Smart web design for Cumbria. Mobile-friendly design, stress-free setup, and affordable packages to help your business grow

Our Starter Package provides everything needed for an effective web presence: a streamlined fully functional impactful website that is readily indexable by major search engines, a domain name (e.g. a .co.uk or .com address) of your choice, and (if desired) a matching email address.

All our packages include the initial purchase and configuration of your web/email hosting and domain name. This means we handle the entire technical setup on your behalf, whilst ensuring there are no unexpected costs.

We provide complete hassle-free packages to get your website up and running smoothly and can be on hand to maintain your site too.

All our packages include the initial purchase and configuration of your web/email hosting and domain name. In addition, all packages include post-launch technical support, ranging from 30 days (upgradable to 12 months) on our Starter Package, to a full-year on our Standard and Enhanced Packages.

Having us maintain your site, including undertaking your text and images updates, ensures your website's clean layout architecture, responsiveness, and underlying source code remain perfectly optimized and unbroken. Nonetheless, all packages include basic 1-to-1 training to enable you can manage and edit the site yourself.

Our Year 2+ renewal packages further extend your support over subsequent years. This includes management of your web hosting and domain name renewals at the start of each subsequent year.

Note that our renewal packages exclude third-party supplier subscription costs, which are billed separately.

We can offer tailored packages if you 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 standalone services.

No. WordPress is a convenient and highly flexible platform 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.

Note: WordPress is a type of Content Management System (CMS). See our FAQ What is a Content Management System (CMS)?

Yes. Responsive design describes websites that are engineered to work perfectly across all types of screens or devices, from desktop PC screens to hand-held devices such as mobile phones. The careful engineering allows the content and layout to automatically adjust and reconfigure to the size of the browser window or device's screen.

Why not use this website to see for yourself on a PC or laptop screen: if you click and drag the browser window edge to adjust the width, from fully wide to as narrow as possible, you will see the content and layout adapt to match the window width as you drag.

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.

If we have agreed to collaborate on your website content, we may also employ AI in the initial stages of content creation. Because AI is known for inaccuracies and a sometimes unusual language style, all content used is professionally edited and proof-read.

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 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 available, or for an hourly fee).

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 our FAQ Once you have launched my website, can I update it myself?

A CMS platform is a software package that needs to be installed on your web server. Page content is stored within a database (or many databases) and the software uses complex scripts to create the site's pages 'dynamically' when visitors access them.

While convenient for those who wish to update pages or add new ones fairly frequently, CMS platforms come with security and cost implications.

The user databases and complex software scripts used by many CMS platforms are inherently vulnerable to hackers and malware, making mandatory software updates and security monitoring an ongoing, time-intensive and costly requirement.

In addition, CMS platforms provide a dashboard where users can log in to self-edit website, indcluding text and images. Whilst convenient, the login process is highly vulnerable to brute-force attacks, where automated software systematically guesses passwords to gain access.

A hand-coded static HTML/CSS website avoids these vulnerabilities. Nonetheless, CMS platforms remain appropriate for certain complex web projects. In those specific scenarios, we evaluate client requirements and may recommend an appropriate CMS that is suitably robust and secure, such as Joomla.

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 domain name, comprising two main parts: first, a short descriptive name (inthelakedistrict); and, second, a generic domain extension (.co.uk). The full 'web address' (or 'URL') will also need to include "https://www." (or similar) before the domain name (e.g. https://www.inthelakedistrict.co.uk).

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

Your third-party hosting and domain name subscriptions typically need renewing annually. Our Year 2+ renewal packages cover management of these renewal processes.

We can help with that. A new name is highly recommended if your current name poorly reflects your key business service, or appears unprofessional (for example, it is linked to a free hosting service provider, where the address ends with wordpress.com or similar).

It is usually straightforward to arrange and does not necessarily require you to change your hosting provider. 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 existing 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 businesses, this is considered the most professional approach.

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.

