Freelance web development, based in London
I build the site itself: Next.js when a business needs speed, structure, and room to grow; Webflow or WordPress when a visual or content-managed CMS is genuinely the better fit, and Wix or Squarespace when that's what actually suits the job. Either way, you're briefing the person who writes the code and deploys it, not an account manager relaying your request to whoever's free that week.
Book a callWordPress, Webflow, or Next.js, decided by the job, not a default.
These three cover almost everything. Wix and Squarespace are also on the table when a business already runs on one and a full migration isn't worth the disruption.
The right call when a straightforward, content-managed site matters more than raw speed or a fully bespoke system.
Fastest to hand over
Any WordPress developer, or a non-developer with basic training, can pick up maintenance later. Nothing proprietary to learn.
A huge plugin ecosystem
Forms, SEO tooling, e-commerce: most common needs already have a mature, well-supported plugin rather than custom code to write and maintain.
Where it struggles
Heavily plugin-dependent sites get slower and more fragile over time, and a fully custom design pushes against the theme system's limits fast.
Real code, not a mockup someone else has to interpret.
This is genuinely what the work looks like: code gets written, then it's a real, live site, and someone actually submits the form on it. Not a mockup, and not a promise about what happens after handover.
Four stages, click through whichever you're wondering about.
We define what the site actually needs to do before any design or code starts: who it's for, what it needs to rank for, what a lead capture or conversion event actually looks like. This is also where WordPress, Webflow, or Next.js gets decided, based on the answer, not a default.
What this looked like at Victoria Kitchens.
Victoria Kitchens came to me with a two-to-three page WordPress brochure site with no way to capture a lead beyond a phone number. I rebuilt it with automated location pages, proper lead capture, and full tracking wired in from day one, then kept building on it as the business grew. I've since moved on to run Basil Studio Co full-time, and Victoria Kitchens stayed on as a client.
Read the full case studyYou do. Every project hands over full source code and ownership, or full account access for a Webflow, Wix, or Squarespace build. There's no dependency on me continuing to host or maintain it unless you want that as an ongoing arrangement.
Depends on the project. A defined build, a marketing site, a rebuild, usually gets a fixed price once the scope's agreed, so you know the number before work starts. Ongoing work, an evolving build, or work alongside ad management, runs as a day rate or a small monthly retainer instead. I'll tell you which fits before you commit to either.
WordPress if you want the widest choice of people who can maintain it later. Webflow if a marketing team needs to edit the site visually themselves without a developer, and the design still has to be genuinely custom. Next.js if speed, a bespoke design system, or handling real scale (location pages, a growing content library) matters more than either of those. See the comparison above, or just tell me what the site needs to do and I'll tell you honestly which one fits.
Yes, though WordPress, Webflow, and Next.js are where most of the work I do actually happens, they cover the range from simple content sites to fully custom builds. Wix or Squarespace makes sense when a business already runs on one and a full migration isn't worth the disruption, or when the scope is genuinely small enough that either is the right tool for the job.
A focused marketing site typically runs four to eight weeks from signed-off scope to launch. A larger build with a custom CMS structure, integrations, or a content migration takes longer. Anyone quoting an exact timeline before they've seen the scope is guessing.
Nothing's abandoned at handover. Most clients keep a small monthly retainer for updates, monitoring, and the inevitable small changes a live site needs, but it's optional. If you'd rather take it in-house or to another developer, you can, the code is yours.
Yes. I build from an existing design system when one exists rather than redesigning by default, and I'll work inside WordPress, Webflow, or whatever CMS is already in place if a full rebuild isn't the right call yet.
Deployment and tracking (GA4, conversion events, whatever the marketing actually needs to measure) are part of every build, not an afterthought bolted on later. Domain and hosting costs are the client's, though I'll set both up and hand over the accounts, not keep them under my own name.
Need a developer who also understands what the site's actually for?
Book thirty minutes below. Tell me what you're building, and I'll tell you honestly whether Next.js, Webflow, WordPress, or something else is the right call.