Our starter package provides the essentials needed for an effective web presence: a streamlined fully functional impactful website that is readily indexable by major search engines, with a domain name (e.g. a .co.uk or .com address) of your choice, and (if desired) matching email functionality. We do all the setting-up on your behalf, and transfer ownership of all these elements to you when the site launches.

Websites built with static HTML/CSS don't require software to 'serve' webpages dynamically using scripts and databases. Because there are no server-side scripts or databases, there is nothing for a hacker to exploit.

Server-side scripts, plugins and databases are relied upon by common website publishing packages such as WordPress, and all have their vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the user login pages required to manage such sites add an even greater security risk.

With a static website, you are far better protected from common online threats, ensuring security and stability while removing the risk of costly recovery work or operational downtime.

We can offer tailored packages to those who have an existing website that needs to be updated, be that by choosing a new domain name, changing the hosting provider, refreshing the content, or undertaking a large-scale overhaul of page design and structure. See our additional services.

Our Starter and Standard Packages includes proofreading and minor text-editing support when building your site, plus the Standard Package includes follow-on support that extends to occasional page updates using provided text or images.

For additional content needs, our Enhanced Package includes preparation of suggested text-based content for your pages, plus sourcing of copyright-free images, when building your site. The follow-on support is also enhanced to include some assistance with content preparation for page updates.

If one-off or regular page updates are needed after site launch that require us to create original content on your behalf, that is an extra service we can offer and we would be happy to discuss this with you.

We can also arrange professional photography or drone videography for your business as an extra. Again, contact us for further details.

No. WordPress is a convenient and highly flexible platform for website self-builds, but a fully bespoke website built in 'static HTML/CSS' will be a faster-loading and more secure solution, and is also considered the more professional option.

We prefer to design websites without having to work within the limitations of WordPress and the like. In addition, without vigilant maintenance and very strong security protocols, such sites are vulnerable to malware and hacking.

Having a static website eliminates many security risks, and, unlike WordPress and similar platforms, it will not require frequent updating of the underpinning software to fix emerging vulnerabilities.

Your website will be built by hand using HTML and CSS. Nonetheless, AI is an extremely powerful tool, and there are a number of areas where we may employ it. First, it is superb for developing and testing additional code necessary for designing novel website functions (such as bespoke contact forms). As such, the speed of the process from concept to launch is greatly enhanced.

We may also employ AI in initial stages when creating website content (assuming copy-ready content has not been provided). However, AI is known for inaccuracies and a sometimes unusual language style. All content we use is therefore professionally edited and proof-read before use.

AI is also a useful tool for suggesting improvements to 'near-final' content that can make it more engaging and readable. It is also good at suggesting ways to optimise content that will improve website ranking in search engine results.

If you are on one of our support packages, all edits are handled by us. This ensures your website's clean layout architecture, responsiveness, and underlying source code remain perfectly optimized and unbroken. You simply email us your text adjustments or new images, and we execute them safely within your monthly support allowance.

If you choose to self-manage your website after launch, we can provide basic training to allow you to edit the raw code files yourself using any standard text editor. See also Once you have created my website, can I update it myself?.

A 'domain name' is the address used to locate your website on the internet. Like a postal address, it is unique to your website, and, you can choose the name (a bit like you might choose a house name, subject to which names have not already been taken).

For example, inthelakedistrict.co.uk is a fairly typical-looking domain name, comprising two main parts: first, a recognisable short descriptive name (inthelakedistrict); and, second, a generic domain extension (.co.uk). The full 'web address' needed to find your website will also need to include "https://www." (or similar) before the domain name (e.g. https://www.inthelakedistrict.co.uk).

Hosting is needed by all websites. A 'web host' or 'hosting provider' is a company that leases fast, reliable and secure storage space on something known as a server. From here, your webpages and other files can be accessed globally via the internet.

