Jonathan Clensy

Hello! I’m Jonathan Clensy a freelance web developer based on The Wirral. Since graduating with a Masters degree in computer science from Liverpool University in 1998 I have been employed as both an application developer and also a web developer for a range of companies in many different sectors. In the early part of my career I was building in-house Windows applications for the financial and pension industries. This work was pivotal in allowing me to develop a deep understanding of how applications should be built to optimise performance and how to design, build and maintain efficient databases.

In 2005 I made a switch to designing and developing web applications. I have been employed as a web developer in industries as diverse as marketing, recruitment, hospitality and the automotive industry for some 15 years. Throughout that time I was able to constantly develop my skills as a web developer.

Web design and development is by nature constantly evolving. You have to continually research and embrace the latest trends and technologies. This is something that I love about my work – there is always something new to learn or a new approach that can be taken to an old problem. You are always adding to your knowledge, knowing that the end goal is to produce a product for a customer that is better, more efficient and more effective than was previously possible.

After some 15 years of working in-house for different companies I decided that the time was right to launch Willow Leaf Web Solutions as a freelance web developer. My goal is to help start-ups, SMEs and charities to develop their online web presence by creating beautiful and effective websites to raise their profile.

As a new or small company, public awareness of your brand is vital if you are to succeed and beat your competition. There are many different marketing techniques you can use to help with this. All have benefits and you will no doubt want to use many different approaches. However, one of the key elements that is essential today is a website, and even more importantly a website that has been built in a way that engages a visitor, whether they are viewing the site on a desktop, tablet or phone. It is also important that it has been built following the principles of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) so that the site can be read and understood by the likes of Google and Bing. This allows it to rank well for your targeted keywords. When appointing me to build your site, you can be confident that it will be developed following these proven strategies to give it the best chance to act as your most important marketing tool. It will work for you 24 hours a day!

The first stage is for me to develop an understanding of your initial requirements. I would arrange to speak to you to discuss your goals for the site.

As part of these initial conversations, we would discuss the keywords you wish the website to target. Identifying the correct keywords and building a site that effectively targets them is a critical SEO practice, pivotal in producing a site that is successful in driving customer traffic to you. Increasingly these meetings are held as a video call, but I am also happy to meet face-to-face if you are local to the Wirral, Chester or Liverpool area. This can be especially useful if you have your own premises such as a shop or office, as a site visit can help me to get a feel for the business which then guides the overall tone for the website.

Before giving the final go ahead to commence construction of the website, I will provide you with an itemised costing, which is payable within 30 days of completion of the project, meaning you have no initial upfront layout.

At all stages of the project, you will be kept informed of progress and you can call or email me at any point for an update.

Once a site is complete you will be provided with a link to review it, before it is made public. The site will only be released to the hosting server once you are completely happy with the end product and you have signed-off the work.

I use the latest professional version of WordPress to build the majority of my sites. WordPress is a platform that has now been around for almost 20 years and it is continually being improved and further developed. Highly versatile and trusted, it is the platform of choice for more than 43% of all sites across the web.

For hosting I use WordPress optimised servers. Your site is stored in secure data centres within the UK. If you opt for the platinum hosting package you will get a 99.99% uptime service level agreement and daily off-server backups, meaning you can be confident that your site and its data is in safe hands.

I’m lucky enough to have a beautiful old willow tree in my front garden, which was ultimately the reason I bought the house as it adds so much character to what would otherwise be just a run-of-the-mill 1970s semi.

Back on a cold November afternoon I was working on a shortlist of possible names for my business but couldn’t quite decide which to opt for. To clear my head, I decided to go and spend some time brushing up the leaves the willow tree had started to drop. It was after collecting three large bags of leaves and seeing how many more were still to fall – sure in the knowledge fresh leaves would grow the following spring – that I thought that Willow Leaf Web Solutions was rather apt and had a nice sound to it!

If you have a project that you would like to discuss then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Being based on The Wirral, most of my work is for clients in the Liverpool and Chester areas, but don’t worry if you are further afield as I am happy to work with businesses throughout the UK.