Website Development

Understanding the scope of a website development project is key to planning effectively and ensuring it aligns with your business goals. Whether you’re a small startup in Cambridge or a larger organisation looking to modernise your site, knowing the phases and responsibilities involved helps manage expectations and achieve the best outcome.

Initial Consultation & Planning

Every project begins with discovery. This is where we work closely with you to understand your goals, audience, features, and design expectations. We’ll map out timelines, agree on milestones, and define project scope clearly to avoid surprises.

Wireframing & Prototyping

We create layout wireframes and functional prototypes, allowing you to visualise structure and user flow before development begins. This phase reduces errors and ensures alignment with your brand and user needs.

Frontend & Backend Development

Our developers code the frontend (user-facing design) and backend (server-side logic, CMS, databases). We focus on clean, semantic code, security best practices, and scalable architecture from day one.

Testing & Quality Assurance

All sites undergo robust QA testing across browsers and devices. This includes functional testing, accessibility checks, load speed optimisation, and error identification. We aim for a flawless experience before launch.

Launch & Post-Launch Support

Once approved, we deploy the site to your hosting environment. We monitor the launch for performance and fix any unexpected issues. Post-launch, we offer maintenance, analytics setup, and SEO tuning if required.

Your development project is more than just building pages—it’s about creating a reliable, high-performance platform for your business.

The time it takes to develop a custom website varies greatly depending on the project’s scope, features, and complexity. That said, understanding the general timeline and what factors influence it can help you plan ahead and set realistic expectations for your Cambridge-based project.

Project Discovery

This initial stage can take one to two weeks, during which we gather requirements, define goals, and create a detailed project plan. The clearer your initial brief, the faster this process will go.

Design & Prototyping

Designing mockups, page layouts, and interface elements typically takes two to four weeks. Interactive prototypes may be developed to visualise site functionality prior to coding.

Development Phase

This is the core build stage, where the frontend and backend systems are created. Depending on complexity, this can range from three to ten weeks. A small brochure site may take just a few weeks, while ecommerce or booking platforms may take longer.

Testing & Feedback

Thorough testing for bugs, responsiveness, SEO, and speed typically adds another one to two weeks. Revisions based on client feedback are incorporated here.

Launch & Training

Final deployment, client walkthroughs, and CMS training generally require one additional week.

Most custom website projects take between 8 and 14 weeks from start to launch, depending on complexity and responsiveness during the review phases.

Website development pricing depends on a number of factors including site complexity, number of pages, integrations, and unique functionality. It’s important to understand how these elements affect the budget so you can plan accurately and avoid surprise costs.

Types of Projects

Basic brochure websites for local businesses in Cambridge typically range from £2,000 to £5,000. Sites requiring advanced features like ecommerce, booking systems, or bespoke portals generally fall in the £6,000–£15,000 range. Enterprise-level projects with custom applications can exceed £20,000.

Cost Variables

Factors influencing price include design complexity, third-party integrations, SEO needs, copywriting, custom animations, CMS development, and performance optimisation. Hosting and ongoing maintenance are usually billed separately.

Transparent Quotes

At Doublespark, we provide fixed quotes after a discovery session, so you know exactly what’s included. We avoid vague hourly billing in favour of defined deliverables and timelines.

A well-developed website is an investment that pays off in conversions, visibility, and long-term reliability—so it’s vital to get it right from the start.

Choosing between a template-based site and a custom-developed one can significantly impact your flexibility, branding, and long-term growth. Let’s break down the key differences to help you make the right choice.

Template Websites

Template sites use pre-built layouts, typically from platforms like WordPress or Wix. They’re fast to launch and budget-friendly, making them ideal for very small businesses or startups.

Limitations of Templates

While cost-effective, templates often come with bloated code, slow load times, and limited customisation. Design and functionality may be difficult to adapt as your business grows.

Custom Development

Custom sites are built from scratch to match your brand, audience, and technical needs. They’re faster, more secure, and better optimised for SEO and performance.

Scalability & Control

With a custom build, you control every aspect—design, structure, features. As your needs evolve, your site can grow without limitations.

If your business is planning for long-term digital success, a custom website is the smarter investment.

This is one of the most common questions we hear, and rightly so. Business owners want to maintain control over their site content without needing a developer for every update. The good news is, yes—you can absolutely manage your website.

CMS-Driven Development

We build most websites using content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Contao, or Craft. These platforms allow you to log in and update text, images, blog posts, products, and more without touching code.

Training & Support

Every project includes a training session where we walk you through your dashboard, common content changes, and SEO basics. You’ll also receive a user manual tailored to your build.

