↻
Maintenance
Keeping the website online and dealing with the ordinary technical work needed to maintain it.
For independent local businesses
A proper website, without the big upfront gamble.
We design and build your website as our contribution to Shirley. You contribute £10/month towards keeping it running, making small changes and helping the wider Discover Shirley project support others.
How it works
We start with your business, not a template.
The website should make it easier for people to understand what you do, find the information they need and decide whether to contact you. We will use what you already have — photos, Instagram, Facebook, leaflets, prices, your story — and turn it into a coherent web presence.
Tell us about your business
We have a conversation about what you do, who you help and what people usually need to know before contacting you.
We design and build it
Discover Shirley contributes the planning, design and creation of the website. There is no large design invoice at the start.
You review it
We make sure the important information is accurate and the site feels like your business before it goes live.
It goes live
You can use a Discover Shirley subdomain, or your own domain if you prefer. We then keep it running and help with reasonable small updates.
What £10/month means
Transparent from the beginning.
We want the arrangement to be simple enough to explain over a coffee.
✎
Small changes
Reasonable updates such as prices, opening hours, text, photos and other small content changes.
♥
The project
Part of every contribution helps Discover Shirley keep creating opportunities for other local businesses and groups.
What is not included?
The £10/month is not unlimited development. A major redesign, online shop, complex booking system, large new feature or substantial ongoing content work may need a separate conversation and, where there are real extra costs, a separate contribution. We will always discuss that before doing it.
Your web address
Start simple. Keep your options open.
Every supported site can use a Discover Shirley subdomain such as yourbusiness.discovershirley.co.uk. That address remains part of Discover Shirley and cannot be transferred away.
If you want your own domain — for example yourbusiness.co.uk — we can help connect it. The cost of buying or renewing that domain is separate because it is an external cost.
No lock-in
If life takes you somewhere else, the website can go with you.
If you use your own domain and later decide to leave Discover Shirley, we will be sad to see you go — but that is how life works. We will provide a transferable copy of the website where practical, excluding the Discover Shirley subdomain/branding and any third-party material whose licence does not permit transfer.
Who is this for?
Independent businesses in Shirley and surrounding areas.
Existing local businesses
Businesses that rely heavily on social media, directory listings or word of mouth and would benefit from a clearer web presence.
People just starting
New ventures that should not have to spend heavily on a website before they have had a chance to establish themselves.
Independent operators
Shops, services, trades, makers, teachers, instructors, carers, studios and other lawful independent local businesses.
What if you are a larger company?
The £10/month offer is designed for independent local businesses, but larger companies can still be part of the project. Come and have a coffee with us in one of the nice coffee shops in Shirley and let’s see how you could be part of Discover Shirley.
Start that conversationPractical questions
Before you say yes.
Do I have to pay for the design of the website?
No separate design fee is charged under this community offer. The design and build work is Discover Shirley’s contribution. The ongoing £10/month contribution starts when the site is live unless we agree otherwise.
What if £10/month is genuinely difficult for me right now?
Talk to us. If you are just starting or going through a difficult period, we would rather understand the situation than apply a rigid rule. See our community support approach.
How quickly will my website be ready?
Websites are taken on in the order people confirm they want one. If many people join at once, there may be a wait. We think that would be a good problem to have, and we will be transparent about the queue.
Can you guarantee that a website will grow my business?
No. A good website can make a business easier to find, understand and contact, but no one can responsibly guarantee search rankings, enquiries or sales.
Can Discover Shirley refuse a project?
Yes. The project exists to support the local community. We can decline work that is unlawful, misleading, unsafe, outside the area or clearly inconsistent with that purpose.
Want to be one of the next websites?
Tell us what your business does and where you are based. A conversation is enough to start.