Your current site looks generic
It works, but it could be any business in your sector. You want something that reflects your character — and you want a designer who'll push back when you ask for the safe option.
Web Design
Design with intent.
Design with intent.
Not the default look.
Custom visual identity for your website — typography, colour, layout, and motion considered together. We avoid the AI-generic look and the indigo-blue template trap. Projects from €159, Figma file delivered.
What this service is
Custom web design means making intentional choices about how every part of your site looks and feels — typography pairings, colour tokens, spacing rhythm, shadow layering, hover states, motion, and how all of it adapts from a 1920px desktop down to a 375px phone. WebSilm designs sites that look considered rather than assembled, without falling into either of the two common traps: the over-templated drag-and-drop aesthetic, or the over-designed showcase site that wins awards but never converts.
Every project ships with a complete Figma file you own — components, design tokens, hover and active states, mobile breakpoints, all documented. If you ever switch developers, the new team picks up exactly where we left off.
Who it's for
You're the right fit if …
You're launching a new product or studio
No legacy site to preserve, just a clear sense of how you want to be perceived. We'll translate that into a coherent visual system: type, colour, layout, motion — ready to ship.
You have a developer but no designer
You need a Figma file your dev team can build from. We deliver design-only — components, tokens, prototypes — and hand off cleanly. Your developer keeps full control of the build.
What you get
A complete visual system, not just screens.
01
Two distinct visual directions in week 1
One safer, one bolder. You pick a direction (or take pieces from each) before any pixel-pushing begins.
02
Complete Figma file you own
All pages, components, design tokens, hover and active states. Documented enough that any developer can pick it up later.
03
Custom typography pairing
A serif and a sans, paired for contrast and considered together. Loaded as woff2 with proper weight subsetting — no Google Fonts CDN lag.
04
Custom colour palette & tokens
Defined as CSS custom properties so the developer can use them across the site. No Tailwind defaults like indigo-500.
05
Mobile-first layouts (designed first, not last)
Every section laid out for 375px first, then expanded to tablet and desktop breakpoints. Tested on real iPhone and Android devices before sign-off.
06
Hover, focus, and active states
Every interactive element has a designed hover state, a keyboard focus ring, and an active (pressed) state. No defaults left to chance.
07
Motion guidelines
Specified easing curves, durations, and which elements animate. Respects prefers-reduced-motion for users who need stillness.
08
Developer-ready handoff
Tokens exported as JSON / CSS custom properties, components labelled, edge cases documented. Your developer can build without 50 follow-up questions.
Tools & principles
What we design with — and what we avoid.
We design with
Figma
FigJam
Cormorant Garamond
Plus Jakarta Sans
Inter
Custom CSS tokens
SVG icons
Lottie
Figma for everything — components, prototypes, design tokens. Type pairings are picked per project from a curated set we trust. Icons are custom SVG (not icon fonts), motion is real CSS transitions or Lottie when needed.
We actively avoid
Indigo-500 / blue-600
Flat shadow-md
Single sans-serif
Default Tailwind
Hero image right of headline
Stock photo people in offices
transition-all
The defaults that mark a site as AI-generated or template-driven. We pick a custom brand colour and derive from it, layer shadows with subtle colour tinting, pair display and body fonts, and animate only transform and opacity — never every property at once.
Custom design vs templates
Why bespoke design beats a $59 template.
| Concern | WebSilm custom design | Theme / template | AI website generator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visual originality | Built for your brand only | Used by 200–10,000+ other sites | Indigo + flat + sans — universally |
| Type pairing | Display + body, picked per brand | Single sans, occasionally swapped | Inter or default system font |
| Colour palette | Custom palette + accessible contrast | Limited to template's pre-set themes | Indigo / blue defaults |
| Hover & focus states | Designed for every interactive element | Generic underline / opacity defaults | Often missing entirely |
| Motion design | Specified curves, respects reduced-motion | Bundled animations you cannot tune | None or transition-all everywhere |
| Mobile experience | Designed mobile-first, real device tested | Desktop layout shrunk to fit | Mobile preview only — not tested |
| Best for | Brands that need to look distinct | Side projects, internal tools | Validating an idea in a weekend |
Web design questions
What clients ask before they hire a designer.
Honest answers to the design questions that come up before every project.
What does WebSilm web design actually include?
A complete visual identity for your website: layout system, typography pairing, colour palette, component library, hover and active states, mobile breakpoints, and a Figma file you can hand to any developer afterwards. We work in modern browser-native tools where possible — sites are designed in real CSS rather than as flat mockups, so what you see in the demo is what ships to production.
Do I need a brand identity before we start?
Helpful but not required. If you have a logo, brand colours, and a tone of voice, we'll build on top of that. If you don't, we'll spend the first 30 minutes of the kickoff call defining a working palette, type pairing, and visual direction together. We're not a brand strategy agency — for a full identity reset we'll point you to designers we trust, but for a website-led identity we can take you from blank to launch ourselves.
How do you decide what the site should look like?
We start with three reference sites you admire (in or out of your industry) plus three sites you actively dislike. We learn more from the rejections than the favourites. From there we propose two distinct visual directions in week one — one safer, one bolder. You pick a direction (or take pieces from each), and we refine from there. No mood-boards-only phase that takes three weeks.
Will my site look like every other modern website?
No. There's a default aesthetic the AI tools and template marketplaces produce — flat shadows, indigo blue, generic sans-serif, hero-image-on-the-right — and we actively avoid it. We pair a serif with a sans for typographic interest, build with custom colour tokens (not Tailwind defaults), use layered shadows with subtle colour tinting, and design at intentional spacing rather than a 4px grid. The result feels considered rather than generated.
How do you handle revisions?
Each project includes 1–2 rounds of revisions on the visual direction. We collect feedback in one go (annotated screenshots or a Loom video work best), then come back with the next iteration in 2–3 days. If we're going past the included rounds we tell you upfront and quote a small extension — usually €80–200 depending on scope. We never silently pad the bill.
Do you design for mobile first?
Yes — every project is designed mobile-first because that is where 60–70% of your visitors will actually be. We design the mobile layout to completion before touching desktop, then expand from there. This avoids the common mistake of cramming a desktop layout into a phone screen and ending up with text that is too small or buttons too close together for finger taps.
What if I don't like the first design direction?
Then we go again — this is exactly why we propose two directions in week one rather than committing to one. If neither works, we set up a 30-minute call, look at the references again, identify what specifically does not land, and propose a third direction in 3–4 days. We have only had one project in five years where we needed to start fully over, and there was no extra charge for that round.
Can you redesign my existing site without changing the development?
Yes. About a fifth of our design work is a 'redesign on top' where we deliver a new visual layer (Figma file plus the CSS to apply it) without touching the underlying CMS or framework. Especially common with WordPress sites where the content is fine but the design is dated. Pricing for this varies more than for new builds — typically €600–€1,800 — because the constraint is matching whatever the existing template allows.
Got a brand to translate, a site to redesign, or a blank page? Let's design something distinctive.
Get a free demo — no upfront cost