If you want a site that's fast, hard to attack, and light to look after for years, this is the approach built for it. We design from scratch and build on Astro or Next.js, with your content managed in Payload CMS, an editor that shows only what your site needs. We're a small studio in north Norfolk, a short drive from Norwich, designing Astro and Next.js sites for businesses there and across the UK. The web design page shows what each approach starts at, side by side.
WHAT WE MEAN BY IT
Modern web design means the pages of your site are prepared in advance and served as ready-made files from servers around the world, instead of being assembled from a database each time someone visits. Astro and Next.js are the two frameworks we build on, and your content lives in Payload CMS, a clean editor with only the fields your site uses.
We've built this way for several years and it's now the larger share of our new work, chosen by clients who care most about how the site holds up over time.
WHO IT'S FOR
This is the design approach to choose when:
It's probably not the right fit when:
Some briefs actually suit WordPress better, and when yours is one of them the first call is where we’ll say it.
HOW WE WORK
A few things that shape every modern design project at BrainWeb.
There's no theme to fit into and no plugin patterns dictating where things go. The design comes first, and the framework is shaped to serve it.
The structure you see in the Payload editor mirrors the structure of the site, so adding content later feels obvious: your pages, posts, and projects, with only the fields each one needs.
Typography doing the visual work, restrained colour, real photography. The full set is on the bespoke web design page; the modern stack just gives them a faster canvas.
Contrast, focus states, type sizes, and reading order are decided at design. WCAG 2.1 AA basics are the default, and the build page covers implementation.
A design that needs four seconds to appear has already failed, so image sizing, motion, and interaction weight are design decisions here, made against Core Web Vitals targets rather than left for the build to rescue.
WHAT IT COSTS
It depends on the shape: a text-managed site, a Payload CMS site, and a web app each start at a different point, and the web design page puts the starting prices side by side. The quote is fixed in writing before work begins, paid 50% at design sign-off and 50% at launch, and the first year of Firebase hosting is part of the project; what hosting costs after that is on the hosting page.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Everything below is inside the fixed quote.
The initial conversation, free, 30 to 60 minutes, to settle the right shape and scope
A fixed written quote for the project, before any work begins
A design started from a blank page, built on Astro or Next.js with Payload CMS
The First Look: the homepage and one key internal page, at real fidelity, for you to react to
Revision rounds, as many as it takes; we don't count them against a limit
Designed mobile-first and checked at phone, tablet, and desktop sizes
Accessibility designed in, with WCAG 2.1 AA basics as the default
GDPR-aware design for forms, consent, and data handling
A training session on the Payload editor at handover
One year of hosting on Firebase; the <a href="/host/app-and-static-hosting">the Host page</a> has the detail
The build-phase details (specific integrations, custom functionality, SSR setup) are covered on the matching build pages.
PROJECT SHAPES
The design approach is the same across all three; what changes is how much of the site you edit yourself. The initial conversation settles which fits.
The lightest build: Astro or Next.js with content managed as text files we update for you, or that you edit with a little guidance. Right for sites that change a few times a year.
The shape most clients choose: pages built by us, with your blog, projects, and similar collections editable in Payload. Fast, focused, and the site the rest of this page describes.
For projects that need accounts, live data, or custom application work. Built on Next.js or similar, with Payload or a custom backend.
RECENT WORK
A second website for a second business, launched off the back of Tank Clad's capability but sold under its own name, because the two serve different buyers.
What we built
WordPress Web Design · WordPress Development with Divi · Managed WordPress Hosting
A WordPress site for a family-run Norfolk campervan converter, built around a custom conversions portfolio, a dedicated services and FAQ hub, and a refreshed logo suite for light and dark use.
What we built
WordPress Website Design & Build · Custom Post Type · Managed WordPress Hosting
A multi-page WordPress site for an international aerospace and quality consultancy, built to give a newly formed firm a credible home and ready it for the 2026 standards.
“Ric was suggested to my by a complete stranger and I have been very pleased with his work. … I would certainly recommend Ric to anyone out there.”
A complete website for a Norfolk Broads education charity, built around several very different audiences so each one finds its own clear way in.
What we built
WordPress Web Design
We rebuilt our own site as a WordPress-to-Astro conversion, the same service we sell, built to the same standards we ship to clients, so the site is the proof rather than the claim.
What we built
Web Design · Web Development · Website Hosting · Content Creation
THE OTHER OPTIONS
All three are designed here; the difference is the platform underneath.
Design from a blank page, for a visual identity and interactions built only for you. Pairs naturally with modern JS framework builds.
When editing your own pages in a familiar editor matters more than raw speed, Divi is the pragmatic choice.
The same modern stack at its smallest: one page, launched quickly, with almost nothing to maintain.
The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Tell us about your business and what you've got at the moment, and we'll come back with a view on what a modern build would involve and what it would cost.