Single Page Websites
The most popular choice for local Birmingham businesses. One beautiful page with automatic social media feeds, review widgets, and a floating call-to-action. Live in 1–2 weeks.
From £299 Find out more
Birmingham based · 20 years experience
Web design for Birmingham businesses.
Fast, secure websites that look great and get found on Google. Built by a local Birmingham developer you can actually talk to.
No account managers. No template mills. No AI-generated site left to fend for itself. Just one experienced developer who's been building websites for Birmingham businesses since 2005, and who now codes every site with Claude AI to build them faster and better.
Starting prices
£299Single page websites
£799Full websites
- 20 years experience
- Birmingham based
- Mobile first design
- Fast Cloudflare hosting
- Built for Google & AI search
- Coded with Claude AI
My promise to you
Someone you can trust in a fast-moving world of AI.
AI website builders, optimising for AI search results, Google’s AI Overviews: the landscape changes every month. I’ll cut through the jargon, tell you honestly what matters for your business, and never overcharge or oversell any product or service.
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Never overcharge
Fair, upfront prices. What we agree is what you pay.
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Never oversell
Only what your business actually needs, nothing more.
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No jargon
Straight answers in plain English, from the person doing the work.
Who you're talking to
A Birmingham web designer who's been doing this since 2005
I'm Darren Hodson, and I've been building websites for Birmingham businesses for over 20 years. In that time I've worked with cafés, tradespeople, charities, dance schools, solicitors, retailers and everything in between.
When you get in touch, you speak to me directly: the person who will actually build your site. Not a salesperson. Not a project manager. Me.
I care about doing good work. I'll tell you honestly if I think you need something different from what you've asked for, and I won't disappear after launch.
Based in Edgbaston, Birmingham
Local knowledge, local commitment. I understand the Birmingham market because I'm part of it.
20+ years of real projects
Hundreds of websites built across dozens of industries. Whatever your sector, I've almost certainly built something similar.
Direct contact, always
My phone number is on every page. Call me, email me, or message me. You'll always reach the person doing the work.
Long-term relationships
Many of my clients have been with me for 10+ years. That's not an accident; it's how I prefer to work.
Bridging the gap between AI and you
Anyone can make a website with AI. Making one that works is a different job.
AI is changing how websites are built, and that's a good thing. I code every website with Claude, Anthropic's AI, refining every detail of every page together: the design and layout, the written copy, and everything under the bonnet that drives page speed, Google rankings and AI search visibility.
But AI is very good at making something look finished. It's far less reliable at the things you can't see: how quickly the page loads on a phone, whether Google can read it properly, whether it works for every visitor, and whether your enquiry form actually reaches you.
That's the gap I bridge. Claude brings speed and precision; 20 years of experience decides what's right for your business and makes sure nothing important is missed.
What I check that AI often misses
Page speed
Google measures how quickly your pages load and respond, and slow sites rank lower. I test every page with Google PageSpeed Insights and fix what's holding it back.
Found by Google and AI search
Page titles, descriptions, headings, sitemaps and structured data, plus clear, well-organised copy that ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews can understand and quote. Often called GEO: generative engine optimisation.
It works on every device
Menus, buttons, forms and click-to-call links, tested on real phones and computers rather than assumed to work.
Accessible to everyone
Readable contrast, proper headings and image descriptions, so your site works for every visitor, including people using screen readers.
Secure and properly hosted
SSL, sensible security settings and reliable hosting, so your site stays online and your visitors stay safe.
Someone accountable
When something needs changing or goes wrong, you have a real person who built it and knows it inside out.
Web design services
Every project is different.
Here are the main services I offer. If you're not sure which fits, just get in touch and we'll work it out together.
Full Multi-Page Websites
For businesses that need more: service pages, blog, portfolio, booking forms and e-commerce. Built on Astro, Tailwind CSS and Cloudflare for speed, security and AI search visibility.
From £799 Find out more
Joomla Development
20 years of Joomla expertise. New builds, redesigns, upgrades, and rescue jobs. If your current Joomla site needs attention, this is the right place.
POA Find out more
Website Redesigns
Your existing site looking dated? We can modernise your design, improve your Google rankings, and get it performing on mobile, without starting from scratch.
From £499 Find out more
The stack I build with
How your website is built, and why it matters.
Every Astro website I build uses the same proven set of tools: Astro, HTML, Tailwind CSS, GitHub and Cloudflare. Each one does a specific job, and together they make your website fast, secure and easy to look after.
- 01 · Built Astro + Tailwind CSS Designed and coded with Claude AI as clean, lightweight pages.
- 02 · Saved GitHub Every change is stored with a full history, so anything can be undone.
- 03 · Delivered Cloudflare Pages are published automatically and served from a global network.
- 04 · Found Your customers Fast pages on any device, anywhere, with Google taking notice.
Seriously fast
Astro builds every page in advance into plain HTML and ships no unnecessary JavaScript. Tailwind CSS includes only the styles your site actually uses. The result is small, quick pages, which is exactly what Google looks for.
Secure by design
There's no database to break into, no admin login for bots to attack and no plugins waiting for their next security update. Cloudflare adds SSL and protection against attacks as standard.
