Toad’s Island Productions
Chester Web Design and SEO, for the Visitor Trade and Local Clients
A café on the Rows and an accountant in Hoole need very different websites. I’ll work out which you need, build it, and help you get found.
Chester’s business mix
I work with small businesses and independent traders across Chester, from the city centre to Hoole, Handbridge, and Upton.
Chester’s business mix is unusual. A shop trading on tourist footfall needs something different from a professional firm working with local clients, and a website that suits one won’t suit the other.
Two kinds of Chester website
If your customers are visitors
People planning a day out or already walking the Rows are nearly always on their phones. What they need is quick and practical:
- are you open
- where are you
- what do you sell or serve
- can they book
The website needs to answer all four within seconds. Opening hours have to be kept up to date, and seasonal changes should be easy for you to edit yourself.
If your clients are local
Accountants, solicitors, therapists and trades in Hoole, Upton or Handbridge are chosen more slowly. People compare two or three options, read about who you are, and look for reasons to trust you. Here the website needs to explain what you do clearly, show who’s behind it, and make getting in touch feel easy.
Plenty of businesses sit somewhere in between. The first conversation is mostly about working out which one you are, because it changes what goes on the homepage.
Getting found in Chester
The same split applies to search.
Visitors mostly find businesses through Google Maps and “near me” searches, often while they’re standing a few streets away. For them, your Google Business Profile does most of the work: accurate hours, photos, the right categories, and reviews. The website backs it up.
Local clients search more deliberately, for things like “accountant Chester” or “roofer Hoole”, and they look at websites properly before getting in touch. Here the website does more of the work: clear service pages, your area mentioned where it’s relevant, and a site that’s quick and well structured.
My SEO service is a monthly rolling arrangement covering your Google Business Profile and your website, weighted towards whichever side matters more for your business.
Where I work in Chester
I work with businesses across Chester, including the city centre, Hoole, Handbridge, Upton, Boughton, Saltney, Huntington and Christleton. I’m based in Northwich and happy to come over to Chester if you’d rather meet in person.
Recent work
I’m based in Northwich, and most of my clients are a short drive away. A few recent projects:
AseptA Occupational Health
Cuddington, near Northwich · Web design and SEO
A complete rebuild and restructure of an occupational health provider’s website, with technical and on-page SEO built in from the start.
Elite AC North West Ltd
St Helens · Web design and SEO
A six-page website for an air conditioning company, structured around their services and the areas they cover, with SEO in place from launch.
Women at Work
Built for AseptA · Membership platform
A membership platform built from scratch, with tiered memberships, online training and custom symptom checkers for women’s health.
See more of my work on the homepage →
How pricing works
Every project is quoted at a fixed price, agreed before any work begins. There are no hourly rates and nothing added later.
If you need to get online quickly, the Web Starter Package is a fixed-price three page site at £500, with domain, hosting, and email included. Larger sites are quoted individually based on the number of pages and what the site needs to do.
Questions from Chester businesses
How much does a website cost in Chester?
The Web Starter Package is a fixed price of £500 and covers a three page site with domain, hosting, and email included. Larger sites are quoted individually at a fixed price agreed before work starts. There are no hourly rates and no charges added later.
How long does it take to build a website?
The Web Starter Package is delivered in seven to ten working days. Larger sites take longer, depending on the number of pages and how quickly content and feedback come back. A timescale is agreed with you before the project starts.
Do you work with businesses across Chester?
Yes, across the city and surrounding areas including Boughton, Saltney, Huntington, and Christleton. I’m based in Northwich, so meeting in person is straightforward if you’d prefer that.
Can you rebuild a website I already have?
Yes. If a site is slow, dated, or not producing enquiries, it can be rebuilt with a focus on performance and search visibility. A website audit is often the sensible first step, as it establishes what is worth keeping.
Will my website show up on Google?
Every site I build is structured for search from the start, loads quickly, and is set up correctly for indexing. That gives it a proper foundation, though where it ranks depends on the competition in your sector and on any ongoing SEO work.
Need a website or better search visibility for your Chester business?
Get in touch and tell me who your customers are. That’s where I start.