Home FAQs
Frequently asked questions
The questions that come up most often before someone hires a web designer or an SEO specialist, answered plainly.
Websites and web design
Costs, timescales and what you end up owning.
Every project is quoted individually. A five page site for a local trade and a forty page site with an online shop are very different amounts of work, so a single price list would be misleading. After the first conversation you get a written, fixed quote covering exactly what is included, and nothing starts until you are happy with it.
A straightforward brochure website is usually four to six weeks. A larger site with more pages, a blog and local SEO work is typically eight to twelve weeks. A complex online shop with integrations can run to three to six months. You get milestone dates during planning so you always know where things stand.
WordPress powers a very large share of the web, so it is well supported, flexible and easy to find help for. Just as importantly, you are not locked into a platform only one agency can work on. If you ever move on, your site moves with you. More on website design.
Elementor is the page builder I use inside WordPress. It lets me build bespoke layouts rather than adapting a stock theme, while leaving you a visual editor for day to day changes. In practice it means you can update your own text and images without needing a developer.
Yes, all of it. The domain, the hosting account, the WordPress installation and every word and image on the site belong to you. Nothing is held hostage.
Sometimes a site just needs work rather than replacing. That is what the free audit is for. If the structure is sound and it simply looks tired or loads slowly, fixing it is usually better value. If it is fighting you at every turn, a redesign is the cheaper option in the long run.
Not if it is done properly. A redesign starts with an audit of which pages currently earn traffic and which terms they rank for. Those pages are carried across and every old address is mapped to its new one with a 301 redirect so search engines follow you over.
Hosting, domains and going live
The practical bits around launch.
Hosting is a separate thing from design and maintenance. I am happy to work with your existing host, or to advise on a better one if the current setup is slowing the site down. Either way the account stays in your name.
Yes. Domain registration is available through Outlaw Web, and if you already own a domain we simply point it at the new site when you are ready to launch.
Everything is tested before the switch: devices, forms, links, loading speed and redirects. The site goes live, the redirects go in, and you get a walkthrough so you can edit content yourself. Then I keep an eye on it while it settles.
You can look after it yourself, or hand it over. Website maintenance covers updates, security, backups, speed and content changes, and SEO services cover the ongoing search work. Neither is compulsory and you can start either later.
SEO
What it can realistically do, and how long it takes.
Technical fixes can show up within weeks. Meaningful movement on competitive commercial terms usually takes several months of consistent work. Local terms are often quicker than national ones. Anyone offering a firmer promise than that is guessing.
No. There are no guarantees of a number one spot in the search results, from me or from anybody else. Google decides, the results change constantly, and they vary by location and device. What I guarantee is the work, the reporting and a straight answer about what it is achieving.
Local SEO is the work that gets you found by people searching near you, including the map results. It covers your Google Business Profile, consistent contact details across the web, pages relevant to the areas you serve and local structured data. If your customers are in and around Edinburgh, this is usually where the return is.
A site I build launches with the technical groundwork already in place, which is a real head start. Whether you need an ongoing campaign depends on how competitive your market is and how much of your work comes from search. It is a fair question to ask at the end of a build rather than at the start.
Usually, yes. The audit will show whether the site can be worked with as it stands. If a structural problem makes progress impossible I will tell you rather than take a monthly fee to push against it.
Working together
How projects actually run.
Me. Outlaw Web is David Paxton, and the person you speak to on the first call is the person who designs, builds and maintains your site. There is no account manager layer. More about how I work.
Yes, across Edinburgh and central Scotland. Plenty of projects run entirely by video call and screen sharing, which suits clients further afield perfectly well. Whichever you prefer is fine.
Call 07905 819522 or send an enquiry through the contact page. The first conversation is free. If it looks like a fit, you get a written plan and a fixed quote before any work begins.
It varies. Some clients write their own and I structure and edit it. Some hand me notes and an existing site and I write it. Either way the content plan comes first, so nobody is staring at a blank page wondering what to say.
Still have a question?
Ask it directly. There is no charge for a conversation and no obligation at the end of it.
Or call 07905 819522, Monday to Sunday, 9am to 7pm.