We needed a fresh start. Over the couple of years that we’ve been active - we’ve gone from using PHP and Siteground, to a vanilla JS stack (with some third party scripts) on Netlify, and we knew we needed to adopt a new foundation.
So we started again. Here’s what changed, why, and what we’ve learnt.
Why we didn’t just patch it
The old site wasn’t broken. It did its job for a couple of years and we were fond of it. But it had picked up bits and pieces along the way, and we’d learned a lot since we first put it together. Fixing it up would have meant working around old decisions. Starting fresh was quicker, and a lot more fun, and allowed us to refresh the design to make it more in line with todays professionalism standards.
It’s much faster
The old site had to fetch jQuery, two separate animation players, and fonts from a couple of outside services before it could show you much of anything. That’s a lot of waiting for a page that’s mostly words and pictures. It wasn’t slow by any means - but it could have been faster. It was built strictly framework-less for speed and reliability, but we’ve since learned that not all frameworks slow you down.
The new one is built with Astro. Every page is assembled ahead of time, it sends barely any JavaScript to your browser, and the fonts sit on our own server instead of someone else’s. Moving between pages no longer reloads the whole thing either, so clicking around feels quick.
Accessibility came first this time
We’ve always built with accessibility in mind, but on the old site it was something we checked towards the end. This time it shaped the whole build.
There’s a skip link so keyboard users can jump straight past the navigation. Focus outlines are clear and easy to see. The HTML underneath is properly structured, so screen readers get a sensible reading order instead of a pile of anonymous boxes. Both the light and dark themes have been thoroughly checked for contrast.
We made it much easier to find
Search engines and AI assistants both have to work out what a business actually does. Our old site was lacking in this area - especially in regards to AI Optimisation, which has been a fast growing market over the past year or so.
Now every page includes a machine-readable summary of who we are, where we’re based, what we offer and what our clients have said about us. We’ve also written a page about SEO, AIO and GEO, which is worth a look if you’ve noticed people asking ChatGPT for recommendations as often as they type into Google.
We only build websites now
We used to offer logo design alongside web design. Doing one thing properly beats spreading ourselves thin, and websites are the part we love. If you need a logo, we’re still happy to help if we’re able to - but only alongside a website package, not as a seperate thing.
A few new things
No meetings. We work async by default, so your project can run entirely over email and messages, at whatever time of day suits you. If you’d rather talk something through then that’s fine too, but you’ll never be stuck in a call you didn’t want. Having everything in writing and allowing for a fully asynchronous workflow saves everyones time, meaning your website will be up and running sooner.
WhatsApp. You can send us a message now instead of writing an email. Same cats, fewer formalities.
Referrals. Send someone our way and, when they book their first project, we’ll send you £100 as a thank you.
Other bits
- The portfolio pages are easier to read and navigate.
- The reviews are more front and center on the home page.
- Our light/dark themes are set by your current theme first. Hopefully preventing any unwanted flashbangs!
Still the same cats
The puns survived. So did the typing cat, the chat mockup in the header, and our general refusal to take ourselves too seriously. It’s a sharper site, but it still sounds like us.
Have a wander around and see what you think. If you’ve got a project in mind, or you just fancy saying hello, drop us an email or a WhatsApp message. We’d love to hear from you. 😺