included in a website design service?

• Strategy and discovery: Agencies research the business, its audience, and competitors to define the website’s purpose, structure and core requirements.
• UX and UI design: Designers create a user journey that’s easy to follow and develop a visual style that reflects the company’s branding.
• Technical development: Developers build the website using a CMS and write code to deliver all required features.
• Launch and optimisation: Teams test the site, launch it on a live server, and optimise it for speed, security, mobile access and search engines.

Why do businesses work with website design agencies?

• Access to a full team: Agencies bring together designers, developers, and project managers to handle work that many businesses can’t manage in-house.
• Better user experience: Agencies build websites that are easy to navigate, work on all devices, and meet accessibility standards.
• Clear business focus: They design websites to support defined outcomes, such as increasing enquiries or supporting lead generation.
• Stronger first impression: They create professional websites that help build trust and support wider marketing efforts.

Website design agencies plan, design, and build websites that help businesses meet specific commercial goals. These might include generating leads, improving brand credibility, increasing online enquiries, or supporting customer self-service. Agencies manage the full process from research and planning through to technical build and final launch.

Web design and web development cover different parts of the website creation process. Design focuses on structure, layout, usability, and visual appearance, often referred to as UX (user experience) and UI (user interface). Development involves writing the code that powers the site, connects it to a content management system (CMS), and makes it work in browsers and on mobile devices.

Web design agencies base pricing on the scope and complexity of the work. Key factors include:

• Design complexity: Custom layouts, animations, and branding all increase time and cost.
• Number of unique page templates: A 5-page site is simpler than a 30-page site with multiple content types.
• Custom functionality: Features like booking systems, calculators, user dashboards, or integrations add technical workload.
• Content and SEO services: Writing content, sourcing imagery, and optimising for search may be included or treated as separate services.
• Project management and revisions: Larger projects with multiple stakeholders often require more time for meetings, reviews, and feedback rounds.

Most professional website projects follow a structured five-stage process:

• Stage 1 – Discovery: Agencies research the business, define goals, review competitors, and map out the site structure.
• Stage 2 – Design: Designers produce wireframes to show structure, then full mock-ups to present layout, typography, and visual style.
• Stage 3 – Development: Developers build the site using a CMS or static framework, write the necessary code, and configure back-end systems.
• Stage 4 – Content integration: Teams add the final copy, images, videos, and downloads across all pages and ensure formatting consistency.
• Stage 5 – Launch and handover: Agencies test for broken links, mobile responsiveness, load speed and security, then move the site live and provide CMS training if required.

A bespoke website design is a custom-built site made specifically for one business. The layout, code, and structure are created from scratch—rather than adapted from a pre-designed theme or template. This allows full control over the site’s features, branding, performance, and long-term scalability. Bespoke sites are often used when off-the-shelf solutions can’t meet the company’s technical or visual requirements.

Responsive design ensures that a website adjusts automatically to fit different screen sizes, like desktops, tablets, and smartphones. This improves usability, makes the site accessible across all devices, and ensures that mobile users can complete the same tasks as desktop users. Because search engines prioritise mobile-friendly sites, responsive design also plays a direct role in SEO performance.

A Content Management System is software that allows businesses to add, edit, and manage website content without needing to write code. Common CMS platforms include WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla. Website design agencies often build sites using a CMS so that clients can make day-to-day updates themselves. Most agencies also provide training or documentation to show how the system works.

Project timelines vary depending on the size and complexity of the site. A small brochure website with standard functionality usually takes 6 to 8 weeks from discovery to launch. Larger sitesm with custom integrations, multiple templates, or detailed approval workflows can take 3 to 6 months or more. Delays often result from extended content reviews or changes to scope mid-project.

UX design focuses on how users interact with a website and whether the experience feels straightforward, efficient, and purposeful. It covers layout, navigation, accessibility, mobile responsiveness, and task flow. The aim is to make sure that users can find what they need quickly and complete tasks, such as filling out a form or booking a demo, without confusion or taking unnecessary steps.

Some agencies include content writing, also known as copywriting, as part of the service. Others expect the client to supply the content or source a separate writer. When agencies do provide content, it usually includes writing for core pages (such as Home, About, and Services) and may involve SEO research to include relevant search terms. The level of content support should be agreed early in the project scope.

A new website improves SEO by following current technical standards that make it easier for search engines to understand and index the site. Agencies typically use clean, well-structured code, apply technical SEO practices such as metadata and schema markup, and build pages that load quickly and adapt to mobile screens. These factors contribute to better search visibility and are aligned with known Google ranking signals.

A website design agency usually works as a team, combining skills in design, development, content, and project management. This setup suits projects that need coordination across multiple areas. A freelancer works independently and may specialise in just one part of the process, like layout design, front-end development or copywriting. While both options can deliver a high-quality site, agencies are often better suited to more complex or larger-scale builds.

Wireframes are simple, low-fidelity outlines of a webpage. They show where content, navigation, and functional elements will appear on the page. Agencies use wireframes early in the design process to agree on layout and information hierarchy before adding colours, fonts, or images. This helps clients review structure without being distracted by visual design.

