Web Development Agency London
BESPOKE BUILDS. BETTER RESULTS.
Code red. Your website is tired and dated. It’s a leaky bucket that fails to generate business. We are a London-based web development agency that has over 24 years’ experience building beautiful, user-friendly, secure websites for some of the world’s leading companies. Feel secure working with Contra with our unrivalled expertise, elite web development services and process, and tangible results.
We’ve had an 11% uplift in applications. The website has achieved our aim of being able to expand our offerings and bring our website into the now and also the future!
Trusted by leading organisations.
Web development services.
We've been developing websites for over 24 years. That's 8924 days and counting. The bottom line? You're in safe hands. Request a free consultation today.
Bespoke website development and design.
Stay ahead of competitors with a modern website. By delivering custom website development, we ensure the website is tailored for your users’ exact needs. Make an unforgettable impact with a stunning user experience. Reach users on the go with a responsive design. Engage and convert visitors into loyal customers with optimised pages.
WordPress web development.
User-friendly, responsive, customisable, and scalable – WordPress is the preferred choice for many organisations. Our extensive team of WordPress specialists creates stunning, cutting-edge sites optimised for internal users and potential clients.
Drupal web development.
Robust, customisable, and secure – Drupal excels in crafting complex, highly scalable websites. Our Drupal designers and developers deliver designs that captivate and offer an unparalleled user experience.
SEO website development.
Boost search engine rankings with keyword-driven SEO website development. We research user-search terms, optimise both front and back ends, and enhance Core Web Vitals and schema to give your site the best chance of appearing top on Google for your key terms.
Got a project in mind?
Chat to our London web development agency experts. From cluttered to clean, slow to speedy, and dull to dynamic, we optimise and build websites that convert.
Our results.
Contra's website development stages.
Let's build a beautifully bespoke website for your users. Start now by requesting a free consultation.
Stage 1.
Research.
We begin with a period of research to create a plan for the website. This involves looking at your organisation (business goals, brand, competitors, internal stakeholder research), your audience (personas, external stakeholder research, user behaviour analysis, analytics) and your website (content, functional requirements, information architecture (IA) planning, integrations).
Stage 2.
Design.
Now that we have a plan, we can begin designing. We start with low-fidelity wireframes to help outline the key page components and positioning of messaging statements and actions. We can test these using first-click testing tools to ensure they are user-friendly and optimised for conversions.
Now for the exciting part: we design a series of treatments for key pages. We'll collaborate with you to refine the look and feel of the site. We then iterate this treatment and create a design system of components and pages.
Stage 3.
Development.
Next comes the build. We begin by configuring the CMS to ensure it has all the required components and that these components function as defined in the initial strategy. We conduct testing at this point. After this, we build out the front-end theme. This is where the site takes shape. We will then migrate content and open up the CMS to you.
Stage 4.
QA.
We test the website during development and conduct final tests once the content is added. Our testing process covers HTML standards, device compatibility, performance, SEO, accessibility, security, privacy, and a visual check by the designer to ensure the site matches the design.
Stage 5.
SEO.
Our commitment to your success extends to enhancing your website's visibility on search engines by adding schema and considering Core Web Vitals.
Stage 6.
Ongoing Support.
We offer a three-month warranty after the site is launched, but that is not the end. Through our support retainer, we are on hand to support you and maintain your website for the long haul.
Web development advice.
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Frequently asked questions
- How long will my website take?
Every website project is different. However, our ethos is to ‘get it done’. We always strive to deliver a web project on time and to budget, agreeing on a clear project timeline with various milestones and providing you with a dedicated project manager. We usually aim for design, development and launch timelines between 3-6 months, depending on the complexity of the site. Beware of agencies who say they can do it in less time as this suggests research won’t be embedded into the process, which is fundamental in ensuring the website is built for your users.
- How much will a bespoke website cost?
We typically deliver a new website design and development from between £25k-£100k, depending on your requirements. As one of the leaders in web design & development for over 20 years, we embed thorough research into the process to ensure your new website is optimised for conversions and has a seamless user experience. That’s why the likes of Cambridge University, MetFilm School, Hudgell Solicitors, and The Royal Society choose us. You get what you pay for (and more) with Contra.