We can help with that and it is highly recommended if you already have a domain name that poorly reflects your key business service or have an existing website where the address is linked to a free hosting service provider (e.g. ending with wordpress.com).

It is usually straightforward to arrange and rarely will it require you to change your hosting provider, unless you are looking for a better-value hosting service than you currently have. We can help by researching available domain names and prices, and help set-up the new name to ensure it correctly directs users to your site.

Owning a domain name (e.g. mybusiness.com) means you can also choose to send and receive emails using that name (e.g. myname@mybusiness.com). For business, this is considered the most professional approach. Rarely it may require subscribing to an additional email hosting service (the option is normally available through your current provider).

You might for example still rely on a business email address linked to a "legacy internet provider", such as jsmith@aol.com or j.smith@btinternet.com, or one that is cluttered with numbers, such as jsmith6298@hotmail.com.

You can keep your existing address(es) and manage your personal and business/domain-based emails separately (via separate email platforms). Or we can use a platform you are familiar with (e.g. Gmail) to combine the sending and receiving of emails from all your accounts - all in one place.

We can help with that. It is usually straightforward to arrange and may be possible through your current hosting provider for free. Otherwise it may require an additional hosting fee, either with the same host or using a different hosting service. We can help by researching available hosts and by setting-up the account so that you can continue to use your preferred email platform (e.g. Gmail).

We can search out alternative options for you and also handle the transfer of your files and domain name, making the process seamless and stress free.

Typically, for our Starter Pack, the complete package is ready to launch ('go live') within 10 to 15 working days of agreeing your requirements. The full timeline (from initial enquiry) - especially for our standard and enhanced packages - depends heavily on how quickly we can reach agreement on the package and services you require, how quickly we receive content (text and images) from you (where agreed), and how quickly we receive your feedback during the design and creation process.

Remember that it takes time for your page to be found by and listed on major search engines (e.g. Google), so we advise adding our full search engine optimisation service to your Starter Package if that is important. The Standard and Enhanced Packages include search engine optimisation as standard and these websites will take longer from conception to launch because of the additional page and feature/functionality allowance that is included.

We provide a complete set-up package and can help you maintain your website too. All our packages include hassle-free set-up of your website, domain name, hosting, and domain-based email (if required), and up to 1-year post-launch support.

For the Starter Package, the inclusive support is 30-days post-launch, and extends to simple bug fixes and textual and layout changes. Thereafter, for a small fee, we can manage the site for you for an additional fee.

For the Standard and Enhanced Packages, the inclusive support is for a full year, renewable thereafter.

For all packages, we can also help you renew your hosting and/or domain name subscriptions when they expire (usually after 1 or 2 years).

We can provide website integration for various well-known online shopping, booking or payment services. This service is included in our Enhanced Package, and is also available for other packages/existing websites for a one-off fee. Note that the service-provider will also charge their own fees.

Features such as contact/enquiry forms do not need an external provider - they can typically be added easily to any website regardless of your current hosting provider - and the option to include one on your website is included in our Standard Package.

This could be the result of poor optimisation of your website content or something more fundamental.

First it is important to check the code of your webpage to ensure it is indexible by search engines and contains the minimum information they require. Optimising this information is then essential to realise the best results in terms of page impressions (your sites appearance in search engine result listings) and the number of clicks to your site that result.

See our optimisation service, below.

We offer search engine optimisation services for existing websites, including (if desired) the setting-up of Google Search Console (to improve and verify page indexing on Google) and Google Analytics (to track, measure, and analyse website traffic, visitor behaviour, and marketing performance).

Search engine optimisation (SEO) involves numerous steps. As well as checking for fundamental issues that might prevent search engines accessing your page entirely, we will also:

• Check key information in your website code, including the 'meta data', which is essential and needs to be finely tuned to provide the best listing results;
• Check the code itself (including in any related files on your server) to verify there are no errors or access restrictions that would prevent search engines from finding and correctly indexing your site;
• Use online tools to further tune your site's meta data and structure;
• For sites of more than one page, add a site-map that is readable by search engines (and viewable only by them);
• use Google Search Console and Google Analytics to analyse page indexability, indexing success, number of page impressions and clicks in Google search results, your site's position in search results, the search terms that visitors use to find our site, and more.

