74 questions, straight answers
Frequently asked questions
What things cost, how long they take, who owns what, and the honest answer when the answer is "it depends". If yours isn't here, ring 0800 699 0037.
General
Prices, contracts, ownership and how working with us actually goes.
How much does it cost to work with a digital marketing agency in the UK?
A digital marketing agency in the UK typically charges a few hundred to a few thousand pounds a month, depending on the services. At Codesky, website projects get a fixed, itemised quote after a first conversation, and SEO and Google Ads have a monthly fee agreed after an audit, so you know the figure before anything starts.
A few prices we do state upfront: small brochure WordPress websites start from £1,500 plus VAT, managed hosting starts from £79.99 a month plus VAT (unmanaged from £30 plus VAT), and for Google Ads we recommend at least £500 a month in ad spend. Larger websites and marketing are quoted after a first conversation or an audit, because the range is too wide for a single figure to be useful. Monthly services have no long contract.
Should I use a local agency or a national one?
Choose the agency whose people you'll actually work with, not the size of its office. A local agency is usually the better choice if you want to meet face to face and work with people who know your area and customers; a national agency makes more sense if you need a large team across several specialisms at once.
We're based in Grantham. Lincolnshire is home, but we work with businesses all over the UK. Whoever you choose, ask who will do your work day to day. At a lot of larger agencies it isn't the person who sold it to you.
How do I know if a digital marketing agency is any good?
A good agency can show you real results for businesses like yours, has genuine reviews, tells you who will do the work, and reports on enquiries and sales rather than clicks and rankings. Be wary of guaranteed rankings, long contracts and anyone who keeps your accounts in their name.
Five questions worth asking before you sign anything:
- Can I see case studies with real numbers, and speak to a client?
- Who exactly will work on my account?
- Will my website, domain and ad accounts be in my name?
- What will your monthly report show me?
- How much notice do I need to give if I want to leave?
If the answers are vague, that tells you something.
Do I have to sign a long contract?
No. Codesky's monthly services (SEO, Google Ads, hosting and maintenance) run month to month, and you can stop with 30 days' notice. Website projects are a one-off fixed price agreed before we start.
We'd rather keep clients because the work is good than because a contract says they can't leave. It also keeps us honest: if something isn't working, we have every reason to tell you and fix it.
Who owns my website, domain and Google accounts?
You do. Once a Codesky website project is paid for, the website, design and content are yours, your domain is registered in your own name from the start, and your Google Ads account is set up in your name with access you can remove at any time.
It's one of the most important questions to ask any agency. Some keep domains, ad accounts or website files in their own name, which makes leaving difficult and expensive. We'd rather you stayed because you want to.
What happens if I want to leave Codesky?
You give 30 days' notice and we hand everything over properly: your website files, domain, logins and account access. There are no exit fees and no locked-in contracts.
If you're moving to another agency or developer, we'll work with them to make the switch smooth. Your website, content and domain are yours, so there's nothing to negotiate.
Will I deal with an account manager or the people doing the work?
You'll deal directly with the people doing the work. Codesky doesn't have account managers, so the person who designs your website, builds it or runs your marketing is the person you speak to.
It's quicker, because nothing gets passed along a chain, and nothing gets lost in translation between what you asked for and what gets done. It's also why we keep our client list small.
Do you work with my competitors?
No. Codesky only works with one business per trade in each area, so if we're doing your SEO or Google Ads, we won't be doing the same for a competitor down the road.
If we already work with a business that competes with you, we'll tell you on the first call. We define "area" with you at the start, because for a plumber it might be one town and for a manufacturer it might be the whole country.
What do you need from me to get started?
To get started, Codesky just needs a conversation about your business: what you sell, who buys it, who you compete with and what you want to change. After that, a website project needs your text and photos, and marketing needs access to your existing website and accounts.
The biggest thing that slows a website project down is waiting for content, so if you can start gathering text, photos of your work and any reviews early, you'll launch sooner. We'll give you a clear list of what we need and when.
