How We Created a Bespoke Website for a Suffolk Makeup Artist

Every project begins with understanding, not designing. Our first sessions with Radiance were less about the website and more about Radiance itself: the story behind the business, the aesthetic she gravitated toward, and what the site actually needed to achieve for her.

We talked through her services and where her business priorities sat (bridal work and natural-makeup lessons, above all else), her future vision and who she needed the website to speak to.

From there, we planned the journey itself - where visitors would land, what we wanted them to feel as they moved through the site, and what we wanted them to do next, whether that was exploring the portfolio, checking the services or booking a discovery call.

This meant every button and section was carefully considered and planned before we moved into the design stage.

We built out a handful of wireframes (simple visual layouts of each page) exploring different directions, and Hollie chose the structure that resonated with her most. This also gave her a clear idea of exactly what the website would include, together with the certainty, that all the sections and content she wanted would have a place on the finished site.

Every design choice was made with Radiance's target audience in mind, while also reflecting what makes Hollie and her approach to makeup different from other MUAs.

For her main audience - brides - the website needed to feel sophisticated yet reassuring from the moment they arrived. It needed to present everything Radiance has to offer without feeling overly sales-focused.

At the same time, it needed to communicate her refined approach to natural makeup. That thinking shaped everything from the layout and imagery to the entire user journey.

Early on, organic shapes and botanical themes kept coming up in our inspiration sessions, but we were careful with how far to take them. Lean too heavily into florals and the website could feel purely bridal-focused, when Radiance is about much more than that.

We created a floral motif inspired by a plant with personal meaning to Hollie, using it to subtly highlight important sections such as client testimonials and the booking area.

We were particularly pleased to see this motif grow beyond the website itself and become part of Radiance's wider visual identity.

Alongside the design, we also developed a simple booking system where visitors can book a complimentary consultation with Hollie in just a few steps. The whole process requires no ongoing management from Hollie: website visitors can only see available slots, as the system is connected directly to her calendar. So, if she adds anything to her calendar, for example her 1:1 lesson with her client, those times are automatically unavailable to new call bookings. This keeps the experience simple for both Hollie and her prospects, while removing the risk of double bookings.

The founder was involved at every stage throughout. We always ask our clients how they'd like to communicate, which channels they prefer and what times work best for them. Our whole process is fully tailored and personal, and we mean it.

For example, Hollie preferred close, personal contact over anything more hands-off, so we kept her updated daily and ran structured revision sessions, considered, unhurried conversations where she could react honestly and we could talk things through properly rather than over email. It took five rounds of refinement in total, each one bringing the site closer to something that felt unmistakably hers.

Once the desktop design was signed off, we moved into responsive design, adapting every element for mobile, tablets, and everything between, foldables included. Some components needed genuine rethinking and redesign rather than a straightforward resize, so the user experience felt just as considered on a phone in someone's hand as it does on a full-size screen.

Before going live, we prepared a secure hosting environment for Radiance and tested the website across different devices and browsers to make sure everything worked as it should.

After launch, the website lives on our managed server, with a dedicated setup tailored to each client. For Radiance, this was particularly important because of the amount of imagery across the site, so we configured the server to deliver images at the right resolution without Hollie having to worry about resizing or preparing them herself.

Hollie also chose to host and maintain her website with us, meaning if something changes - for example her contact details - she can simply message us and we'll take care of it completely.

She doesn't have to worry about keeping the website updated, managing the server, certificates, hosting or dealing with the technical side of things.

We also monitor and maintain the site each month, including security checks and performance monitoring. This is where our technical expertise plays an important role: making sure the website remains secure, reliable and performing as it should long after launch.

Building and launching the website is only part of the job. Search engines need a number of technical signals and foundations in place before they can properly crawl, understand and index a website.

We took care of these as part of the build, from technical SEO and indexation through to the foundations needed for local search visibility.

Within one day of the website going live, Radiance was appearing on Google. We also checked that everything was in place to give the website the best possible foundation for relevant local searches.