Web design in Chelmsford, built by someone who already works here.
I'm Chris Allen, a freelance web designer based near Colchester, a straightforward drive from Chelmsford. I've been building websites for small businesses across Essex since 2006, with no agency overhead, no offshore developers, and no templates dressed up as bespoke work.
Regular projects in Chelmsford · 5-star rated on Google · Projects from £899
Most web designers claiming Chelmsford aren't
Search for "web design Chelmsford" and you'll find agencies with a Chelmsford page bolted onto a national template, run from an office nowhere near Essex. I won't claim to be based in the city, I'm not, my base is near Colchester. What I will say is I'm there often enough that it's a comfortable trip, not an event.
I've already built Chelmsford-specific campaigns for real clients, including dedicated location-targeted landing pages for Advanced Aerials' TV wall mounting business. I know the competitive landscape here, and what it takes for a small business to actually rank and convert, not just show up on page one for a term nobody searches.
I'm not the cheapest option, and I won't pretend to be. But if you want someone who answers the phone directly and is still around in five years to keep your site running, this is probably worth a conversation.
Recent projects in and around Chelmsford
Advanced Aerials
High-performance Astro site with a dedicated TV wall mounting landing page for Chelmsford, plus Brentwood, Braintree, Maldon and Witham. Ranks across the area and drives daily enquiries.
Loughton, EssexWaltham Forest Engineering
Ten years and counting. Website redesign and Google Ads driving higher-quality enquiries for a precision engineering firm serving Essex.
Harold Wood, EssexEye Clinic Opticians
Elegant, user-friendly website with store locator for a 5-branch opticians group across Essex.
Everything a Chelmsford small business needs
Bespoke design
A site designed around your business, not a template with your logo dropped in. Fast, accessible, and reflects your brand properly.
Local SEO that works
Built from day one to rank for your Chelmsford and Essex keywords. Schema, structured local content, and the foundations Google rewards.
Astro static performance
Most of my sites score 95+ on Google PageSpeed. Static HTML, no WordPress bloat, instant page loads. Visitors don't bounce.
No plugin time-bombs
WordPress sites break when plugins update. Static sites don't. You get a site that just works, month after month, without surprise downtime.
Real local contact
Call 01206 355 833 and you get me. Email and you get me. No support ticket queue, no offshore call centre, no chatbot.
Proven location targeting
I've built and shipped town-specific landing pages that rank, for Chelmsford and the towns around it. I can do the same for your business.
Chelmsford, and the towns around it
I work across Chelmsford and mid-Essex, alongside my regular client base near Colchester and out to London. Most projects run over call, email and video, with in-person meetings when they're useful.
Common questions
Questions worth asking
Are you based in Chelmsford?
Not quite, my base is near Colchester, about 35-40 minutes away. It's a drive I do regularly, not an occasional trip, and I've already built dedicated Chelmsford campaigns for clients, including location-targeted landing pages for Advanced Aerials. Meeting in person is easy if it's useful; most projects run fine over call, email and video either way.
Which parts of Chelmsford and the surrounding area do you cover?
The city centre, Broomfield, Springfield, Great Baddow, Galleywood, Writtle and Danbury, plus out to Braintree, Witham and Maldon. I also work with clients across the whole of Essex and London.
How much does a website cost?
Brochure sites start from £899, e-commerce from £2,999. Everything is fixed price. You get a written quote before any work starts, and there are no hourly bills or surprise extras. The services page has the full tiered breakdown.
How long does it take to build?
A typical small business site takes 3 to 5 weeks once we agree the brief. E-commerce and larger projects take 6 to 10 weeks. I work in stages and share progress along the way, so you are not waiting in the dark for six weeks while I disappear.
Do I own the site once it launches?
Yes. The code, the design, the domain, and the content are all yours. If you ever want to move to a different developer or self-host, I will hand everything over with no fuss. No vendor lock-in.
Can I update the website myself afterwards?
It depends what you want to update. Most clients prefer to send me changes and have them done properly. For sites where day-to-day editing matters (blog, news, products), I build a content editor so you can make changes without touching code.
See your new website
before you commit
I'll design a custom homepage for your Chelmsford business, free, before any conversation about money. Keep it whether we work together or not.
No payment required · 3 working days · Keep the design either way