On rare occasions you may need to subscribe to an additional email hosting service (for example, if the email service offered by your exisiting web hosting provider is prohibitively expensive).

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 with setting-up the account. You can continue to use your preferred email platform (e.g. Gmail) or keep your email services/addresses separate.

If you already have a website, then, subject to an initial site appraisal, we may be able to offer you one of our Year 2+ renewal packages, which includes our management of your web hosting and domain name subscription renewals, and (package depending) a monthly or annual allowance covering code-level updates and text amendments on your site.

In addition, if desired, we can search out alternative web hosting options for you, and handle the transfer of your files and domain name (as appropriate), making the process of changing hosting and domain name provider 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.

Note that, for all packages, the full timeline depends heavily on how quickly we can reach agreement on the package and services you require, how quickly we receive your content (text and images) or whether this needs to be prepared by us, and how quickly we receive your feedback during the design process. Further, Standard and Enhanced packages will take longer to launch because of the additional page allowances and site options.

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.

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 and databases are at the core of common website publishing platforms such as WordPress. In addition, these platforms all provide user login pages, which 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 provide website integration for various well-known online shopping, booking or payment platforms. This option is included in our Enhanced Package, and is also available for other packages (or for existing websites) for a one-off fee. Note that the platform provider may also charge their own fee(s).

If you are setting up the online shop, booking or payment service for the first time, we can help with that too, including researching the best provider for you, setting up your account, and providing you with training.

Features such as contact/enquiry forms do not need an external provider. A contact/enquiry form is standard on all of our packages.

For our Starter and Standard Website Design Packages, all content (images and text) must be supplied. Plus, on our Standard Package, we offer on-page content optimisation, comprising structuring, re-writing, and formatting text and images to make content more readable and engaging.

Our Enhanced Website Design Package is most appropriate if you need assistance with content preparation (not just optimisation). This includes preparation of suggested text-based content and sourcing of copyright-free images, from your suggestions. We can also arrange professional photography or drone videography.

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 search engine optimisation service, below.

Our Starter Package includes everything needed to ensure your page can be indexed successfully by major search engines. Our Standard and Enhanced Packages include higher-level SEO, including Google Search Console verification, local business JSON-LD schema, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) integration, and on-page content and code-level optimisation.

For existing websites, our search engine optimisation service involves numerous steps, from checks for fundamental issues that might prevent search engines accessing your page entirely (such as robots.txt file errors), to setting-up sophisticated integration with Google Analytics to track, measure, and analyse website traffic, visitor behaviour, and marketing performance.

The key steps and services include (though not exclusively):

• Check and optimise your website code, including crucial 'meta data', which is essential and needs fine tuning to provide the best listing results;
• Check the code of every file to verify there are no errors that would prevent search engines from finding or indexing your site;
• Use online tools to further tune your site's meta data and optimise content and structure;
• Add a site-map that is readable by search engines (and viewable only by them);
• Verify your site with Google Search Console and set-up Google Analytics 4 integration to analyse page indexability, indexing success, number of page impressions, number of clicks in Google search results, your site's position in search results, the search terms that visitors use to find your site, and more.
• Add local business JSON-LD schema, which tells Google's search bots your exact business name, location and key details, which is critical for ranking in the prominent box/map that appears at the top of search results when someone searches for a local service or business.

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

To edit the files yourself, they need to be downloaded from the server using 'ftp' software. They can then be edited on your own home computer using a simple text-editor, and re-uploaded (again via ftp) when done. This is best suited to 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 more complex edits and updates, we recommend choosing one of our support packages. That way, all edits are handled by us, ensuring your website's clean layout architecture, responsiveness, and underlying source code remain perfectly optimized and unbroken.

Further, for multi-page websites that will require regular updating, we might recommend building a 'dynamic' site that uses a content management system (offered as part of our Enhanced package). This kind of system allows users to log in and edit text and other content, though it comes with additional website security and maintenance implications.

