Web design FAQsWe've got answers.

Swift Web Design is a UK-based web design studio specialising in professional websites, branding, SEO, and content creation for small businesses, trades, and startups. We work Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00, and pride ourselves on clear communication, honest pricing, and no-nonsense results. You can read more about who actually runs it on our About page.

No. Swift Web Design is not VAT registered. Every price you see on our website or in a quote is the final price. There is nothing extra to add on top. What you're quoted is what you pay.

We're a UK-based studio. We work with clients all across the UK and communicate primarily via email and video call. Our standard working hours are Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00. For more on where we’re actually based, see our About page.

All payments are made by bank transfer. Full payment details are provided at the point of invoice. We never ask for card details over the phone or by email. For larger projects, a 20% deposit is required to begin, with the remaining 80% due before the site goes live. You can also pay the full amount up front; 20% of it is the non-refundable deposit.

Quotes are typically valid for 30 days from the date of issue, unless we state otherwise. After this period, a requote may be required as prices or scope may have changed.

Get in touch and we'll book a free call. No commitment and no hard sell, just a conversation about what you need. After that we send a written quote, and once you're happy with it and the deposit clears we start on discovery and design. You can message us here.

Typically 1–8 weeks depending on the size and complexity of the project. A simple 1–3 page site can often be delivered within 1–2 weeks, while a large or complex build may take up to 8 weeks. Timelines depend heavily on how quickly you can supply content and approve designs. Need it faster? Rush delivery is available for an additional fee.

You'll need to provide your own text content, product descriptions, and images unless you've purchased a content package from us. Don't worry, we'll give you clear guidance on exactly what we need and when. If you don't have professional photos, we can advise on stock image options or refer you to a photographer.

Yes. Once full payment has been received, the website and all its content is yours. If you decide to move to a different host or provider in the future, we can facilitate that, though migration work is billed at £25/hour.

Yes. All standard builds use WordPress, which has a user-friendly editor. Standard website builds come with a WordPress manual. We also offer training sessions (£100/hour, online) if you'd like a walkthrough of how to manage your content. If you'd rather leave the updates to us, our Web+ plan covers ongoing minor tweaks.

Yes. Every site we build is fully responsive and tested on mobile, tablet and desktop before launch.

Standard and above builds include basic on-page SEO: page titles, meta descriptions, heading structure and image optimisation. For deeper work like local SEO, keyword strategy and backlinks, see our SEO services.

Yes. Stores start at £800 for up to 10 products, and scale up from there for bigger catalogues, discount codes and custom checkout flows. The full breakdown is on the pricing page. E-commerce hosting starts at £18/month.

Yes. Rush delivery buys you priority scheduling for an additional fee, listed on the pricing page. What it costs depends on how far the schedule has to compress and what we already have booked in, so ask early rather than late. Getting your content to us on time still matters just as much as the fee does.

It's the single biggest cause of a late launch, so we agree the dates together at the start. If something we need is still outstanding after 10 working days we may pause the project and restart it at the next free slot in our schedule. We'll always warn you before that happens, and there's no restart fee the first time.

You can manage it yourself through WordPress, or subscribe to our Web+ plan for ongoing hosting, minor updates and priority support. We also do pay-as-you-go support at £40/hour for one-off changes.

Standard hosting is £15/month and covers reliable, fully-managed hosting. This is required for all standard builds we host. If you're on our Web+ plan, hosting is included. E-commerce hosting starts at £18/month. A 14-day grace period applies to missed hosting payments, after which the site may be taken offline.

No. If you'd rather host elsewhere that's completely fine, and we'll hand over everything you need to do it. If you do host with us it's £15/month for a standard build, fully managed, and it's included free on the Web+ plan.

You do. Where we register a domain for you it goes in your name, or your business's name wherever that's possible. Renewals are your responsibility, though we'll normally remind you about a month before one falls due.

Yes. You own the site, so you can take it wherever you like. We'll co-operate with the transfer within reasonable timescales, and any migration work we do is billed at £25/hour.

The All-in-One Branding Bundle (£650, saving £125) includes: a custom logo, typography and colour palette, brand guidelines document, and social media branding for up to 2 platforms. It includes 4 revision rounds across all deliverables. It's ideal for startups or businesses rebranding from scratch.

