Web design
Website Design
Websites which explain what you do in your customers' words, show the proof which they look for and make it easy for them to book, call or send an enquiry.
Five-star reviews from clients on Upwork
What I take on
Eight kinds of website work
Each one starts from the same question, which is what a visitor needs to see before they trust you enough to contact you.
Company websites
Five to ten pages which say what you do, who it's for and why a customer should choose you, with the proof placed where they look for it.
Clinic and practice websites
Treatments, practitioners, prices and booking, organised so a patient can find the treatment which they came for and book it from their phone.
Multi-location websites
A page for every location with its own address, hours, team and booking link, and each copied page is checked so it carries only its own location's details.
Landing pages
One page for one campaign or one offer, which loads quickly so the traffic which you already pay for turns into enquiries.
Product and SaaS websites
The site in front of the software, which explains the product in the customer's words and sends each visitor to a demo, a trial or a price.
Catalogue and spec sites
Product ranges, spec sheets and quote requests for manufacturers and distributors, organised the way an engineer or a buyer searches for them.
Shops and brand sites
Collections, product pages and checkout for brands which sell direct, designed so a first-time visitor finds the one thing which they came for.
Website redesigns
An existing site taken back to what its visitors come for, with the pages which already rank kept at their addresses.
How a project runs
I plan the words first,
and then I design the pages.
I think most of what makes a website work
is decided before the first mockup.
Four stages / four to six weeks
Stage / 01
Positioning takes about a week, and it's where we agree who the site is for, what they compare you against and the one action which each page should lead to.
Stage / 02
The structure and the words come next, so the sitemap, what each page says and in what order, and then the copy, which I draft with you from the facts that only your team has.
Stage / 03
Then I design every page for desktop and phone in one Figma file, and you review it in rounds, with each round's feedback gathered into one list.
Stage / 04
Finally I build the site as a custom WordPress theme, an Elementor build or a Webflow site, test it on real phones and launch it with the redirects and the search basics in place.
The difference
Planned around who reads each page
I think most visitors arrive with one question and leave when a page makes them hunt for the answer, so I plan every page around the people who read it and what each of them came to check.
- A first-time visitor looks for what you do and whether it's meant for them
- Someone comparing you with two others looks for proof, reviews and a sense of the price
- Someone who is ready looks for the quickest way to book, call or send an enquiry
- Every page offers one next step which suits how ready its reader is
What it costs
I quote each project once I've read the brief
Each quote covers the design and the build, and I work the number out from how many different page layouts the site needs and whether the words already exist, so a rough brief is enough for me to price it.
Common questions
Before you contact me
What is custom website design?
It means your website is planned and designed from your business outward, so the pages, the words and the look come from what your customers need to see, and then I build it to match that design in WordPress, Elementor or Webflow.
How long does a website take?
A company website takes four to six weeks when the content is ready, and a landing page takes one to three weeks, but I think the content and the feedback set the pace more than the design does, as I explain in how long a website takes to build.
Do you write the copy?
I plan what every page says and in what order, and then I draft or edit the words with you, but the facts, the numbers and the client names should come from your team, which is why the words come before the design, as I argue in why website copy comes first.
Should the site be WordPress, Elementor or Webflow?
I would pick a custom WordPress theme when the site needs to grow or connect to plugins and other systems, Elementor when your team wants to lay out new pages in WordPress themselves, and Webflow when your marketing team wants to publish and rearrange pages without a developer. The full comparison is in Webflow vs WordPress for business websites, and the build side is on custom WordPress and Webflow development.
Can you design the site for our own developers to build?
Yes, and you would receive a Figma file with every page for desktop and phone, the components and their states, and notes on how things behave, although having me build it as well removes the handoff, which is where most of the detail is lost.
Will a redesign cost us our search rankings?
A redesign keeps its rankings when the dull work is done early, so every address which has traffic keeps its URL or receives a redirect, the titles and descriptions carry over, and I check Search Console in the weeks after launch. The website redesign checklist covers the rest.
Do you work with companies outside the Philippines?
Yes, I work with teams in the US, Australia and Asia from GMT+8, with a fixed overlap window, reviews in a shared Figma file and every decision kept in writing.
The thinking behind it
Guides I've written
Client reviews
Always built
on trust
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Mike is an absolute star. A great communicator who takes initiative, and has the skills to complete the job well each and every time. He is a fantastic partner in all-things design and development, is a pleasure and easy to communicate with.
Gwyn P. Founder, Sail Digital
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Mike was one of the easiest consultants we have worked with. Good attitude, willing to take on feedback, good designs and willing to please. Will have no hesitation to hire!
Fiona M. Director, CArio
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Mike not only gave us an amazing new website but also gave us time back to focus on growing our SaaS company and the confidence to know that we can leverage their skills again in the future. I unreservedly recommend!
Andrew Former director, shibumi
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Mike helped us design and develop our new website in Webflow. He is very responsive to changes and iterations, and helped find faster ways to implement what we wanted.
Julien R. Founder, Hire Donna
Your website should answer your customers' first questions before they pick up the phone.
Send me a link to the site which you have now, or the brief for the one you need, and it comes straight to me, so I can reply with where the gaps are, what closing them would cost and the next step which I would suggest.
