Freelance Web Designer Melbourne
Web design that works as hard as your business
I design websites that are clear, fast, and built to do a job. That means thinking through structure, user journeys, and SEO architecture before anything gets designed — so the final site performs as well as it looks. With 16+ years across agencies and direct client work, I know what makes a website work for a business.
Why work with a freelance web designer
Web design that thinks beyond the surface
A good-looking website that nobody can find, navigate, or act on is not a good website. I design with performance in mind from the first conversation — SEO structure, page speed, accessibility, and conversion all considered alongside the visual design. You get a site that looks considered and actually does what it needs to do for the business.
Boost User Engagement
A well-designed site keeps people on it. Clear visual hierarchy, purposeful layout, and considered interaction design reduce bounce rates and guide visitors toward the actions that matter. Every design decision is made with the end user’s behaviour in mind.
Enhance Usability and Navigation
Good navigation is invisible — users find what they need without thinking about it. I map user journeys before designing a single page, making sure the structure of the site reflects how your audience actually thinks and moves through information.
Improve SEO and Performance
Search engines reward well-structured, fast-loading sites. I build SEO fundamentals in from the start — semantic markup, heading hierarchy, clean URL structures, internal linking, and image optimisation. No bolt-on fixes after the fact.
Who I work with
I work with businesses and organisations that want direct access to senior design, and with agencies that need a reliable web design partner for client projects.
“Ash’s professional approach and experience allow him to seamlessly collaborate with both our team and our clients. His ability to deliver exceptional work across various disciplines has consistently impressed clients, who always rave about his creativity and professionalism. We couldn’t ask for a more reliable team player.”
Josh Hall
Art Director @ MKTG Sports + Entertainment
“Working with Ash is always a pleasure. His expertise in CSS and JavaScript animation libraries add a polished touch to projects. His handovers are clear and thorough, and he’s great to collaborate with during a build to keep everything on track. It’s rare to find someone with such a strong grasp of both design and development.”
Rao Abid Ali
Lead Developer @ BJM Digital
“We’ve been working with Ash for years now and he never disappoints. His wealth of web and UI experience has been invaluable to our digital offering, and clients love him for it. He brings an extra layer of craft and polish to everything he touches.”
Chris Harris
Creative Director & Founder @ Redkite.Design Agency
Chris Harris“Working with Ash was one of those rare experiences where the work comes back better than you imagined. His ability to bring motion and storytelling into a digital experience is genuinely impressive, and he does it without making it feel overdone. Real craft.”
Lee Mate
Head of Digital @ Excite Media Agency
“Ash is the definition of a pro. His creativity is consistent, industry-leading, and bang on time. Clients love when Ash is at the helm; he always listens intently where you feel totally heard, all the while his capabilities and understanding give total confidence in the design direction and execution of every project.”
Senior UX Designer @ GS1 Australia
“Working with Ash as a fellow designer was a great experience. He understood the brief quickly, worked confidently within the existing brand, and produced work that genuinely elevated what we had. His handovers were clean and well-considered, which made the whole process feel collaborative rather than transactional. I’d work with him again without hesitation.”
Product Designer @ TIG Freight
“Ash made the whole process straightforward from start to finish. He took the time to understand what TIG needed, asked the right questions, and came back with a site that genuinely reflects who we are as a business. Communication was clear throughout and the end result has made a real difference to how we present ourselves online.”
Marketing Manager @ TIG Freight
“Ash was a strong addition to the ThreeScoops team. He operates at a senior level across web, UI and brand, and consistently delivered work that clients were genuinely excited about. He fits into an agency environment naturally, takes direction well, and brings his own ideas to the table when it counts. Reliable, talented, and great to work with.”
Art Director @ ThreeScoops Creative
“From a developer’s perspective, Ash is exactly who you want designing the things you have to build. His files are well-organised, his components are logical, and he actually understands how things get built. He’s easy to collaborate with during a build and always open to a conversation if something needs to be adjusted. It genuinely makes the development process smoother when Ash has done the design work.”
Senior Developer @ BJM Digital
“Ash was a core part of the BJM Digital team for six years and his contribution to the agency was significant. He brought a level of craft and consistency to every project that clients noticed and appreciated, and he played a real role in helping us grow our digital offering. He’s the kind of designer who takes ownership of his work and makes everyone around him better. I’d recommend him without reservation.”
Director @ BJM Digital
“Ash is one of the most reliable designers I have worked with. He hit his deadlines, communicated clearly, and consistently produced work that clients got excited about. The feedback we received from clients about working with Ash was always positive, which says a lot.”
Digital Optimisation @ DuluxGroup
“Working with Ash was straightforward in the best possible way. He understood briefs quickly, delivered work that rarely needed significant revision, and clients genuinely enjoyed working with him. We regularly got unsolicited positive feedback from clients about Ash specifically, which is not something you can say about every designer.”
Senior Project Manager @ Jetstar
Web design and build process
From first brief to finished site, here is how I work
Tools & Apps
01. Discovery & Strategy
Before any design begins I want to understand the business, the audience, and what the site needs to achieve. That means reviewing existing assets, understanding competitors, mapping user journeys, and agreeing on what success looks like. This stage shapes everything that follows.
Business & Audience Research
Understanding who the site is for and what they need to do on it. The better this is defined, the better every design decision that follows.
Competitor Analysis
Reviewing what others in the space are doing well and where the opportunity is to stand out.
Goals & Success Metrics
Agreeing on what the site needs to achieve — leads, conversions, engagement — so we can design toward measurable outcomes.
