Websites
A site that says what you do, where you do it and how to reach you — quick on a phone, easy to find, and simple enough that you can change the hours yourself.
- Design
- Build
- Copy help
Websites and apps that help local businesses get more work
I'm an independent web builder in Fort Worth. I build the website — or the small app — your business actually needs, then stick around to make it work better. Happy to work wherever you are.
The short version
One person, start to finish.
No account manager, no handoff to somebody you have never met. You talk to the person doing the work, which is usually why it gets decided faster and costs less to change your mind.
Based in
Fort Worth, Texas — and working remotely
Works with
Small and local service businesses
First step
A 20-minute call. No charge, no pitch.
Typical project
Measured in weeks, and scoped before it starts
What I build
Three kinds of work
Useful web apps
The small tool that replaces a spreadsheet, a shared inbox or a whiteboard. Booking, quoting, job tracking — whatever the awkward part of your week is.
- Internal tools
- Customer portals
Getting found and getting leads
Map listings, page speed, the words on the page, and where an enquiry actually goes. The unglamorous half that decides whether a good site does anything.
- Local search
- Speed
- Forms
Most projects are a mix. The first call is where we work out which parts you actually need.
Who this is for
Trades and home services
- Plumbers, electricians, HVAC
- Roofers and remodellers
- Landscaping and lawn care
- Pest control and cleaning
Health and personal care
- Dental and orthodontic practices
- Physical therapy and chiropractic
- Salons, barbers and med spas
- Veterinary clinics
Local professional services
- Small law and accounting firms
- Insurance and real estate agents
- Independent contractors and consultants
- Anyone whose customers are within an hour's drive
How a project usually goes
1
Talk it through
A call, twenty minutes or so. What is not working, who you are trying to reach, and what you would want a site to do that yours does not. No charge, and no obligation at the end of it.
2
Build the right thing
I write down what we agreed, price it, and build it. You see it coming together rather than at the end, so a wrong turn costs a day instead of a month.
3
Launch, then keep going
Going live is the middle of the job, not the end of it. Once real people are using the thing we can see what genuinely needs fixing, and fix that.
Who you'd be working with
An independent builder, not an agency
Deft Oryx is one person. When you email, I read it. When something breaks at an awkward hour, I am the one who fixes it. That is most of the pitch, and it is why a lot of this work comes from people who spent last year being passed around by somebody bigger.
Being small has limits, and it is only fair to name them up front. I take on a few projects at a time, so there is sometimes a wait, and I am not the right call for something that needs a team of six. What I can do is give a small business the sort of attention that usually only goes to a large one.
You get the person doing the work. Every time.
And if you already have a site that is nearly right, say so. Some months the most useful thing I do is fix three specific problems rather than start anything over.
Next step
Tell me what you're trying to fix.
You don't need a brief, a budget or a plan — the problem in your own words is plenty. If I'm not the right fit I'll say so, and point you at somebody who is.