What areas do you cover?
Codesky is based in Grantham and works with businesses across Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Peterborough, as well as clients elsewhere in the UK. We meet clients in person where we can and work by phone and video where we can't.
Towns with their own page include Lincoln, Stamford, Sleaford, Boston, Spalding, Newark, Nottingham and Peterborough, plus county pages for Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Have a look at yours to see what we know about your area.
My last agency didn't deliver. How do I know you'll be different?
You can't know for certain until you've worked with us, but you can check how we work before you commit. We look at the data before we say yes, we turn work down when we don't think we can help, we report on enquiries rather than vanity numbers, and there's no contract keeping you if we don't deliver.
It also helps to work out what went wrong last time. Was the website the problem, the targeting, the reporting or the communication? We're happy to look at what your previous agency did and give you a straight opinion, even if the answer is that the strategy was fine and it needed more time.
How quickly will you get back to me?
Codesky replies to every enquiry within one working day, and usually much sooner. The office is open 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, on 0800 699 0037.
For existing maintenance clients, a website that's down or hacked is treated as urgent and dealt with straight away, with support cover overnight so a problem at midnight isn't left until morning.
Website Design
Costs, timescales, platforms and what happens to your rankings when a site changes.
How much does a website cost for a small business in the UK?
The cost of a small business website in the UK depends on how many pages it needs, what it has to do, and who writes the content and takes the photos. DIY website builders are cheapest upfront, and large custom-built platforms can run well into five figures. At Codesky, small brochure WordPress websites start from £1,500 plus VAT, and every project gets a fixed, itemised quote after a first conversation.
What moves the price: the number of pages, whether we write the content, features such as booking or quote forms, and anything that needs connecting to other systems. After a first conversation you'll get a fixed, itemised quote, so you know exactly what you're paying for before we start. After launch, managed hosting starts from £79.99 a month plus VAT if you'd like us to look after it, or unmanaged hosting from £30 a month plus VAT if you just need the server.
How long does it take to build a website?
A small business website usually takes around two weeks from design sign-off to launch at Codesky, and almost every site we build is finished within two months of starting. Online shops and sites with complex features take longer.
The biggest factor isn't the build, it's content. Waiting for text, photos and feedback is what slows most projects down, so the sooner we have those, the sooner you launch. We'll agree a timeline with you at the start, and a project manager keeps it on track.
Should I use Wix or Squarespace, or pay for a custom website?
A website builder such as Wix or Squarespace is fine if you're just starting out, on a tight budget and mainly need to be online. A custom website is the better investment when your site needs to bring in enquiries, rank on Google, load quickly and grow with the business.
Builders are quick to set up, but you're limited to their templates and features, you pay a monthly fee indefinitely, and moving away later usually means starting again. A custom site costs more upfront but is built around how your customers buy, and you own it outright. If a builder is genuinely right for you, we'll tell you.
Is WordPress still a good choice for a business website?
Yes. WordPress is still one of the best choices for a business website, because it's flexible, easy to update yourself and well supported, provided it's built properly and kept up to date.
Most of the complaints about WordPress, such as slow pages, security problems and sites that break after an update, come from heavy themes, page builders and too many plugins. We code our own WordPress themes from scratch and keep plugins to a minimum, which avoids most of those problems.
Why isn't my website bringing in any enquiries?
A website usually fails to bring in enquiries for one of three reasons: not enough of the right people are finding it, the people who find it aren't convinced, or getting in touch is harder than it should be. Your analytics will usually show which.
If visitors are low, it's a visibility problem, so look at SEO, your Google Business Profile or Google Ads. If visitors are high but enquiries low, look at the site itself: slow loading, a poor mobile layout, no clear explanation of what you do and where, no reviews or proof, or a phone number buried at the bottom of the page. We can look at your site and tell you which it is.
How often should a business redesign its website?
Most businesses redesign their website every three to five years, but the better rule is to redesign when the site stops doing its job: when it looks dated next to competitors, is slow or awkward on a phone, no longer reflects what you sell, or isn't bringing in enquiries.
