A website built by a person who wrote the code.
Most people look you up on their phone before they ever call. If they find nothing — or something from 2014 — they move on. I build the site properly, you own every piece of it, and if you want someone to keep it alive, that's $29 a month and you can stop any month.
That sky is hand-written code, not a plugin. It works out where you are, pulls a live forecast, and draws sun, cloud, rain, storm or stars to match — in about 700 lines of JavaScript I wrote. No app store, no monthly widget fee, no "upgrade to remove branding".
That's the difference you're buying. See more things I've built →
Three ways in
I'd rather tell you exactly what each price depends on than quote you $150 and then start adding things on.
You bring the words & pictures
- One page (up to 3 simple pages)
- Your text and photos, laid out cleanly
- Mobile-first and fast on a phone
- Tap-to-call and a contact form
- Domain, DNS, hosting, SSL set up in your name
- Launched, with a walkthrough
- Copywriting or photo sourcing
- Custom features, booking, shop
Content ready to send = price stays at $150.
Your business site, written & built
- I write the words — from a phone call, not a form
- Photos organised, sized and placed properly
- Up to 5–8 pages with a structure that makes sense
- Search basics: titles, descriptions, structured data, sitemap, speed
- Forms that reach your inbox, with spam protection
- Hand-coded features when you need them
- One flat number in writing, approved before I start
No hourly billing. The number doesn't move unless the work does.
Web apps, Python & automation
- Custom web apps: booking, quote calculators, dashboards, internal tools
- Python scripts: rename and sort files, build reports, clean spreadsheets
- Automation: the boring step that happens every single day
- Connections between your forms, email, sheets and the tools you already pay for
- Written notes so it isn't a mystery only I understand
See it working first: the Labs page.
What keeps a site at $150 — and what moves it up
- Stays at $150: you send me your text ready to publish, your photos (or ones you have the right to use), your hours, your number and your service area — and one page, or up to three simple ones, is enough.
- Moves to a quote: I write the copy, I find or edit photos, you need more pages, a menu or price list that changes often, booking, a shop, multiple locations, or anything hand-coded.
- Never changes: the domain and hosting stay in your name, and you get the flat number before I touch anything. No deposit surprises, no hourly meter.
- Honest note: if $150 is your whole budget, say so on the first call. I'll tell you straight what that buys and what it doesn't — and I won't start work I can't finish properly.
Keeping it alive — $29 a month
A website isn't a brochure you print once. It's a small machine with parts that need looking after. This is optional, and you can stop it any month.
Someone's watching your site
- Uptime, SSL and domain-expiry checks — I hear about it before your customers do
- Monthly off-site backup of the whole site, and a restore if it ever goes wrong
- Security and code updates, plus form-spam tuning
- Two content changes a month — new photos, prices, hours, a paragraph
- A plain-English monthly report: who came, what they looked at, what to fix next
- Same-day priority response by phone or text
- 10% off custom work — apps, Python, a redesign
- Brand-new pages or features are still quoted (at your 10% off)
Your domain renewal (~$15/yr) stays yours, at cost, no markup.
The boring stuff that breaks sites
- Certificates expire. When SSL lapses, browsers put "Not Secure" in front of your name.
- Domains expire. Miss one renewal email and somebody else can buy your address.
- Forms break. A quiet form failure means enquiries vanish and nobody tells you.
- Content goes stale. Last year's hours and prices cost you customers every day they sit there.
- Sites get hacked. Usually through something outdated. Cleaning one up costs far more than $29.
- No backup means starting again. One bad edit with no copy behind it is a rebuild.
Already have a site I didn't build? I'll look after that too.
"But a builder will do 5 pages for $100"
Fair. Here's the honest answer, and the maths, without me bad-mouthing anybody.
Their $100 is year one
The build is cheap; the subscription isn't, and it doesn't stop. Mine is a one-time price plus about $15 a year for a domain you own.
You rent, you don't own
Stop paying a builder and the site usually stops existing. With me the files, the domain and the hosting account are in your name. Leave any time.
A person answers
When something breaks you call my mobile, not a help centre. The person who wrote the code is the person who fixes it.
Templates hit a wall
The day you want something the template doesn't do, a builder says "there's an app for that — $9 a month". I write the code.
Your weekends
DIY means 10–30 hours of your time learning a tool you'll use once. An hour on the phone with me usually costs less than that.
And when a builder is right
If you genuinely enjoy building it and want to edit everything yourself daily, use one. I'll say so on the call rather than take your money.
Run your own numbers
There's a calculator that works out what a DIY site really costs over three years — subscription, your time, and what you own at the end. No email needed.
How it works
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Tell me the idea
A text or a call: what you do, who you serve, what the site should make people do, and whether your words and photos are ready.
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Flat price, in writing
I come back with one number and exactly what it covers. Nothing starts until you've said yes to it.
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Built and launched
Domain, hosting, SSL, forms, launch — and a short walkthrough so you know how to use what you now own.
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Kept alive (if you want)
Add the $29 care plan, or handle it yourself and call me when you need something. Both are fine.
Questions
So is a website $150 or not?
It's $150 when it's a simple site and you already have the words and pictures to put on it. That's a real price and I honour it. If I'm writing your copy, sorting photos, building several pages or coding something custom, it's a quoted job instead — you get one flat number before I start, and it doesn't creep.
What will a custom site cost me?
I price every build on a call, because two businesses that look the same on paper can need very different work — and the price should move with what you actually need, not with a menu. What you get from the call: one flat number, in writing, before anything starts, with what's included and what would cost extra listed out. That number doesn't creep.
Do I have to pay the $29 a month?
No. It's optional and there's no contract — cancel it any month and your site keeps working, because it's yours. The plan is for people who'd rather never think about backups, certificates, updates and stale content again.
What's actually in the care plan?
Monitoring (uptime, SSL, domain expiry), a monthly off-site backup with restore, security and code updates, two content changes a month, a plain-English monthly report, same-day priority response, and 10% off custom work. Full detail on the care plan page.
Do I own the website?
Yes — the domain, the hosting account and the files are all in your name. No contract, no lock-in. If you ever want to hand it to somebody else, I'll help you do it properly.
What does it cost to run each year?
About $10–15 for the domain, at my cost with no markup. Hosting is free on Cloudflare Pages in your own account, and SSL is included. If that ever changes, I tell you before it happens, not after.
Can you build a custom app or a Python script?
Yes — that's the part I enjoy. Booking tools, quote calculators, internal dashboards, Python scripts that rename files, generate reports or clean up spreadsheets, and automation between the tools you already use. Quoted per project once we agree the scope. There are working examples on the Labs page.
I already have a website. Can you take it over?
Usually, yes — including sites I didn't build. Send me the link. I'll tell you honestly whether it's worth fixing, worth putting on the care plan, or worth starting again.
How do I pay?
We agree the price first, then you pay when it's done — cash, card or PayPal. The care plan is monthly or yearly, and you can stop it whenever you like.
Tell me what you do
One text with the basics is enough to get a flat price back — and an honest answer about whether you need the $150 starter or something built properly.
Want the long version with industry numbers? Read the free 2026 website-cost guide.