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Why We Hand-Code Every Website

What a custom build means in practice, and why it matters to the people using the site.

Why We Hand-Code Every Website, OTG Journal

In short

  • Every OTG site is designed and hand-coded as a custom build, with no templates or page builders.
  • Sites are hosted on Cloudflare and built to load quickly on any connection.
  • Forms and features are built around how each business works, and a monthly care plan looks after the site after launch.

Every site we make is designed and hand-coded as a custom build. No templates, no page builders.

That can sound like a technical detail. For the people using the site, it changes how fast it is, how it works and how it feels.

What hand-coded means

A template starts with someone else’s layout and asks your business to fit into it. A page builder adds a layer of tools between the design and the page. Both can get a site up quickly.

A custom build starts from a blank page. Every page is designed for the business and written by hand, so there’s nothing on it the business doesn’t need.

It loads quickly

Speed matters wherever people are. Our sites are hosted on Cloudflare and built to load quickly on any connection.

Even a site that leans heavily on film can load quickly, and work just as well on a phone as on a laptop.

Hand-coded and hosted on Cloudflare.

It’s built around the business

Because nothing comes off the shelf, the site can work the way the business does. Separate enquiry forms for separate services mean each lead goes straight to the right people.

A How can we help? panel with separate routes for landlords and tenants
Each route leads to its own form, straight to the team.

Switching over without disruption

A new site shouldn’t break what a business already relies on. Email, booking and everything else it already uses should keep working through the switch.

The honest trade-off

A custom site needs someone who knows it to look after it. That’s what our monthly care plan is for. We stay on after launch, so the site keeps working as hard as you do.

And the detail

Hand-coding also means every small part of a site gets looked at properly. That’s a story of its own: The detail nobody sees.

Frequently asked questions

What is a hand-coded website?

A site where every page is designed and written by hand for that business, without a template or page builder underneath.

Is a hand-coded website faster?

It can be, because there’s nothing on the page the business doesn’t need. Our sites are hosted on Cloudflare and built to load quickly on any connection.

Who looks after a hand-coded site after launch?

We do. We stay on after launch with a monthly care plan, so the site keeps working as hard as you do.

OTG is a brand and web studio. We build the whole brand: strategy and positioning, design, hand-coded websites and care after launch, with film and photography produced in-house. See our work, or if you’re building something, get in touch.

Tell us what you’re building.

We design and hand-code every site as a custom build, with no templates or page builders. SEO and AI search are built in from day one.