Yes, although extreme care is needed when updating a 'static' website because you will need to edit the code directly.

Your website files can be downloaded from the server using easy-to-use 'ftp' software, edited on your own home computer using a simple text-editor, and then re-uploaded when done. This is best for simple text edits or image changes. Upon handover of your website, we can provide a simple guide or in-person training to show you how.

For multi-page sites that require very regular updating, we might recommend building a 'dynamic' site using a content management system (this can be included as part of our enhanced package). This kind of system is similar to WordPress, allowing you complete control over text, images, page layout, number of pages, site structure/menu and more.

Our packages include a post-launch support period (30 days for our Starter Package) to ensure everything is running smoothly and to fix any initial teething problems at no extra cost.

If you choose our Starter Package and need changes later after the first 30 days - for example a small change to the content - we can offer ad-hoc support at an hourly rate (or one-off fee, whichever is more appropriate), or a monthly maintenance package. The latter is probably most apropriate if you forsee semi-regular updates to the site content, such as adding customer feedback.

Our Standard or Enhanced Packages are also worth considering if you anticipate regular content updates. These packages include 1-year of site support, including two content updates per month. Following the first year, we can recommend a monthly or annual follow-on maintenance package, which can also - if desired - include managing your hosting and domain name renewals.

Project Pricing: We typically work on a fixed-project fee basis, rather than an hourly rate, so you know the total cost from the start.

Starting Costs: Our starter package for a basic single-page site is a fixed one-off fee of £399. Our standard and enhanced packages include additional pages and specific additional features. Because of the varying degrees of complexity associated with addition of advanced features - for example, adding an online shop or booking platform - our enhanced package involves a bespoke quotation that we can provide following an initial consultation.

Are there any extra costs? For all of our packages, we try to include all reasonably foreseeable costs within our quoted up-front one-off fee, unless your requirements call for advanced hosting, domain name or email services. We will always be upfront where/when extra costs may be incurred.

For our starter and standard packages, we require a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the total project fee to secure your project slot. The remaining 50% is due once you have approved the final design and before the site is launched.

Payment structures for our standalone services and our enhanced package vary from the above: these depend on the nature of the service and the complexity of the work. We will discuss options with you at an initial meeting and confirm the terms in writing.

No we are not registered for VAT.

Domain name and hosting costs are the main costs and these need paying annually or every few years (depending on your contract). Domain name ownership typically needs to be renewed every year or two years, and typically may cost £10 to £20 for a year or two years. Hosting typically needs renewing every year and typically may cost from £35 for a year, depending on the service you need.

We can handle your renewals if you wish, including researching more cost-effective options when your renewal deadlines are approaching. We can also provide ongoing site maintenance that includes regular updates to your website throughout the year.

Websolutions@inthelakedistrict.co.uk was established in 2025 to provide website design and related services to the Cumbrian business community and further afield. We specialise in helping businesses establish a professional web presence with minimum fuss through high-quality responsive website design, a range of flexible setup and content creation services, and options for ongoing support.

Our Founder explains:

"I grew up in Lake District and have a deep connection to the area. After a long career in Higher Education — where I designed websites and marketing materials that had to meet the high-standards of the sector — I returned to Cumbria in 2025 with the goal of using my expertise to help local businesses by providing simple website solutions.

The key aim therefore was to create high-quality websites for businesses who want a professional web presence but need the solution to be simple, cost-effective, reliable, and quick. The solution also needs to be easy to understand and hassle-free. We're therefore always pleased to explain the benefits of our services and to discuss tailoring them to individual needs.

