crayons and code
Crayons and Code is a Yorkshire-based solo web design practice operated by Phil Steer (Thoughtcube Ltd.) that designs, builds, and audits accessible websites for UK small businesses, charities, and non-profits.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- Headquarters—
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What crayons and code does
Crayons and Code is a UK-based solo web design practice operated by Phil Steer under the legal entity Thoughtcube Ltd., founded in 2009 and based in Yorkshire. The business designs, builds, audits, and maintains accessible websites for small businesses, charities, and non-profits across the UK, with a stated track record of 50+ clients and 150+ projects over 17 years. Service lines span website design and build, accessibility testing and auditing, performance optimization, conversion rate optimization (CRO), SEO and PPC management, GA4 tracking audits, and a newer AI/GEO visibility audit positioned for AI-search discoverability.
The technical approach is built on bespoke HTML/CSS with progressive enhancement, deliberately avoiding page builders or template stacks. The firm applies accessibility-first development, performance budgets targeting Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS), and a layered semantic CSS (LSCSS) methodology. Customer deliverables are clean, maintainable codebases with full client ownership and documentation, explicitly avoiding vendor lock-in.
The revenue model combines one-time project fees (£99–£1,999+ setup packages and bespoke builds), subscription retainers for maintenance and search marketing management (£125–£379/month), and fixed-scope audit fees (£999–£2,499). Go-to-market is sales-led via direct website inquiry, supplemented by content marketing and location-specific organic search across 20+ Yorkshire and northern English towns, plus a freemium Site Score funnel. Capacity is explicitly capped at 14 hours per week for the solo operator, with the next full project booking opening in October 2026, which structurally limits total revenue.
crayons and code firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- crayons and code
- Legal name
- Thoughtcube Ltd.
- Website
- https://crayonsandco.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Crayons and Code is a Yorkshire-based solo web design practice operated by Phil Steer (Thoughtcube Ltd.) that designs, builds, and audits accessible websites for UK small businesses, charities, and non-profits.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
crayons and code industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Web Design and Accessibility Services
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Personalization, Testing & Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) (BPAFAFAG)
Keywords
crayons and code business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Website Design & Build: One-time project fees for new website builds, ranging from starter packages to custom builds. Includes accessibility, performance, and responsive design as standard inclusions.
- Ongoing Maintenance & Support: Recurring monthly plans providing updates, fixes, performance housekeeping, and support. Monthly plans from £125/month plus ad-hoc support arrangements.
- SEO & PPC Management: Monthly ongoing management combining SEO and PPC work with clear reporting. Starts with initial audit followed by iterative monthly work.
- Audit Services: Fixed-scope audits for accessibility, GA4/conversion tracking, AI/GEO visibility, CRO, and search marketing. One-time fees leading to implementation engagements.
- CRO Implementation: Audit plus implementation packages with specific fixes for conversion barriers, A/B test setup, and ongoing conversion optimization.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Monthly | Kickstart Package - Entry-level website build |
| Subscription | Monthly | Support Scheme - Entry-level maintenance plan |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Straight-up Build - Custom website |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | SEO Audit & Plan |
| Subscription | Monthly | Ongoing Search Marketing Management |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | CRO Audit + Implementation |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly Maintenance Plans |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Site Score |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels11 records
crayons and code product offering
Product offeringCore offering
crayons and code designs, builds, audits and maintains accessible, performance-focused websites for small businesses and charities, primarily in Yorkshire and across the UK. It combines web design, accessibility testing, performance optimisation, SEO, CRO, content, training and consultancy into a single solo-practitioner offering. The practice also delivers work through an agency partner channel and supports clients with maintenance, hosting liaison, training and ongoing subscription support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Website Design & Build End-to-end design and build of accessible, performance-focused websites for small businesses and charities in the UK.
- E-commerce & Payments Setup and integration of e-commerce and online payment functionality within client websites.
- Accessibility Testing & Auditing Accessibility audit and testing service to evaluate websites against accessibility standards and identify remediation work.
- Site Speed & Performance Performance optimisation service focused on improving site speed, loading times and overall front-end performance.
