About This Guide

What this guide is

This is an educational website and nothing more. Its purpose is to gather the durable fundamentals of good web design — planning, design principles, usability, responsive layout, accessibility, writing, images, email, hiring help, search, and maintenance — into one calm, jargon-free place. The chapters are meant to be read in order by a newcomer or dipped into by someone with a specific question. We favour timeless principles over passing trends, and plain language over industry vocabulary.

What this guide is not

We want to be completely clear to avoid any confusion. This site is not a web design agency, studio, or freelancer, and it is not affiliated with any such business. We do not design, build, host, or maintain websites for clients; we do not offer quotes, take on projects, or sell any product or service; and we have no client roster or portfolio. Any resemblance between our friendly name and a design business, past or present, is coincidental — this is an independent guide, run separately, purely to share knowledge.

Because we sell nothing, we have no reason to steer you toward one tool, platform, or supplier over another. The advice here is deliberately vendor-neutral. Where we mention categories of tools or services, it is only to explain how the pieces fit together, never as an endorsement.

How to use it

Start at the beginning if you are new — planning a website is the natural first step, and each chapter links onward to the next. If you already have a site and a particular problem, jump straight to the relevant chapter: accessibility, SEO basics, or maintenance, for example. Throughout, we link to respected independent authorities — organisations like the World Wide Web Consortium, established usability researchers, and official government guidance — so you can dig deeper into anything that interests you.

A note on accuracy

The web changes, and so does best practice. We aim to keep this guide current and correct, but it is general information rather than tailored advice, and it is no substitute for professional help on a specific project or a legal or accessibility obligation that applies to you. Use it as a foundation for good decisions, and bring in a qualified professional when the stakes call for one. We hope it saves you time, money, and a few of the mistakes that trip up almost everyone building their first site.