Hi, I'm Chris. I run Midlands Code Lab on my own, so when you hire me you actually get me. I design and build the whole thing from start to finish, with fixed prices and a phone that rings my real mobile.
Local to Leicestershire and the Midlands. Happy to work with you wherever you are in the UK (or further afield).
I do every part of the work myself: design, build, content, launch. You deal with one person from first sketch to launch day.
Every project starts with a flat-rate quote in plain English. No hourly clocks, no surprise invoices, no creep.
The code, the domain, the hosting login, all of it sits in your name. No lock-in if you ever want to walk.
Most local business websites were built to exist. To sit there. To list a few services and wait for the phone to ring. Yours will be built to work. It'll book jobs. Take enquiries. Sell the thing. And still look sharp three years from now.
Six situations I hear from small business owners all the time. Drop the one that fits into the box, and I'll tell you exactly what I'd do about it. No pitch deck. No obligation.
On mobile? Tap a card instead.
Four package shapes, fixed prices. Pick the closest fit and we'll tailor the scope on your discovery call. Everything below is a flat rate. No hourly clocks, no scope creep, no surprise invoices.
Best for sole traders and new ventures who need a credible home online, fast.
Best for cafés, single-trade services, very small teams ready for a proper home online.
Best for gyms, salons, multi-service trades. Established businesses ready to grow.
Best for established SMBs who need their site to do real work: sell, book, integrate.
Two local businesses booking together both get 10% off each build. The café next door, the trade you share a wall with, a neighbour who's been putting it off. Pair up, save together.
Mention it on the call, no code needed. Works on Starter and above, no time limit.Got a quote from another local studio? Send it over. I'll be honest about whether I think it's fair and what I'd do differently, even if that means recommending them.
A site that ships and then sits there gets stale fast. Pick a care plan and I look after it. Cancel any time. First month is included with every build.
Hosting, SSL, daily backups, security updates, 24-hour response. One content tweak per month.
Everything in Lite, plus monthly SEO health check, Google Analytics reporting, and uptime alerts.
Plus, active SEO work, monthly improvements, AI review responder, and a quarterly strategy call.
Reminder: pair up with another local business and both get 10% off your build. Care plans are first month included with every build anyway. Cancel any time.
Mention it on the call. Works on Starter and above, no time limit.Want your website to do more? AI add-ons that handle the stuff you don't have time for.
If you've never hired a designer or developer before, here's exactly what to expect. Plain English the whole way, and a clear price before any work starts.
A relaxed chat on the phone, on Zoom, or over a coffee if you're nearby. You tell me what you want, I tell you honestly whether I'm the right person to build it, and roughly what it'll cost.
A short written proposal in plain English. A flat price, a clear timeline, a line-by-line of what's included, and a one-page direction document so you can see what we're aiming for before any money changes hands. Nothing hidden in the small print.
You see clickable design options in your browser before anything gets built. You give feedback in your own words. I refine, as many rounds as it takes, until you're 100% happy. That's a plain promise: nothing gets built until you are.
I build the site or app. You get a fresh demo link every Friday so you can play with the real thing as it grows. Nothing happens behind a closed door.
Your site or app goes live. I show you how to update it yourself, or you put me on a monthly care plan and I look after it for you. Your call, no pressure either way.
If yours isn't here, ask me. Three ways to do that are in the contact section below.
Yes. I'm the one who answers the phone, designs the site, builds it, deploys it, and fixes anything that breaks. You always know who you're talking to. I'm also picky about which projects I take, because I can only do a few properly at once.
Quick Start: 5 to 7 working days. Starter: 7 to 10 days. Standard: 10 to 14 days. Pro: 2 to 4 weeks depending on scope. Faster than most agencies because there's no relay between a design team, a dev team, and a project manager — one person owning the whole thing is just quicker. You get a real date in writing before you pay anything.
Four packages, all priced above. Quick Start £595, Starter £1,500, Standard £2,950, Pro £6,950 and up. Fixed prices, no hourly clock. Pay-in-3 available on Starter and above.
We change it. Nothing gets built until you've signed off on the design. As many rounds as it takes. Catching it on screen costs nothing. Catching it after the build means redoing work.
Everything is yours. The code, the domain, the hosting account, the content, all set up in your name. If you ever want to take it elsewhere, you can. No lock-in, no held-hostage hosting.
Yes, for the stuff you'll actually want to change. Text, images, blog posts, opening hours, prices. The technical side stays on my side via a care plan if you want one.
Yes, local SEO specifically. Google Business Profile, on-page basics, local schema. I won't promise rankings, no honest agency can. I do promise the foundations are right and you've got a clear plan for staying visible. See the SEO page.
Three care plans, priced above. Care Lite £49/mo covers hosting, security, backups. Care Plus £119 adds monthly SEO checks. Care Pro £249 adds active SEO work and a quarterly call. Or you host wherever you want.
Sometimes. Depends what it's on. WordPress, Webflow, Wix, Squarespace, custom code, I can take over most things. Send me the URL and I'll tell you honestly whether it's worth saving or worth rebuilding.
If you can afford £595, you can afford a site that's actually built for you. Quick Start exists for exactly this. One page, all the basics, live in a week. Plenty of trades and cafés don't need more than that for the first year.
Small list on purpose. One shipped project, two concept builds showing what I'd build for businesses I'd love to work with. The next slot is yours.
Brief: an app and website for DJs who care about flow. Reads the library, draws each set as an energy arc, walks the DJ in on the night. Designed and built end to end. Brand, web, app, the maths behind it all.
Read the full case study → Visit setprep.app ↗Concept: what a Quorn village café could look like if it took its website as seriously as its coffee. Warm, slow, serif-led. Menu, booking, opening hours, find-us, all in one quiet page. Built as a concept, not a real business.
See the concept → Want one like this? ↘Concept: what a Loughborough plumbing & heating firm's site should be. Bold, fast, phone-first, with a real quote form and pricing visible up front. The opposite of "fill in this form and we'll get back to you." Built as a concept, not a real business.
See the concept → Want one like this? ↘One real project shipped, two concepts built, an open calendar for the next one. If yours could be the first paying brief, the door's wide open.
Talk to me ↘Three ways to start. Pick whichever feels least scary. I read everything within a day, usually within an hour.
No discovery decks. Tell me what you're building (or what's broken) and I'll come back with a written reply, a rough budget, and an honest gut-check.