Barrelmaker: Small Batch Code & Creative

Let’s Build A Website Tailored For Your Business That Saves Time And Serves Your Customers

We build custom sites that prioritize clarity, performance, and long-term flexibility and that are easy to update and grow.

Let’s Talk About Your Website

Let’s talk about what you’re trying to accomplish

Whatever stage your project is at, we’ll help you take the next step

Thank you for reaching out!

We will try to respond to your message within 24 hours.

Custom Doesn’t Mean Complicated (Or Costly)

Whether you are starting from scratch, or have been fighting with templates, plugins, and fiddly page builders, a custom website can be faster, simpler, and easier to maintain.

Built To Fit Your Ecosystem

A custom website doesn’t have to disrupt your existing processes or conflict with other tools you already use. As part of our discovery process, we learn about other tools and systems you use and do our best to complement how you currently work.

Design Without Compromise

Custom websites aren’t constrained by pre-designed themes or the constraints of page builders. The design serves your content, brand, and goals — not the other way around. Let’s talk about design

Full Functionality at the Start

Custom sites are simply built for the functionality you need, rather than having to be built within the functionality that is allowed. You won’t have to pay more each month because you need a certain type of functionality.

A Simpler Editing Experience

Content management is typically much easier with a custom site than with page builders or complicated content management systems that have to serve.

Faster Load Times, Better Performance

A Custom site will load significantly faster than builder-based or plugin-heavy platforms because it is built to serve your specific needs. Higher performance can also improve placement in Google search.

Fewer Moving Parts

Custom sites don’t rely on plugins written by other developers for critical functionality, which means fewer things to break.

Built for Long-Term Use

Custom websites can scale with your business instead of fighting it.

Inexpensive to Host

Custom websites cost significantly less to host, and the cost of hosting doesn’t increase because you need to add functionality.

How We Work Together

  1. Clarify the Real Goals

    We begin by understanding what you want to accomplish and why. Together, we identify the core problem, explore technical and content constraints, and refine objectives and functional requirements until they are actionable. This step often reframes the project in meaningful ways.

  2. Choose the Right Approach

    If a page builder or CMS is a better fit, we’ll say so. Custom is recommended only when it is genuinely the right approach. Additionally, if you are already working with a graphic designer, copywriter, or other creatives, we will begin collaborating with them on how to partner on the development process.

  3. Explore Early Direction

    If you would like us to help with design, we start with sketches, wireframes, or in-browser prototypes to test ideas quickly. Early designs focus on intent, structure, and user flows rather than pixel-perfect visuals, ensuring the solution is built to work in real contexts.

  4. Refine Design and Build Together

    Final Design and development happen in tandem, ensuring what we create works well in the real world — not just in mockups. Written feedback ensures clarity and documentation, while calls or video chats help address complex questions. Iteration is expected — it’s how we craft digital solutions that function and delight.

  5. Launch with Confidence

    We test performance, accessibility, and usability before launch so your site feels solid from day one.

A Few Things You Might Be Wondering

Every project is a little different, but these answers should help clarify if a custom site is right for your needs.

Not always — and that’s okay. Custom websites tend to make the most sense when one-size-fits-all solutions like page builders and content management systems start getting in the way. There are many ways that this can be the case, but if your site needs to take up less of your time, load quickly, work across many devices, support a unique design, or stay stable without constant maintenance, a custom build can be simpler in the long run. If a website builder like Squarespace or WordPress is a better fit for your situation, we’ll tell you that too. The goal is to choose the right tool, not the most impressive one.
Website builders are designed to work for many use cases — custom sites are built for yours. Builders rely on themes, plugins, and layered systems to add flexibility. Custom websites are intentionally designed around your needs, which often means: - fewer moving parts - better performance - fewer constraints with design, layout, and functionality - less ongoing maintenance Builders allow drag-and-drop experimentation, while custom sites require more planning up front — which is part of the process we guide you through.
WordPress is powerful, but it’s not always the simplest solution. WordPress is a one-size-fits-all platform built primarily for blogging. Design flexibility and content management are added through themes and plugins, which can introduce complexity and maintenance overhead. WordPress can be a good fit if your site needs: - a large, blog-driven content structure - many pages with the same data format - multiple frequent editors - formal publishing workflows If WordPress is the right choice, we’ll say so — and we can help you build and manage it. If it’s more than you need, we’ll recommend a simpler approach.
We offer optional content management tools tailored to your site. Content editing is straightforward and predictable, designed to make editing safe and easy. If you can write an email or edit a document, you can update your site. If you don’t need those tools, content updates are still simple to request — and often completed the same day.
In most cases, it’s actually easier. Custom sites avoid unnecessary plugins and dependencies. That means fewer updates, fewer conflicts, and fewer surprise changes — resulting in a more stable site over time.
Not necessarily. While planning is more intentional, custom builds often move quickly once direction is clear — especially compared to wrestling with templates or plugins that almost fit but never quite do. Timelines depend on scope and complexity, but many custom sites launch faster than expected.
Sometimes — but not always in the way people expect. The upfront investment is higher than a website builder, but cost isn’t only monetary. Your time is very valuable. Custom development focuses effort where it counts, rather than paying for features you don’t need. For many clients, that leads to a better long-term return than ongoing subscriptions, premium plugins, or constant tinkering. We’re clear about scope, cost, and tradeoffs before any work begins.
Custom sites are designed to grow with you. Because the structure is intentional and well-documented, updates and additions tend to be more straightforward than modifying a heavily layered system. When new needs come up, we’ll talk through the best approach together.
No — that’s our job. We handle technical decisions so you don’t have to. When details matter, we explain them in plain language and focus on what they mean for your business.
That’s completely fine. We regularly work with existing sites — improving performance, redesigning sections, or rebuilding when the current setup no longer serves your needs. We’ll evaluate what you have and recommend the most sensible path forward.
Yes — we focus on useful, respectful insights. We can set up basic analytics to help you understand traffic and site usage without invasive or overly complex tracking. If you have specific reporting needs, we’ll discuss those during planning.
We make sure you’re supported and comfortable. After launch, we confirm everything is working as expected and help you get comfortable managing your content if you choose those tools. Some clients prefer ongoing support; others don’t — we support both. Sites we host also receive ongoing monitoring, allowing us to address technical issues proactively when possible.
Yes — support is available and flexible. Ongoing help can include updates, improvements, or troubleshooting. Support is scoped to your needs and discussed clearly during our discovery conversation.
Performance and accessibility are part of the foundation. We focus on clean structure, efficient loading, and thoughtful design choices so your site works well across devices and connection speeds. Accessibility is treated as a core requirement, not an afterthought.
We focus on strong SEO foundations. This includes clear site structure, semantic markup, sitemap generation, redirects, and indexing support. For deeper SEO or CRO efforts, we’re happy to advise or coordinate with specialists, but we don’t offer full-scale marketing services at this time.
Yes — you don’t need to manage infrastructure unless you want to. We can fully manage hosting and deployment on a platform we trust, or work with your existing hosting setup if you prefer. Either way, we’ll make sure things are reliable and well-documented.
That’s not a problem. Support can be handled as needed. We’re always clear about scope and cost before any additional work begins.
Yes — in a way that fits how you work. That might mean a walkthrough, written notes, or simple documentation. The goal is confidence, not complexity.
We start with a conversation. No pressure, no commitment — just a chance to talk through what you’re trying to accomplish and whether a custom website is the right fit. From there, we’ll outline next steps clearly.
If you’re wondering if a custom built website is right for your business, we are happy to discuss the pros and cons
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