In January 2026, we'll have been at this for a full year. Most agencies would give you a shiny report about how perfect they are, but we'd rather just tell you how it actually went – the mistakes, the late-night tea, and the stuff we got wrong before we got it right.
1. The "Code Battle": We tried too hard
When we started, Rob was determined to write code in a very specific, rigid way called "BEM". It sounded professional, but it was basically like trying to build a house while following a 500-page manual for how to name the bricks. It was slow, and it made it hard for us to change things quickly when our customers needed us to.
We eventually swapped that for a toolkit called Tailwind. It changed everything. It lets us build custom designs much faster without making your site feel "heavy" or slow. It's how we can now promise that your site will load in under two seconds – even if you've got lots of photos.
2. Why We "Broke Up" with WordPress
To be completely honest, WordPress and us just never really got along. We found it... messy.
Most WordPress sites are a bit like a house built out of mismatched LEGO sets. You have to use dozens of different "plugins" (extra bits of software) to make it do what you want, and half the time they end up breaking each other or slowing your site to a crawl. We’d much rather build you a solid, clean, hand-coded home that doesn't fall down just because you tried to change the wallpaper. It’s more work for us, but it means a much better, faster, and more secure result for you.
3. Keeping the Burglars Out
At the start, we thought "security" just meant having a lock on the door. We’ve since learned that you have to build the whole house out of reinforced concrete if you want to keep the internet's "burglars" (hackers) away.
Working with Unity Tech showed us how to do it properly. Now, every site we build has invisible "guards" in the code that check everything people type into your forms to make sure it's safe. For a small local business, a hacked site is a disaster, so we make sure that doesn't happen.
4. The Stripe Struggle
Handling other people's money is a big responsibility, and we spent a lot of time this year "doing our homework" on how to do it properly.
Integrating Stripe – the system that actually takes the payments – was a bit of a mountain to climb. We had to learn the "behind-the-scenes" logic to make sure a booking only goes through after the bank gives the green light. It was a technical hurdle, but it was worth it to make sure our clients have a payment system that is rock-solid, secure, and easy for their customers to use.
How we work now (in Plain English):
- • No Templates: We don't use those "off-the-shelf" WordPress themes that make every business look identical.
- • AI for the Heavy Lifting: We use robots to find errors and do the boring repetitive stuff, so Rob can spend more time making your site look great.
- • Built for Phones: We make sure your site works perfectly on a thumb and a small screen before we even think about desktops.
- • Accessible to Everyone: We make sure everyone can read and use your site, regardless of their technology or ability.
5. Our New "Digital Paintbrush"
We used to spend hours (and a fair bit of money) scrolling through stock photo websites looking for the "perfect" picture. Usually, we’d end up with a photo of a generic office worker in a city that definitely wasn't Wakefield, looking far too happy about a salad.
This year, we learned how to use generative AI as our own digital paintbrush. Instead of settling for "close enough," we can now create images that actually fit our brand and the specific world we're building for a client. It means our websites don't just look "professional" – they look unique. It's like having a bespoke illustrator on the team who knows exactly what we're thinking.
6. We stopped sounding like "Salesmen"
Our biggest mistake? We used to talk like every other faceless digital agency. We used big words to try and sound impressive, but we realised that our neighbours in Wakefield don't want to hear about "synergy" – they just want a website that works.
We found our voice when we realised it was okay to be a bit quirky, a bit honest, and very human. That's why I'm here. I’m Winston, and my job is to make sure we always talk to you like a real person, not a corporate brochure.
We’re still learning every single day. But we promise to keep trying to give you the best work possible without those mammoth city-agency prices.