I’m Nick, a freelance web designer for Leeds businesses, based in Liverpool and a direct train over the Pennines. Bespoke web design for Leeds, on Squarespace or fully custom, and the alternative to a Leeds web design agency: one person, 250+ sites, and I build every one myself.
LeedsLS
Leeds is a city of professional firms, digital businesses and fiercely independent shops and studios, and most of the ones that find me have already tried an agency or built the site themselves. Either way they’ve ended up with a website that isn’t pulling in work.
I don’t have a Leeds client in the portfolio yet, so here are two recent UK builds instead: a fitness studio moved off a clunky WordPress site, and a marketing agency whose designer handed me finished wireframes and wanted them built exactly. Every project is in the portfolio.
Meraki StudiosTwo studios, several class types and a growing community, stuck on an outdated WordPress site. Migrated and redesigned on Squarespace in four weeks: embedded timetables, clear first-timer info, FAQs and a gallery that finally matches the energy of the classes.
Lasting LemonsA marketing agency moving to Squarespace with wireframes full of animation. Custom code on top of Squarespace recreated them faithfully, smooth motion and all, while leaving the team a site they can edit themselves.I’m Nick Croce. American roots, Liverpool postcode, and Leeds is a direct train over the Pennines in about an hour and twenty-five minutes. I studied at university in Liverpool, learned big-brand standards at an agency, and started Design by Ency to give businesses that level of work without the agency price.
Since then I’ve built more than 250 websites for businesses in Liverpool, London, across the UK and overseas: florists, law firms, health clinics, charities, gyms, startups. Squarespace made me a Circle Platinum Partner for it, their highest tier.
What you get is me. I answer the emails, I design the pages, I build the site and I fix the things. Everything runs over video calls, start to finish, which is how all 250 were built. If a bigger project warrants meeting in person, I’m happy to make that happen.
Liverpool based, Leeds bound
No more costly custom code
Doctors bookable by state
A full site, built in just 2 weeks
Squarespace 7.0 to 7.1 full redesign
Built exact to wireframes
Visuals brought to life
From DIY to finished article
A cohesive brand identity & website
Whatever stage your business is at, there’s a route in. Every one is custom, every one includes the SEO foundations, and every one is done by me. Prices are on each page, and on the pricing page, so you never have to ask.
Bespoke Squarespace web design for Leeds businesses: designed around your brand and built from scratch, with ecommerce website design where you sell online. From £3,000, yours to keep.
Custom buildsGot a site that’s dated, slow or just not bringing in work? I rebuild it properly, redirect your old links, and give it a look your Leeds customers actually trust.
RedesignsThe build included, then looked after every month: updates, fixes, security and support, for one fee. For business owners who never want to log into a website again.
Managed-For-YouNot sure what’s wrong with your current site? I review it properly and send you a video walkthrough and a PDF of what to fix. The good, the bad, the ugly.
Health checkEvery build ships with the SEO basics in place from day one. Managed-For-You clients can add the quarterly SEO growth plan to keep climbing.
SEO growth planNeed a logo, graphics or the words to go on the site? Bolt them onto a build so the whole thing arrives finished, instead of being stitched together later.
Add-onsStraight answer: two ways to work with me, both with a fixed figure in writing before any work starts. No hourly rates, no surprise invoices.
Custom Squarespace build
£3,000
One-time fee, quoted per project. Designed and built around your brand, then handed over with training so you run it yourself. Yours to keep, forever.
Managed-For-You website
£150
The build is included. Then I run it for you every month: updates, fixes, security and changes on request. You tell me what you need and it’s done.
Want a number for your project? Build a ballpark in about twenty seconds, no email needed.
Build your quoteusually 3 to 6 weeks
A clear, collaborative process from start to finish. You deal with me at every stage, so nothing gets lost in translation.
Book a discovery call to talk through your vision, what the site needs to do, and whether we’re the right fit for each other.
Once we’ve agreed the scope and you’ve accepted the proposal, the build begins: custom design, layouts and features, shared with you as it takes shape.
When you’ve approved the finished website, it goes live and you get bespoke handover training, so you feel confident running it yourself.
A Leeds web design agency puts an account manager between you and whoever’s actually building the site. When you work with me you deal directly with the person doing the work: me, on every page, every call, every fix. That’s quicker, it’s cheaper, and nothing gets lost in translation.
The legal and financial firms in the city centre, the digital and creative companies in Holbeck and around The Calls, the independents of Chapel Allerton, Headingley and Horsforth: Leeds businesses are judged on their websites by customers who compare quickly. I’ve built for law firms, agencies, clinics and studios, and I know what each of them needs a website to do.
I’m not going to pretend I’m in Holbeck. I’m in Liverpool, a direct train from Leeds in about an hour and twenty-five minutes, but the distance is beside the point: every project runs over video calls, and you get honest advice rather than a sales pitch over a flat white. Same time zone, same working hours, and overheads that keep my prices a fraction of a city-centre agency’s.
