Websites that are fast because of how they are built, not because of a plugin
Most small business sites are slow for the same reason: they were built on a platform that assembles every page from a database on every visit, then had speed added afterwards. We start from the other end.
What we do
We build and host websites for small UK businesses. Three things, and they are connected: we design and build the site, we get its technical foundations right so search engines can read it, and we host it on our own server so there is one person to ask when something breaks.
- ServicesWhat we build, from a five page brochure site to a database-backed site with hundreds of pages, plus hosting, migrations and ongoing care.
- How we workStatic-first, and why. What happens between the first conversation and the site going live, and what we need from you.
- AboutWho runs this, what we are honest about, and the things we will tell you not to buy.
Static first, dynamic when there is a reason
A static site is built once, into plain files, and then simply served. There is no database query when a visitor arrives, no template to assemble, no plugin to execute. The page is already finished before anyone asks for it.
That is not a trick, and it is not new. It is the reason a well-built static site loads in a fraction of the time of a typical content-managed one, and it removes most of what goes wrong with small business websites: the plugin conflict after an update, the database that fell over, the security hole in a component nobody knew was installed.
Not everything should be static. A site that needs logins, a booking system, live stock or user accounts needs software running behind it, and we build those too. The question we ask is whether a feature is genuinely dynamic or whether it only looks that way, because a great many database-driven pages change perhaps twice a year.
WordPress, honestly
We work with WordPress and we will recommend it where it fits, which is usually where several people need to publish regularly without asking anyone for help. It is a good content management system and a poor default.
The default is the problem. A brochure site with six pages that never change does not need a content management system, a database, a theme, a page builder and eleven plugins to serve six pages. That stack is why the site is slow, and it is why it needs maintaining. If you already have one and it works, we will say so rather than sell you a rebuild.
Hosting on our own server
We host on our own UK server rather than reselling someone else's. The nameservers ns1.webain.co.uk and ns2.webain.co.uk are that machine, which means when something needs changing we change it, rather than opening a ticket with a company you have never heard of.
Every site gets a free Let's Encrypt certificate that renews itself, and the technical foundations set up properly: a real sitemap, correct redirects when URLs move, and structured data describing the business so search engines have something unambiguous to read.
Tell us what you need
We would rather hear the problem than the specification. If you know the site is slow, or you cannot edit it, or you have been quoted for a rebuild and want a second opinion, that is a useful place to start.