Our Starter Package includes 30 days of basic post-launch support to ensure everything is running smoothly and to fix any teething problems at no extra cost. You then have the option to upgrade your support to a full-year by purchasing our Year 1 Support Extension, which includes up to 5 hours of further content updates and text amendments.

Our Standard or Enhanced Packages are worth considering if you anticipate regular (e.g. monthly) content updates. These packages include a full year of standard post-launch support, which includes 2 hours of code-level content updates and text amendments per month (plus a further 2 hours of custom design and layout modifications per month on the Enhanced package).

Our Year 2+ renewal packages further extend your support over subsequent years. This includes our management of your web hosting and domain name renewals* at the start of each renewal period.

As a back-up, we also include basic training on all packages that is designed to allow you to manage and edit the site yourself.

*Note that this excludes third-party supplier subscription renewal costs, which are billed separately.

We design the most secure websites possible. This is because we use static HTML/CSS to design your website, meaning security vulnerabilities are virtually eliminated.

In addition, all our packages include set-up of your SSL Certificate, which protects any data sent to you by your website visitors.

This is critical. If your website does not have an SSL certificate, modern browsers like Chrome and Microsoft Edge will display a prominent "Not Secure" warning next to your domain name. Even worse, many browsers will block visitors from accessing your website.

It is also important for Google rankings. If two websites have similar content, Google's algorithms will always prioritize the secure https:// site over an insecure http:// one. In addition, having an SSL certificate is a fundamental prerequisite being listed in Google's local results listings.

Finally, an SSL certificate prevents contact form data theft. Without SSL, this data is sent over the open web in plain text, creating a major security and data privacy vulnerability under UK and EEA GDPR regulations.

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.

Our initial packages (Starter, Standard and Enhanced) are only available at a fixed one-off fee. We include all reasonably foreseeable costs within the advertised/quoted fee, unless your requirements call for advanced hosting, domain name or email services, or integration of booking, shop or payment platforms that have their own costs. We will always be upfront where we anticipate extra costs to be incurred.

Our Standard and Enhanced packages include additional page allowances and other benefits. Because of the varying degrees of complexity associated with addition of advanced features—for example, integration of booking, shop or payment platforms—our Enhanced package involves a bespoke quotation that we can provide following an initial consultation.

Our Starter Package includes 30 days of basic post-launch support, meaning you may wish to purchase our Year 1 Support Extension to extend your technical support to a full-year. Alternatively, our Standard and Enhanced packages include a full year of post-launch support as standard.

After year 1, our Year 2+ renewal packages extends your technical support for a further year, and include our management of your third-party subscription renewals (including hosting and domain name renewal) at the beginning of the renewal period.

As with our initial package fees, our Year 1 Support Extension and Year 2+ renewal packages are only available for a fixed one-off fee.

Note that all support and renewal packages exclude any third-party subscription renewal costs. These are billed separately at-cost, providing transparency over the costs and service levels of any third-party services used*.

*Only the initial packages (Starter, Standard and Enhanced) are inclusive of these third-party costs, and only covering the first 12 months post-launch.

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.

The Starter Package Year 1 Support Extension and the Year 2+ renewal packages (plus and third party supplier subscription fees for hosting and domain name renewals and similar) are payable in full upfront 30 days before your current package/subscriptions expire.

No we are not registered for VAT.

Aside from the cost of our Year 1 Support Extension and Year 2+ renewal packages—should you choose to purchase one of these—owning a website does involve some recurring costs.

Web hosting and domain name renewal costs (incurred through third-party suppliers) are the main recurring costs. These occur annually or sometimes every few years (depending on your subscription length/agreement with the supplier).

Domain name ownership typically needs to be renewed every year or two years, and typically may cost £10 to £20 for a year. Hosting typically needs renewing every year and typically may cost from £35 for a year, depending on the service level you need (including the security features).

Third-party booking, shop or payment platforms also incur their own costs, which vary depending on the platform and service level that is required.

Our Year 2+ renewal packages (see our Pricing section) provide a straightforward way to keep your website secure and online.

