Building from your designs
Designs from another studio or your in-house team, built faithfully, with anything that needs a decision on smaller screens raised early rather than guessed at.
Website development
Web development for Newport businesses, fast and built to last.
We turn designs into websites that load quickly, work on every device and don't fall apart when someone edits a page. Clean code, sensible tools and proper testing, explained without the jargon.
01Why the build matters
A website is software. Built carelessly, it ages badly: slower each year, harder to change and more costly to fix.
Two websites can look identical in a screenshot and behave completely differently. One loads in a blink on a train with patchy signal. The other stalls, jumps about as it loads and throws an error when you try to change your opening hours.
The difference is in the build: how images are prepared, how much code each page carries, how the content is structured and how carefully everything has been tested. None of it is glamorous, but your customers feel it every time they use your site.
We take those unglamorous details seriously, because they're what keep a website working for you long after launch day. If you haven't settled the look and structure yet, our web design service is the place to start.
02What we work with
What we build, and how.
We pick tools to suit the job rather than forcing every project into the same mould. These are the areas we work in most.
Front end
- Hand-written HTML, CSS and JavaScript, without heavy frameworks where they aren't needed
- Responsive layouts that hold together from small phones to wide monitors
- Accessible markup with proper headings, labels and visible focus states
- Subtle animation that respects people who prefer reduced motion
Content editing
- Custom WordPress themes shaped around your content, covered in more detail on our WordPress page
- Structured fields and blocks instead of a blank canvas
- User roles, so each person only sees what they need
- Lightweight static builds for sites that rarely change
Integrations
- Enquiry forms that land in your inbox or CRM
- Bookings, payments and newsletter sign-ups connected to the tools you use
- Third-party widgets loaded so they don't drag the page down
- Custom PHP where an off-the-shelf plugin won't do the job
Performance
- Images resized and served as WebP at the size each screen needs
- Fonts and scripts loaded without blocking the page
- Caching set up at server and browser level
- Core Web Vitals checked on throttled mobile connections
Security
- Server-side validation on every form, not just in the browser
- Spam protection that doesn't make real people solve puzzles
- SSL, security headers and limited admin access
- Lean software, so there's less to patch and less to go wrong
Studio concept for a fictional business
03Speed
Quick on a phone, not just on our desks.
Most of your visitors will arrive on a phone, often on mobile data. A page that feels instant on office broadband can crawl on a bus, so we test on throttled connections and real handsets, and keep a close eye on Google's Core Web Vitals: how soon the main content appears, how quickly the page responds and how much it shifts about while loading.
Speed isn't only about search rankings. A faster page is simply easier to use, and people who aren't kept waiting are far more likely to stay.
- Pages built for mobile first, then enhanced for bigger screens
- No layout jumps as images and fonts arrive
- Third-party scripts only where they earn their place
04How we build and test
Built in the open, tested before you see it.
You'll have a private staging link early in the build, so there's no big reveal at the end, just steady progress you can check whenever you like.
Lay the foundations
Version control, a staging site and the core page templates, so everything that follows sits on a solid base.
Build template by template
Each type of page is built, connected to the content editor and checked on a phone before we move on to the next.
Add the real content
We load your words and images, or show you how, and adjust anything that doesn't sit right once real content replaces the placeholders.
Test properly
Current browsers, real phones, keyboard-only navigation, form submissions, broken links and page speed, all checked and fixed.
Launch carefully
Domain and SSL, redirects from old addresses, analytics and Search Console, then another round of checks on the live site.
05Other development work
Not starting from scratch? That's fine too.
Plenty of our development work starts with a site that already exists. These are the jobs we're asked about most.
Taking over an existing site
If your previous developer has moved on, we can review what's there, write down how it works and keep it running while you decide what happens next.
Speed and health checks
A focused look at what's slowing your site down, with fixes ranked by the difference they'll make.
New features
Booking forms, member areas, calculators or product filters added to the site you already have.
Fixing what's broken
Forms that don't send, layouts that break on mobile, or errors after a plugin update.
If your site needs more than patching up, a fresh start might be better value. Our website redesign service explains how we rebuild without losing the search rankings you've earned.
06Development FAQs
Questions about the build
Got a technical question?
Ask us directly. We're happy to look at your current site and give you a straight answer.
Read all FAQsCan you build a site from another designer's designs?
Yes. If your site has already been designed by another agency, a freelancer or your own team, we can build it. We review the files first and flag anything that needs a decision before development starts, such as how a layout should behave on a small phone or which parts you'll want to edit yourself.
Which technologies do you use?
It depends on the job. Most sites we build use WordPress with a custom theme, because it's familiar and easy to edit. Smaller sites that rarely change can be hand-coded in HTML, CSS and JavaScript with a little PHP, which keeps them light and cheap to host. Online shops usually run on WooCommerce or Shopify. We'll explain the trade-offs in plain English and recommend what suits you.
Can you speed up my existing website?
Often, yes. We start by finding out what's actually slowing it down. The usual suspects are oversized images, too many plugins, heavy page builders and underpowered hosting. Some fixes are quick, others mean rebuilding part of the site, and we'll tell you which is which before you spend anything.
Can our website connect to the software we already use?
Usually. A website can pass enquiries to a CRM, add people to a mailing list, take bookings or show information from another system, as long as that system offers a way to connect, normally an API. We check what's possible early on, so there are no surprises halfway through the build.
Who looks after the hosting?
That's up to you. We can recommend hosting that suits your site and set it up, or deploy to hosting you already have if it's up to the job. Either way, we'd advise keeping the hosting account in your own name, so you're always in control.
Will my website be secure?
We build with security in mind from the start: current software, as few plugins as possible, forms checked on the server, SSL and sensible server settings. No website is completely immune, which is why backups and regular updates after launch matter just as much as the build itself.
Related services
Other ways we can help
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Tell us what you need built, fixed or connected. We'll look at it properly and come back with honest advice and a clear next step.
Call us+44 20 8686 4577
Email ushello@telsamedia.com
Based inWallington, working with Newport and UK businesses
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