A redesign isn't always the answer. Sometimes a faster host, better content or fixing a few key pages will do more than a whole new site, and we'll say so if that's the case.
Will a new website lose my Google rankings?
A new website shouldn't lose your Google rankings if it's handled properly, but it can if pages change address or disappear without redirects. Every page that ranks or has links pointing to it needs a 301 redirect to its new equivalent.
Before we touch anything, we record what your current site ranks for and which pages bring in traffic. We carry the content that works into the new site, redirect every page that matters, and check Search Console after launch. A small wobble for a few weeks is normal; a lasting drop usually means something was missed.
Guide: How to redesign a website without losing your Google rankings
Can I update the website myself?
Yes. Codesky websites are built so you can update text, photos, blog posts and news yourself, usually on WordPress, without needing a developer. We'll show you how when the site launches.
If you'd rather not, our maintenance package covers content changes, usually turned round within 48 hours.
What do I need to provide for my website?
For a new website, you'll usually need to provide your logo, the text for each page (or a brief if we're writing it), photos of your work, team or premises, any reviews or testimonials, and access to your domain. A list of websites you like helps too.
Real photos of your own work almost always outperform stock images, so it's worth taking some before the project starts. We'll send you a clear list of what we need and by when.
Do I need an online shop, or just a brochure website?
You need an online shop if customers will choose products, pay and check out on your website. If they'll get in touch for a quote, book a call or visit you, a brochure website with clear enquiry forms is usually the right choice and costs less.
There's a middle ground too: online bookings, deposits or a small range of products can often be added to a brochure site without building a full shop. Tell us how your customers buy and we'll recommend the simplest option that works.
What's the difference between a template and a custom-built website?
A template website uses a pre-made design shared by thousands of other sites, with your content dropped in. A custom-built website is designed and coded for your business, so it's built around your customers, loads faster and carries none of the unused code a template brings with it.
Templates are cheaper and quicker, but they're built to suit everyone, which usually means they suit nobody perfectly, and heavy page builders often slow them down. We design every site from scratch and code our own WordPress themes, which is part of why our sites are fast and hold up well over time.
Does my website need to be accessible, and what does that mean?
Yes. An accessible website is one that disabled people can use, including people using screen readers, keyboard navigation or zoom, and UK businesses have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 not to put disabled customers at a disadvantage. The standard most websites are measured against is WCAG 2.2, level AA.
In practice, that means readable text and colour contrast, descriptive alt text on images, forms that work with a keyboard, clear headings and links that make sense on their own. Accessible sites tend to be easier for everyone to use, and they're often better for SEO too. We build these basics into every site.
SEO
What SEO costs, how long it takes, and what to expect from it.
How much does SEO cost per month in the UK?
SEO for a small UK business typically costs a few hundred to a couple of thousand pounds a month. At Codesky, the monthly fee is agreed after an audit and depends on how competitive your searches are and how much work your website needs.
A local trade in a market town needs less than an e-commerce shop competing nationally. Be wary of SEO offered for £50 or £100 a month: at that price there's very little time for real work, and some of it may be the kind of link-buying that gets sites penalised. We'll tell you what we'd do each month, and why, before you commit.
How long does SEO take to work?
SEO usually takes three to six months to show clear results for a small UK business, and six to twelve months in competitive markets. Quick fixes, such as a Google Business Profile or technical errors, can show movement within weeks.
How long depends on three things: how competitive your searches are, how much your website already has going for it, and how much work goes in each month. A roofer in Grantham will usually see results sooner than an accountant in Nottingham, simply because fewer businesses are competing for the same searches. We'll tell you what's realistic for your market before you sign anything.
Is SEO worth it for a small business?
SEO is worth it for a small business if people search for what you sell and you can wait a few months for results. Once you rank, the enquiries keep coming without paying for each click, which makes it one of the best long-term returns in marketing.