Liverpool to Leeds, direct
Start to finish, no account managers
Squarespace Circle Platinum Partner
Whichever your business actually needs
Titles, alt text, compressed images, redirects
In writing before any work starts
“Nick built the Waters Agency website, and I couldn’t recommend him more highly. He quickly understood what we wanted to achieve and translated it into a polished, professional site that reflects our brand brilliantly. He was creative, responsive and straightforward to work with throughout the entire process. The website has continued to run smoothly since launch, and Nick has always been helpful whenever we’ve needed support. A talented designer and a genuinely great person to work with.”
Declan Waters“We’ve had an outstanding experience working with Nick. From day one, he brought a level of care, precision, and creativity that’s hard to find. He quickly understood what we were trying to achieve and consistently delivered high-quality work — on time, with great communication throughout. Nick doesn’t just build websites; he solves problems, adds value, and genuinely feels like part of the team. We’re genuinely thrilled with the results and look forward to working with him again. Highly recommend!”
Patrick Smith“Unhesitatingly recommend Nick! He absolutely knocked our project out of the park. From start to finish, he was collaborative, communicative, and incredibly knowledgeable about Squarespace. He was proactive, responsive, and genuinely invested in the project's success. We look forward to working with him again in the future.”
Jason Letteboer“Working with Nick was a great experience! He built a beautiful website for my flower business and really brought my vision to life. Nick was patient and responsive, always happy to be contacted, no matter how many questions I had. My website looks fantastic - we are very pleased with it. Since launching the new site, we have seen more people visiting and engaging with my business. Highly recommend!”
Arta LlabjaniI work with businesses across the whole of Leeds and West Yorkshire, not one postcode. From the city centre, The Calls and Holbeck to Headingley, Hyde Park, Chapel Allerton and Roundhay, out to Horsforth, Kirkstall, Pudsey, Morley, Otley and Wetherby: wherever you are on the map, the process is the same. Everything is done over video calls, wherever you are on the map; if a bigger project warrants a meeting, that can happen too. I have pages for Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle too.
The first call is free and there’s no hard sell. Book below or drop me an email; it all happens over video calls, wherever you are.
Not covered here? Send me a message
no such thing as a silly question
It depends on who you hire. UK agencies typically quote £5,000 to £15,000 for a small business site, and freelancers can be anywhere from a few hundred pounds up. My custom Squarespace builds start from £3,000 for a site that’s yours to keep, or the Managed-For-You plan is from £150 a month with the build included. Every price is fixed in writing before any work starts.
No, and I’d rather say so than pretend. I’m based in Liverpool city centre, and Leeds is a direct train of about an hour and twenty-five minutes, every half hour. I work with businesses across the UK and overseas, all of it over video calls. Nobody needs to travel to work with me; if a bigger project warrants meeting in person, I can do that in Liverpool, Manchester or London, or come to you.
Most custom builds take three to six weeks from the first call to launch. The biggest factor is how quickly the content comes together on your side: copy, photos and the like. If you need the words written too, the copywriting add-on takes that off your plate.
Every site I build has the SEO basics in place: page titles, image alt text, compressed images and redirects, so Google can read the site properly from day one. I’ll also point you at getting your Google Business Profile right, because for local searches that matters as much as the website. If you want to actively climb the rankings afterwards, Managed-For-You clients can add the quarterly SEO growth plan.
No. I’m a Squarespace Circle Platinum Partner, the top tier, and it’s the right choice for most Leeds small businesses because you can run it yourself afterwards. But the Managed-For-You plan is custom coded, and I build in code wherever a project genuinely needs it, so you get a web designer and web developer in one.
No. I don’t build new sites on WordPress. If you have a WordPress site that’s become slow, fiddly or expensive to maintain, I rebuild it on Squarespace, move your content across and redirect the old links, so you can update it yourself without plugins breaking.
No, and that’s the point. Web design agencies in Leeds tend to put an account manager between you and whoever builds the site, and price accordingly. I’m one designer, based in Liverpool, doing the design and the build myself for businesses across Yorkshire and the rest of the UK.
Yes, and it’s most of what I do. I rebuild it from the ground up rather than patching the old one, redirect your old links so nothing breaks, and move your existing content across.
Yes. If your customers come from one part of the city, the site can be written and structured for that: area-specific copy, the right local business details, and pages set up so Google understands exactly who you serve and where.
That’s your choice. On a custom build you get bespoke handover training so you can run it yourself, and I’m at the end of an email if you get stuck. On Managed-For-You I keep running it for you: updates, fixes, security and changes on request, every month.
Fifteen minutes, no pitch. Tell me about your business and I’ll tell you honestly what your website needs, and what it would cost.