A staging site is a copy of the website that’s hosted in a private testing environment. Agencies use it to build and review the site without affecting the live version. Clients can check layout, content, and functionality, and flag any issues before launch. Once the site is approved, it’s moved from staging to the live server.

Web design agencies follow security best practices during the build and setup of a website. This includes:

• Installing an SSL certificate so the site uses HTTPS
• Writing secure code that avoids known vulnerabilities
• Using security plugins or server-side firewalls
• Keeping all CMS software, plugins, and themes updated
• Limiting login access and setting strong user permissions

These steps reduce the risk of hacking, data leaks, and service outages.

Brand identity refers to the set of visual elements that represent a business, including the logo, colour scheme, typography, and imagery style. Agencies apply these elements consistently across all pages of a website to maintain a unified look and feel. This helps users recognise the brand immediately and ensures that the site aligns with other marketing materials.

A bespoke web design is built uniquely for your business from scratch, specifically to meet your needs and brand identity. A templated web design is a pre-made, off-the-shelf layout that you customise with your own content.

Template-based websites can be less expensive than custom web designs. You can, in fact, download many of them for free online or pay for professionally-designed options on sites like Envato.

However, template designs may limit brand differentiation due to their generic nature. It may be that hundreds of businesses have chosen the same template as you, even some of your competitors, reducing your competitive edge.

Businesses using custom web designs with bespoke layouts often experience better long-term ROI than those relying on templates. Although they require more time for design and development compared to templates, they offer a tailored solution that meets your specific business needs.

For example, you might want a specific interactive feature (like a custom calculator or a bespoke booking system) for your website, but it may only be possible on a custom web design because templated designs often don't support complex integrations or unique functionality without significant modification. Custom websites allow for unique functionalities that templates may not support, such as an integrated design cost calculator.

Bespoke websites can enhance brand identity and provide a unique, engaging user experience. They can also improve conversion rates because they're closer to what your target audience needs. This could be specific service pages designed around customer objections, or layouts built to match specific user journeys.

Custom web design offers better scalability and flexibility compared to templates. If you want to grow your business, custom designs allow easy addition of new services, products, or features without significant reworking or extra expense.

Finally, custom web design services like ours often include tailored SEO strategies and ongoing lead generation to maximise visibility. The benefit of this is you attract higher-quality traffic from precisely the audience most likely to convert into paying customers, improving your overall search engine rankings.

When choosing a web design agency, consider their portfolio of past projects to evaluate their industry experience. In fact, a great place to start is their own site. Do you like their visual identity, how they describe their services, and so on? If they create bespoke websites you like, including their own, they may be the trusted partner you need for your content and designed needs..

A clear digital strategy is crucial before launching a site (your primary digital presence) to ensure your success. Speaking or meeting with potential web design agencies allows you to understand their processes and the team you will work with. Bear in mind, you're not stuck with London-based teams as there are plenty of other award winning first around the UK who can help you with your site.

Hiring a professional web design agency gives access to top experts in web design, development, email marketing, and digital marketing. Many agencies offer comprehensive digital services including SEO, social media, and content creation alongside design.

Many web design agencies specialise in delivering user-centred designs to improve site engagement and conversion rates. They also offer branding services, including logo design and comprehensive brand guidelines, helping companies develop a strong and consistent brand identity that they can use online and offline.

Agencies create custom web design solutions that match their clients' specific business goals and brand identities. Many leading providers also offer SEO optimisation which ensures websites rank well in search engine results. A good agency should demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of your business goals to deliver real results.

The development process typically includes thorough planning, research, and collaboration, backed by a strategic approach, to create unique digital experiences. Less complex sites can be up and running in a couple of weeks while more complicated ones, such as those needing a sophisticated content management system, may take months.

Full service agencies, like w, are a blend of a design company and copywriting agency under one roof. Their teams can work seamlessly on your site to deliver more traffic and higher conversion rates.

We currently only create brochure sites—the type of site designed to clearly generate leads, where a client leaves a message for a sales rep to follow up. We are planning on offering e-commerce sites shortly, so please stay tuned.

E-commerce sites are websites designed specifically to sell products or services directly online through a shopping cart and payment gateway—essentially an online store.

Many e-commerce websites are built using platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. Strong e-commerce platforms like these can support features like drop shipping and international sales. Moving to a new platform like these can significantly enhance your digital capabilities.

E-commerce websites need to be user-friendly to enhance the shopping experience. Optimising load times improves user engagement and conversion rates for e-commerce sites. Responsive design is crucial for e-commerce websites to cater to mobile users.

A streamlined sales funnel is essential for an effective e-commerce site. Effective e-commerce design creates a captivating user interface to boost revenue and offers numerous payment options to meet customer preferences. Careful attention to user flow ensures buyers move smoothly through the checkout process without friction.

Measuring user engagement is essential for continuously improving the user experience on a website, especially an e-commerce site. That's because small improvements to navigation, checkout flow or page speed can directly increase sales and customer retention. Additionally, many agencies provide ongoing support to maintain these improvements long term.