Hiring a web designer Melbourne businesses can trust often means choosing between a busy agency and a freelancer you've never heard of. I offer a third option: an experienced independent designer and developer, with more than ten years in the industry and over 200 completed projects, who handles your website personally from the first brief to launch and keeps looking after it afterwards. I work remotely with cafés, studios, retailers and service businesses across Melbourne, from the CBD and Richmond to Fitzroy, Brunswick, St Kilda and Geelong.
What a web designer Melbourne businesses hire should deliver
Melbourne is a city that notices design. Your customers compare your website with the best independent brands in the city, so it needs to look considered, not templated. But good looks are only half the job. A website that works for your business should also:
- Load quickly on a phone on a tram, not just on office Wi-Fi
- Make the next step obvious: book, buy, call or enquire
- Be easy for you to update without calling a developer for every change
- Be built on solid SEO foundations so customers can find you on Google
- Be secure, backed up and maintained after launch
I plan every site around those goals, then design a look that fits your brand. If you want to see how this plays out for different Melbourne industries, read my web design Melbourne page.
Freelance web designer vs agency in Melbourne
A larger Melbourne agency makes sense when you need a whole team: strategists, copywriters, photographers and developers working at once. For most small and medium businesses, though, a freelance web designer is the better fit. You talk directly to the person doing the work, decisions are quicker, and there's no agency overhead built into every hour. You also get continuity: the person who built your website is the one who maintains it.
Australian details I take care of
- Domains: a .com.au domain requires an Australian presence, usually your ABN. I register it in your business name or connect the one you have. The rules are set by auDA.
- Prices and GST: online stores are set up to display GST-inclusive prices to Australian shoppers, with correct tax settings at checkout.
- Payments: card payments through Stripe or Square, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and buy-now-pay-later options like Afterpay where your platform supports them.
- Hosting: hosting and a content delivery network with Australian points of presence, so Melbourne visitors get fast load times.
- Accessibility: sites built towards WCAG standards so more people can use them. See website accessibility.
Working across time zones
I'm based in Nairobi, seven hours behind Melbourne in winter and eight hours behind during daylight saving. We usually talk in your mid-afternoon, which is my morning, and I keep working after your day ends. That means feedback you send in the afternoon is often done by the next morning. Most clients find the process smooth, because every message comes straight to me.
Services for Melbourne businesses
- WordPress web design for brochure sites, blogs and service businesses
- Shopify and WooCommerce stores for fashion, homewares and food brands
- Portfolio websites for photographers, artists, architects and designers
- Website redesigns that keep your Google rankings
- White-label development for Melbourne agencies
- Website maintenance and local SEO
Questions to ask any web designer in Melbourne
- Will I own my domain, hosting and all logins?
- Can I see three live sites you've built, and can I test them on my phone?
- Is the quote fixed, and what exactly does it include?
- How will you protect my current Google rankings if I'm redesigning?
- Who looks after updates, backups and security after launch?
My answers are simple: yes, yes, yes, with redirects and an SEO migration plan, and me. Browse the portfolio or see how I work with clients across Australia.