Based on Magnetic Island
Websites that help Magnetic Island businesses get found, trusted and booked.
Independent web design, built around what your business actually needs. Modern, fast and easy to use on a phone, with a straightforward process and a clear quote before anything starts.
Not ready for a quote? Get a free homepage concept for your business first.
Archie Collinson
Design & build · Magnetic Island, QLD
Who you're dealing with
You're dealing with the person building it.
Magnetic Island Web Design is one person, not an agency. I do the design and write the code, I'm based here on the island, and you deal with me from the first message to the day it goes live.
I like building websites that are properly made: fast, accessible, private by default. What I actually care about is whether yours brings in more work. A good-looking site that doesn't get you enquiries has failed.
I design and build it myself
Same person for the first email, the design, the code, the launch and the fix when something breaks. Nothing is handed to a team you've never spoken to.
No account managers, no outsourcing
There's no layer between you and the work. You won't be passed to a support queue or quoted for hours you can't see.
We can meet on the island
I'm based on Magnetic Island, so a first conversation can happen in person over a coffee rather than as a fortnight of email.
Built for small businesses
Aimed at businesses that need good work without agency overhead, not at organisations with a marketing department.
Local advantage
Being based here is the point.
Plenty of businesses on the island have been sold a website by someone they never spoke to again. This works differently, mostly because I'm in the same place you are.
We can meet in person
A conversation on the island beats a fortnight of emails. If it's easier to sit down and go through it, we can do that.
I know the businesses here
Seasonal trade, ferry timetables, patchy reception, visitors deciding on the spot. Your website has to work in that context.
Your customers are often already here
Day-trippers deciding what to do next, guests looking for dinner, people searching on the ferry over. Being found at the right moment matters more here than almost anywhere.
Straightforward communication
Plain English, honest timelines, and a clear answer when something isn't worth doing.
What changes
What a better website actually does for you.
Not design for its own sake. These are the practical differences a well-built site makes to a small business.
Get found
Show up when someone searches for what you do, not just when they already know your name.
Build trust
A current, well-built site tells visitors you're still trading and you take the business seriously.
Explain your business clearly
What you offer, where you are and what it costs to get started, answered before anyone has to ask.
Generate enquiries
An obvious next step on every page, so interested people actually get in touch.
Take bookings
Let customers book or request a time without waiting for you to see a message.
Work properly on mobile
Most of your visitors are on a phone, often outdoors, often on patchy reception.
Stop relying entirely on social media
Algorithms change and accounts get locked. Your website is the one you own.
Give customers one reliable source
Hours, prices, location and contact details in a place that's actually up to date.
Services
What I build, and who it's for.
Most projects are a combination of a few of these. You don't need all of them, and I'll say so if you don't.
- 01
New Websites
A complete website built around what your business actually sells, from a blank page.
- 02
Website Redesigns
Keep what's working, fix what isn't, and bring an older site up to current standards.
- 03
Booking & Enquiry Integration
Turn interest into an actual booking or enquiry, without adding admin to your day.
- 04
SEO Foundations
Built so Google and your customers can understand what you offer, and where.
- 05
Hosting & Maintenance
Someone local who keeps the site online, current and secure, so you don't have to think about it.
- 06with Chatsoro
AI Chatbots
A smarter way to handle enquiries, built on Chatsoro and trained around your business.
- 07
Custom Integrations & Automation
Connect the tools you already use so information stops being retyped.
Capabilities
See what a site for your kind of business could look like.
Three concepts, three different business types. Switch between them, and switch between desktop and mobile to see how the layout changes.
Design concept. A fictional business, built to show what's possible. Not a client and not a real business.
Breakfast · Lunch · Coffee
Slow mornings, strong coffee.
A small kitchen doing a short menu properly, three minutes from the ferry terminal.
Big breakfast
$26
Two eggs, house beans, sourdough, tomato, bacon or mushroom.
Coconut & mango bowl
$18
Chia, toasted coconut, seasonal fruit, local honey.
Find us
- Hours
- Mon–Sun, 6:30am – 2pm
- Kitchen
- Closes 1:30pm
Cafe & restaurant
A concept for Driftline Coffee. Open daily · Beachfront.
- Menu presented so it can be scanned in seconds, not downloaded as a PDF
- Opening hours and location answered before anyone has to ask
- A reservation request that works one-handed on a phone
- Gallery that loads fast instead of stalling the page
Small groups · Guided
On the water before the day warms up.