Advanced Changes

While basic content updates are straightforward, we’re always available if you want to make larger changes like redesigning sections, adding new pages, or introducing new functionality.

We empower you to manage your own content with confidence while backing you up with ongoing support when needed.

Yes, integration is a major part of modern website development. Many businesses rely on third-party tools for CRM, ecommerce, email marketing, live chat, booking systems, and more. We ensure these integrations are seamless and scalable.

Common Integrations

We regularly connect websites with tools such as Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce, Stripe, Shopify, Calendly, and more. We also handle advanced API development and webhooks for custom solutions.

Benefits of Integration

Integrated platforms reduce manual work, sync customer data, automate tasks, and create smoother user journeys. This improves user experience and streamlines internal operations.

Security & Maintenance

We ensure all integrations follow secure protocols and are properly documented, so updates won’t break the connection. Ongoing support is available for future platform changes.

Your website should be the digital hub of your business—connecting all the tools and data that drive growth.

Security is a top priority at every stage of our development process. A secure website protects your data, customer trust, and business continuity. We implement multiple layers of protection to keep your website safe from common threats.

Secure Coding Practices

We follow best practices for sanitising inputs, preventing SQL injection, and using up-to-date dependencies to mitigate vulnerabilities.

SSL & HTTPS

Every site we launch is protected with an SSL certificate, ensuring encrypted communication and trust signals for search engines and visitors.

Backups & Monitoring

Automated backups are set up so you can recover from any issues. We also integrate uptime monitoring and firewall protections via tools like Cloudflare.

User Roles & Authentication

We configure secure admin roles, strong password policies, and two-factor authentication for CMS access when available.

Your site’s security isn’t optional—it’s baked into every line of code we write.

Absolutely. SEO isn’t something that comes after development—it starts during the build. We ensure your site is optimised for visibility, speed, structure, and performance from day one.

Technical SEO Fundamentals

Our development includes proper heading structure, semantic HTML, canonical URLs, XML sitemaps, robots.txt setup, and clean URL paths.

Performance & Speed

Page speed is a major ranking factor. We implement code minification, lazy loading, image compression, and fast server infrastructure to deliver fast, responsive sites.

Mobile-First & Schema Markup

All sites are built mobile-first and structured with schema markup to help search engines understand your content more clearly.

Our builds set the foundation for strong organic performance from day one.

We use a wide range of technologies based on the project’s needs and your business goals. Our development stack is modern, scalable, and tailored to your preferences and functionality requirements.

Frontend

We use HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and frameworks like React and Vue for dynamic and responsive interfaces.

Backend

Our backend builds are based on PHP, Node.js, and Python, with Laravel or Express as frameworks depending on the use case.

CMS Platforms

We work with Contao, WordPress, Contao, Craft, and headless CMS platforms like Sanity for more complex content architectures.

Hosting & Deployment

We deploy to fast, secure cloud providers like AWS, Cloudways, and DigitalOcean, with CI/CD pipelines for safe updates.

Your tech stack is chosen to suit your specific goals—not to fit our workflow.

After your new website goes live, it’s essential to keep it secure, functional, and aligned with evolving business needs. Website maintenance is an ongoing commitment that ensures your digital platform continues to serve users efficiently and avoids unexpected issues down the road.

Routine Maintenance Tasks

We regularly perform updates to plugins, frameworks, and CMS platforms such as WordPress or Contao. These updates patch security vulnerabilities, fix bugs, and ensure compatibility with the latest browsers and devices.

Monitoring and Uptime

Our maintenance includes uptime monitoring, broken link detection, and alerting systems. We proactively identify issues like downtime, SSL expiration, or slow-loading pages before they impact your visitors.

Backup and Recovery

Daily or weekly site backups are included, depending on your maintenance package. These backups can be restored quickly in case of data loss or unexpected errors. We store backups securely and offsite to protect your data.

Content and Functional Updates

Whether you're updating product listings, refreshing team bios, or publishing new blog content, we can assist with edits or guide your internal team. For more complex updates—such as adding new features or integrating third-party tools—we offer flexible retainer options.

Performance Optimisation

We monitor and enhance performance through database optimisation, image compression, code cleanup, and caching. Regular audits help ensure your site remains fast and competitive in search results.

Reporting and Recommendations

You’ll receive regular reports on uptime, updates performed, performance benchmarks, and recommendations for enhancements based on user trends or emerging technology.

Our website maintenance services keep your digital presence running smoothly, securely, and in sync with your evolving goals.