Reliable, wherever your visitors are
Cloudflare runs one of the largest networks in the world, so your pages are delivered from a location close to each visitor and stay online even when traffic spikes.
Nothing is ever lost
Every change is recorded in GitHub. If an update ever isn't right, the previous version can be restored in moments.
Low maintenance
No core updates, plugin conflicts or broken themes after an update. Your site keeps working, and your hosting fee goes on support rather than firefighting.
Built on open standards
Astro, HTML and Tailwind CSS are open, widely used technologies, not a locked-in website builder. Your site is never trapped on one company's platform.
Proof, not promises
This website scores 100/100 on Google PageSpeed.
Google PageSpeed Insights · Mobile · Tested September 2026
- Performance
- Accessibility
- Best Practices
- SEO
Agentic Browsing 3/3
Google's newest check: AI assistants can read, understand and use this website on your customers' behalf.
- First paint
- 0.9s
- Fully loaded
- 1.7s
- Blocking time
- 0ms
- Layout shift
- 0
Tested on a mid-range phone with a slow 4G connection, Google's toughest setting. Run the test yourself
Still need WordPress or Joomla? They still have their place, especially for large sites with lots of people editing content. With 20 years of Joomla experience, I'll always recommend what's right for your business, not just what's newest.
How it works
A straightforward process with no surprises.
01
Free Consultation
We start with a straightforward conversation. No jargon, no hard sell. Tell me about your business, your customers, and what you want your website to do. I'll tell you honestly what I think you need.
02
Design & Build
Once we've agreed the brief, I get to work, coding with Claude AI to refine every detail, from layout and copy to page speed and SEO, with 20 years of experience guiding every decision. You'll see a design before anything goes live. Most single page sites are ready within 1–2 weeks; full websites typically 3–6 weeks.
03
Review & Refine
You review the finished site and we make any adjustments. Before launch I test page speed, mobile layout, SEO and every form, so it works as well as it looks. I want you to be genuinely proud of what goes live, not just satisfied.
04
Launch & Support
Your site goes live on fast, secure Cloudflare hosting. Monthly hosting includes security monitoring, daily backups, and ongoing support. You're never left on your own.
Recent work
A small selection from 20 years.
Why local matters
Why choose a local Birmingham web designer?
There are plenty of cheap template services and overseas agencies out there. Here's why local still matters.
You can actually talk to someone
Not a ticket system. Not a chatbot. A real person who knows your business and picks up the phone.
Local SEO done properly
Birmingham searches need Birmingham context. I understand the local area, the local competition, and what Google wants to see for local businesses.
Long-term relationship, not a one-off transaction
Many of my clients have been with me for over a decade. I'm invested in their success, because their success keeps me in business.
No hidden costs or surprise invoices
Everything is agreed upfront. I don't do scope creep charges or surprise invoices. What we quote is what you pay.
Common questions
Everything you wanted to ask.
How much does a website cost in Birmingham?
A single page website starts at £299 to build. Full multi-page websites start from £799. Hosting for Astro websites is £15 per month, including your business email, or £20 per month for Joomla websites. Every project is quoted individually, so contact me for a free, no-obligation quote.
How long does it take to build a website?
Single page websites are typically live within 1–2 weeks of receiving your content. Full websites take 3–6 weeks depending on complexity. I'll give you a realistic timeline before we start.
Do you work with businesses outside Birmingham?
Yes. I work with businesses across the UK, though the majority of my clients are based in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Everything is handled remotely via email, phone, and video call.
Will my website work on mobile phones?
Absolutely. Every site I build is designed mobile-first. More than half of all website visits now come from mobile devices, so this is non-negotiable.
Can I update the website myself?
For single page sites, yes: uploading flyers and graphics is very straightforward. For full websites we can discuss content management options depending on how often you need to make changes.
Do you offer ongoing support?
Yes. Monthly hosting is £15 for Astro websites, including business email, or £20 for Joomla websites, and includes security monitoring, backups, firewall protection and customer support. If something needs attention, just get in touch.
Can't I just build my website with AI?
You can, and for some people it's a sensible starting point. AI tools are very good at making a site look finished, but much less reliable at the parts you can't see: page speed, how Google reads your pages, accessibility, security, and forms that actually reach your inbox. I code every site with Claude, Anthropic's AI, to refine every detail faster, then bring 20 years of experience to check, fix and fine-tune everything before it goes live. If you've already built something with AI, I'm happy to take a look.
Why do you build with Astro instead of WordPress?
For most business websites, Astro gives a faster, more secure result that needs far less maintenance. Pages are built in advance and served from Cloudflare's global network, so there's no database to hack and no plugins to keep updating. WordPress and Joomla still have their place, particularly for large sites with lots of people editing content, and I still build and support Joomla sites where they're the right fit.
I already have a website. Can you improve it?
Yes. Whether it needs a redesign, a speed boost, better SEO or a full rebuild, get in touch and I'll take a look and give you an honest assessment.
No sales team. Just Darren.
Ready to talk about your website?
No jargon. No hard sell. Just a straightforward conversation about what you need and whether I'm the right fit. I'll give you an honest quote and a realistic timeline.
Usually respond within a few hours · Mon to Fri, 9:00 to 17:00