Built on analysis. Delivered without the drama.

Built properly the first time by one experienced developer. Lean, self-contained software with no bloat, no surprises, and no nonsense.

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Dearthwood Software is a bespoke website design and custom software development studio based in Claypole, near Newark-on-Trent, Lincolnshire. We build bespoke WordPress websites, custom PHP web development, and our own software products for UK businesses. Every website design project is handled by one web developer in Lincolnshire, to a fixed price, with a live staging environment from day one. No agencies, no handoffs, no nonsense.

What Our Clients Say

I couldn’t be more impressed with the exceptional website design work delivered. From the very beginning, it was clear that this is a truly talented and creative professional who understands not just aesthetics, but how to design with real business impact in mind.

The new website has completely transformed our online presence. It’s modern, visually striking, and incredibly user-friendly — exactly what we needed to stand out in a competitive market. More importantly, the improvements didn’t just look good; they delivered real results. We’ve seen a noticeable uptick in enquiries, stronger customer engagement, and a significant boost in overall business performance since the launch.

What really sets this experience apart is the attention to detail and genuine commitment to our success. Every element of the design feels purposeful, from the layout and navigation to the way our brand story is communicated.

If you’re looking for someone who can elevate your business, not just your website, I highly recommend their work. Truly outstanding.

Stuart S - Systems Analyst

As a business owner, finding someone who truly understands your vision and can bring it to life is incredibly valuable. Working with this website designer has been an outstanding experience from start to finish.

What impressed me most was their genuine commitment and dedication. They took the time to really get to know my business, my goals, and what I wanted to achieve. Nothing ever felt rushed or overlooked — every detail was carefully considered, and it was clear they genuinely cared about delivering the best possible result.

Their ability to explain design ideas and technical aspects in a clear, straightforward way made a huge difference. As someone without a technical background, I always felt confident and informed because everything was broken down into easy-to-understand terminology. It made the entire process smooth, stress-free, and actually enjoyable.

The end result speaks for itself: a professional, high-quality website that perfectly reflects my brand and has helped elevate my business. Alongside that, the level of communication, patience, and understanding throughout the project was second to none.

I would highly recommend their services to any business owner looking for not just a designer, but a reliable partner who truly invests in your success.

Praful P - Prafskitchen

We recently had our TechFaulta website designed and built, and we are very happy with the final result. The website looks modern and professional, and it makes it easy for our customers to quickly find and use our IT support services.

One of the best parts of the website is the online booking feature. Our customers can now book support services directly through the website in just a few easy steps, making the whole process much simpler and more convenient. The booking system is easy to use, works really well, and has greatly reduced the time and effort needed to organise appointments manually.

The support ticket system has also been a great addition to the website. Once a booking is made, support requests can be recorded, tracked, updated, and managed easily, helping us keep communication and customer support organised at all times.

Overall, the website has completely improved the way TechFaulta connects with customers by combining a professional online presence with useful features. We are extremely pleased with the quality of the work completed and would highly recommend the company to any business looking for a reliable and professionally designed website solution.

Alasdair B - Techfaulta

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are you based and do you work with businesses outside Lincolnshire?

We're based in Claypole, near Newark-on-Trent in Lincolnshire. Most of our clients are UK-based businesses and we work remotely with clients across England. If you're local, we're happy to meet in person.

How much does a website cost?

Bespoke website design for small businesses starts from £999, fixed price, agreed before any work begins. Custom web development with bespoke functionality is quoted individually. Pricing is published on our website design page. There are no surprise invoices.

Do you only do website design, or do you build custom software too?

Both. Dearthwood builds bespoke websites and custom software. We also develop and sell our own products: Dearthwood Maps (a UK maps API) and Roomslate (hotel property management software). If you need something built from scratch, that's where we do our best work.

What platform do you build websites on?

We do all our web development on WordPress, using custom themes and our own in-house plugins. No page builders, no bloated third-party plugins, no recurring licence fees passed on to you. The code is yours on handover.

How long does a website take to build?

Most small business websites are live within two to four weeks. Larger or more complex builds take longer, but you get a live staging URL on day one so you can see progress throughout. Timelines are agreed before we start.

Do you offer ongoing support after launch?

Yes. Bug fixes and small tweaks are handled as they come up. We don't lock you into a retainer you can't escape. if you need ongoing work, we quote it as we go. We're still here twelve months later, which is more than most agencies can say.

Can you take over a website someone else built?

Yes. We take over websites built by other web developers and agencies regularly. We assess the existing build honestly first. If it is salvageable we work with it. If it would cost more to fix than rebuild, we tell you that upfront before you spend anything.

What is Dearthwood Maps?

Dearthwood Maps is our UK maps API: a self-hosted geocoding, routing, and navigation platform built on OpenStreetMap. It covers Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands on a flat monthly subscription with no per-request billing. Used on every Dearthwood-built site and available to other developers and agencies.

Portfolio

Praf's Kitchen

Praf's Kitchen

Indian takeaway · Grantham

The ordering system wasn't failing because it was ugly. It was failing because it had been built around how the restaurant assumed customers ordered not how they actually did. Once that was clear, the build almost wrote itself: cleaner checkout flow, faster path to order, and a loyalty engine that brings people back without annoying them.

IMPACT: Online orders jumped to 30x previous levels after launch.

