I build websites that suit you

See Recent Work
penguins building a website together
"Ben is an absolute pleasure to work with on every level.
He is extremely good at what he does, and he somehow manages to make the whole process seem very uncomplicated.
He is an absolute find, and I can’t recommend him highly enough."

- Matt Wadsworth (Director), Deux-Elles Records

deux-elles.co.uk

Secure

penguin wearing a helmet and armour
Developed to be secure so you don't have to worry.

Individual

penguin in shorts and glasses
No templates. Every design is 100% unique to you and fully custom.

Rank well

Built with best practices to be SEO friendly and accessible to all.

Fast

Image of penguin running
Loading fast is a top priority to keep users engaged.

Secure

Individual

Rank well

Fast
penguin wearing a helmet and armour

Developed to be secure so you don’t have to worry.

penguin in shorts and glasses

No templates. Every design is 100% unique to you and fully custom.

Built with best practices to be SEO friendly and accessible to all.

Image of penguin running

Loading fast is a top priority to keep users engaged.

View Projects

Building websites with a focus on clear structure and innovative design

Building websites with a focus on clear structure and innovative design

Services

Website design and development
Profesional UI/UX design and Wordpress development
Maintenance
To make sure your content is up-to-date, everything runs smoothly and is SEO friendly.
Other design jobs
This can include: redesigns, brand identity, logos, flyers, posters,
business cards and custom icons.
Photo editing
I can edit your photos to work well with the website design.
My work process

Recent Projects

JL Counselling

Jane Straw

jane's logo
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Hugh Nankivell

Hugh Nankivell

hugh nankivell logo
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Gunnar Management

Deux Elles

Deux Elles

Deux Elles logo
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Kid Carpet

Kid Carpet

Kid Carpet logo
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Norwich Baroque

Norwich Baroque

Norwich Baroque logo
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Dovetail Orchestra

Dovetail Orchestra

dovetail orchestra logo
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Bristol Pre-Conservatoire

Bristol Pre-Conservatoire

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Mriganka De | Head and Neck Surgeon

Mriganka De

Mriganka De, head and neck surgeon logo
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Unmeasured Chamber Concerts

Unmeasured Chamber Concerts

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Jonathan James Music

Jonathan James Music

Jonathan James music logo
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From intuitive navigation to responsive design, ensuring an engaging user experience to provide a harmonious online presence.

Work Process

1

Briefing

You will be sent a quick questionnare and we talk through your brief.

We establish how we would like to communicate with each other to keep it as efficient as possible.

We set a realistic deadline that you're happy with.

2

Design

Moodboards and wireframes to match your vision.

Research is another key factor in this - this includes finding out what will perform well and what your target audience will want to see to make sure it is a great experience for them.

3

Development

I use Wordpress and write code to develop completely custom websites. Everything will be developed so that the website is responsive, accessible, loading quickly and ranking well on search engines.

4

Maintenance

The site still needs to be cared for to make sure it stays secure, loads well,  doesn't crash and the overall SEO is solid.

So what I will do is host the website, make sure everything runs smoothly at peak performance and send you a monthly report with the stats that you'd like to see so you know exactly what's going on in your website. 

If preferred , you can also maintain the website yourself with no ongoing fees aside from the domain name and hosting. If this is the case, I would be happy to show you how to update and take care of your website.
"I love my website which Ben made for me quickly with no fuss. It functions exactly as I need it to, looks great and makes me feel like I'm having a good hair day every time I see it. The redesign brings increased traffic and a solid sense of professionalism. Thank you Ben."

- Ed (Kid Carpet)

kidcarpet.co.uk

About Me

Portrait of me
Hi, I'm Ben =)
I am a web designer and the person behind Icebird Designs.

Some of my hobbies are: playing music, illustration, photography and learning languages.

I have successfully graduated at the OfG, a German institution for design. Since then, I have been working as a freelance web designer building sites for those who need them.

Some of the things I have picked up on the way are: design skills as well as a comprehensive understanding of adobe software and professional Wordpress development.
FAQs

Will I have full owenership of the website?

Yes.

Each website and design is unique to you and 100% yours.

What is website maintenance?

It is the process of keeping your website up-to-date, running smooothly and performing optimally.

This can include: hosting the site online, content and software updates, monitoring performance analyitics and running security scans to be well optimised at all times, daily backups, website recovery if necessary, bug fixes, making sure everything is aligned with the current web standards and even small redesigns to keep your online presence up-to-date.

It can be as simple as making sure your website is online, its uptime is healthy and doesn’t crash.

More advanced maintenance can also involve analysing user behaviour (eg. engagement/bounce rate), reviewing stats in monthly reports sent to you, SEO strategies, checking for broken links, managing keywords and targeted content updates to optimise for search engines and your target audience.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimisation.

It is the key to getting organic traffic to your website over google or any other search engine.

A number of factors can influence the status of your website’s SEO. This can include how semantic and easily-readable the code is for search engines, loading time and the quality of your content.

How will the website be developed?

I use Wordpress (a content management system) to develop every site as it is by far the most flexible tool out there to build a website from scratch.

It can be used to create completely unique websites with full control over the code and any other plugins that you may want to add. Because of this, there is complete stylistic freedom when building a website. 

If you would like to know more on why I use Wordpress, you can read my blog post here: Why I use Wordpress

How much does website maintenance cost?

It is optional but recommended. I can also show you how to maintain your website yourself if preferred.

There are 2 plans that you can choose from to make sure your website is being maintained with best practices and running smoothly: 
-Basic (£25 /month)
-Advanced (£50/month)

What you choose will depend on wether you would like to take a more proactive appraoch (including things like monthly reports, keyword tracking, analytics etc.) vs if you just want the website to be hosted online and performing well.

More info on this here

How long does it take to build a website?

With quick and efficient communication: 1 - 3 months depending on the size and complexity of the project.

I find it very helpful to have a realistic deadline that we can both work towards so that communication flows well and there are no misunderstandings.

What makes a good website?

Ultimately it’s whether or not the visitor had a good experience and whether they found what they wanted on the site or not.

What can influence this is: a fast loading time, a memorable but uncomplicated/functional design, information structured in an organised and clean way and a responsive design for mobile devices.

Up-to-date web standards and good SEO are also important so the right target audience can actually find your website in the first place.

Are there things you don't do?

I do not offer the following work:

Copywriting (better if it comes from you),
video content creation,
3d designs,
social media marketing,
rushed work,
illustration,
animation.

What will the communication look like?

I prioritise clear and efficient communication.

For this reason, I prefer asynchronous communication via email but I am also happy to hop on calls if that's what you would rather do.

"I would fully recommend Ben for your website design, his attention to detail is impeccable and the best decision that I have made since starting personal practice."

- Jane Straw, JL Counselling

jlcounselling.co.uk

Say Hi :)

Feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss a potential project or just ask any questions you might have.

Or schedule a call here