About TalkingSites
Making the web accessible, beautiful, and empowering for community-driven organisations and small businesses.
Why we started
After years of working in the tech industry, we saw too many amazing community groups, not-for-profits, and small businesses struggling to get online. Some were stuck on DIY platforms, others had been burned by agencies charging a fortune for underwhelming results.
TalkingSites was created to offer a better path. One that's thoughtful, affordable, and tailored to real people with real goals.
We started this as a brand, not a freelance name, because our vision is bigger than one person. We believe technology should be inclusive, not intimidating, and we want to build a team that reflects that.
Who we work with
We serve a mix of small-to-medium businesses and mission-driven organisations. Paid work helps us offer pro bono services to grassroots groups who can't afford a full website build, especially those run by volunteers.
This model, often called a social enterprise, lets us reinvest in communities while staying sustainable.
What makes us different
- We're great at bridging communication gaps. We help clients clarify their goals and understand each other, even when the conversation gets a bit technical.
- We combine great design with strong technical foundations. From page speed to security, your site won't just look good, it'll perform.
- We care about people. Every site is built with intention, care, and a real desire to help you succeed.
The bigger vision
We're building TalkingSites into a full-scale agency, a place where others can grow with us. We want to bring on interns, teach them how to design and develop websites, and create pathways into tech careers.
Long-term, we plan to run outreach programs for high school girls, creating fun and supportive spaces where they can explore coding, design, and build passion projects, just like we did, but with a community around them.
And yes, we're excited about integrating AI in the right way. From chatbots to web-based AI tools, we're exploring smart, ethical ways to enhance the web experience for everyone.
Join us
We're looking for women who want to learn how websites are built, hosted and run, by working on real projects for real clients. If you'd like to start your own business one day, this is a way to build your portfolio while you learn the technical and the business side.
- Building sites: SpaceClub sites with Eleventy, Git and the command line, from first draft to launch.
- Working with clients: meetings, scoping, feedback and handing a site over to the people who'll run it.
- Hosting and tools: domains, hosting, logins, newsletters and automations with open source software.
- Running a business: quoting, planning work, and what it takes to start and grow your own.
Tell us about yourself
Tell us a bit about you and what you'd like to learn. A few lines is plenty, and we'll get back to you for a chat.