It's less suited if almost nobody searches for your service, or if you need enquiries this week, in which case Google Ads is the faster route. Many businesses run both: Ads for enquiries now, SEO for cheaper enquiries later.
Why is my business not showing up on Google?
A business usually doesn't show on Google because its website hasn't been indexed yet, something on the site is blocking Google, it has no Google Business Profile, or competitors simply have stronger pages, reviews and links. Google Search Console will tell you which.
A quick check: search "site:yourdomain.co.uk" on Google. If nothing appears, Google hasn't indexed you, which points to a new site, a technical block or a setting left on from development. If your pages appear but only for your business name, it's a competition problem, and SEO is the fix. An SEO audit will pin it down.
How do I get my business into the Google Maps results?
To appear in Google Maps, you need a verified Google Business Profile with the right primary category, accurate details, real photos and a steady flow of genuine reviews. Google ranks map results on relevance, distance from the searcher and how well known your business is.
You can't control distance, so focus on the other two: choose the category that matches what you do, list your services, keep opening hours right (especially bank holidays), reply to reviews and make sure your website clearly says where you work. Service businesses without a shop can hide their address and list the areas they cover.
How do I get more Google reviews, and do they help?
The best way to get more Google reviews is to ask every happy customer, straight after the job, with a direct link to your review page sent by text or email. Reviews help you rank in Google Maps and help people choose you once they've found you.
Reply to every review, good or bad, because people read the replies. Never buy reviews or offer rewards for good ones: it breaks Google's rules, and since April 2025 fake reviews have also been illegal in the UK under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
Can I do SEO myself?
Yes, a lot of SEO basics can be done yourself: setting up your Google Business Profile, collecting reviews, writing clear page titles and creating pages for each service and area you cover. An agency earns its fee when searches are competitive, technical problems need fixing or you simply don't have the time.
If you do it yourself, start with Google Search Console, which is free and shows the searches you already appear for. Avoid shortcuts such as buying links or stuffing keywords into pages; they cause more damage than doing nothing.
What's the difference between SEO and Google Ads?
SEO earns your website free listings in Google's normal results and maps over a few months; Google Ads pays to put you at the top of the results today, with a fee every time someone clicks. SEO keeps working after the work stops, while Ads stop the moment you stop paying.
SEO is the better long-term return; Ads are faster and more controllable. For most businesses the right answer is a mix that shifts over time, leaning on Ads while SEO builds and spending less on them as organic enquiries grow.
Can anyone guarantee a number one ranking on Google?
No. Nobody can guarantee a number one ranking on Google, and Google's own guidance says so. Any agency promising one is either guaranteeing a search nobody makes or overselling.
What a good agency can do is explain which searches are realistic for your business, what it will take to rank for them, and how it will measure progress in enquiries rather than positions.
Why have my Google rankings dropped?
Rankings usually drop because of a Google algorithm update, a change to your website that broke something, lost links, a competitor improving, or occasionally a manual penalty. Comparing the date of the drop against Google's published update dates and your own site changes usually reveals the cause.
Start with Google Search Console: check for manual actions, indexing problems and which pages lost clicks. If the drop matches a core update, the fix is usually better content rather than technical tweaks. If it followed a redesign, missing redirects are the most common culprit.
What should a monthly SEO report show?
A monthly SEO report should show the enquiries and sales coming from organic search, traffic to your key pages, movement on the searches that matter to your business, the work done that month and what's planned next. If it's mostly a long list of rankings, ask what they're worth in enquiries.
Our reports are written in plain English, focus on leads and outcomes, and say clearly when something isn't working and what we're changing.
Do I need a blog for SEO?
No, not every business needs a blog for SEO. Strong service pages, location pages and a well-kept Google Business Profile matter more for most local businesses. A blog helps when it answers questions your customers genuinely search for.
One useful guide a month beats four thin posts written to fill a schedule. If you can't keep a blog going, it's better to put the effort into improving the pages you already have.
AI SEO
ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews and what they mean for your business.
How do I get my business recommended by ChatGPT?
