❓ Frequently Asked Questions

A site that uses a CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal …) is a dynamic system. Every time a visitor views a page, the server has to "build" that page by retrieving information from a database. This requires processing power and makes the site slower. Moreover, such a CMS runs on an engine with many moving parts: a theme, plugins, and the CMS core itself. These need constant updates, otherwise you risk security vulnerabilities.

My sites are static or use minimal PHP. They consist of flat HTML files and a bit of PHP for contact forms, for example. No database, no CMS login page, and no update obligation. Result: a site that is blazing fast, extremely secure, and maintenance‑free.

Literally years, even decades. As long as the web supports HTML (and it always will), your site will keep working. Look at info.cern.ch, the very first website from 1991: it is still online. My sites are built with the same solidity.

On the contrary, it is a modern trend (often called JAMstack) that focuses on performance and security. Large companies are increasingly switching to static solutions because they are fed up with the hassle and risks of systems like WordPress.

For three reasons: simplicity, speed, and stability. Frameworks and CMSs are powerful, but for 90% of websites they are overkill. They add complexity you don’t need. Also, it takes a lot of time to learn a CMS like WordPress properly – and even then you are stuck in the corset of that system. I love pure, clean code that does exactly what it should do, and nothing more. That is the "engineer’s approach": the most efficient means to an end.

For most small organisations, freelancers or associations, a website with 3 to 5 pages is more than enough. Think of: Home, About, Services/Prices, Contact, and maybe something about materials used or workshops or the like. More is always possible, but I’ll honestly advise you if it’s not necessary.

Wix, Squarespace and the like are closed ecosystems. You build your site with their tools, but you are locked into their platform. Want to switch? You have to start all over again. My custom work is open: you get the source code, you can host it anywhere, and any competent web developer can work with it later. That is real independence. Moreover, my code is minimal and clean, while those builders are full of superfluous extras that slow down your site.

I have four clear reasons for that:

1. No expensive CMS licences or frameworks: I code in pure HTML/CSS/PHP, not with WordPress or expensive themes that require annual payments.
2. No maintenance contracts: Because my sites do not need updates, I don’t have to send you a monthly "maintenance invoice". You pay once, done.
3. No agency overhead: I am a sole proprietor, not a company with account managers, sales teams and expensive offices. You pay for my 35+ years of experience, not for the bills of an entire agency.
4. Fixed ratio: About 20% of my work is setting up the basics, 10% technical SEO (invisible but important), and a full 70% creative, artistic work: your colours, your texts, your design.

Other designers charge monthly fees because their CMS (like WordPress) needs regular security updates. My static sites do not, so I have nothing to push on you.

No. No subscription, no maintenance contract, no hidden costs. After delivery you are done. Only if you later want new pages or functionalities, we get in touch for a one‑off price.

None at all. The amount we agree on is the amount you pay. The only recurring costs are your domain name (e.g. mycompany.com) and your hosting (the computer where your site is stored). You arrange these yourself (or I help you), and you pay them directly to the provider. I don’t earn anything from that.

No problem. If you already have a package with a provider (like GoDaddy, Bluehost, …), I can usually just publish the site there. We can check together if what you have is sufficient for your new site.

My sites are technically very lightweight. The only real requirement is that your hosting supports PHP (for the contact form) and that you have access via FTP or SFTP to upload the files. Almost any standard hosting package from well‑known providers meets this. For a pure HTML page, even PHP is not necessary.

No, I am not an email provider. Your email runs through your hosting company. You better arrange that with them, but it is usually very simple to do.

Yes, completely. After delivery you receive all files. The site belongs to you, not me. You can do whatever you want with it: have it modified later by another developer, move it to another host, or just keep it safe.

I deliberately stay below the VAT threshold, because I prefer to avoid all that hassle with VAT returns. It keeps my prices low and my administration simple. For you, that simply means an invoice without VAT.

You need your own domain. That is your unique address on the web, like mycompany.com. I am happy to help you choose a domain name and purchase it from a provider, but the domain will be registered in your name. I do not rent out subdomains; that would make you dependent on me, and I don’t want that.

1. Contact: We discuss your wishes without obligation. Feel free to send examples: a competitor’s site (for content) and a site whose layout you like (for design). That gives me a good idea of what you’re looking for.
2. Quote: You receive a clear price agreement.
3. Deposit (40%): After agreement you pay 40%. I start working.
4. Demo on server: Within a reasonable time I put a preview online. You get 7 days to test and give feedback. Small changes within the agreed scope I handle during that week.
5. Delivery: After your approval and payment of the remaining 60%, I transfer the site to your final domain.

The exact duration depends on my workload and the complexity. I don’t promise unrealistic deadlines, but I work steadily. It’s ready when it’s good.

That depends. You provide the basic information: who you are, what you do, and what you want to achieve. You may provide your own texts and/or photos, or have me write texts and/or find photos (at an additional cost). If you write texts yourself, it will naturally take you more time, but cost you less money. Once I have that, I take over the technical and constructive work. I make sure the site is technically and visually correct. When I’m done, I put it on my test server and you get 7 days to test and evaluate your site. Again, you invest as much time as you want. During that time I may still do small adjustments and fix any errors. Then it’s finished and we go live.

