Handbuilt in Edinburgh for trades and local businesses across the UK.
I plan, design and build fast, modern websites that make local businesses easier to find, easier to trust and easier to contact.
Work directly with the person designing and building your site. No sales-team handover.
Not stock photos. Not padded case studies.
Real websites and real software, honestly labelled: a live client site, a working product, a redesign shown on a preview link, and the IT business Rob runs himself.
The problem: A contractor offering mechanical, electrical, fire and thermal work, but a website that didn't make that range of capability obvious at a glance.
What Rob built: Restructured the site so visitors can quickly understand the company's mechanical, electrical, fire and thermal capability, with a clear route through to each discipline.
draytonbeaumontservices.com
The problem: A software product, not a brochure site, that needed a homepage capable of explaining time tracking, invoicing and retainer management clearly to freelancers and consultants.
What Rob built: Built as a working web application rather than a marketing page, covering time tracking, client invoicing and retainer reporting in one tool.
clocksy.co.uk
The problem: A renovation company whose previous site didn't reflect the standard of the finished work.
What Rob built: Designed and built around real project photography, giving prospective clients confidence in the quality of the work before the first call.
Preview (staging)
The problem: A one-person IT support business that needed to look credible against larger competitors.
What Rob built: Built and run by Rob himself, a working example of the same planning and build process used for Sites Made Local clients.
curly-it.co.ukGet people to contact you.
A good-looking website is useful. But the design, animations and supporting pages only matter when they help a visitor understand your business, trust you and take the next step. Most local business websites fail at the one job they had.
Who this is for
This works just as well if you don't have a website yet, or you've got one that looks fine but isn't pulling its weight. Sites Made Local works with:
Mainly, that means trades, contractors, local service businesses and other owner-led businesses, the kind run by someone who's too busy doing the actual work to also be a part-time web designer.
Founder-led, on purpose
"I'm Rob. I plan, write, design and build every Sites Made Local website. The person you speak to at the beginning is still there when the website launches."
Sites Made Local is run by Rob, a UK-based web designer with practical IT experience. There's no brief passed between departments and no junior developer picking up someone else's plan, one person carries responsibility for the whole project, from the first call to launch and beyond.
See how it works →The quiet work of a good website
Clear services, genuine photographs, useful proof and straightforward copy help visitors decide whether you're right for the job.
Useful service content, strong local relevance, fast pages and accurate business information make the website easier for search engines to understand.
On a phone, visitors should be able to call, message or request a quote without searching through the site.
Beyond the website itself
Customers might find you through Google Search, Google Maps, Bing, an AI-generated search answer, a direct recommendation or a social profile. These aren't separate services competing for attention, they all lean on the same foundations.
Google Maps
AI search answersGood search visibility starts with a clear website, useful service pages, accurate business information, genuine proof, fast performance and consistent details across the web.
No honest web designer can guarantee page one, or an AI recommendation. What we can do is build the foundations properly.
What that includes:
Just for fun
A newer website isn't automatically better. The real question is whether yours still represents the business and helps customers take action.
Time for a better one? →How it actually works
Most standard websites are ready to launch in around 10 working days once the information and feedback we need are available. Bigger builds take longer, we'll say so upfront, not halfway through.
We talk about your business, the customers you'd rather be working with, your current website (if you have one), and what's not working.
I plan the structure, write or refine the copy, design the layout and build the whole site, sharing progress as it comes together, not just a final reveal.
You review the site and ask for changes, then it launches, with analytics and search tools connected where they're included in your plan. I stick around to tweak it.
Who does what
Custom booking systems, e-commerce, bespoke software and more complex integrations are scoped and priced separately, before work begins.
Questions, answered honestly
Can't see your question? Just ask, robertwhitten@curly-it.co.uk
Most sites go live in about 10 working days from our first chat, once we've got the information and feedback we need. Bigger multi-location builds take a bit longer, we'll tell you upfront, not halfway through.
No. Tell us about the business and send over what you've got, we'll do the writing. You'll get to check it over before anything goes live.
We'll always confirm this clearly, in writing, before you commit to anything, ask us and we'll spell it out.
Hosting, security, backups, and reasonable ongoing text and image updates. Bigger jobs, new pages, redesign work, custom features, are quoted separately, upfront.
We build every site with local SEO foundations from day one, proper structure, fast load times, Search Console setup and a Google Business Profile connected correctly. We can't guarantee rankings, nobody honestly can, but we don't hide the basics behind an “SEO package” upsell either.
On the upfront option, there's no long contract, give us notice and we'll talk through what happens to the site and how to take what you need with you. On the spread-the-cost option, the 24-month agreement covers the setup cost; after that the site is yours to keep on the standard care plan, move elsewhere, or cancel hosting.
Instead of paying the setup fee upfront, you pay a fixed monthly amount for 24 months that covers the build, hosting, security and support. After 24 months the website is yours, carry on with the standard monthly care plan, move it elsewhere, or cancel the hosting.
Tell Rob about your business, the customers you want, and what's not working with your current site.
No sales call. No agency handover. Just a straightforward conversation with the person who'd build it.