To get recommended by ChatGPT, make sure OpenAI's search crawler can reach your website, keep your business details consistent everywhere online, earn genuine reviews and mentions, and write pages that answer customers' questions clearly. ChatGPT builds its answers from web pages it finds and trusts.
The crawler is called OAI-SearchBot, and some websites block it by accident through robots.txt or firewall settings, which rules them out completely. After that, it's the same things that help in Google: a clear, specific website, a strong Google Business Profile, reviews and mentions from other trusted sites. Nobody can guarantee a recommendation, because the answers change from one question to the next. AI SEO is an additional service at Codesky, priced on what your business needs.
What is AI SEO, and is it different from normal SEO?
AI SEO is the work that makes your business more likely to be found, quoted and recommended by AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google's AI Overviews. It builds on normal SEO rather than replacing it; Google says its AI features need no special optimisation beyond SEO best practice.
The differences are in the detail: letting AI crawlers reach your site, keeping your information consistent across the web, writing pages that answer questions directly, and tracking visits from AI tools. If your SEO is already strong, much of the groundwork is done.
How do I appear in Google's AI Overviews?
To appear in Google's AI Overviews, a page needs to be indexed by Google and eligible to show a snippet in normal search results; Google says there are no extra technical requirements. Beyond that, clear, specific pages that answer the question directly are the ones most likely to be quoted.
AI Overviews and AI Mode draw on Google's normal index, so the work that helps you rank in ordinary results is the work that gets you cited. Google has also said you don't need special markup or AI text files to appear.
Will AI search kill traffic to my website?
AI search is reducing clicks for some simple informational searches, but it isn't killing website traffic for businesses people want to hire or buy from. Someone looking for a roofer, an accountant or a product still needs to visit a website or call to act.
That's why we measure SEO by enquiries rather than visits, and why pages need to give people a reason to click through: prices, photos of your work, reviews and an easy way to get in touch.
Does my business need an llms.txt file?
No, most businesses don't need an llms.txt file. Google has said you don't need AI text files or new machine-readable files to appear in its AI features. It's a proposed standard that some sites use, and adding one does no harm, but it won't fix anything on its own.
If someone is selling you llms.txt as the answer to AI search, ask what else they're doing. The things that matter are crawler access, consistent business information, strong content and genuine reviews.
Should I block AI bots from my website?
You can block the AI bots that collect content for training, such as GPTBot and Google-Extended, without hurting your Google rankings. But blocking search bots such as OAI-SearchBot will stop your business appearing in ChatGPT's search answers.
Training and search are separate decisions. Google has confirmed that blocking Google-Extended doesn't affect Google Search. Check your robots.txt and any firewall or security plugin settings too, as some block AI crawlers by default.
How can I tell if people are finding me through ChatGPT?
You can see visits from ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Perplexity in Google Analytics 4, where they appear as referrals from those tools' websites. Setting up a separate channel for them shows how many people arrive and whether they get in touch.
Visits from Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode are harder to separate, because Google counts them inside normal search figures in Search Console. Regularly asking the AI tools the questions your customers would ask, and noting whether you're named, fills in the rest of the picture.
Can AI write my website content?
AI tools can help with drafts, but they shouldn't write your website content unchecked. Google's guidelines reward content that shows real experience and expertise, and mass-produced pages made mainly to rank break its spam policies, however they were written.
The content that wins is the content only you could write: your prices, your process, photos of your work, the questions your customers actually ask and your honest opinion. Every page we write is written and checked by people who know your business.
Does a small local business need to worry about AI search?
Yes, but it's mostly the same work as local SEO. When someone asks an AI tool "Who's a good electrician near me?", the answer is built from websites, Google Business Profiles and reviews, so a local business with a strong profile and a clear site is already well placed.
The extra steps are small: make sure AI crawlers can reach your site, and that your name, address, phone number and services match everywhere they appear online.
Google Ads
Budgets, click costs, management fees and when Ads pay for themselves.