- Copywriting & Content Website copywriting and content creation to support SEO and CRO goals.
- UX/UI Design User experience and user interface design service for website projects.
- User Research & Testing User research and usability testing to inform website design decisions.
- Maintenance & Support Ongoing website maintenance and technical support, delivered as a recurring subscription.
- Website Rescue Recovery and remediation service for failing or problematic existing websites.
- AI Rescue Remediation service addressing AI-related issues on client websites.
- Training & Workshops Training and workshop delivery on accessible web design topics for client teams and external audiences.
- Consultancy Standalone consultancy service covering accessibility, performance and related web topics.
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Ongoing SEO service to improve organic search visibility of client websites.
- Marketing, Advertising & PPC Paid marketing, advertising and pay-per-click campaign management for client websites.
- Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) CRO service focused on improving website conversion performance.
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Search engine marketing service combining organic SEO and paid search activity.
- AI/GEO Visibility Audit Audit service assessing how a client website performs in AI-driven and generative engine (GEO) search contexts.
- GA4 + Conversion Tracking Audit Audit service reviewing Google Analytics 4 and conversion tracking setup on client websites.
- Site Score (Free Diagnostic) Free lead-magnet diagnostic report that scores a website and is used to introduce prospective clients to the practice's paid services.
- Delivery Partner (Agency Channel) White-label design, build, accessibility and performance delivery provided to third-party agencies under their own brand.
Quantifiable outcome
- National Pug Protection Trust achieved 650% increase in pug adoption requests
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use crayons and code
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments18 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
crayons and code technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature3 records
crayons and code partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
crayons and code competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Squarespace: DIY website builder used heavily by small businesses and creators - a downstream alternative customers may choose instead of hiring a bespoke agency for accessibility-led builds.
- Webflow: Website building platform targeting SMBs, agencies, and designers with accessible templates and CMS - competes for the same SMB website-build customer base via self-service tooling rather than bespoke service.
- TPGi: Global accessibility consultancy (formerly The Paciello Group) offering audits, training, and platform tools - operates at much larger scale in the same accessibility services space but serves enterprise clients primarily.
Direct peers
- Nomensa: UK-based digital accessibility and UX agency providing accessibility audits, inclusive design, and web development services for public and private sector clients - a direct competitor in the accessibility-led web design space.
- Clearleft: Brighton-based UX and web design agency offering strategy, design, and front-end development with strong accessibility expertise - serves similar UK SMB and enterprise clients with comparable project-based engagement.
- Hassell Inclusion: UK-based accessibility consultancy providing accessibility audits, training, and remediation services - competes directly in the same accessibility-audit and accessible-build niche.
- Cyber-Duck: UK digital agency offering web design, development, and CRO services with accessibility expertise - serves a similar SMB-to-enterprise client mix with overlapping service lines.
- AbilityNet: UK charity providing digital accessibility services including audits, training, and consultancy - competes for the same charity and accessibility-focused client base in the UK market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
crayons and code social profiles
Digital presencecrayons and code financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
crayons and code leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
crayons and code funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
crayons and code M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about crayons and code
What does crayons and code do?
crayons and code designs, builds, audits and maintains accessible, performance-focused websites for small businesses and charities, primarily in Yorkshire and across the UK. It combines web design, accessibility testing, performance optimisation, SEO, CRO, content, training and consultancy into a single solo-practitioner offering. The practice also delivers work through an agency partner channel and supports clients with maintenance, hosting liaison, training and ongoing subscription support.
Is crayons and code a public or private company?
crayons and code is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was crayons and code founded?
crayons and code was founded in 2009.
How does crayons and code make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Website Design & Build is the primary driver. The others are ongoing Maintenance & Support, SEO & PPC Management, audit Services and CRO Implementation.
Who are crayons and code's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Squarespace, Webflow and TPGi. Direct peers are Nomensa, Clearleft, Hassell Inclusion, Cyber-Duck and AbilityNet.
Does crayons and code have an API?
No public API is recorded for crayons and code.
What industry is crayons and code in?
crayons and code's product category is Web Design and Accessibility Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAFAG, Personalization, Testing & Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7371.