I believe we offer a valuable perspective that understands the needs of the local business community alongside the complexities of the modern digital landscape, and together we can help local businesses really succeed."

From our founder:

I have been creating websites since the early days of the internet. I wrote my first commercial website in the early 2000s for a family member who ran a holiday cottage business in the Lake District.

Years later, websolutions@inthelakedistrict.co.uk came into being after a long career in higher education, specificially in large Geographical Science departments at two Russell Group universities.

In both of these Departments I had the opportunity to lead extensive redesigns of their websites, which are an important means of student recruitment. In my first department, I hand-coded a novel PhP-based dynamic website (an early version of WordPress, almost!) that enabled page content across the site to be kept up-to-date using a simple web-based management system.

In my second Department, my experience expanded to include commercial content management systems (similar to the WordPress of today) used by large organisations, though careful design and hand-coding was still required.

Further, as student recruitment lead, I led the department's adoption of a professional customer relationship management system for the purpose of managing undergaduate student marketing and recruitment.

Websolutions@inthelakedistrict.co.uk was started specifically to provide a fast and complete website creation service to small businesses or sole traders with no existing web presence and little-to-no knowledge of what this entails.

Nonetheless, we support clients across a diverse range of sectors and scales—including hospitality, retail, and trade—providing everything from streamlined one-page websites to comprehensive rebranding identities that link seamlessly across digital and print media.

Nonetheless, we work with all types and sizes of local businesses—from hospitality and tourism to retail and trade-providing everything from the simple one-page websites to creative support across both digital and printed media.

See our range of optional standalone services.

We do not expect prior knowledge of this area. We will help you.

Talk to clients and get a feel for what's important; research similar offerings to get a sense of what works; suggest a possible design and then get to work.

Start by designing for desktop then progress to implementing the responsive code that renders the content correctly on other (e.g. mobile) devices.

We can provide design and content for 'traditional' print media, including typesetting and formatting services, production of marketing materials including business cards and newsletters, and more.

Yes, see below.

We can design everything from simple business cards to newsletters, leaflets, banners, information boards, posters, custom maps, and signage.

We can provide the design in different file formats to enable you to organise your own printing, or liaise with local and national print specialists on your behalf to ensure your items are produced to the highest quality and delivered quickly.

Increasingly, hosting companies are offering discounted (or even free) hosting or domain name services to charities. This normally requires you to be a registered charity and be able to provide your charity number. We can help by researching available hosts and discounts. We can also help you to add functionality to your website that enables visitors to make online donations (e.g. via PayPal or Square).

This work reflects a ten-year+ period as undergraduate recruitment lead and other roles, including undergraduate and postgraduate course directorships, at a large Russell Group university department. The work encompassed the management of student recruitment marketing and the design of key recruitment and internal course-related materials. This included writing, editing, art direction, and layout/design for prospective student course brochures and promotional newsletters.

In addition to responsibility for a full suite of recruitment materials, on occasion the work extended to overseeing complete overhauls of the departmental website and subsections thereof. This comprised the design of site structure, layout, and visual identity, whilst working within the institution's overall visual identity guidelines and utilising the institution's proprietary content management system.

Market research was undertaken regularly by surveying various feedback groups, and customer relationship management (CRM) software was implemented to track and support course applicants. Together, the work helped to increase course applicant numbers, and applicant conversion rates (from applicant to registered student) in particular increased from 12% to 40%.

Deliverables included:

• Course Brochures: Fully redesigned multi-page physical print course brochures.
• Student Handbooks: Comprehensive digital and print student handbooks.
• Outreach Newsletters: Annual physical print and digital outreach newsletters distributed to prospective applicant pipelines.
• Creative Content: Recruitment announcements, web content articles, university prospectus course profiles, and applicant landing page materials.
• Web Architecture: Restructured architectural layouts and user navigation paths for departmental websites.
• Event Marketing Materials: Physical banners and stands for university open days.