Northern Monkey Creative Media

14/10/2026

Your website has around 3 seconds to make an impression. If it’s still loading, there’s a good chance your visitor has already started thinking about leaving.

Website speed is one of those things that can slowly get worse over time without anyone really noticing.

A website that was quick when it launched a few years ago might now be carrying:

• Old website with stale content
• Old themes and outdated code
• Tracking scripts added over the years
• Huge, unoptimised images
• Plugins that are no longer needed
• Multiple plugins doing the same job

It all adds up.

We see this a lot with WordPress websites. The site itself isn’t necessarily “broken", it’s just accumulated more and more baggage over time.

Think of it a bit like your computer. Install enough software, leave enough files lying around and never do any maintenance, and eventually things start slowing down.

Your website maintenance plan shouldn’t just be about clicking “update” on your plugins once a month. It should also involve looking at performance ie.

• Are the images properly optimised?
• Have you added new content or refreshed existing?
• Is caching configured correctly?
• Are old plugins, scripts and database entries slowing things down?

Because website speed doesn't just affect how your site feels. It can also impact user experience, enquiries, conversions and how your website performs in search. At Northern Monkey, we regularly look under the bonnet of our clients websites that have gradually become slower over the years.

Your website might look great … but how long are your customers waiting to see it?

Get in touch with our team if your website needs speeding up!

06/10/2026

AI Can Build Websites – But Should You Let It?

AI-assisted development is now widely used for coding, debugging and repetitive development work, but human oversight remains crucially important for security, UX, accessibility, integrations and more complicated functionality.

AI can build a website in minutes, but building a good website is a different story.

There’s no doubt AI is changing web development. It can help with code, content, testing, troubleshooting and plenty of the repetitive jobs that used to take much longer ... and that’s a good thing.

We use AI ourselves to make parts of the development process faster and more efficient. However there’s a big difference between using AI as a tool and expecting it to replace proper web design and development.

A successful website still needs your developer to think about:

• How customers actually use the site
• The journey from landing on the page to making an enquiry
• What makes the business different from its competitors
• Branding and consistency
• Mobile usability
• SEO and search visibility
• Accessibility
• Security

AI can generate a page, but it doesn't automatically understand the business, the customer, your goals and all the small decisions that turn a collection of pages into a website that actually works.

For us, AI isn’t about replacing developers ... it’s about helping developers work smarter.

The technology might be changing, but the need for a properly planned, professionally built website isn’t ... thats where Northern Monkey meet the requirements of our clients.

29/09/2026

Is Your Website Ready for AI Search?

SEO is changing as people increasingly use ChatGPT, Google AI summaries and other AI tools to find businesses. Websites now need clear structure, useful content, FAQs, schema and strong authority signals so AI systems can understand and reference them.

Your website might rank on Google… but can ChatGPT actually understand it? AI-driven search optimisation is one of the main priorities for web teams in 2026.

More potential customers are now using ChatGPT and AI-powered search tools to find businesses, compare services and get recommendations.

So the question is no longer just “Does my website rank on Google?”, it’s also “Can AI clearly understand what my business does?”

Your website needs to make it obvious:

• Who you are
• What services you offer
• Where you work
• Who you help
• What makes you different
• The questions your customers regularly ask

Good website structure, strong service pages, FAQs, useful content and the right technical setup all help search engines and AI platforms understand your business properly.

SEO isn’t going anywhere — but it is changing. Businesses that start adapting now will be in a much better position as AI search becomes part of everyday life.

At Northern Monkey, we’re already looking at SEO, AEO and website content together to make sure our clients aren’t just visible on Google, but are also ready for the next generation of search.

Is your website ready? If you aren't sure, get in touch at [email protected].

21/09/2026

Great to be able to support a local grass roots team. Go Hornets 🐝⚽️🥅

⚽MATCHDAY ⚽

The Hornets travel to Lytham to face Lytham Jaguars U15s, looking for their third win of the season.

It’ll be a tough test against a strong Jaguars side who have have got the better of the Hornets over the years. The Hornets have started the season well and will be looking to continue their good form, work rate and team spirit.

It’s still early days, and in this league any team can beat another on their day — which is exactly what makes it such a competitive and enjoyable league.

A huge thank you to Matt and the team at Northern Monkey Creative Media for their continued sponsorship and support of the Hornets. Your backing is massively appreciated. 💛🖤

🌐 nmcreative.co.uk

31/07/2026

We had the pleasure of recently working with SupplePlus to develop their website, https://supplepluslabs.com/. They kindly provided us with samples to try and get us healthier!

The team would like to say a big thank you and look forward to seeing the growth of your business over the coming months.

29/07/2026

July 2026 marks the 21st anniversary of Northern Monkey Creative Media, a fantastic milestone and a testament to the skill, dedication and determination of owner Matthew Lincoln and his team.

Since the company began, the digital landscape has changed dramatically. From the early days of HTML and Dreamweaver websites to today’s WordPress platforms, Northern Monkey Creative Media has continued to evolve alongside the industry.

Over the years, the company has also expanded its digital marketing portfolio to include email marketing, app development, bespoke software development and much more.

More recently, the integration of AI has begun transforming websites by introducing smarter, more intelligent functionality and we are excited to see where this next chapter takes us.

A heartfelt thank you to all our clients, past and present, for being part of the journey. We look forward to continuing to work with you for many years to come.

12/07/2026

02/07/2026

Always nice to welcome visitors into the office, and was a pleasure to have Andrew and Paula from BRIGHTER LETS in to discuss the development of their new website.

We look forward to the launching the new website soon!

Great meeting today with the brilliant team at Northern Monkey Creative Media! 🐒💻

We’ve been working together on our new website and online presence, and it’s always great to sit down face-to-face and talk through ideas.

Watch this space for some exciting changes coming soon to Brighter Lets online! 🏡✨

18/06/2026

Bright Start Homes is an established community interest company that currently works with several local authorities across the North of England. Their main focus is providing supported exempt accommodation to some of society’s most vulnerable.

With this in mind, they were keen to develop a new website which would provide clear, concise information. This was essential not only for individuals looking for properties, but also support organisations helping vulnerable people in the community.

It was our pleasure at Northern Monkey to work on such a community focussed project. The design and functionality was built around both the requirements of the site but also the ease of navigation for visitors, take a look https://brightstarthomes.co.uk/

If you are looking to develop your new website, or wanting to update an existing one, call us on 01772 687218 or visit our website https://nmcreative.co.uk/ to see how we can help.

03/06/2026

It was a pleasure for the team to work on the development of a website for a brand new business, JBR Fire Compliance.

Their business ethos is they believe that a fire risk assessment isn’t just a checklist exercise, it’s a holistic view of all matters that relate to fire safety in the workplace or residential setting.

Operating at a Tier 3 level, JBR Fire Compliance provide expertise for complex builds, multi-occupancy assets, institutional property portfolios.

To achieve full compliance and maximum safety, they take a 'helicopter view' of all the clients current risks that exist in the property, alongside the people who could be harmed by those risks. From there, they provide a documented action plans to mitigate those hazards as far as reasonably possible to do.

As part of the website brief, it was important that the new website not only looked professional and visually engaging, but also presented key information in a clear, accessible and easy-to-navigate format for potential customers.

Why not take a look at their new website for yourself at https://jbrfirecompliance.co.uk/.

For further information on the limitless website possibilities we can provide your company, go to https://nmcreative.co.uk/.