Hand-Coded Websites
Nothing you don’t need. Everything you do.
Written by hand in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP, with no theme, no page builder and no plugins, hand-coded websites are faster, safer and lighter than anything assembled from parts, and entirely yours. This site is one.
Why hand-coded.
For a marketing website, it removes most of the things that go wrong.
- Nothing to maintainNo plugins to update, no theme to patch, no CMS releases to test. The site you launch is the site you have in year three.
- Speed by constructionOnly the code each page needs. Images, fonts and styles tuned per page, so 100 on PageSpeed is the normal result, not a project.
- Almost nothing to attackNo login, no database, no plugin vulnerabilities. The most common ways websites get hacked simply do not exist.
- Cheap to runRuns beautifully on modest hosting with no platform fees. The running cost is the hosting and nothing else.
- Total controlEvery pixel and every tag is deliberate: structured data, accessibility, search foundations, exactly as they should be.
- Yours, outrightPlain files on hosting in your name. No platform can change its pricing or close the door.
What you get.
A finished site, in your own hosting account, that you own completely.
- Strategy and page planThe same discovery, sitemap and keyword map as any project, so every page has a purpose.
- Custom designDesigned for your business from a blank page. No template, no theme, no compromises to fit one.
- Hand-written codeHTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP written for this site, kept lean and documented.
- Interaction, used with restraintMotion that answers a visitor’s action, built without heavy libraries.
- SEO and performanceTitles, structured data, sitemaps, redirects and a performance budget from the first page.
- Forms and integrationsEnquiry forms to your inbox, plus bookings, newsletters or CRM connections when needed.
- Your hostingSet up in your name on hosting that suits the site, with the files handed over.
- Changes made for youText and image changes are quick; a care plan covers them month by month if you want it.
- DocumentationA short guide to how the site is put together, for you or any future developer.
How I build by hand.
Plan it like any site: structure first.
Writing code is the quick part if the planning is right. Goals, pages, keywords and content come first, then design, then the build, so what gets coded is the right thing.
- Sitemap and keyword map
- Design on real content, reviewed on phone and desktop
- Hosting recommended and set up
Build it light, measure it constantly.
Every page is built to a performance budget and tested as it is written: images in modern formats sized per screen, fonts subset and preloaded, styles inlined, scripts deferred and tiny. The home page of this site measures its own Core Web Vitals while you read it.
- Core Web Vitals green on every page
- Accessibility built in, not retrofitted
- Zero third-party scripts unless you need one
Hand-coded or WordPress?
Two good ways to build for different jobs. The honest comparison.
| Consideration | Hand-coded | WordPress |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Marketing and brochure sites, landing pages, sites where speed and security are the point | Content-heavy sites, blogs, membership, larger shops, sites a team publishes to daily |
| Speed | Fastest possible: only the code each page needs | Excellent when built lean; easy to get wrong |
| Maintenance | Almost none: no plugins, updates or patches | Regular updates and a care plan are strongly advised |
| Security | Minimal attack surface: no login, no database | Good when maintained; the most-attacked platform when not |
| Editing | Changes made by me, or a light editing layer for the parts that change | Familiar editor; very flexible |
| Running costs | Hosting only | Hosting plus maintenance and any premium plugins |
| Custom functionality | Anything, written for the job | Anything, via plugins and custom code |
Hand-coded in practice.
Compare Van Insurance is a hand-coded site competing with national brands on speed and search, and this website is another. The full comparison is in hand-coded vs WordPress for a small business.
Often paired with.
Web Design
Bespoke, responsive websites designed around your customers and what you want them to do.
Learn more about web designSoftware Development
Custom web tools, WordPress plugins and integrations when a standard site isn’t enough.
Learn more about software developmentBrand & Graphic Design
Logos, visual identity and graphics that look right on screen and in print.
Learn more about brand & graphic designCopywriting
Clear website copy that answers the questions your customers are already asking.
Learn more about copywritingWebsite Care
Updates, backups, monitoring and small changes, so the site keeps performing.
Learn more about website careHand-coded questions, answered.
The site is written directly in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and, where it needs to do something, PHP, rather than assembled in a content management system from a theme and plugins. Every line is there because the design needs it. This website is built that way, and so is Compare Van Insurance.
Because nothing is loaded that is not used. A typical theme-and-plugins site ships hundreds of kilobytes of code for features the page never touches; a hand-coded page ships only its own. Add images sized for each screen, fonts subset and preloaded and a stylesheet that does not block the first paint, and you get pages that score 100 on PageSpeed without heroics.
Considerably. There is no login page to attack, no plugins to patch and no database to compromise for a brochure site. The attack surface is tiny, which is why hand-coded sites need far less maintenance to stay safe.
A hand-coded site runs on almost any hosting, and runs well on inexpensive hosting because it asks so little of the server. I recommend and set it up in your name, so you are never tied to me for it.
When you need to publish often without a developer, when the site has hundreds of pages or posts, or when you need a shop or members’ area with lots of moving parts. Those are WordPress jobs. For a marketing site that has to be fast, secure and found, hand-coded websites are hard to beat.
Let’s build it properly.
Tell me about the site you need and how often it will change. I’ll confirm hand-coded is the right fit, or say if it isn’t.
- 1You send a few lines.What the business does and what the website needs to do.
- 2I reply, personally.Usually the same day, with questions and a time for a call.
- 3You get a written proposal.Scope, stages and price for exactly that. No obligation, no hard sell.
Monday to Sunday, 9am to 9pm. You talk to me, not an account manager.