Then we don’t go further. You have seen the demo, you had a week to test. Not satisfied? Then you don’t pay the remaining 60% and we leave it at that. You don’t have a working site (because it is on my demo server), but you also haven’t taken the risk of an expensive mistake. It’s an honest, safe way of working.

That depends on the complexity, how quickly you give feedback, and my current workload. A simple site is usually ready within a few weeks, but I don’t work with tight deadlines. I prefer to do it well rather than quickly. You can trust that I work steadily and keep you informed.

That is the basis. You know your business best. But:

• No inspiration for texts? I can write them for you (extra charge).
• No suitable photos? I can find royalty‑free, appropriate images for you (extra charge).
• Want a logo? I can design that too (price on request).

Feel free to ask about the possibilities.

Your texts should first and foremost be good for your visitors. If you want, I can rewrite or optimise your texts entirely (extra charge) so that they score well both for your visitors and for search engines.

Yes, absolutely. The prices on my site are for the most common, "standard" projects. If you have a larger idea, a member platform, an interactive tool, or … ? Just contact me. We’ll discuss it; I’ll honestly say whether I can and want to do it.

A valid question. Here are five reasons:

1. Full transparency about ownership: You are and remain the owner of your domain name and hosting account. I may help you set it up, or you do it entirely yourself, but the invoice is always in your name. You are never stuck with me.
2. See first, then believe: You only pay 40% upfront. The remaining 60% only after you have seen AND tested a fully working demo on my server. You take no risk.
3. Years of experience: I am an engineer and have decades of experience in programming. My code is not a fashion show, it’s custom‑built that works.
4. I explain everything: I used to be a professor, now I am a study coach. I can explain things clearly without jargon. No magic, just technology.
5. No hidden agenda: I don’t sell you monthly subscriptions, no expensive maintenance contracts.

I build SEO into the foundations of your site. For instance:

• Unique, clear titles and meta descriptions for each page.
• A correct heading structure (H1, H2, H3) that screen readers and Google bots understand.
• Alternative texts for images (alt texts).
• Open Graph tags (og:image, og:description, og:title) that determine how your site looks when shared on Facebook, LinkedIn or WhatsApp.
• Twitter Cards for X (Twitter).
• Schema.org markup (structured data) in JSON‑LD: code that explains to Google exactly what your site is (person, business, article…). This provides rich results in Google (stars, opening hours, event data). This is advanced SEO that most people don’t do.
• Hreflang for multilingual sites, so Google knows which language to show to which visitor.
• A blazing fast loading time, which Google rewards.

These technical foundations – Open Graph, Schema, hreflang, correct meta tags – cost me knowledge and experience, but you get them for free with every site I build. Most AI builders or cheap designers skip this; you get to figure it out yourself.

For larger sites, yes. For a few pages it’s unnecessary. I then create a sitemap.xml. This is a technical overview of all pages on your site, allowing Google to find and index them more efficiently.

Yes, I can arrange that. For a one‑off fee, I set up your Google Business Profile for Google Maps and link it directly to Bing Places (Microsoft).

No, absolutely not. You can buy adverts on Google (Google Ads), but that’s renting visibility. You pay per click. That’s a form of promotion you can use if you want, but I don’t arrange that (and I don’t strongly believe in it – you are one of millions paying for a vague promise). The organic search results (the normal results for which no one pays) are earned with a good website and smart, technical SEO.

That depends on Google, not on me. But because I deliver your site technically optimal (fast loading, correct meta tags, structured data), I give Google every chance to index your site quickly. Usually you are findable on your company name within a few weeks. For competitive terms like "plumber in London" it takes longer and requires good content and patience. Incidentally, I submit your site by default to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

I guarantee that your site is technically 100% ready for indexing. That’s all I can guarantee.

There are plenty of free and effective ways:

• Your email signature: Put the link to your site under every email you send.
• Letterhead and invoices: Put your website URL on all your paper documents.
• Flyers and business cards: The classics still work.
• Social media: Create a page for your business on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X (Twitter). Which platform you choose depends on your audience. Post regularly and link to your site.
• Google My Business: For local businesses (like plumbers, shops, restaurants), a free listing on Google Maps is extremely important. You can do this yourself via "Google Business Profile", or I can do it for you for a fee.
• Networking: Talk to people, tell them what you do. Word‑of‑mouth is still the best advertising.

In short: I deliver the solid, professional and fast foundation. You ensure people find it, with a mix of online and offline promotion. And if you need help with that (e.g., a social media strategy), I can advise or refer you.

Yes, definitely. I do that by default for all clients. After delivery, I submit your site to:

• Google Search Console: so you can see exactly how Google views your site, any errors, and which search terms bring people to your site.
• Bing Webmaster Tools: same for Bing (and thus also for Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia).

If you wish, I add you as a "delegated owner" so that you also have full access. For that you need a Google and Bing account. You can use an existing Gmail or Outlook/Hotmail address, or create an account with your own email. If you don’t want to be a delegated owner, you have to do it yourself.

