Should we rebuild or fix what we have?

Start with what you have. If the site is quick on a phone, makes it obvious how to reach you and already brings in some business, a few fixes might be enough. I'll review it and give you a straight answer before quoting anything.

Can my site be in English and French?

I write and build in English. If many of your customers are French-speaking, a French version is worth having, and it should be written by a fluent writer. I'll tell you whether your site needs one.

At what size does the AODA website rule kick in?

Fifty employees in Ontario, and part-timers, seasonal workers and contract staff all count. Smaller businesses still have to provide information in another format when a customer asks for it. Either way, a site that is easy to read and use helps everyone who visits.

Do you need to be in Ottawa to build our site?

No. I work out of Kingston, a little over two hours away. We meet by video, plan by email and launch without either of us driving anywhere.

How much does a website cost?

Four pages start at $1,600 plus HST, as a fixed price that includes the copy and the accessibility work. A five-page site with a blog, portfolio and services you can edit yourself starts at $2,000. Hosting, photography, and booking or payment features are priced separately.

Website Design & Digital Systems, Ottawa ON

Website Design & Digital Systems in Ottawa, Ontario

Your site looks fine, but it isn't bringing in calls or bookings, and some customers may find it hard to use.

Proof it works

Ride Guide downloads: 270+
Web traffic growth (YoY): +50% (4,000+ visitors)
Social media views (YoY): +300%

Students seated aboard a Get on the Bus transit tour bus, mid-conversation with the program's director.

Get on the Bus / Small Change Fund

Get on the Bus: Systems a Small Team Can Actually Run

Case study →

A good small-business website gets found, answers the obvious questions, and turns visitors into calls and bookings. Building that is my whole job here. I plan, design and build your site myself, and you talk to me the whole way through.

A site that earns the call

In a city of a million people, someone looking for a physio, a caterer or a contractor usually finds a few options on their phone and picks the one that's easiest to understand. Your site should say what you do, which part of the city you serve, when you're open and how to reach you, in the first screen. Behind the scenes it can book appointments while you sleep and tell you which enquiries Google sent your way. If a few clean pages are all you need, that's what you'll get, priced that way.

Selling to the City or the federal government

The City of Ottawa's guidance for contractors says websites built for City projects need to meet WCAG 2.0 AA, the accessibility standard Ontario uses, and that staff on the work need accessibility training. For technology purchases, the Government of Canada recommends a newer accessibility standard and may ask suppliers for an accessibility report, though it says that's not mandatory yet. If you bid on public work, having your own site already built to that standard makes the conversation easier. Each tender sets its own requirements, so read them closely.

The accessibility law, by business size

For most small businesses, the answer is short. Under 20 employees: nothing to file and no website standard to meet. Between 20 and 49: one compliance report due December 31, 2026, about customer service. Only at 50 or more does your public website have to meet the standard. The full breakdown by business size →

What this looked like for Lockhart Literacy

Kim Lockhart is a literacy consultant and keynote speaker whose website was a Google Sites placeholder. Keyword research turned up a search lane nobody was filling, and I wrote and built a five-page site to rank in it, with a quick-start guide so she can run it herself. See the Lockhart Literacy case study →

Based in Kingston, I work with Ottawa businesses remotely: no local office, no handoffs, the same person for strategy through delivery.

Not sure the AODA website rule applies to you? Here's what applies at each business size →

Full scope, service boundaries, and more proof: Websites & Digital Systems →

Questions

Should we rebuild or fix what we have?: Start with what you have. If the site is quick on a phone, makes it obvious how to reach you and already brings in some business, a few fixes might be enough. I'll review it and give you a straight answer before quoting anything.
Can my site be in English and French?: I write and build in English. If many of your customers are French-speaking, a French version is worth having, and it should be written by a fluent writer. I'll tell you whether your site needs one.
At what size does the AODA website rule kick in?: Fifty employees in Ontario, and part-timers, seasonal workers and contract staff all count. Smaller businesses still have to provide information in another format when a customer asks for it. Either way, a site that is easy to read and use helps everyone who visits.
Do you need to be in Ottawa to build our site?: No. I work out of Kingston, a little over two hours away. We meet by video, plan by email and launch without either of us driving anywhere.
How much does a website cost?: Four pages start at $1,600 plus HST, as a fixed price that includes the copy and the accessibility work. A five-page site with a blog, portfolio and services you can edit yourself starts at $2,000. Hosting, photography, and booking or payment features are priced separately.

Want a read on your own site before we talk? Run it through the same checks.

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Paste your URL. This runs a real technical pass against the actual page, not a self-report quiz: title and meta tags, image alt text, structured data, mobile signals, real performance data, and Domain Authority/backlink data. A first-pass snapshot, not a full audit.

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