"Web services" is the catch-all for everything that goes into a working business website — the design, the build, the CMS, the e-commerce engine, the hosting, the security patching, the bit nobody told you about until renewal week. For most small Irish businesses, the cleanest path is to commission the build once, then settle into a quiet maintenance retainer.
The end-to-end stack
- Web design — visual design and UX. The look-and-feel layer. Where most projects start.
- Web development — the actual coding work. Custom build, headless, framework choice, performance.
- Content management systems — WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, headless options. Choosing a CMS your team can live with.
- E-commerce solutions — payment, checkout, shipping, tax. The TOV / eTOV grant pathway for Irish SMBs.
- Domain names and hosting — .ie eligibility, sensible Irish hosts, SSL, backups.
- Website maintenance — the unsexy ongoing work that keeps the site secure, fast, and up-to-date.
- 3D visualisation — when it's worth the effort, when it's animation for animation's sake.
The honest sequence for most projects
- Brief. One side of A4: who you serve, what you sell, top three competitor sites, top three sites you admire (any sector), the budget, the deadline.
- Sitemap and content plan. Decided before any design starts. The pages, in priority order. The copy outline for each.
- Wireframes. Layout decisions on every important page. Reviewed and signed off before visual design begins.
- Visual design. Two to three rounds. Don't accept "designs" that aren't real screens (mood boards aren't designs).
- Build. Mostly invisible. Should produce a staging URL you can review weekly.
- Content load. The boring middle of the project. Allow time.
- Pre-launch QA. Mobile, speed, forms, analytics, search console. Don't skip this.
- Launch + 30-day support. Most issues surface in the first month. Build that into the contract.