How much does Google Ads cost per month for a small business?
Google Ads for a small business costs two things: the money you pay Google for clicks, which you set yourself, and management if you use an agency. We recommend at least £500 a month in ad spend, because below that there isn't enough data to improve the campaign, and Codesky's management fee is agreed separately after an audit.
The right budget comes from simple maths: what a click costs in your trade, how many clicks turn into enquiries, and how many enquiries you need. If clicks cost £3 and one in ten becomes an enquiry, each enquiry costs about £30 before any improvement. Our free calculator works it out for your business.
How much does a click cost on Google Ads in the UK?
A Google Ads click in the UK typically costs between about £1 and £4 for local services and trades, and £5 to £12 or more in competitive sectors such as legal services and finance. Online shops often pay under £2 a click. Your own cost depends on competition for your keywords.
These are industry benchmarks, and your figure can be higher in London or for very high-intent searches such as emergency call-outs. Google's Keyword Planner gives estimates for your own keywords, and the quality of your ads and landing pages affects what you pay: better ads can cost less per click.
Guide: Google Ads for small businesses: where the money goes
Why am I paying for Google Ads clicks that don't turn into enquiries?
Google Ads clicks usually fail to turn into enquiries because the keywords are too broad, there's no negative keyword list, the ads send people to the homepage instead of a relevant page, or conversion tracking isn't set up so the account can't learn what works.
The search terms report in your account shows exactly what people typed before clicking, and it's often eye-opening. Another common culprit is the location setting: by default ads can show to people "interested in" your area rather than in it. A PPC audit will find where the money is going.
Is Google Ads worth it for a small business?
Google Ads is worth it for a small business when a customer is worth considerably more than the cost of winning one. If an enquiry costs £30 and a typical job is worth £500, it pays; if the job is worth £40, it probably doesn't.
It works best for services people search for when they need them now, such as trades, repairs, legal help and anything with a deadline. It's harder to make work for low-value products or services people rarely search for. We'll run the numbers with you before you spend anything.
How quickly does Google Ads bring in enquiries?
Google Ads can bring in enquiries within days of going live, as most ads are reviewed by Google within one working day. It usually takes four to eight weeks of data and adjustments to bring the cost per enquiry down to where it should be.
That speed is the main advantage over SEO. It's why many businesses use Ads for enquiries now while SEO builds up in the background.
How much does a Google Ads agency charge for management?
Google Ads agencies in the UK usually charge either a fixed monthly fee or a percentage of your ad spend. Codesky's management fee is a fixed monthly amount agreed after an audit, separate from the money you spend with Google.
Whichever model an agency uses, check what the fee covers: setup, conversion tracking, landing pages, ongoing changes and reporting. Also check whose name the account is in. With us it's always yours.
Should I run Google Ads myself or use an agency?
You can run Google Ads yourself if your budget is small, your service is simple and you have time to learn and check the account every week. An agency is worth it when your spend is big enough that wasted clicks cost more than the management fee.
If you do it yourself, set up conversion tracking first, use phrase or exact match keywords, add negative keywords from day one and send ads to the most relevant page. Google's automated suggestions are designed to increase your spend, so review them carefully.
Should I bid on my own business name?
Usually, yes. Bidding on your own business name is cheap, protects you when competitors bid on it, and lets you control the message people see. If nobody else is bidding and you rank first anyway, it's worth testing whether turning it off changes your total enquiries.
Brand clicks typically cost far less than other searches, because your ad is highly relevant to the search.
What's the difference between Google Ads and Google Shopping?
Google Search ads are text ads that appear when someone searches; Google Shopping ads show a product's photo, price and shop name, and are created from a product feed in Google Merchant Center. Shopping is for businesses selling physical products online; search ads suit almost everyone.
Most online shops use both: Shopping for product searches, search ads for broader and brand searches. Approved products can also appear in free listings on Google's Shopping tab.
Is Microsoft (Bing) advertising worth it in the UK?
