ELK Design Services

17/06/2026

My site was built by me and Claude, working together. Not generated. Built.

I'm saying so because plenty of people in my trade are using these tools and hoping nobody asks. I'd rather show the work.

One example from this week. The homepage wouldn't hit a green performance score, and it has no images on it. The score kept bouncing between runs too. We ruled out the obvious suspect by measuring instead of guessing, and found the real cause: the main heading repainted the moment its font loaded, and that second paint wrecked the number. The fix was niche. 10 minutes, start to finish.

Claude didn't know the answer. It offered wrong ones too. We got there by knowing how to measure, and how to tell a real fix from a plausible-sounding one. That judgement is still mine. The legwork ran at a speed I can't match alone. That's Claude.

If you build for the web and you're not learning to work this way, you'll get left behind, or replaced. Not by AI on its own, by the people who use it well.

Full story on the site. Link in the comments.

20/05/2026

I don't post about work much — but this one's worth it.

I've just finished the new site for 33 Games, and what they do is genuinely brilliant.

They're a boutique publisher who take great games and give them a proper physical release — premium collector's editions, gatefold vinyl soundtracks, packaging built to keep. In a world where everything's a download you forget you own, they're turning games back into things.

It was one of those projects you don't really want to hand back. Good people, a brand with real character, and a genuine love for what they make — which makes the whole thing a pleasure to build.

Thanks to the 33 Games team for trusting me with it. Properly chuffed with how it turned out.

Have a look at what they're doing: https://33-games.com

23/03/2026

As a proud sponsor of Clanfield Junior School, it’s only right that I share their fundraising efforts for much needed new IT equipment. Who wouldn’t want a signed Portsmouth Football Club football!?

You can buy raffle tickets for £2 a ticket, gotta be worth a go!

https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/raffle/pompey-current-squad-signed-football

Raffle - We have been very lucky at Clanfield Junior School, to have been given a Football to raffle that has been signed by the current Pompey Football Squad! Alan knight will be drawing the Raffle on Friday 22nd May! Money raised by the raffle will go towards ...

07/03/2026

New logos AND a new website. It's been a busy week... https://elkdesignservices.com/

06/03/2026

Had a catch up call with a local recruitment agency client recently. She mentioned that her business needs to move from Google Workspace to Microsoft. Funny, I literally moved the other way last week.

Not something I do every day, I'll be honest.

Sometimes people just need someone they already trust to say yes. Glad I could.

04/03/2026

Why am I posting after all this time?

Bills to pay. Kids to feed.

Extra clients are never a bad thing.

That's it. No reinvention. No personal brand strategy. Just a 53 year old freelance web dev who's good at what he does and probably should've done this years ago.

If you need someone who knows their way around a website, a Shopify store, or anything digital that's giving you a headache — I'm here.

If not, hopefully I'll say something worth reading occasionally anyway.

16/08/2022

Had a great time at the . Looking forward to working with , & to help get their & performing.