CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html prefix="og: http://ogp.me/ns#" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-gb" lang="en-gb" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <base href="https://reaper.com/design/website" /> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <meta name="keywords" content="Reaper, Reaper Enterprises, Website Design London, Website Design England, Website Designers, Digital Developers, Magento, Joomla, Wordpress, Internet Consultancy, Internet Solutions, Website Hosting, eCommerce, Domain Names" /> <meta name="rights" content="Reaper Enterprises" /> <meta name="description" content="Website designers with 10+ years of experience crafting user-friendly websites. Based in Putney, London." /> <title>Website - Reaper Enterprises Ltd</title> <link href="/templates/reaper-v2/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" /> <link href="https://reaper.com/search-results?format=opensearch" rel="search" title="Search Reaper Enterprises Ltd" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" /> <link href="/plugins/system/jce/css/content.css?badb4208be409b1335b815dde676300e" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/plugins/system/rokbox/assets/styles/rokbox.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/templates/reaper-v2/css/template.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/templates/reaper-v2/css/user.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/templates/reaper-v2/css/front-gridder.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/templates/reaper-v2/css/digital-design.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="/templates/reaper-v2/css/icofont.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/5.15.3/css/all.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <style type="text/css"> div.mod_search129 input[type="search"]{ width:auto; } </style> <script type="application/json" class="joomla-script-options new">{"csrf.token":"019599df01948929ebd90041c8dbc2d1","system.paths":{"root":"","base":""}}</script> <script src="/media/jui/js/jquery.min.js?65747de6bb99e4fbe0f380f2830c4baa" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/jui/js/jquery-noconflict.js?65747de6bb99e4fbe0f380f2830c4baa" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/jui/js/jquery-migrate.min.js?65747de6bb99e4fbe0f380f2830c4baa" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/k2/assets/js/k2.frontend.js?v=2.10.3&b=20200429&sitepath=/" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/system/js/caption.js?65747de6bb99e4fbe0f380f2830c4baa" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/system/js/mootools-core.js?65747de6bb99e4fbe0f380f2830c4baa" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/system/js/core.js?65747de6bb99e4fbe0f380f2830c4baa" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/media/system/js/mootools-more.js?65747de6bb99e4fbe0f380f2830c4baa" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/plugins/system/rokbox/assets/js/rokbox.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.2.0/js/bootstrap.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/modernizr/modernizr-2.7.2.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/templates/reaper-v2/js/reaper.js" type="text/javascript" defer="defer" async="async"></script> <script src="/templates/reaper-v2/js/fx.js" type="text/javascript" defer="defer" async="async"></script> <script src="/templates/reaper-v2/js/reaper-slideshow.js" type="text/javascript" defer="defer" async="async"></script>  <script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(window).on('load', function() { new JCaption('img.caption'); }); if (typeof RokBoxSettings == 'undefined') RokBoxSettings = {pc: '100'}; </script> <style type="text/css"> body.site { background-color: #fefefe } h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { color: #00a738; } </style>    <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-KNWRBJ8');</script>  <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" href="/images/apple-touch-icon.png" /> </head> <body class="site pixgridder pix-scroll-load com_content view-article no-layout no-task itemid-150 fluid">  <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-KNWRBJ8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <div id="fb-root"></div> <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=301492669952954&version=v2.0"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script>  <div class="body"> <div class="-fluid">  <header class="header" role="banner"> <div class="main-menu"> <div class="mobile"> <a class="logo" href="/"> <img src="https://reaper.com/images/branding/reaper-logo.png" alt="Reaper Enterprises Ltd" /> </a> <a class="btn-navbar"> <span></span> </a> </div> <nav class="navigation nav-collapse affix" data-spy="affix" role="navigation" > <ul class="nav menu mod-list"> <li class="item-102 active deeper parent"><a href="/design" >Design</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-150 current active deeper parent"><a href="/design/website" >Website</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-120"><a href="/design/website/ux-ui" >UX/UI</a></li></ul></li><li class="item-110"><a href="/design/ecommerce" >eCommerce</a></li><li class="item-111"><a href="/design/brand-identity" >Brand Identity</a></li></ul></li><li class="item-108 deeper parent"><a href="/digital" >Digital</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-109"><a href="/digital/solutions" >Solutions</a></li><li class="item-124"><a href="/digital/apps" >Apps</a></li><li class="item-116 deeper parent"><a href="/digital/marketing" >Marketing</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-117"><a href="/digital/marketing/seo" >SEO</a></li><li class="item-118"><a href="/digital/marketing/social-media" >Social Media</a></li><li class="item-119"><a