Microsoft Advertising is often worth adding in the UK as an extra to Google Ads, not a replacement. It reaches people searching on Bing, which is the default on Windows computers and the Edge browser, and clicks are frequently cheaper because fewer advertisers compete.
It tends to suit B2B services and businesses with older customers or customers searching from work computers. You can import your Google campaigns to start, then adjust bids and budgets separately.
Hosting
Speed, backups, uptime, SSL and moving your site without downtime.
What is managed WordPress hosting, and do I need it?
Managed WordPress hosting is hosting where the provider looks after the technical side for you: server updates, security, daily backups, SSL certificates and monitoring. You need it if your website matters to your business and you don't want to manage any of that yourself.
Cheap shared hosting puts your site on a crowded server and leaves the rest to you. Managed hosting costs a little more but means someone is watching your site, and someone to ring when something goes wrong. Ours is run by the same people who build WordPress sites.
How much should website hosting cost for a small business?
Website hosting for a small business typically costs from a few pounds a month for basic shared hosting, and more for managed hosting, where someone looks after the site for you. Codesky's unmanaged hosting starts from £30 a month plus VAT. Our managed WordPress hosting starts from £79.99 a month plus VAT, including twice-daily backups, security, SSL and monitoring.
The very cheapest plans often rise sharply at renewal, and they rarely include support from anyone who knows WordPress. Compare what's included, not just the headline price.
Why is my website so slow?
A website is usually slow because of slow or overloaded hosting, a heavy theme or page builder, too many plugins, large uncompressed images, or no caching. Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool will show you which problems your site has.
If your site is slow on every page, even simple ones, hosting is the likely cause. If only certain pages are slow, look at what's on them. Speed matters: slow sites lose visitors before they've loaded and score worse on Google's Core Web Vitals.
Can you move my website from my current host without downtime?
Yes. Codesky moves websites without downtime by copying your site to our servers, testing it fully, and only then pointing your domain at the new server. Visitors see your site the whole way through.
We'll also make sure your email keeps working, as its settings sit alongside your website's in your domain records. All we need is access to your current hosting and domain, or the details of who manages them.
How often is my website backed up, and for how long?
Websites hosted with Codesky are backed up twice a day, files and database, and the backups are stored away from the server for six months. If something goes wrong, we can restore your site to how it was at any point in that time.
That matters most when a problem isn't noticed straight away, such as a hack that's been sitting quietly for weeks. A short backup history can mean every copy is already infected.
What happens if my website goes down?
If a website hosted with Codesky goes down, our monitoring alerts us and we start fixing it straight away, usually before you've noticed. It's treated as urgent, with support cover overnight so problems aren't left until morning.
We'll tell you what happened, what we did and whether anything needs to change to stop it happening again.
Do I need an SSL certificate?
Yes. Every website needs an SSL certificate, which encrypts data between your site and its visitors and shows the padlock in the browser. Without one, browsers such as Chrome label your site "Not secure", which puts visitors off.
SSL is included with Codesky's managed hosting, set up and renewed automatically, so you never need to think about it.
Is cheap hosting bad for SEO?
Cheap hosting can hurt your SEO indirectly by making your website slow or unreliable. Google doesn't penalise a site for its host, but slow loading, downtime and server errors harm your visitors' experience and can limit how well Google crawls your site.
If you're investing in SEO, it's worth making sure your hosting isn't holding the results back. A fast host won't make you rank on its own, but a slow one can stop good work paying off.
Can you host my email as well?
No. Codesky doesn't host email, because dedicated services such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace do it better, with stronger spam filtering and security. We host your website and make sure your email settings keep working alongside it.
If you're moving your website to us, your email stays exactly where it is. If you're setting up business email for the first time, either of those services is a good choice.
Maintenance & Security
Updates, hacks, Google warnings and taking over a site from someone else.
My website has been hacked. What should I do right now?
If your website has been hacked, change your hosting, WordPress and FTP passwords straight away, don't delete anything yet, and contact your host or a specialist to clean it up. Codesky quotes a hacked website clean-up before we start, and treats it as urgent.
