FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about cost, timelines, branding, SEO and getting found by AI.
If your question is not here, just ask us. You can also read more about our services or how we get businesses found by AI answer engines. Where it helps, our advice follows Google's Search Central documentation and the open standards at schema.org.
About the agency
How do I choose a web design agency in Northern Ireland?
Choose an agency that builds for speed, measures real results, covers everything from brand to being found on Google and AI, and can show proof. Ask to see live sites and their PageSpeed scores, results from businesses like yours, such as enquiries, bookings or sales, and who will actually do the work. Lowe Design, a creative agency on the north coast of Northern Ireland, is built around those four checks and works with businesses across the UK.
Do you work with businesses outside Northern Ireland?
Yes, we work with clients across the whole of the UK and remotely. We are based on the north coast of Northern Ireland, but most of a project runs over calls, email and shared files, so where you are based does not change the quality of the work. We have worked with local startups and with larger brands further afield.
How much does a website cost in Northern Ireland?
Pricing is on request: every project gets a fixed quote, agreed before work starts. What moves the price is the number of pages, whether the design is bespoke, whether you need a content management system, booking or ecommerce, any integrations with other systems, how much copywriting you need, and how much SEO and AEO work is built in. Tell us what the site needs to do and we will come back with a clear scope and a fixed quote, with no obligation.
How long does it take to build a website?
A typical small business website takes four to eight weeks from kickoff to launch. The stages are a discovery call, strategy and structure, branding or visual direction, design, build in code, content, then testing and SEO before we go live. Larger sites or projects that include a full brand identity take longer. We agree a timeline up front and keep you updated at each stage.
Why hire an agency instead of using an AI website builder?
An AI website builder gives you a generic template that looks like everyone else and is rarely built to rank or convert. We build custom sites in code that load fast, pass core web vitals, are structured for search and AI, and are designed around turning visitors into enquiries. The builder saves you money on day one and costs you customers every month after. A site is a sales tool, not a brochure, and it should pay for itself.
Branding
What does a branding project include?
A branding project includes your positioning, a logo and wordmark, a full visual system of colour, type and imagery, and brand guidelines so everything stays consistent. Positioning comes first: who you are for, what you stand for, and why someone should choose you. Then we build the identity and the system that brings it to life across your website, social, packaging and print.
What's the difference between a logo and a brand?
A logo is a mark, a brand is the whole impression people have of you. Your brand is your positioning, your voice, your colours, your type, the way your website feels and the promise you keep. A logo is one part of that. We design the entire system so your business looks like the premium choice, not just a single graphic.
How long does branding take?
A focused brand identity usually takes three to six weeks. It runs through discovery and positioning, visual exploration, refinement, then the final identity and guidelines. A larger rebrand with naming, messaging and a full rollout takes longer. We set the timeline at kickoff and review work with you at each milestone.
Web design
Do you build websites in WordPress or code?
We build in custom code with Next.js by default, rather than page builders or heavy WordPress themes. Coded sites are faster, more secure, easier to rank and far more flexible than drag and drop templates. When you need to edit your own content, such as a blog, menu or shop, we connect a modern headless CMS so you can update it without touching the code. We still build custom WordPress themes when a client's team already works in WordPress or the project calls for it.
Will my website be fast?
Yes, speed is built in from the start, not bolted on at the end. We build in code, optimise images, ship minimal JavaScript and aim to pass Google's core web vitals on mobile and desktop. Fast sites rank better, convert better and feel better to use, so performance is a requirement on every project, not an upgrade.
Do you handle hosting?
Yes, we set up fast, secure hosting and handle the technical side so you do not have to. We typically deploy to modern platforms that give you HTTPS, a global CDN and automatic scaling out of the box. We can also hand everything over to your own team with documentation if you prefer to manage it in house.
SEO
How long does SEO take to work?
Most businesses start to see meaningful movement in three to six months, with stronger results building from there. SEO is a compounding investment, not a switch. The timeline depends on how competitive your market is, the current state of your site, and how much content and technical work it needs. We focus on the foundations first, technical health and structure, because everything else builds on top of them.
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is how your business shows up when people nearby search for what you do, such as 'accountant in Belfast' or 'plumber near Coleraine'. It covers your Google Business Profile, reviews, local citations, location pages for the towns you serve, and the structured data that tells search engines where you operate. Whether you serve one town or the whole of Northern Ireland, local SEO is often the quickest route to qualified enquiries.
Do you guarantee first page rankings?
No, and you should be cautious of anyone who does, because no one controls Google's results. What we can do is the work that reliably improves rankings over time: technical SEO, fast performance, genuinely useful content, clean structure and the signals search engines trust. We set realistic targets, measure progress and report on it honestly.
AEO and AI search
How do I get my business to show up on ChatGPT?
You get cited by AI by giving answer engines clean, structured, quotable content they trust, and by being referenced in places they already read. In practice that means clear factual answers written in plain language, structured data and schema markup, an llms.txt file, a fast crawlable site, fresh content with visible dates, and consistent mentions of your business across the web. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI and Claude pull from sources they can read and verify, so the goal is to be the clearest, most trustworthy source on your topic.
What is answer engine optimisation (AEO)?
Answer engine optimisation (AEO) is the practice of getting your business named and cited in the answers that AI tools give, rather than just ranked in a list of links. Where SEO targets search results, AEO targets the generated answer in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI overviews and similar. It relies on structured, quotable content, clear entities, strong schema and trust signals so the model can confidently quote you.
What's the difference between SEO and AEO?
SEO gets you ranked in search results, AEO gets you named in AI answers. SEO is about appearing in the blue links on Google for a query. AEO is about being the source an answer engine quotes when someone asks a question in plain language. They share foundations like fast, crawlable, well structured pages, but AEO leans harder on quotable phrasing, schema, entity clarity and freshness. You want both, because search and AI answers are now two halves of how customers find you.
How do I appear in Google's AI overviews?
You appear in Google's AI overviews by being a clear, trusted, well structured source that already ranks for the topic and directly answers the question. Give a concise answer near the top of the page, back it with structured data, use real headings that match how people ask, keep the content fresh, and earn mentions elsewhere. AI overviews tend to pull from pages that are easy to parse and quote, so clarity and structure matter as much as authority.
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