Websites designed around the people who use them.
Information architecture, user experience and visual design for businesses who know a good-looking homepage isn't enough. Accessible from the start, and handed over as a design system your developers (or ours) can build from.
The same structure, reflowing from desktop to phone.
What's included
Structure before surface
Sitemap, page templates and the decisions about what lives where. We do this first, because the best visual design won't save a site people can't find their way around.
Considered visual design
Typography, layout, colour, imagery and motion, tuned to the brand and the content. Accessibility is built in from the start, not added after sign-off.
A design system that scales
Components, patterns and tokens handed over as a working Figma file, so new pages are quicker to build and stay consistent as the site grows.
How a web design project runs
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Listen
A proper conversation about what the site needs to do for the business, its visitors and the people who'll look after it.
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Architect
Sitemap, user journeys and page templates, agreed before anything is designed.
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Design
One direction developed in detail, rather than three shallow options, with the reasoning behind each decision.
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Refine
Two rounds of revisions, tested on real content, real screens and the accessibility standard you need to meet.
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Hand over
The design system, assets and a walk-through with your developers, or straight into our build if we're developing it too.
A good fit if you're
- Independent businesses launching or rebuilding their site
- Brands whose website no longer matches how far they've come
- Founders who want accessible, low-carbon design rather than a reskinned template
- Teams buying design separately from development who need a clean handover
Web design questions we hear a lot
How much does a website design project cost?
Web design at OakFox typically ranges from £3,500 for a focused landing page to £15,000 or more for a full multi-page site with a design system, research and accessibility auditing. Every quote is worked out case by case, and we send a detailed written proposal after a free first call.
How long does it take to design a website?
A focused marketing site usually takes four to eight weeks from kick-off to design sign-off. A larger, content-led site with research, a design system and several rounds of stakeholder review runs ten to fourteen weeks. We agree the timeline while scoping and protect it with weekly milestone reviews.
What does "sustainable web design" actually mean?
It means reducing the energy needed to serve and use a website: lighter pages, fewer requests, efficient images, minimal JavaScript, clean semantic markup, and hosting on verified renewable-powered infrastructure. It also means designing for longevity, so the site doesn't need rebuilding in two years because a framework fell out of fashion.
Do you design accessible websites?
Yes. Accessibility is part of the design from the start rather than retrofitted. We design to WCAG 2.2 AA as a minimum: colour contrast, focus states, semantic structure, keyboard navigation, screen reader labels and testing with real content. We check accessibility at every stage, not just at the end. For a site that already exists, we also offer accessibility audits and fixes, using our own checker, A11yMate.
Do you hand over a design system or just final files?
A design system is the default: components, tokens, type scales, spacing rules and usage guidelines in a working Figma file, so future pages are quicker to build and stay consistent. Static PDFs are available if you need them, but they go out of date quickly and we don't recommend them.
Can OakFox build the website too, or do I need a separate developer?
Either works. Many clients take design and development together with us, which means fewer handoffs and faster delivery. If you already have a developer, we hand over a thorough package so they can build from the system with confidence. We also do design-only work for agencies.
Web design across the North West
Our studio is in rural West Lancashire. We work with sustainable web design clients locally, across the North West, and remotely across the UK, Ireland and Europe.
Read before you brief anyone
How we build fast, accessible, low-carbon sites: the practical detail behind the service.
- Sustainable web design: a practical guide The techniques we use on every build: page-weight budgets, system fonts, efficient images, static-first architecture, and how to measure what a page costs in carbon. Read it
- Is your web host actually green? How to check a host's renewable claims in about 30 seconds, and the difference between offsetting and genuinely green infrastructure. Read it
How green is your website?
Get an A+ to F grade in seconds, with page weight, CO₂ per visit and a verified green hosting check.
Tell us about the site, and the goal.
Send the current URL if there is one, and a line or two about what you want the site to do. We reply within 24 hours with a first read.
We work with businesses in Ormskirk, Burscough, Southport, Preston and Manchester, across Lancashire and elsewhere in the UK.