Our
Approach
The web design industry has a quality problem. Here's what we refuse to do — and what we do instead.
Most agencies sell you a template with your logo on it, charge for SEO they never do, and take months to deliver a site that doesn't work on mobile. We built Striking Web Design on a simple principle: every site should be handcoded, fast, and built to win customers — not design awards.
What We Refuse To Do
Expensive Retainers, No Results
Monthly SEO retainers of $1,500-$5,000 with no measurable results. No meta descriptions. No schema markup. No content updates in 12+ months. The business pays. The business gets nothing.
We don't charge ongoing retainers for work that produces no results. SEO setup is included in every build. If you want ongoing SEO, every piece of work is documented and measurable.
Template Reselling
A $60 ThemeForest template (like Avada) gets a logo swap and colour change, then is sold to you for $5,000-$15,000 as a 'custom website'. Same template, different logo. You paid 80-250x markup for someone else's code.
We handcode every site from scratch. No templates. No page builders. No $60 themes with a markup. Every line of code is written for your business.
Hidden Tool Markup
Tools like Birdeye ($299-$449/month), SEMrush ($140-$500/month), or Yext ($16-$83/month) get bundled into your retainer at 2-3x their actual cost. You're paying double for software the agency is already using across all their clients.
We use industry-standard tools and are transparent about what's included. If a third-party tool is needed for your project, we tell you the real cost and let you decide.
Invisible SEO
Monthly 'SEO reports' filled with graphs and charts that mean nothing. No actual optimisation happening. No keyword strategy. No content creation. No technical fixes. Just a PDF that justifies the invoice.
SEO setup is built into every site we deliver — meta tags, schema markup, sitemaps, and Core Web Vitals optimisation. You can verify it yourself in Google Search Console.
Glacial Delivery Timelines
A 5-page brochure site takes 8-12 weeks. Weekly 'status update' meetings to justify the timeline. Your business loses months of online visibility while the agency drags its feet.
Standard sites ship in 7 days. Guided projects in 10. We move fast because our process is built for speed — not billable hours.
Radio Silence
You send an email on Monday. You follow up on Wednesday. You call on Friday. Nobody picks up. Your 'dedicated account manager' is managing 40 other clients.
Direct communication, fast responses, and no account managers in between. You talk to the person building your site.
Generic, Cookie-Cutter Design
Your dental practice looks like every other dental practice. Your law firm looks like every other law firm. Same stock photos, same layout, same meaningless copy. Nothing about YOUR business.
Every design is built for your specific industry, your specific market, and your specific brand. We research your vertical before we touch a pixel.
Desktop-Only Builds
The demo looks amazing on a MacBook Pro. On a phone? Overlapping text, broken menus, images that take 8 seconds to load. 60%+ of your visitors are on mobile. The agency didn't bother testing.
Mobile-first design and development. Every site is tested across devices, screen sizes, and connection speeds before we ship.
What You Can Expect
Every project we take on is built to these standards. No exceptions.
Custom code, no templates
Every line of code is written for your business. No ThemeForest themes, no page builders, no Wordpress plugins.
Fast delivery
Standard sites in 7 days. Guided projects in 10. We build fast because our process is engineered for speed.
Transparent communication
Direct access to the person building your site. No account managers, no ticketing systems, no waiting for callbacks.
Performance-first builds
Sub-second load times, 90+ Lighthouse scores, and Core Web Vitals that pass Google's standards. Every time.
SEO built in
Meta tags, schema markup, sitemaps, and technical SEO are included in every build — not sold as an expensive add-on.
Industry-specific design
We research your vertical before we touch a pixel. Your site looks like it was built for your industry — because it was.
Already Working With an Agency?
Here's how to check if you're being treated fairly.
Check your site speed
Visit PageSpeed Insights and enter your URL. If your mobile score is below 50, your agency isn't prioritising performance.
Check your Google presence
Search your business name on Google. If your website doesn't appear on page one for your own brand name, something is seriously wrong.
Check your mobile experience
Open your website on your phone. If the text is too small, buttons are hard to tap, or pages take more than 3 seconds to load — your site is losing customers.
Check what you're paying for
Ask your agency for a line-item breakdown of your monthly invoice. If they can't tell you exactly what work was done, you're paying for nothing.
Ready for a better build?
Work with an agency that delivers results — not excuses.