02. Information Architecture
Structuring the site so users can find what they need and search engines can understand what each page is about. Page hierarchy, navigation structure, and content groupings are all mapped and agreed before visual design begins.
Sitemap & Page Hierarchy
A clear map of every page, how they relate to each other, and how users move between them.
SEO-Structured Architecture
Page naming, URL structures, and content groupings built with search intent in mind from the start.
Navigation Design
Primary, secondary, and mobile navigation designed for clarity and ease of use across all devices.
03. Wireframes & Prototype
Lo-fi wireframes establish layout and content structure before any visual design begins. Once agreed, high-fidelity designs in Figma bring the site to life. Interactive prototypes allow you to click through the experience and test it before development starts.
Lo-fi Wireframes
Fast, low-detail layout sketches that establish content hierarchy and page structure without getting distracted by visual design.
High-Fidelity Design
Full visual design in Figma, with every page and template designed to production quality.
Interactive Prototyping
Clickable prototypes for stakeholder review and user testing. See how the site feels before a line of code is written.
04. WordPress Theme Build
Custom WordPress theme development built on the approved designs. Clean, well-structured code with a block editor setup that gives your team the flexibility to update content independently.
Custom Theme Development
Bespoke WordPress theme built to match the approved designs precisely. No page builder templates, no compromise on the design.
Block Editor & CMS Setup
Custom Gutenberg blocks and content structures that make updating the site intuitive for non-technical users.
Responsive Build
Every template built and tested across mobile, tablet, and desktop. Performance and layout checked at every breakpoint.
05. Interactive Design & Animation
Where the brief calls for it, I layer in purposeful motion — entrance animations, scroll-triggered effects, micro-interactions — using Motion One and CSS animation. Used carefully, motion makes an interface feel polished and professional without getting in the way.
Scroll-Triggered Animations
Content that reveals as the user scrolls, adding depth and pace to the experience without slowing the page down.
Micro-interactions
Hover states, button transitions, and form feedback that make the interface feel responsive and well-crafted.
Responsive animations
All motion designed and tested across devices. Animations that degrade gracefully on lower-powered hardware.
06. Launch & Handover
Pre-launch testing across browsers and devices, performance checks, and a structured handover so your team can manage the site confidently from day one.
Pre-Launch Testing
Cross-browser and device testing, performance auditing, broken link checks, and form testing before anything goes live.
Performance & SEO Review
Final check of page speed, meta data, image compression, and structured data before launch.
CMS Training & Handover
A walkthrough of the CMS so your team knows how to update content, add pages, and manage the site without needing developer support for routine tasks.
Featured Web Design work
A selection of web design and build projects across a range of industries and audiences.
More services
Get the full creative solution with my other services.
- View Service: eCommerce Web Design
eCommerce Web Design
WooCommerce design and builds that make browsing feel natural and buying feel easy. Designed around how customers actually shop, from product page through to checkout.
- View Service: Freelance Designer For Agencies
Freelance Designer For Agencies
Senior web and UI design delivered under your agency’s banner. White-label, embedded, or project-based. No overhead, no management layers, just reliable senior design.
- View Service: Web App Design
Web App Design
UX strategy and UI design for web applications and digital products. From user flows and wireframes through to a fully documented Figma handover ready for development.
- View Service: UI Design
UI Design
Interface design for web platforms, dashboards, and digital products. Wireframes, prototypes, and production-ready Figma files your development team can build from accurately.
- View Service: WordPress Web Design
WordPress Web Design
Custom WordPress themes built to match the brand, not a template. Fast, clean, and manageable by your team without developer support for routine updates.
- View Service: Design Systems
Design Systems
Figma component libraries, design tokens, and documentation that keep large UI projects consistent and scalable. Built so your team actually uses it, not just references it.
What does a freelance web designer do differently to an agency?
FAQs display para
What does a freelance web designer do differently to an agency?
With an agency you are often paying for account management, overhead, and junior staff on execution. With me you get direct access to 16+ years of senior design experience on every project. I am across the strategy, the design, and the build — not handing off between departments.
How long does a website project take?
Depends on the scope. A straightforward business website typically runs 6 to 10 weeks from kick-off to launch. Larger or more complex sites take longer. I give a realistic timeline at the proposal stage and flag changes early if anything shifts.
Do you design and build, or just design?
Both, depending on what the project needs. For WordPress projects I handle the full build. For other platforms or more complex builds I work closely with a trusted development partner and remain involved throughout.
How do you approach SEO in a web design project?
I build SEO fundamentals in from the start — page structure, heading hierarchy, URL naming, meta data, image alt text, internal linking, and page speed. I do not do ongoing SEO or content marketing, but the technical and structural foundation will be solid from launch.
What do you need from me to get started?
A brief outline of what you need, who your audience is, and any existing assets — brand guidelines, existing site, content. From there I can put together a proposal and we can take it from there.
Do you work with existing websites or only new builds?
Both. Redesigns and rebuilds on existing sites are a significant part of what I do. Whether it is a full redesign or targeted improvements to an existing site, get in touch and we can discuss what makes sense.
What makes a website rank well on Google?
A combination of technical structure, quality content, and page performance. My role is to make sure the technical and structural foundations are right — semantic markup, fast load times, clear page hierarchy, and properly tagged content. Good content that answers what your audience is searching for does the rest.
What is your availability?
I take on a limited number of projects at a time to make sure each one gets the attention it needs. Get in touch with your timeline and I can let you know what is possible.
Ready to chat? Then shoot me a message!