Custom PHP discount engine · Easier ordering process · No framework dependencies

  • Collaboration Build
  • UX Redesign
  • Accordion Meal Deals
  • Discount & loyalty engine
  • Conversion-led
Techfaulta

Techfaulta

Local IT support · Lincolnshire

The problem wasn't the calendar. It was that no off-the-shelf booking tool understood geography so they were being booked for jobs they couldn't physically reach. We mapped the coverage first, then built the system around it.

A custom booking engine built from scratch - no off-the-shelf calendar plugins. Uses Dearthwood Maps to check the engineer can physically reach the customer's postcode before accepting the booking.

IMPACT: A booking-to-ticket flow that respects physical reality. No double-booking, no impossible journeys, no apologising for broken promises.

Custom PHP booking engine · Coverage checker· Bespoke Ticket API

  • Custom booking plugin
  • Maps API integration
  • Ticket-system integration
  • Bespoke build
M-Oneeleven

M-Oneeleven

YouTube channel · automotive specialists

A central hub for a Mercedes-Benz YouTube creator's audience. Video, merch, parts, community, and a tech-aesthetic dark theme - all in one place instead of scattered across third-party platforms.

IMPACT: Every new upload appears on the site automatically. No manual reposting, no audience leaking to YouTube.

Custom youtube plugin · Fully custom template · Clean layout

  • In-house YouTube plugin
  • YouTube Data API
  • E-commerce
  • Brand-led design
BRJ Fabrications

BRJ Fabrications

Bespoke homeware & metalwork

A full WooCommerce build for tangible goods - candles, clocks, wall art - with Apple Pay, Google Pay, wishlists, and our own image-switching colour swatches plugin powering the product pages.

IMPACT: Sales lifted after launch thanks to smoother mobile checkout and richer product data than most small ecommerce sites bother with.

Additional photos plugin · Local Business plugin · CSS3 optimisation

  • Full e-commerce
  • WooCommerce
  • Apple & Google Pay
  • In-house variations plugin
  • In-house product type & style picker plugin
  • In-house expected delivery plugin

Meet the Developer

I'm Ben. One developer, one business, no middlemen. Every project is planned, built, managed and delivered by me. You explain it once, to the person responsible for making it work.

I've been building things for over 20 years. Not just websites. PIC microcontroller systems, Arduino projects, a Car PC application pulling live ECU data into a real-time digital dashboard. Hardware, firmware, software: if it needed logic, I've built it. Most web developers live entirely inside a browser. I don't.

Before a single line gets written I work out what the problem actually is. Not the surface problem, the real one underneath it. Where the friction lives, what the software genuinely needs to do. That's the conversation most developers skip. It's usually why projects go wrong.

I built Dearthwood because I'd seen enough: agencies overcharging for bloated builds, freelancers disappearing mid-project, clients handed a cloud subscription and told it was bespoke. Straight talking, no lock-in, properly built, still picking up the phone twelve months later.

If you've got a project, you'll speak to me directly. Not a sales funnel, not a chatbot. Just me, and I'd genuinely like to hear about it.

PHP · CSS3 · HTML5 · Vanilla JS · Linux · Python · Self-hosted LLM inference

Meet the Developer

The Dearthwood Difference

We are a software studio in Claypole, near Newark-on-Trent.

Here's how working with Dearthwood actually goes - no jargon, no hidden process, no smoke and mirrors. Just the honest mechanics of how your project gets built, from first conversation to live site.

Live from day one

You get a live staging URL on day one. Watch your project take shape, comment on anything, change your mind whenever you like*. no six-week black box, no theatrical "big reveal" at the end. If something isn't right, you spot it on day three, not the day of reveal.

* Within reason - major scope changes mean a fresh quote.

Pricing on the page

Our pricing is fixed and published. Timelines are agreed up front. The code is yours when we hand it over, and we're still here if you need us afterwards*. No retainers you can't escape, no licensing traps, no surprise invoices when your traffic doubles.

* Afterwards meaning bug fixes and small tweaks, not a free rebuild eighteen months later.

One person, start to finish

The person you speak to about your project is the same person writing the code. No account managers, no handoffs, no Chinese whispers. Before a single line gets written, I'll ask questions most developers never think to ask because if I don't understand your business properly, the software won't either.

Plugins built in-house

Most WordPress plugins are either bloated, abandoned, or want £200 a year for a contact form and not many are privacy-first. So we wrote our own, and they ship with every site we build, no extra licensing, no upgrade walls.

Built for British budgets

Small British businesses shouldn't be paying Silicon Valley rent on software that ought to cost a fraction of what it does. So we keep building the sharper, better-fitting version at prices that make sense for a business in Lincolnshire, not a venture-backed startup in San Francisco.

Quietly recommended

We don't cold-call, and we don't have a sales team. Almost every project that lands on our desk arrived because someone we built for told someone else. That's the only marketing we've ever needed, and it keeps us honest. Every job has to be good enough to be the next recommendation.

Get In Touch

One person. Your project.

Coverage: United Kingdom
All software exclusively available through Dearthwood Software
Dearthwood Software
12 Welfen Lane
Claypole
Lincolnshire
United Kingdom
NG23 5AL

📞 01400 595 093
Send me a message here and I'll get back to you within 24 hours

    Usually replied to within 24 hours. No spam, no sales ambush, no obligation.

    Built it. Then made it available.

    This is our UK Maps API, running live. Standard on every Dearthwood site. It is available to developers and agencies. This isn't just showing our location. This is a working demo of what the API delivers visually. Have a click and scroll around. Zoom in and you'll start to find 3D buildings, trees, pylons, wind turbines, and a few other easter eggs.

    UK Maps API · Geocoding + vector tiles · One flat fee · No per-request billing