Deleting files before the infection is understood often leaves the back door open, and the site gets reinfected within days. A proper clean-up finds every infected file, removes it, closes the way in, and then asks Google to remove any warnings. If you can, take a copy of the site as it is now, as it helps show how the attacker got in.
How do I know if my website has been hacked?
Common signs that a website has been hacked are visitors being redirected to spam sites, strange pages or foreign-language keywords appearing in Google results for your site, Google or browser warnings, new admin users you didn't create, or your host suspending the account.
A quick check: search "site:yourdomain.co.uk" on Google and look for pages you don't recognise, particularly Japanese text or pharmacy and casino terms. Google Search Console also emails site owners when it detects a security issue. Some hacks only show to visitors arriving from Google, so the site can look normal when you visit it directly.
How much does website maintenance cost per month?
Website maintenance at Codesky is a fixed monthly fee, agreed before anything starts, covering WordPress, theme and plugin updates, security scans, performance checks and content changes. Across the UK, maintenance plans range from a basic update service to much larger retainers, so compare what's included.
Cheap plans often cover updates only, with any changes or fixes charged on top. Ours includes content changes, usually turned round within 48 hours, and is run by the people who build WordPress sites.
What does website maintenance actually include?
Website maintenance means keeping your site up to date, secure and working: updating WordPress, themes and plugins, running security scans, checking speed and making content changes. At Codesky it also includes a ticket queue, so every request is logged and answered by a person.
We test updates rather than applying them blindly, because an untested plugin update is one of the most common ways a working website breaks.
What happens if I don't update my WordPress plugins?
If you don't update your WordPress plugins, your website becomes steadily easier to hack, because outdated plugins are the most common way WordPress sites are broken into. Security researchers find that most WordPress vulnerabilities are in plugins rather than WordPress itself.
Old plugins also stop working with newer versions of WordPress and PHP, so a site left alone for long enough tends to break when something does finally get updated. Regular, tested updates are far cheaper than a clean-up.
Can you maintain a website you didn't build?
Yes. Codesky maintains WordPress websites built by other developers and agencies. We start with a review of the site, its plugins and its hosting, so we know what we're taking on and can flag any risks before we start.
If the site has serious problems, such as abandoned plugins or a heavily customised theme with no documentation, we'll tell you upfront and explain your options.
How quickly can you make changes to my website?
Codesky turns round content changes for maintenance clients within 48 hours, and usually sooner. A website that's down or has been hacked is treated as urgent and dealt with straight away.
Bigger changes, such as new pages or features, are scoped and given a timescale before we start, so you always know when to expect them.
Why is Google warning people that my site is dangerous?
Google shows a "dangerous site" or "deceptive site" warning when its Safe Browsing system finds malware, phishing or harmful downloads on your website, which almost always means the site has been hacked. The warning stays until the site is cleaned and Google reviews it.
Once the site is clean, you request a review from the Security Issues report in Google Search Console. Requesting a review before the infection is fully removed usually gets rejected and delays the process, so clean first, then ask.
Is website maintenance the same as hosting?
No. Hosting is the server your website lives on; maintenance is looking after the website itself, with updates, security checks and changes. A site can be well hosted and still be hacked because its plugins are out of date.
Most businesses need both. We offer them separately, so you can use one or both.
My web developer has disappeared. Can you take over my website?
Yes. Codesky can take over a WordPress website from a developer who has gone quiet. The first step is finding out who controls your domain, hosting and website logins, and helping you get access back if you don't have it.
If your domain is registered in your name, access can usually be recovered through the registrar and host with proof of ownership. Once we're in, we review the site, take a full backup and put it on a proper maintenance footing. It's a good reminder to keep your domain and logins in your own name from now on.
Still got a question?
Ring 0800 699 0037 (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday), email hello@codesky.co.uk, or use the contact page. We reply to every enquiry within one working day.
If you already know what you need, a short project brief gets you a fixed, itemised quote faster.