About Fairhaven Web Design

YES! Bellingham is our home. We work, and live right along side out clients. We understand this communities unique needs and quirks. We have a love for local, authentic connection, that a long distance designer may or may not embrace.

Yes. Your site is built on WordPress, so you can log in and edit text, swap photos, and add blog posts without touching any code.

If you’d rather leave it to us, that’s fine too. Clients on our maintenance plan can send us changes at a reduced hourly rate, and anyone else can request updates at our standard rate.

Yes. Our office is in Bellingham’s Fairhaven district at 1200 Harris Ave, Suite 309A. We’re happy to meet face to face, whether that’s at our office or at your business.

If a video call works better for your schedule, we can do that too.

In most cases, yes. We regularly connect websites to tools like online booking, email marketing platforms, contact forms, CRMs, payment processors, and analytics.

If your business already relies on a specific tool, let us know early and we’ll confirm how it fits into your new site.

Our logo design is included in our Starter Branding Board ($2,500). We’ve found that a logo works best when it’s designed alongside the colors, fonts, and overall look that go with it.

That way, you don’t just walk away with a logo file. You get a complete, consistent starting point for your website, signs, social media, and print materials.

No – and nobody honest can. Google weighs hundreds of factors nobody controls. What I can show you is a track record: real Search Console data from real local clients.

Yes. If you don’t have a domain yet, we can help you pick one that’s easy to remember and good for your brand. If you already own one, we’ll connect it to your new site.

We always recommend that the domain stays in your name, so you keep full ownership of it.

Yes. Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing people see when they search for a local business, so it’s worth getting right. We can set up a new profile or optimize the one you have, including categories, services, photos, and descriptions.

For Bellingham and Whatcom County businesses, a strong profile is one of the best ways to show up in local search and on Google Maps.

Absolutely. Whether your site just looks dated or it’s hard to update, slow, or not bringing in customers, we can help. Sometimes a refresh is all you need. Other times a full rebuild is the better investment.

We’ll look at what’s working now, like pages that rank well on Google, and make sure you keep those gains when we move to the new design.

No, web services can vary significantly between different design firms. Knowing your goals or having a clear idea of what you want is crucial before reaching out to web designers.

But remember, there are many tools available to achieve your goals. Fairhaven Web Design listens to your vision, and we will recommend the tools that best fit your needs – whether with us or another agency.

It’s not required, but it helps. When your logo, colors, and fonts are already defined, your website comes together faster and feels more polished and consistent.

If you’re starting fresh or your current branding feels outdated, we can create your branding first and then build your website around it. Doing both with one team keeps everything working together.

Yes. SEO isn’t a one-time task. Search results change, competitors get active, and Google keeps updating how it ranks websites.

Our ongoing SEO services can include keyword research, content, on-page improvements, technical fixes, local SEO, and reporting, so you can see what’s working. We’ll tailor the plan to your goals and your market.

Yes. Our website packages are split evenly over four months, so you don’t have to pay the full cost up front. The first payment is due when you sign, and the rest are billed every 30 days.

It’s a simple way to get a professional website without a big one-time hit to your budget.

Yes. We provide fast, secure hosting for the websites we build, and your first year is included with your website package.

After the first year, hosting is $375 a year for brochure sites and $500 a year for e-commerce sites. Because we manage the hosting ourselves, you have one team to call if anything ever goes wrong.

No. We’re proudly based in Bellingham, and many of our clients are here in Whatcom County. We also work with businesses across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Most of our process works just as well over video calls and email, so distance isn’t a barrier. And if you are local, we’re happy to meet in person.

No. SEO needs a few months to show its value, but I earn your business every month – I don’t trap it in a contract.

Every website we build is designed around your business, your brand, and your customers. We don’t drop your logo into a generic template and call it done.

We do use a proven set of tools under the hood, which keeps your site fast, stable, and easy to maintain. The look, layout, and feel are all yours.

Yes. Good content is one of the most important parts of a website, both for your visitors and for Google. We can write your website copy from scratch, or edit and polish what you already have.

Either way, you’ll get content that sounds like your business, speaks to your customers, and helps your pages show up in search.

Security starts with good hosting and good habits. Our sites run on secure hosting with SSL certificates (the padlock in your browser), and we keep WordPress, your theme, and your plugins up to date through our maintenance plan.

Outdated software is one of the most common reasons websites get hacked, which is why ongoing updates matter so much.

The build itself moves quickly. Most standard brochure sites take about a week once we have your content, and larger sites (7 to 20 pages) take about two weeks.

The biggest factor in your timeline is content: your text, photos, logo, and any other materials. We make that part as easy as possible with a guided content board and shared folders, and the sooner your content comes in, the sooner your new site goes live.

SEO is a long game. Many businesses start seeing movement within a few months, but meaningful, lasting results usually build over six months to a year.

How fast you see results depends on your industry, your competition, and where your website is starting from. Local businesses in less competitive markets often see progress sooner.

Most local SEO engagements are a monthly investment that scales with your market’s competitiveness. After your free audit, you get an exact quote – no surprises, no pricing games.

Every project is a little different, but here’s what most of our clients can expect:

Standard website (1 to 6 pages): averages around $3,500.

Larger website (7 to 20 pages): about $5,000 to $6,000.

E-commerce and directory websites: start at $6,000.

The final cost depends on things like the number of pages, special features, and whether you need help with content or branding. We’ll give you a clear quote before any work begins, and our website projects can be split into four monthly payments to make budgeting easier.