href="/digital/marketing/copywriting" >Copywriting</a></li><li class="item-123"><a href="/digital/marketing/newsletters" >e-newsletters</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class="item-101 default"><a href="/" ><img src="/images/branding/reaper-logo.png" alt="Home" /></a></li><li class="item-125"><a href="/portfolio" >Portfolio</a></li><li class="item-163 deeper parent"><a href="/company" >Us</a><ul class="nav-child unstyled small"><li class="item-164"><a href="/blog" >Reaper's Blog</a></li><li class="item-112"><a href="/company/hello" >Say Hello</a></li><li class="item-141"><a href="/vacancies" >Job Vacancies</a></li></ul></li></ul> </nav> </div> </header> <div class="row-fluid container"> <main id="content" role="main" class="span12">  <div id="system-message-container"> </div> <div class="item-page" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Article"> <meta itemprop="inLanguage" content="en-GB" />  <div class="article-content"> <div class="page-header"> <h1 itemprop="name"> Website Design </h1> </div> <div itemprop="articleBody"> <p class="hero-unit">Whether it's a bespoke website or one run on a popular content management system (CMS) such as Wordpress, Joomla, Shopify, Magento, Squarespace, Wix or Weebly (phew!), we can help design, build and maintain it. <span class="green">Wow</span>.</p> <h2>Our Design Approach</h2> <p class="subheading">The best designs make content look amazing.</p> <p>We believe your content shouldn't have to fit into a design we make because that's the wrong way around. Our design should make your content shine. </p> <p class="subheading">What's your goal?</p> <p>We start by asking what your goal in having a website is and what type of content you'll be putting on it (images? video? words?) and who will be using the site. Find out more about our <a href="/company/our-process">website design and development process</a>.</p> <p class="subheading">Ideas and Mock Ups</p> <p>Once we know what you want the website to do for you, the target audience and what kind of content you have, we start sketching out different ideas for layouts. We also start thinking about appropriate fonts and colours to get the foundations of the site established.</p> <p>From there, it's a matter of working out constant elements (like the header and footer that are on every page) and the page templates (which tend to change based on the type of content). By knowing what your business goals are and who your target audience is we can craft a better website experience by looking at the <a href="/design/website/ux-ui" rel="alternate">user experience and interface</a>.</p> <h3>A Full Website Solution</h3> <p>We offer more than just website design. We help with <strong><a href="/domains/" rel="alternate">domains</a></strong>, <strong><a href="/digital/solutions#development" rel="alternate">development</a></strong>, <strong><a href="/hosting" rel="alternate">hosting</a></strong>, <strong><a href="/digital/solutions#maintenance" rel="alternate">upkeep</a></strong> (things like adding new content, making edits) and train you on how to use it. Why? Because it's nice when you have one point of contact for all your online needs.</p> <p>For examples of our website work, please check out our <a href="/portfolio">porfolio</a>.</p> <div class="hero-unit"> <p>Let's get to work on your website</p> <p>Call us on 0845 272 3534 or <a href="/company/hello">email us</a>.</p> </div> <h2>Responsive Websites</h2> <p class="pull-quote right"><span class="numbers">40%</span> have turned to a competitor's site <br />after a bad mobile experience<br /><small>Src: What users Want from Mobile 2011 white paper</small></p> <p>Having a website is no longer a basic investment cost. That's simply not good enough, not anymore. The website should be responsive - if it doesn't adapt for the user, then what's the point? Instead of providing a great user experience regardless of device, you're enforcing tech standards that the visitor may not be able to meet. So they'll likely leave. Responsive websites provide a better user experience because there's no need to pinch, zoom, swipe & scroll to read a webpage. </p> <div class="pull-quote left">Sites that use responsive web design, i.e. sites that serve all devices on the same set of URLs, with each URL serving the same HTML to all devices and using just CSS to change how the page is rendered on the device. <br />This is <em>Google鈥檚 recommended configuration</em>.</div> <p>A responsive website is exactly that, it responds. If you're on a smaller screen, it changes the appearance of content to optimise it for your device, on a larger screen? Different look again. Same content, different appearance = a better user experience. Recommended by Google. Why? It's better for SEO as the same content isn't on multiple pages (e.g. www.site.com/hello and m.site.com/hello) and makes it easier for a visitor to go from one device to another without having to switch to desktop or mobile view, the site will simply do it for them. </p> <h2>CMS or No?</h2> <p>One of the beautiful things about the web today is how easy it can be to add and edit your website. Content management systems (CMS) are great for empowering you to add and edit content to your site on your own. Gone are the days of needing to know html code (although it does help still) and in its stead is a league of "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG) editor bars that make content editing more like editing a Word document. They typically allow for a number of users as well as user roles and include media management capabilities.</p> <p><strong>We recommend a CMS</strong> because it gives you back the power to be in charge of your own website. Of course, time may not allow you to do so in which case we're on hand to help maintain it. But the learning curve with a CMS is significantly smaller than learning HTML.