Web design and development in Nova Scotia

A hosted builder such as Wix, Squarespace or Webflow suits a small site you want to run yourself. It gives you less control over code and speed, though, and moving away later can mean rebuilding. WordPress suits teams that publish frequently and want to edit most of the site themselves. Its choice of plugins is broad, but you will need to keep it updated for security.

A custom design fits a brand, audience or set of content with specific needs. For a straightforward brief, an adapted template is an option if its layouts are reworked around your real content. Another choice is a headless setup: a custom front end connected to a separate editor. It suits heavy editing alongside a need for speed, with more parts to host and maintain.

We learn how your team works before recommending WordPress or a custom Next.js site. Tell us who will publish content and how often; that helps us choose an approach your team can use after handover.

If your site collects personal information for commercial activity, federal privacy rules affect how you collect, use and disclose it. We set up enquiry forms with a clear explanation of how you intend to use the details people submit.

For commercial email sign-ups, Canadian anti-spam rules require consent and an unsubscribe mechanism. We set up a consent field and an unsubscribe mechanism, with sender details and a current mailing address in the messages. You also need a process for acting on unsubscribe requests.

Bring what you have, and note what still needs to be gathered.

• Brand filesYour logo in vector format, colours and fonts, or a note that they need creating.
• PrioritiesA ranked list of the services or products you want to feature.
• AccountsLogins for your domain, hosting, email, analytics and Search Console, or the name of the person holding them.
• PhotosImages of your team, premises and finished work; book a photo shoot ahead if needed.
• EnquiriesYour main site goal and the person who handles each type of request.
• ProofCase studies, permitted client logos, testimonials, certifications and memberships in a folder.

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  Leaving real content until the end

  Put actual headings and paragraphs into the layouts early. Placeholder text can conceal a layout that will not fit your copy.

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  Reviewing only on a large screen

  Check every page on a phone before approving the design, including the parts visitors need to tap.

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  Copying every old or competitor page

  Choose the service pages your visitors need and that your team can keep current.

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  Leaving search setup until launch

  Check page titles, the sitemap and any development indexing block before the site goes live.