Common questions about small business websites
What a website has to do
Most small business websites fail the same way.
A website has to show what the place is like before anyone walks in. It has to get a visitor to a booking, a call or an enquiry in a few taps on a phone. And it has to stay right when the menu, the prices and the hours change.
People with nearly a decade of agency craft give every site its idea and its final human check, and AI speeds up the production in between. That is how a bespoke site goes live in two weeks.
What we make
We make your website experience headache-free.
Bespoke websites
The site that does the work when nobody is at the counter. Designed for your business alone, never a template, and clear on a phone.
Recent workComptoirThe Ryokan Guide
Words and SEO
Our marketers find the message and write the words, so the site sounds like the place, and they look after the SEO.
Hosting, care and changes
A site nobody looks after is not finished. It is just old. We host it, with SSL, monitoring, security, updates and SEO, and make every change you ask for, from a WhatsApp voice note to an email.
Who we work with
We work for small businesses all around the world.
Owners at an opening, mid-rebrand, or stuck with a site that has stopped doing its job. Owners who have outgrown a template but do not want an agency bill. We are based in London and work with them across London, Paris, Tokyo and beyond, in person or from a voice note or an email.
These five got a brand and a website from us. Each had a character a template would have flattened.
Common questions
The things we get asked about all the time.
The website
Does a small business still need a website?
Yes. It is the one place online that is yours and looks like you.
Your website is where you make your own case.
What does a small business website actually have to do?
Three things. Say what you are. Show what the place feels like. Get the visitor to the next step: book, call, enquire or come in.
Then it has to stay right. Old hours or an old price undo all three.
Isn’t Instagram enough for a small business?
No. An Instagram profile sits in someone else’s app, laid out like every other profile.
Keep posting. Then send people to a site you own, designed for your business alone, with the next step right there.
Isn’t a Google Maps listing enough?
No. A listing gives your address, your hours and a few photos, in the same layout as every other listing on your street.
A website shows what your place is like and why anyone should pick it.
Why do most small business websites fail?
They look like everyone else’s. Same template, same vague words as the site next door.
Every site we make is designed for one business: bespoke, never a template.
What should my website show first on a phone?
What you are, where you are and what to do next, in a few seconds. One clear button for the one thing you most want visitors to do.
Everything else can live one tap deeper. If a visitor has to hunt for the button, the page has failed.
Why does a website need to stay up to date?
Because an out-of-date site tells visitors things that are no longer true: last season’s menu, last year’s prices, the old opening hours. It also tells them nobody is looking after it.
So our plan includes unlimited changes. You ask, and we make them.
Working with us
Who is alambic.studio for?
Small businesses and the owners who run them: owners opening something new, starting with only a name, or living with a site that no longer does its job.
Great websites used to be for companies with great budgets. We’re changing that. If you think you’re too small for a fully designed website, you are who we make one for.
What kinds of businesses have you worked with?
Private equity search, private dining, travel, a café and wine bar, and fine wine.
Among them: Gowlink, Vinoly, The Ryokan Guide, Comptoir Café & Wine and Ampel. The common thread is not a sector. Each one got a brand and a website of its own.
Do you make websites for cafés and dining rooms?
Yes. Vinoly is a private dining room in Marylebone. Comptoir Café & Wine is a Mayfair café by day and a wine bar by night.
Both got a brand and a website from us.
Where is alambic.studio based?
In London. We also work from Paris and Tokyo, and we have had clients in cities all over the world.
We visit clients where it helps. Everything else starts with a voice note or an email.
Do you only work with businesses in London?
No. London is our base, and we have had clients in Paris, Tokyo and cities all over the world.
Wherever you are, a voice note or an email is all it takes to ask for a change.
Can you build a website before my business opens?
Yes. A site can go up before you open, then change as opening day gets closer.
Changes are unlimited, so it keeps up with you.
Who is alambic.studio not for?
Owners who want to build the site themselves. A website builder suits that better.
And anyone who wants a template. We don’t make them.