E-commerce websites start at $6,000. Directory websites, like member listings or business directories, also start at $6,000.

These sites cost more than a standard brochure site because there’s more to build: product setup, checkout, payment and shipping settings, or searchable listings and submission forms. The final price depends on things like how many products or listings you have and any special features you need. We’ll give you a clear quote before any work begins.

For most businesses, a website redesign every 3 to 5 years is a good rule of thumb. Design trends, technology, and what customers expect online all change quickly, and a site that felt modern a few years ago can start to look dated.

It may be time for a redesign sooner if:

• Your site looks outdated next to your competitors
• It’s slow, hard to use on phones, or difficult for you to update
• Your business, services, or branding have changed
• It isn’t bringing in calls, leads, or sales

A redesign doesn’t always mean starting from scratch. Sometimes a refresh is all you need. We’ll take a look at your current site and let you know what makes the most sense.

They’re complementary. Ads buy immediate visibility; SEO builds an asset that keeps producing after you stop paying for clicks. Many clients run ads while their SEO builds, then scale ads down.

Launch is just the beginning. Websites need regular software and plugin updates to stay secure and working properly.

Our maintenance plan is $50 a month and covers updates and software compatibility issues, so you don’t have to worry about something breaking. Clients on the plan also get a reduced hourly rate for changes. If you’re not on the plan, we’re still happy to help with fixes and updates at our standard hourly rate.

Here’s how a typical project works:

1. Discovery. We start with a conversation about your business, your customers, and your goals.

2. Content. We send you an organized content board with prompts and a shared folder for photos and files, so you know exactly what we need.

3. Design and build. We design and build your site based on your content and brand.

4. Review. We walk you through the finished site, and you list your revisions in a shared document so nothing gets missed.

5. Launch. Once everything is approved, we take your site live and make sure it’s running smoothly.

We build on WordPress, the platform behind a huge share of the websites on the internet. For design, we use Divi, a visual builder that gives us full creative control and makes it easy for you to edit text and images later.

WordPress is open source, so you own your site outright. You’re never locked into a monthly platform subscription, and your site can grow with you, whether that means adding a blog, a store, booking, or a member area down the road.

A real audit – onsite issues, competitor analysis, and keyword opportunities – delivered as reports you keep, whether or not you hire me.

We offer two branding packages:

Starter Branding Board ($2,500). Your logo, color palette, fonts, and overall aesthetic, all gathered on one branding page so you and anyone you work with can use them consistently.

Full Branding Guide ($4,000). Everything in the Starter Branding Board, plus custom icons, an image pack, and social media templates, so your brand looks polished everywhere it shows up.

Your logo is the mark that represents your business. Your brand is bigger than that. It’s the whole visual system around your logo: your colors, fonts, imagery, and the overall feel people get when they see your business.

A great logo on its own is a good start. A complete brand makes your website, social media, signs, and printed materials all look like they belong together.

A few reasons. With WordPress, you own your website and your content. There’s no platform that can raise prices on you or shut down your store. It also has thousands of tools and integrations, so almost anything your business needs can be added.

It’s also friendly for search engines and easy to edit once you know your way around. We’ve seen plenty of businesses outgrow builders like Wix or Squarespace. WordPress is the platform you don’t have to move off of later.

Working with a local team means you’re working with neighbors, not a faceless vendor. Bellingham is a community that genuinely values supporting local businesses, and that goes both ways: when you choose a local designer, developer, or SEO partner, you’re keeping your investment in the local economy, and you’re working with people who actually understand this market because we live in it too.

There’s also an accountability factor that’s hard to replicate with an outsourced or overseas team. Our reputation is built here, in person, at the same coffee shops and events you go to, so how we conduct ourselves reflects directly on every business we work with. We take that seriously.

And then there’s simple availability. Need us to swing by and fix a vinyl decal we installed? We can be there. Want on-site photography or video for your website or marketing? We can show up and shoot it ourselves instead of relying on stock images or a rushed phone photo. That kind of hands-on, in-person support just isn’t something a remote or out-of-state provider can offer, and it’s often the difference between a website that feels generic and one that actually represents your business well.

Yes, most web design firms schedule multiple meetings to fully understand the scope of your project. This ensures that the final product aligns with your vision and business needs.

But expect at least one discovery meeting or call to ensure everyone is on the same page.

That’s the goal. A logo has to look good on a website, a business card, a storefront sign, a T-shirt, and a tiny social media icon. We design with all of those uses in mind.

We keep your logo clear and readable at small sizes, test it in black and white, and create versions that work on both light and dark backgrounds. We also pay attention to color contrast so your logo is easy for as many people as possible to see.

Yes. Every website we build includes a solid SEO foundation. That includes clean page structure, mobile-friendly design, fast load times, page titles and descriptions, and a setup that makes it easy for Google to find and understand your pages.

A strong foundation is a great start. If you want to climb higher in search results and stay there, our ongoing SEO services can take it further.

Yes. Slow websites lose visitors and rank lower in search, so speed is part of how we build. We compress images, use caching, and keep your site free of unnecessary bloat.

Our hosting is also set up for performance, so your pages load quickly for visitors whether they’re across the street or across the country.

Yes. Most of your visitors will probably find you on their phones, so every site we build is fully responsive. That means the layout adjusts to look great and work well on phones, tablets, laptops, and large monitors.

We test on different screen sizes before launch, and Google also favors mobile-friendly sites in search results.