Wantage.com
A long-running community website supporting local news, events, business listings with subscriptions, photography and town information.
First Ideas
Websites, ecommerce, SEO and hosting from the small web studio that builds and runs wantage.com
Websites for small businesses, clubs and charities
First Ideas Ltd is a small, hands-on web design and development business with more than 20 years of experience building websites and digital systems. It designs, builds and supports websites for independent businesses, charities, community platforms, professional services and ecommerce brands.
First Ideas also built and runs wantage.com, the long-running community website for Wantage, Grove and the Vale, with local news, events, business listings, photography and town information.
Projects range from a simple brochure site to an online shop, a CMS rebuild, a custom integration or long-term technical support. The focus is always the same: clear structure, strong design, fast performance, reliable hosting and a website that is easy to support after launch.
20+years building, improving and supporting websites
5.0on Google reviews
What First Ideas does
Some projects need a simple, fast website. Others need WordPress, WooCommerce, an online shop, integrations, SEO or hosting. First Ideas helps you choose the right setup rather than forcing everything into one platform.
Website design and development
Custom websites for charities, community organisations, professional services and local businesses. Includes planning, sitemap and page structure, responsive design, contact forms and launch support, built as a static site or on WordPress where appropriate.
WordPress, WooCommerce and other CMS platforms
Sites you can edit yourself, with custom WordPress themes, custom fields and templates, CMS setup and clean-up, checkout improvements and speed optimisation.
Ecommerce development
Online shops that need more than a basic catalogue: custom checkout flows, product builders, payment integrations, shipping and fulfilment logic, and analytics and conversion tracking.
Niche websites and content platforms
Sites built around a specific audience or community, such as local directories, charity resources and education projects, with directory structures, resource templates and SEO-friendly URLs.
Automation, APIs and integrations
Connecting a website to the systems behind it: CRM connections, booking and intake forms, order workflows, Make or Zapier automation, dashboards and analytics events.
Technical SEO, AI Overviews and performance
Technical SEO audits, schema markup, metadata, redirects, Core Web Vitals and image optimisation, plus answer-led content so search engines and AI answer systems can understand and cite your pages.
Hosting, maintenance and support
UK hosting, green hosting where available, SSL, backups, monitoring, WordPress updates, security checks, and help with domains, DNS and email.
Selected work
Ridgeway Counselling
A calm, professional website for a new counselling practice, with a clear service and enquiry structure, a mobile-friendly WordPress build, local SEO setup and hosting support.
Lynn Honour Counselling
A clear and approachable counselling website focused on trust, simple navigation and a simple enquiry journey, built on WordPress with local SEO.
The Cookie Kitchen
A full brand and ecommerce build for a small-batch bakery, with WooCommerce, photography and a custom cookie box builder designed around how customers choose mixed boxes.
COPE Disaster Champions
An interactive, illustrated website that brings a children's disaster awareness book series to life online, designed to be accessible for children and schools.
RatedByPatients
A free patient-facing platform comparing more than 150 telehealth providers on pricing, wait times, clinical quality and patient experience, with moderated patient reviews.
Who you work with
Gordon Hill
Gordon has worked in web design and development for more than 20 years, across ecommerce, WordPress and WooCommerce builds, charity websites, community directories, local business websites, hosting and technical SEO. He works directly with clients on planning, design, development and long-term support, so you are not passed between account managers.
How First Ideas works
- 1
Start with the shape of the project
Before choosing a platform or design, look at the audience, content, workflows, editing needs and long-term support requirements.
- 2
Choose technology for the job
A project might need a static site, WordPress, WooCommerce, another CMS, a custom integration or automation. The decision follows the use case.
- 3
Build for users and search systems
Structure, performance, mobile experience, technical SEO, schema and AI search visibility are planned into the site rather than patched on later.
- 4
Keep support practical
After launch, help continues with hosting, updates, fixes, reporting, improvements and the smaller technical jobs that keep a website useful.
Websites and support for charities and community projects
First Ideas has always supported charities, nonprofits, education projects and community organisations. That support can include website design, hosting, technical fixes, content updates, forms, donation links, accessibility improvements, SEO foundations and practical advice.
Charity and community websites need to explain the mission, help people find information quickly and make it easy to get involved, donate, volunteer or ask for help. Charity and community projects include:
- Wantage.com
- Wantage Advice
- COPE Disaster Champions
- Wantage and Grove Foodbank, whose website hosting is sponsored by First Ideas
- Churches Together
- October Club
Common questions
Do you work with small businesses?
Yes. Small businesses are a good fit, especially when they need a well-planned website, ecommerce setup, booking flow, SEO support or technical help.
Do you still build WordPress and CMS websites?
Yes. WordPress is a good choice when a client needs a familiar CMS, regular content editing, WooCommerce, user accounts or a larger publishing workflow. First Ideas can also work with other ecommerce and CMS platforms when they are a better fit.
Do you only build static websites?
No. Client websites are built with the technology that suits the job, including static sites, WordPress, WooCommerce, other CMS and ecommerce platforms, and custom systems.
What is a niche website?
A niche website is built around a specific audience, sector, product range, community or use case. Examples include healthcare platforms, charity resources, local directories, specialist ecommerce stores and professional service websites.
Can you help with ecommerce?
Yes. First Ideas builds and improves ecommerce websites, including WooCommerce stores, other ecommerce platforms, custom checkout flows, product builders, CRM integrations, tracking, analytics, performance and ongoing support.
Can you help with SEO?
Yes. First Ideas focuses on technical SEO, AI search visibility, site structure, metadata, schema, redirects, speed, analytics and content organisation.
Can you help with AI Overviews and answer engines?
Yes. That means making content easier for search engines and answer systems to understand, trust and cite: clear entity coverage, concise answer sections, structured data, FAQ content where useful, internal linking and technically clean pages.
Can you host and support the website?
Yes. First Ideas provides hosting, maintenance, updates, performance checks, domain and email help and practical support after launch.
Is there a free website audit?
Yes. Send your website address and First Ideas will review its structure, speed, technical SEO and AI search visibility, then send back practical, prioritised suggestions. There is no cost and no obligation.
Have a website project in mind?
Whether you need a new website, an online shop, SEO help, hosting or a free audit of your current site, email First Ideas to talk it through.
Opening hours
| Monday | 08:00–18:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 08:00–18:00 |
| Wednesday | 08:00–18:00 |
| Thursday | 08:00–18:00 |
| Friday (today) | 08:00–18:00 |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
Please check before you go. Opening hours, meeting times and other details can change, and while we work to keep this accurate, our information can sometimes be wrong. Confirm with First Ideas before making a trip. Tell us if something has changed.