Website design & development company in Ireland

WordPress suits a team that publishes often and wants to edit most of the website itself. Its choice of plugins offers ways to add features, but those plugins and the site itself need regular updates to stay secure. Consider who will be responsible for those updates as well as who will publish the content.

A custom-coded site in Next.js suits a business that wants fast pages, tight security and a design without template limits. It gives you more freedom over the design, while structural changes are usually a job for a developer. That distinction is useful if you expect the layout or navigation to change as your business grows.

A headless setup is another option. It combines a custom front end with a separate content editor, making it useful when you need both speed and frequent editing. The trade-off is more moving parts to host and maintain, so it is worth considering who will look after both parts once the site is live.

Your cookie setup affects the build. We set up a consent banner with clear information and a request for consent before non-essential cookies are stored or accessed; strictly necessary cookies for a service the visitor explicitly requested are treated separately. Decide which cookies the site needs before launch so the banner reflects their use.

If your e-commerce service is covered by accessibility requirements, agree an accessibility target in the brief and build the pages against it. The WCAG criteria offer levels A, AA and AAA, and the W3C encourages using the latest version. Microenterprises providing services are exempt from the European Accessibility Act’s requirements.

Gather what you have and note what still needs a decision.

• Services and productsList them in order of business priority so the home page and navigation can reflect that order.
• Website examplesBring sites you like and dislike, with a short reason for each choice.
• Account accessFind the logins for your domain, hosting, email, analytics and Search Console, or identify who holds them.
• PhotographsGather images of your team, premises and finished work, or arrange a photo shoot.
• Proof of workCollect case studies, permitted client logos, testimonials, certifications and memberships in one folder.

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  Choosing a platform too early

  Decide who will update the site and how often before settling on the technology. Your editing needs should guide that choice.

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  Putting accounts in someone else’s name

  Hold the domain and hosting accounts in your business’s name, then grant access to the people doing the work.

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  Reviewing only on a large screen

  Check every page on a phone as well. Look at the content and the actions a visitor needs to take.

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  Leaving search checks until launch

  Make sure page titles and the sitemap are in place, and check that a development indexing block has not been left on.