Frequently Asked Questions
Browse our FAQ page for answers to everything you would like to know about what we do, what we charge, our process, and how everything works.
A 12-month minimum contract applies, after which your plan continues month to month with no long-term commitment. If you choose to cancel, the website isn't yours to keep — it's part of the subscription, not a one-off purchase.
After your 12 months are up, simply sign a new contract to carry on.
If you cancel before your 12 months are up, the remaining balance of the full site cost becomes due (£1920). We're committed to long-term relationships with our clients, and we ask that you come in with the same mindset.
All invoices come with a 7-day grace period. After that, a £25 late fee applies. In cases of persistent non-payment with no communication, we reserve the right to cancel the contract — at which point the full site cost becomes due. We're always happy to work with clients going through difficult circumstances, but we do ask that you keep us in the loop.
Invoices are sent via Square with a secure payment link. Monthly subscriptions are paid by credit or debit card — all major cards accepted. Lump sum projects are paid via BACS bank transfer to keep processing fees to a minimum. WE DO NOT ACCEPT CHEQUES OR MONEY ORDERS.
Additional pages are charged once and once only. If you need 3 extra pages, you pay a single flat fee and that's it — no ongoing monthly charge.
We'll refund your initial payment in full if we can't deliver a design you love. However, once the design is signed off and development begins, we're unable to offer automatic refunds — any refund requests beyond that point are considered on a case by case basis.
Subscriptions continue month to month after the initial 12-month term with no end date. Because we spread the cost over time rather than charging upfront, it typically takes 2-3 years to recoup what a lump sum project would have made — so we genuinely value long-term client relationships. Our goal is to build websites that deliver far more value than their monthly cost, so that continuing the subscription is an easy decision. When your site is consistently bringing in new customers, £90 a month becomes one of the best investments your business makes.
No buyout is available on the subscription plan. Because we invest heavily upfront and spread payment over time, the model relies on long-term client relationships to work. The monthly recurring income means we can focus our time on serving existing clients well rather than constantly selling — and that's what sets our service apart. If clients could buy out at any point, we'd spend more time replacing lost income than looking after the clients we have, and the quality of service would suffer as a result.
Absolutely. We offer a £50/mo unlimited edits and support add-on, available on a 12-month minimum commitment. It's not something you can switch on and off as needed — once cancelled, reinstating it requires a fresh 12-month commitment.
It comes down to cash flow and long-term goals. The subscription spreads the cost into affordable monthly payments with no large upfront investment, but costs more overall over time. The lump sum requires more capital upfront but saves money in the long run — and if you don't need ongoing monthly support, it's the more cost-effective choice. If cash flow is a priority, go subscription. If you want to pay once and be done, go lump sum.
Yes and no. SEO has two sides — on-page and off-page. On-page covers everything on your site itself: load times, accessibility, meta tags, sitemaps, and content. Off-page covers everything outside it: link building, citations, guest posting, and more. Our website packages include solid on-page SEO foundations as standard. But full SEO is an active, ongoing process that goes well beyond that — and for that, we work with a trusted SEO specialist who handles it separately. If you'd like to explore professional SEO, get in touch and we'll connect you with the right person to discuss options and pricing.
No — e-commerce sites are a different beast entirely. The setup is significantly more complex and time-consuming than a standard business site, so they can't be offered under the subscription plan. Reach out to us and we'll put together a custom quote based on your requirements.
Your domain is yours, always. We manage your hosting and website, but we'd never lay claim to something that belongs to you.
SEO pricing varies depending on the scope of work and how aggressively you want to pursue your strategy. As a guide, packages start from £500/mo and scale from there based on your goals and the level of activity involved.
It absolutely does — and we appreciate that sounds biased coming from us. But good SEO genuinely works, especially in competitive markets where you're up against businesses with dozens of pages, hundreds of backlinks, and established rankings across multiple locations. The key thing to understand is that SEO isn't a switch you flip — it's a long-term strategy that typically takes 6-12 months to show meaningful results. The businesses that commit to it are the ones that win.
No — and be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise. Promises of #1 rankings in a matter of weeks are a classic spam tactic. If guaranteed top rankings were achievable in 3 months, every business would be there. Smaller markets can move faster, but SEO timelines are ultimately in Google's hands. What we can control is the quality of the work — and we make sure that's never in question.
Our SEO specialist takes a content-first approach — because at its core, SEO is about answering the questions your potential customers are actually asking. Rather than chasing algorithm tricks, the focus is on creating well-crafted, genuinely useful content that positions you as an authority in your field. When people see you as an expert, they reach out. When Google sees you as an authority, it ranks you higher. With a strong background in copywriting, all website copy is written in-house — blending SEO expertise with real writing skill to create content that works for both search engines and people.
Definitely. Google Ads and SEO are most powerful when used together — Ads generate leads immediately while SEO compounds in value over the long term. Our specialist has managed campaigns across businesses of every size, from local independents to Fortune 500 companies with substantial advertising budgets.
Yes — a full SEO audit is always the first step before any campaign begins. Our SEO specialist uses a range of professional tools to identify every issue and area of improvement on your site, from small quick fixes to more fundamental problems. No matter how strong your content or backlink profile is, underlying technical issues in your site's code and structure can undermine everything. Getting those foundations right from the start ensures every SEO effort that follows actually delivers results.
SEO is a long-term investment, and it's important to go in with realistic expectations. We typically allow 6-12 months to see meaningful results, sometimes sooner depending on your market. Established competitors may have websites that have been building authority with Google for a decade or more — and as a newer site, that trust has to be earned over time. There's no shortcut to overtaking them. What we can do is build your authority steadily and strategically, so that over time your site becomes just as trusted — and eventually outranks them.
Most websites are completed within 2-4 weeks from start to finish. The timeline largely depends on how quickly we receive content and images from you, as well as our current workload. The faster we can get everything we need, the faster we can get your site live.
No — and if we let everyone keep their site we'd be out of business pretty quickly! The website stays with us as it's part of the subscription, but your domain and any assets you provided are always yours to keep.
Yes! We'd never hold your domain over your head. Even if we purchased it for you, it's transferred to you upon cancellation — simple as that.
Not a chance! Every site we build is written by hand from scratch — no page builders, no shortcuts. It's what sets us apart. The extra time and effort we put in shows in the quality of our work and the results our clients see after launch.
Speed, security, lower costs, and complete flexibility. Because we write everything by hand, there's no plugin bloat, no platform updates to chase, and no vulnerabilities to patch. WordPress sites require constant maintenance just to stay secure — neglect an update and you risk your site being hijacked entirely. Our hand-coded sites have no databases or entry points for hackers to exploit, making them inherently secure without any ongoing maintenance on that front.
Yes! We have a solid succession plan in place. My spouse is first in line, followed by trusted dev partners across the UK, US, and Canada who know exactly how we operate. If we all go down — honestly, just run. Something is coming and it's bigger than all of us.
Simply send an email to michael@dingwall.com and it goes straight into our ticketing system where we can pick it up, action it, and mark it as resolved.
Your Queries Not Listed Below?
Reach out to us and we'll be sure to answer your questions. We love helping people understand what we do and how we can help them — so don't be shy!