- Do I get a say in the development process?
100 percent yes. This is a collaborative process and we want to ensure you’re happy with it. During the design phase, we provide a range of concepts and refine your chosen concept. Then, we create a components doc ready for the build. This streamlines the process as it’s much more costly and time-consuming to make changes during the development process. Our website experts are always here to advise on best practices, from optimising conversions to creating a beautifully designed interface.
- Will I have a project manager?
Yes, you will have a project manager who will be your main point of contact. They will be responsible for answering any questions you may have, developing the project timeline and ensuring the project is hitting key milestones. You will also have access to the Contra MD and Head of Marketing should you have any specific marketing/website-related queries.
- How do you handle website hosting and domain registration?
You are free to use any hosting provider you wish. However, at Contra, we partner with SureCloud. SureCloud is a cloud-based integrated risk management platform that provides customisable, user-friendly, and cost-effective solutions to help you manage security risks, compliance requirements, and information security. We use SureCloud particularly as its modular platform integrates with other tools, provides continuous monitoring and management, and is simple to use.
- Can you advise on CMS systems and will we have to pay for the CMS or do you cover that?
We are CMS neutral and always do a discovery period to understand your business and user requirements before advising on a specific CMS. We have vast experience in Wordpress , Drupal and HubSpot CMS, as well as a range of Headless CMS.
- Can you advise on CRM systems?
Popular CRMs include Salesforce, HubSpot, ZohoCRM, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Insightly and Agile CRM. At Contra, we are HubSpot partners and specialise in the CRM, having onboarded a range of companies and also using it for our own marketing activities.
- Do you offer Google Analytics 4 set-up as part of the web development process?
Certainly. Any good agency should as it enables us to measure key website metrics to show performance uplifts. We take pride in the results we have achieved for our clients and aim to demonstrate this wherever possible.
- How do you ensure website security?
Contra has a policy for securing sites including (but not limited to) using trusted modules, locking down the CMS by IP address or 2FA, setting security headers, re-naming the common folders and admin username, hardening the file permissions, disabling unneeded functionality, and creating back-ups of the database and user files for recovery in the event of a disaster.
To enhance website security and performance, we often recommend utilising Sucuri (or something similar), a versatile service that combines security features like Web Application Firewall (WAF), DDOS protection, and crypto services with CDN capabilities and optional image and code compression.
For CMS and plugin updates, our approach balances automation with reliability. We maintain a semi-automated system where code is stored in source control, allowing for tracked and staged updates. Monthly testing of updates ensures functionality, and any issues are promptly addressed. This synchronised process guarantees regular, tested updates. Additionally, we provide ongoing monitoring, encompassing server uptime and SSL certificate status, to safeguard your site's integrity.- Will you provide ongoing technical support for the website?
Yes, we have a range of website support packages that can be tailored to your needs. Our support packages typically cover software updates, security monitoring and protection, backup and disaster recovery, technical support such as bug fixes and troubleshooting, emergency support, service and hosting management, and performance monitoring and optimisation. We also have a range of retainer packages for SEO, digital advertising and content marketing.
- Do you write the web copy or is that our responsibility?
When we design a site, we will consider keywords and SEO optimisation of H1, H2 and H3 titles. However, we usually scope website copywriting outside of the design. This is because some sites are incredibly large and complicated (for example, law firms) and have approaching 100 different services, subservices and even sub-subservices. To write quality copy on that scale is an incredibly large project. If you decide to write the copy, we always recommend you consider your own internal resources as this can slow the project down and delay the website launch.
- Do you offer marketing and SEO retainer services after the website has launched?
Yes, we certainly do. Our marketing and SEO experts can help you with a range of challenges, including but not limited to SEO (audit, keyword research, technical SEO, backlinking), content strategy and production, adn digital advertising (Google, LinkedIn, Facebook). We also offer conversion rate optimisation services where we conduct heatmaps, clicks testing, screen recordings and scroll maps and implement changes based on real user data and interactions.