What exactly do you make?
A fully designed website. Bespoke, never a template. The brand and the words too, if you need them.
After launch, we host it, keep it running and make every change you ask for.
Can you design my brand too?
Yes. Our designers shape the brand, the layout and the type, and the site is built around them.
Vinoly, Comptoir Café & Wine and Ampel each got both: a brand and a website.
Do you write the words on the website?
Yes. Our marketers find the message, write the copy and look after the SEO.
Most small business sites say what they do. Few say why anyone should care. We write that part.
Do you host and maintain the website after launch?
Yes. Hosting is included, with SSL, monitoring, security, updates and SEO.
Our developers keep the site running. When something needs to change, a team on call makes the change.
Can you work from my existing logo or website?
Yes. If you have a logo, photos or a site you like parts of, we start from those.
If you only have a name, we make the brand too.
Who is behind alambic.studio?
Our founders come from Imperial College London, Leo Largillet among them. They work with a team of marketers, designers and developers, augmented by AI.
We are based in London. alambic.studio is a trading name of VENT NEUF LTD, company number HE 492024. Our clients’ sites are live: Gowlink, Vinoly, Comptoir Café & Wine, Ampel and The Ryokan Guide.
The plan
How much does a website cost with alambic.studio?
€199 a month. Or €179 a month billed yearly, which is €2,148 a year.
That covers the design, the build, the hosting and every change after launch.
What do I get for €199 a month?
A fully designed website, live two weeks from kickoff once your content and access are in. Hosting with SSL, monitoring, security, updates and SEO. Unlimited changes, asked for on the go.
A team on call of marketers, designers and developers, augmented by AI. No minimum term. And you own your site.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes, anytime. There is no minimum term.
If you leave, your content stays yours.
How many changes can I ask for?
As many as you need. Changes are unlimited and included in the plan.
A change is whatever you need on your live site, from a content change to a new page.
Is there a limit on hours each month?
No. There are no hours to count and nothing runs out.
Changes are unlimited and included in the plan, from a content change to a new page.
Who owns the website, me or you?
You do. If you leave, your content stays yours. The website’s code goes with you after six months on the plan, or sooner for a one-off fee.
Can I take my website’s code if I leave?
Yes. After six months on the plan, we hand over your website’s code when you leave. Before then, we hand it over for a one-off fee that covers the rest of your first six months.
We made the plan an ongoing subscription, fair to your business and to us. The six months are our fair use: a bespoke site takes real work before it goes live. And if you do want to leave, we want that to be fair to you too.
Why pay monthly instead of a one-off fee?
Because a website is never finished. Prices change. Hours change. You add a service, and someone has to update the site.
The plan covers the launch, then hosting, security, updates and unlimited changes after it.
How can a bespoke website cost €199 a month?
Because AI speeds up the production. People design and decide, and a human signs off every page.
Behind it is nearly a decade of agency craft.
How it works
How long does it take to build a website?
Two weeks from kickoff, once your content and access are in.
A human checks every page before it goes live.
Is my website made by AI?
Not by AI alone. AI drafts at machine speed.
Taste is never automated: people give every site its first impulse and its final check, and a human signs off every page.
Who actually builds my website?
People: marketers, designers and developers, augmented by AI.
Marketers find the message and write the copy. Designers shape the brand, the layout and the type. Developers build the site and keep it running.
What do I need to send before kickoff?
Your content and your access: logo, words, photos and logins.
Only have a name? We make the brand too, and our marketers write the copy.
Do I have to update the website myself?
No. You never need to learn a CMS or log in to change a thing.
Send a WhatsApp voice note or an email, and a team on call makes the change.
How do I ask for a change after launch?
Send a WhatsApp voice note or an email. A team on call of marketers, designers and developers picks it up and makes the change.
How do I get started?
Press Get started and send a short enquiry. It goes straight to the studio, and we reply by email. Sending it creates no account and starts no subscription.
Rather talk first? Book a 15-minute call with Leo, one of our founders, on Google Meet.