Website design for small businesses
Delivering high quality website design for small businesses and startups.
Based in Twickenham, South West London delivering affordable websites for small businesses.
Professional websites, made simple
Hi! I am Fran, and I am passionate about web designs, development and helping small businesses thrive.
A little about me...
I spent almost 15 years in the corporate world working in digital marketing. Along the way, I launched brands across Europe, built high-end eCommerce sites, and created digital strategies that really made an impact.
From website design, UX, and SEO to email campaigns and managing big ad budgets, I’ve been lucky enough to work across all areas of digital, and I genuinely love what I do.
At Sotto Digital, the focus is on creating a website that complements your business.
Whether you’ve just launched a new venture and need a brochure site, require a robust e-commerce solution, or are looking for a complete website redesign, I’m here to help.
If you fancy a chat or want a free 30-minute website audit (no pressure at all!), just drop me a message. I’d love to hear from you.
Latest web design projects
I work across a variety of sectors with founders to large scale marketing teams, all working to grow their online presence with beautiful, functional, easy to use websites. Here are a few of my favourite projects.
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![Sally Gunnell Website]()
Sally Gunnell
A website re-design and development for Olympic Gold medallist, Sally Gunnell. The site reflects Sallys current brand and ventures; inspiring talks, brand partnerships and Life’s Hurdle.
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![A webpage layout promoting support for mothers through a community called Mum Love. Features include headlines about motherhood, black and white images of mothers with children, sections for stories, podcasts, community support, and resources. Bright pink, orange, and black colors highlight different segments and calls to action like sharing stories, reading more, and subscribing.]()
Mum love
For the launch of a new charity; Mum Love, a new websites was designed and built using Squarespace. The project included email marketing and a full SEO analysis.
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![Dr Christina Papadopoulos]()
Dr Christina Papadopoulos
Menopause and Perimenopause practitioner, Dr Christina Papadopoulos needed a fresh easy to navigate site for her new business. The site incorporates her vibrant brand with calming messaging.
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![Sotto Digital projects]()
Katie Fitness
A custom website built for Katie, a personal trainer and nutritionist to promote her business. The site includes an integrated booking system.
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![Sotto Digital projects]()
Riverside Paddle
A beautifully designed site to launch a new Paddle Experience based on the River Thames. The project was a bespoke build focussing on user journey and SEO.
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![Sotto Digital projects]()
B R Y T E by Bryony
A Website launch for luxury handmade lampshades. The project included integrating ecommerce for product sales.
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![Sotto Digital projects]()
Amy Church
A bespoke build launching a communication and consultancy business.
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![Sotto Digital latest project Junior club house website re-design]()
Junior Club house
A website refresh for an afterschool club. This includes a booking system to streamline all adhoc bookings into an online portal.
Website design and SEO services
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DEVELOPMENT
Using my 6-step process, we’ll build a brand new Squarespace website from the ground up. From research and discovery to launch, your site will be designed with your company goals at the forefront, and it could be ready in just a few weeks.
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SITE AUDIT
I’ll assess your current site, analysing UX, customer journey, content, and SEO. From there, I’ll create a focused plan highlighting key areas to generate the biggest wins. Depending on your budget, we can work through the plan to repurpose and optimise your existing site.
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SUPPORT
After launching your new Squarespace site, Sotto Digital provides a 2-week aftercare service to ensure you feel confident managing it. If you’re short on time and prefer someone else to handle updates and maintenance, I also offer ongoing support on a retainer basis.
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MARKETING
Enhancing your digital plan with improved SEO and email campaigns can significantly boost traffic to your site. We can work on a one-time project to set up SEO and create email templates to get you started, or I can manage these activities for you on a monthly retainer.
Project spotlight: Squarespace website redesign
A bespoke website created for Riverside Paddle to generate bookings for their unique paddle boarding and tipi experiences. Sotto designed and built the website within a 2 week period as part of the Custom website package.
“We’ve worked with a few different digital marketing and website design companies over the years, and generally had positive experiences. Once in a while, however, you find organisations and individuals that are clearly way ahead of anybody else and Fran at Sotto Digital falls well and truly into this category.
Technology has enabled anybody with a modicum of technical nous to create a basic website, but understanding the intricacies of genuine website design can only come from talent and experience and, for us, this is where Sotto really stand out.
Communication was always clear and the entire design process felt supportive, collaborative and professional from the outset. We are absolutely thrilled with the final design!”
— James Bell, Riverside Paddle
Website design to help your business grow
Have you launched a new venture but struggle to find time to promote it? One of the first steps to growing your business is making sure it’s seen.
By combining UX, website design, and SEO, I create websites that are not only visually stunning but also intuitive to navigate, aligned with your goals, and easy to find online.
Building the perfect website takes knowledge, skill, and experience.
With over 10 years of experience in digital marketing, I’ve designed, built, and launched websites for major interiors companies. I’m passionate about understanding brands and getting to the heart of what makes your business unique. By doing so, we can work together to create a website you’ll be proud of.
My process includes six key steps: Discovery, Design, Development, SEO, Launch, and Analytics.
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I’ll analyze your current site, review your competitors, and gather in-depth insights about your company. This process helps me fully understand your brand and objectives, ensuring the best possible results.
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The fun part begins! I’ll start by designing a homepage for your review and approval. This design will reflect your branding and style while prioritising the user journey and your key objectives.
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Behind the scenes, the development process will begin using Squarespace. Depending on the brief and budget, I’ll work with either a template or a fully customizable CSS approach.
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Your site needs to stand out and be search-engine friendly. Basic SEO is included with your new site, including analysis of content, keywords, and metadata. If needed, I can also develop and implement an additional content plan to further enhance your SEO.
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After thorough testing and final checks, your new project will come to life under its new or existing domain.
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I’ll set up analytics to track your key KPIs and site performance, supporting a test-and-learn approach to ensure your site performs at its best.
Simple website tips every small business should know
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![Sotto digital project]()
Why your website could be costing you customers
Many small business websites lose customers due to poor design, slow speeds, or mobile issues.
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![Sotto Digital projects]()
Website design for Interiors brands
How to make sure your site stands out as an Interior Designer or Design brand.
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![Sotto Digital projects]()
Why use a Squarespace designer to help grow your small business
How can a website designer really help a small business thrive…
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![Sotto Digital projects]()
How to design a homepage on Squarespace
Read on for some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your homepage.
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![Sotto Digital SEO]()
5 Simple ways to boost SEO
DHow can you help your site be seen by more of your audience, read on to find out more!
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![Google search console performance snapshot]()
Connecting your site to Google Search Console
If you're a small business owner trying to show up better on Google, start by connecting to GSC.
Answering your questions……
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I work mainly with Squarespace due to the quality of the application. Squarespace is mobile responsive and is incredibly easy for you to manage and edit once the site is handed over to you. Squarespace works with templates which means it is quick to build however also gives the opportunity to add bespoke functionality using CSS coding.
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At the start of the process I will send you a questionnaire to fill in with everything i need to know about your project. This will also include instructions on assets required such as brand guidelines, font, colour palette, logo, images and video.
I will also provide you with a guide to your website copy with a content sheet to fill out.
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You can find information on the Squarespace costings here
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Generally you are looking at around £100 per extra page, however this does depend on functionality.
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Yes you will need a privacy policy and cookie policy. Whilst I can’t write these legal documents, I can advise where to get these.
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For the small business package, I offer a 2 week post launch ‘help’ period. For the bespoke package this is 4 weeks. I will also provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to update your site. Alternatively, I can work on a monthly retainer basis and continue to update and maintain the site.