Website builds include 5 rounds of revisions at no extra cost. Rounds 6 to 10 are billed at a discount off our Pay-As-You-Go rate, and anything beyond that at the standard rate, both listed on the pricing page. Branding services have their own revision counts (1–4 rounds), shown per service under branding prices.

Our branding services are digital: logos, guidelines, colour palettes, and social media templates. We provide print-ready files with your logo so you can take them to any print supplier. We don't manage print production directly but can advise on file formats and specifications.

Absolutely. Our services are modular, so you can purchase individual components like brand guidelines (£400), typography and colour palette (£100), or social media branding without buying the full bundle. Just get in touch and we'll scope it to what you need.

Essential SEO focuses on quick wins: fixing broken links, basic on-page optimisation, local SEO, and a site health audit. It's ideal for businesses just starting their SEO journey. Advanced SEO goes deeper: technical performance, competitor analysis, long-tail keyword targeting, and quality backlink outreach. We recommend starting with Essential and upgrading once results start showing.

SEO is a long-term investment. Typically you'll start to see meaningful movement within 3–6 months, with stronger results building over 6–12 months. Essential SEO quick wins can produce results faster, but sustained ranking improvement takes time. We practice only white-hat, ethical SEO aligned with Google's guidelines, with no shortcuts that risk penalties.

Yes, always. We practice white-hat SEO only, fully aligned with Google's Webmaster Guidelines. We do not use black-hat tactics such as keyword stuffing, link farms, or cloaking. Ethical SEO takes longer but produces sustainable, long-term results that won't put your site at risk of penalties.

Yes, absolutely. You can purchase an audit only (Essential: £90, Advanced: £180) and receive a full actionable report to carry out the fixes yourself. If you'd like us to implement the fixes too, it's most cost-effective to book the Audit + Implementation Bundle together from the start (Essential Bundle £300, Advanced Bundle £600+). Full SEO pricing is on our pricing page.

Yes. All blog and written content is fully owned by you upon delivery and payment. You can use it however you like: on your website, newsletter, social media, or anywhere else.

Essential (£75) is 600+ words, a solid shorter article for regular cadence on a budget. Growth (£120) is 1,000+ words, our most popular, well-structured and keyword-focused. Authority (£175) is 1,500+ words, in-depth articles ideal for building topical authority. Word counts may vary slightly around the stated value.

Content+ (£120/month or £1,200/year) delivers one fully optimised 1,000-word blog post per month targeting a keyword you choose. We handle research, writing, and on-page SEO optimisation. Monthly plans have a 2-month minimum, then go rolling. Annual plans require an auto-renewal contract and include 2 months free compared to monthly. You can cancel with 1 week's notice before your next billing date.

If you are a business and an invoice is paid late, we may charge interest at 8% a year above the Bank of England base rate, plus the fixed sum set by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and we may pause work until payment is received. Full details are in our Terms & Conditions. For hosting specifically, a 14-day grace period applies, with clear reminders sent during that time. If unpaid after 14 days, the site may be taken offline.

Yes. All monthly subscriptions have a 2-month minimum contract, after which they switch to a 1-month rolling contract. To cancel, give at least 1 week's notice before your next billing date. We don't tie you in long-term beyond the initial 2 months. See our Plus Plans for what's included in each subscription.

Emergency support covers urgent fixes outside of our standard hours (Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00). This is billed at £80/hour. It's intended for genuine emergencies like a site being down or critical errors, not routine requests. We'll always aim to resolve issues promptly during standard hours at no extra charge.

Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) is billed at £40/hour for single, self-contained jobs: things like a small update, adding a new page, or fixing a specific issue. If you want to pre-purchase time in advance, our Hourly Blocks are available at £50/hour (tracked in 10-minute increments, non-refundable, valid until used). See the full breakdown on our pricing page.

It depends how far along we are. Deposits are normally non-refundable once we've reserved time and started work. Once you've approved the final design mockup, fees up to that point can't be refunded even if the build is still running, because that's the moment we commit the studio time. If you're a consumer your statutory cancellation rights still apply either way. The full detail is in our refund policy.