These renewal options include our management of your hosting and domain renewals at the start of the relevant renewal period, and extend your technical support (and any code-level updates or text amendments allowance under your package) for a further 12 months.

As a back-up, we also include basic training on all packages that is designed to allow you to manage and edit the site yourself.

Note that any third-party subscription renewal costs (such as hosting and domain name renewal costs) are billed separately.

Unlike some website design agencies, we do not "lease" your website to you. Rather, the site becomes your property as soon as it is launched. Nonetheless, we encourage you to consider having us oversee and maintain your website, either by upgrading your Starter Package's 30 days' inclusive post-launch support to a full-year, or, for our Standard and Enhanced packages, choosing one of our Year 2+ renewal options.

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 late 1990s for a holiday cottage business in the Lake District.

"Years later, websolutions@inthelakedistrict.co.uk came into being after a long career in higher education, where—as an academic staff member—I held various senior departmental roles, including marketing lead for student recruitment.

"During this time, I lead extensive redesigns of many departmental and course websites, including hand-coding a novel PhP-based dynamic website (an early version of WordPress!) that enabled staff to manage content using a simple online dashboard.

"My later experience included website design using commercial content management systems—as used by large organisations (and very similar to WordPress)—and collaboration with external marketing agencies."

Websolutions@inthelakedistrict.co.uk was started specifically to provide a fast and hassle-free website creation service to small businesses or sole traders in Kendal, Cumbria and The Lake District.

Nonetheless, we support clients across a diverse range of sectors and scales — including hospitality, tourism, retail, and trade — providing everything from streamlined one-page websites to comprehensive website overhauls and content support.

Our full range of standalone services can be found above. If you would like to discuss the service you are looking for, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Typically, we first talk to clients at a face-to-face or virtual meeting to get a feel for what's important to them. We will then undertake research to get a sense of what works well for the particular type of business concerned, and suggest possible designs.

For most websites we can start designing straight away using a standard in-house template; however, for more complex websites with enhanced branding and layout requirements, we might start designing example pages using a drawing package, and then progress to implementing the design in a modified or bespoke template after receiving client feedback on the initial designs.

We can provide design and content for 'traditional' print media, including typesetting and formatting services for all types of work, all types of marketing materials including business cards and newsletters, and more. We can also design 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 or national print specialists on your behalf to ensure your items are produced to the highest quality and delivered quickly.

See our list of standalone services for more information.

Yes, see below.

Some hosting companies offer discounted (or 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 possible discounts. We can also help you to set-up and add donation links to your website (e.g. via PayPal or Square).

We provide website design services across Cumbria, the Lake District, and Lancashire.

We cover all areas of the Lake District, including Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere, Hawkshead and Keswick. Outisde of the National Park, we provide services to clients in Carlisle, Penrith, Grange-over-Sands, Cockermouth, Ulverston and Kirkby Lonsdale.

Our coverage also extends to West Coast, Eden Valley and into North Yorkshire and North Lancashire, taking in Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport, Barrow-in-Furness, Appleby, Carnforth, Morecambe and Lancaster.

Yes. We are able to partner with small businesses and sole traders anywhere in the UK. To do this, we can easily arrange virtual consultations and deliver our website design and other services remotely.

Yes. We frequently organize face-to-face meetings with local clients to understand what is important to your business.

For clients located in more distant Cumbrian locations or even further afield, we can arrange convenient virtual meetings via your preferred video platform.

In addition to meeting-up to get to know you and your business, we offer technical training sessions face-to-face or virtually to ensure you are confident using and updating your website.

We support a diverse range of local sectors across the region. This includes hospitality, including self-catering cottages, hotels and other accommodations. We also serve retail and tourism, including independent shops, restaurants and tourist attractions, large or small.

Our Starter Package is specifically designed for sole-traders, including musicians, plumbers, yoga teachers, bakers, driving instructors or dry-stone wallers, to name only a few!

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.