</p> <p>There are loads of content management systems (CMS) available, many open source, so choose one that meets your needs. If we talked about every CMS, it would be overwhelming. Our clients have found <a href="/software/wordpress" rel="alternate">WordPress</a> & <a href="/software/joomla" rel="alternate">Joomla!</a> to be relatively easy to use and flexible enough to meet their business needs. While extensions and plugins exist to add shopping features, we find most shop owners benefit from a focused <a href="/design/ecommerce">e-commerce solution</a>.</p> <h3>Off the Shelf or Tailored Theme?</h3> <p>There's usually a default theme with every CMS. There's also a number of themes (both free and paid for) that are available. This is what we call 'off the shelf.' Install the template, pop your content in and you're done. Great. Right? Well.... Off the shelf is generic by nature. A dozen other sites can have the same look and feel as yours, making it increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd and create a memorable experience.  Also, sometimes the themes are limited in what you can/can't do and aren't great for SEO.</p> <h4>A tailored theme is built around you.</h4> <p>It's more than colours and fonts; it's looking at what visual hierarchy and balance suits the content and how to best tell your story.  Sometimes the images are the star so the copy is designed to be a secondary element. Or maybe it's heavy on the copy, minimal on the images - in which case it's a matter of making the site visually appealing and easy to read.</p> <p>A tailored theme has your specific goals and strategies at its heart. This allows you to better reach, communicate and engage with your clients. Not to mention stand out from the crowd.</p> <h2>Bespoke Websites</h2> <p>Sometimes a CMS just isn't fit for purpose, in which case a bespoke website can be developed to meet your needs. This requires a solid understanding of business needs before we can look at the database design, information architecture, administrative access etc.  With a bespoke website, there can be greater control and flexibility.</p> </div> </div> </div>  </main> </div> </div> </div>  <footer class="footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="container row-fluid -fluid"> <div class="span4 noleft"> <div class="moduletable-transparent_dark"> <div class="custom-transparent_dark" > <h3>We Believe</h3> <p>In the power of the web to help individuals and businesses accomplish their goals. Our experience in designing and building websites, SEO and social media are key tools in helping meet goals.</p> <p><small>View our <a href="/terms/">terms and conditions of sale</a>.<br /> View our <a href="/privacy-policy/">privacy policy</a>.<br /></small></p></div> </div> <div class="moduletable search-box"> <div class="search search-box mod_search129"> <form action="/design/website" method="post" class="form-inline" role="search"> <label for="mod-search-searchword129" class="element-invisible">Search</label> <input name="searchword" id="mod-search-searchword129" maxlength="200" class="inputbox search-query input-medium" type="search" size="50" placeholder="Search ..." /> <input type="hidden" name="task" value="search" /> <input type="hidden" name="option" value="com_search" /> <input type="hidden" name="Itemid" value="133" /> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="moduletableblog-item"> <h3>The Reaper Edit</h3> <div id="213" class="blog-latest blog-item"> <p class="modulePretext">The latest item from <a href="/blog">Reaper's blog</a>.</p> <div class="even lastItem"> <div class="moduleItemIntrotext"> <a class="moduleItemImage" href="/blog/item/105-seo-help-optimise-image-alt-tags" title="Continue reading "SEO // How to Optimise Image alt Tags""> <img src="/media/k2/items/cache/048731097de322302aff7e52151c991d_XS.jpg" alt="SEO // How to Optimise Image alt Tags"/> </a> <h4><a class="moduleItemTitle" href="/blog/item/105-seo-help-optimise-image-alt-tags">SEO // How to Optimise Image alt Tags</a></h4> <p>Choosing an image that helps visualise your content is just the first step. For the visually impaired and search engines, you also need to write a great image alt tag. Here's how to write better image alt tags to boost your SEO.</p> </div> <div class="clr"></div> <a class="moduleItemReadMore" href="/blog/item/105-seo-help-optimise-image-alt-tags"> Read more... </a> <div class="clr"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="span4"> <div class="moduletable"> <div class="custom" > <div class="contact-details" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/LocalBusiness"> <h3><span itemprop="name">Reaper Enterprises</span></h3> <p><span itemprop="description"><em>London website designers and developers</em></span></p> <address> <div itemprop="address" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress"> <p><span itemprop="streetAddress">4 The Mews<br />6 Putney Common</span><br /> <span itemprop="addressLocality">London</span><br /><span itemprop="postalCode">SW15 1HL</span></p> </div> <p><span itemprop="telephone"><a href="tel:+442087804049">+44 (0)208 780 4049</a></span></p> </address></div> <ul class="social inline"> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReaperEnterprises" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="/images/graphics/social/facebook.png" alt="facebook" /></a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/ReaperEnt" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="/images/graphics/social/twitter.png" alt="twitter" /></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/reaper-enterprises-ltd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="/images/graphics/social/InBug-30px-R.png" alt="linkedin" /></a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> <div class="clr"></div> <p><small>© Reaper Enterprises Ltd 2025</small></p> </div> </footer> </body> </html>