About
Hello, I'm Simon
I've been building, fixing and speeding up WordPress websites for more than twenty years, first as a web designer, then deep into technical SEO, Core Web Vitals and everything in between.
I have done serious amounts of work on WordPress, both running large scale websites I created that sneaked into the top 5k of global websites as ranked by Alexa, and then for small businesses wanted to plant their footprint online.
How I Got Here
I started building websites over two decades ago, back when hand coded HTML was the whole job. Since then I've designed and developed sites for everything from one person local businesses to portfolios of a hundred plus client websites — hands on with WordPress, WooCommerce, page builders, hosting stacks and every SEO tool worth knowing.
Along the way the same pattern kept repeating. The advice online was either too vague to act on, too outdated to trust, or written by people selling something. The genuinely useful knowledge, what actually fixes a slow site, what actually moves rankings, what actually breaks WordPress, lived in the day-to-day work, not in the blog posts. So I started writing it down properly.
That's what this site is now: Updated, practical, tested, plain English guides I wish had existed every time I was stuck at midnight with a broken website. If a fix is published here, it's because it has worked on a real site first.
The Short Version
- 20+ years building & fixing WordPress sites
- Web design, technical SEO & page speed
- Based in the UK, but recognised worldwide
- I know that if you need something done properly, do it yourself.
- The internet is full of snake oil and ladders.
Nothing goes on this site from theory or from some kind of blind sell. Every guide comes from a real world fix, build, or strategy used on a real website first.
No jargon for the sake of it, no vague "optimise your content" advice — the actual settings, the actual code, the actual order to do things in.
Every tool and tactic has a downside. I'd rather tell you what it is than pretend it doesn't exist. That's the difference between advice and marketing.
What I Write About
Six sections, all drawn from the day job. Start wherever your website needs help.
Questions People Ask Me
Do you still take on client work?
Yes, a limited amount of web design, technical SEO and website maintenance alongside writing. If your website needs help, get in touch via the contact page, email sales@yorkshiredesign.co.uk or call 07757 245656 and we can talk it through.
Where are you based, and does it matter?
Arnside, on the Cumbria–Lancashire border at the edge of the Lake District. It matters less than you'd think. I've worked with businesses across the UK and worldwide for years, and everything from builds to SEO to support works perfectly well remotely. It does mean the view from the office is hard to beat.
Why give all this knowledge away for free?
Because most of it shouldn't be behind a paywall in the first place, a small business owner googling "why is my website slow" at 11pm deserves a real answer. Writing it down also sharpens my own thinking, and honestly, the people who read a few guides and then get in touch make the best clients: they already know how I work.
Is any of this content written by AI?
No. Every guide is researched, tested and written by me. I write about AI — there's a whole section on it, and I use tools like anyone else, but the advice, the experience and the words are mine. On a site whose entire value is first hand experience, that's not a small distinction.
Want a hand with your website?
Straight answers from someone who does this every day.