Sunrise and half-day paddles for small groups. All equipment, all levels, no experience needed.
Sunrise paddle
2.5 hrs · from $95
Off the water by 9am. Coffee and fruit included at the turnaround.
Half-day bay circuit
4 hrs · from $160
Two beaches, a snorkel stop and lunch on the sand.
Next available
- Sat 5:40am
- 3 seats
- Sun 5:40am
- 6 seats
Tour & activity operator
A concept for Seabird Kayak Co.. Half-day & sunrise tours.
- An immersive hero that still loads quickly on mobile data
- Activity cards that compare cleanly against each other
- Availability and booking as the obvious next step from anywhere
- Itinerary detail layered underneath, for people close to booking
Residential & commercial
Licensed electricians, on the island.
Same-week bookings for most jobs, and a straight answer on price before we start.
Switchboard upgrades
Most common job
Safety switches, compliance, and older boards brought up to standard.
Fault finding
Priority callouts
Tripping circuits, flickering lights, and power that keeps dropping out.
Service areas
- Nelly Bay
- Same week
- Horseshoe Bay
- Same week
Local trade & services
A concept for Copperline Electrical. Licensed · Fully insured.
- A trust-led hero that answers 'are you legitimate and nearby?' immediately
- Service areas stated plainly, so out-of-area calls drop away
- A quick quote form that takes under a minute
- Click-to-call in the thumb zone on every screen
Featured work
Real work, already live.
A small portfolio on purpose. It only contains things that exist, and that you can go and look at right now.
Travel & adventure
My own projectKyrgyzstan Expeditions Co.
A live adventure travel brand: expeditions in Kyrgyzstan, presented so a trip is easy to picture, easy to compare and easy to ask about.
A live travel business I built from the ground up. My own project, not a client engagement.
- A complete, live digital presence for the business
- Expeditions presented coherently, so trips can be compared quickly
- Mobile-first layouts for research done on a phone
- A clear route from browsing a trip to sending an enquiry
This website is part of the portfolio too. Same standard, same person. See how it was built.
How it works
Seven steps, no surprises.
Most projects run three to six weeks depending on size. You always know what stage we're at and what happens next.
Tell me about your business
What you do, who your customers are, and what's frustrating you about how things work now. A short conversation is enough to start, in person on the island if that suits.
We work out what you actually need
Sometimes that's a full website. Sometimes it's three good pages and a working enquiry form. I'll tell you which, including when the smaller option is the right one.
You get a clear quote
A fixed scope and a fixed price, written down, before anything starts. If something is likely to change the price later, you'll know that upfront.
I design and build it
Design first so you can see where it's heading, then the build. You're not left wondering what's happening for six weeks.
We review it together
You see it on a private link, on your own phone, and we adjust. Changes at this stage are expected, not a problem.
It goes live
Domain, hosting, HTTPS, search engine setup. I handle the technical side and confirm everything is working before we call it done.
Ongoing support if you want it
Some people want updates handled for them. Others are happy to take it from here. Both are fine, and you're not locked in either way.
Standards
Built properly, not just made pretty.
A good-looking site that's slow, unusable on a phone or quietly leaking your customers' data to six ad networks isn't a good site. This is the standard everything here is built to, including this website.
Fast, because slow sites lose people
Pages are built to load quickly on mobile data, not just on office wifi. Images are sized properly and nothing loads that doesn't need to.
Accessible by default
Real headings, keyboard navigation, readable contrast and proper form labels. It makes the site usable for more people, and it helps your search ranking too.
Private by default
No analytics, no advertising pixels and no session recording unless you actually want them and we tell your visitors about it.
Secure and kept current
HTTPS, sensible security headers, no unnecessary third-party code, and dependencies that get updated rather than left to rot.
Maintainable
Built so it can be changed later, by me or by someone else. You own the code and the domain, not a seat in someone's page builder.
Honest about data
If a form collects something, the privacy policy says so. No vague boilerplate copied off another site.
You can check the claims on this page: the privacy policy and the cookie policy describe exactly what this site does and doesn't collect.
Next step
Tell me what you need. I'll tell you what it takes.
A short message is enough to start. You'll get a considered reply and, if it makes sense, a clear quote. No pressure and no obligation.
Or ask for a free homepage concept to see the idea before committing to anything.