Yes, more secure than a CMS. Why? Because there is simply less to attack. A hacker cannot break in through a login page that doesn’t exist. There is no database to steal and no outdated plugin creating a vulnerability. WordPress is a popular target for automated attacks; my static sites fly under the radar. It is the most robust form of a website.

I program a small PHP script. This script captures the data entered by the visitor, automatically filters spam, and forwards the message to your email via a secure SMTP connection. It works, is spam‑free, and needs no database.

You receive the source code of your website at the end. It is your responsibility to keep it safe somewhere. If you are lucky, I still have a copy, and you can get it from me, but I give no guarantees on that. Finished is finished for me, the rest is your responsibility.

Extremely fast. Because no database needs to be queried and no PHP script needs to assemble pages, the server simply sends a ready‑made file. That is the fastest possible way of web hosting.

I ensure your site looks good and works well on all screen sizes. I do that by precisely describing in the code (CSS) how the layout should adapt: on a phone things stack vertically, on a wide screen they sit side by side. I use modern techniques like CSS Grid and Flexbox, and I test during construction on various screen widths. During your demo period you can also test yourself on your phone, tablet and computer. If something doesn’t look right, I adjust it until it does. The result is not a "shrunken" computer site, but a site designed for every device.

I only use functional cookies – for example to remember your language or theme preference. They are necessary for the site’s operation and therefore fall under the EU cookie banner exception. Your site will not show an annoying cookie notice. I install no tracking cookies.

WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: international guidelines that ensure websites are usable for everyone, including people with disabilities. Think of the visually impaired, blind people using a screen reader, the deaf, or people with motor impairments.

Why is this important?

• Human: About 15% of the population has some form of disability. By making your site accessible, you exclude no one.
• SEO: Many accessibility guidelines (clear headings, alt texts) perfectly align with what search engines consider important.
• Legislation: Accessibility is increasingly becoming a legal requirement, even for businesses.
• Everyone benefits: Think of someone with a temporarily broken arm or someone in bright sunlight.

What do I do concretely? I build my sites with WCAG guidelines (at least level AA) in mind:

• Sufficient contrast between text and background.
• Keyboard navigation: everything that can be done with a mouse must also be doable with keys.
• Focus indication: you always see where you are when navigating with the Tab key.
• Alternative texts for images (alt texts) for screen readers.
• Clear heading structure (H1, H2, H3) that logically builds the content.

Practically not through traditional code injection, because there is no database or login page. The only way to "hack" such a site is to break into your hosting provider’s server. Your site is far less vulnerable than an average CMS.

No. Unless you know some HTML, it’s not straightforward to change things on a static site. There is no login or control panel where you could add pages yourself. If you want to add things regularly, I recommend either using systeme.io or a CMS like WordPress (but for a CMS, I’m not the one, I don’t do that).

If you have a price list or a menu (or something similar) on your site that needs occasional updating, I have a few systems for that. We can discuss that during the first contact, or if you want an extension.

If you still want to try yourself, work on a copy. If you mess it up, you can always restore the original. But don’t expect me to drop everything to come to your rescue if you broke it yourself.

The site displays a default language. The visitor can easily switch with a button. This choice is stored in a cookie, so the site starts in the correct language on the next visit. The translations are done by AI, but you can of course review them yourself or have them reviewed.

Yes and no. You can link your site to systeme.io for instance, or to something like Shopify for large assortments. Apart from systeme.io, I don’t do e‑commerce sites.

Adding a blog is possible, but then it’s no longer a static site. So it costs more. I can build a simple system. You can also just use a blog platform and link to it from your site, or link to a platform like systeme.io, where you can set up a blog relatively easily.

That depends on what you originally ordered. For a site with individual HTML pages, an extra page requires a bit more work because the navigation has to be updated on every page. With a PHP‑driven system, it’s simpler: I only need to change it in one place. Contact me for an exact price, I always keep costs fair and reasonable.

Yes, I use AI for translations, and the results are surprisingly good for European languages (French, German, English, Spanish, Italian …). You can always have the translations reviewed by a native speaker if you want absolute certainty. But for most businesses, the AI quality is more than sufficient. You pay for setting up the multilingual system and the translations (which take time), the price depends on the number of languages and pages.

systeme.io is an all‑in‑one marketing platform. Ideal for anyone wanting to get online quickly with digital products or a community, without worrying about technical maintenance. You can start completely for free.

Choose systeme.io for courses, e‑books and quick sales within an existing platform. Choose my custom work for a unique site, maximum control over your code, and no monthly fees.

Yes, that’s true! There are increasingly smart AI tools that can put together a website for you in a few minutes. And that’s fantastic… if you have enough time, are technically handy, and enjoy tinkering yourself. I believe in honest advice: for some people, the AI route is a great option. That’s why I’ve listed several of those tools below. You can try one or more and see where you get. If it works and you’re satisfied? Great.

There are roughly two types: "generators" that build a site for you in one go, and "assistants" that help you while you work. Here are the most well‑known:

• Lovable: Popular AI app builder. You describe your idea and Lovable generates a complete React app with Supabase backend. Super fast for prototypes, code is yours (GitHub). Downside: complex applications get tricky, you’re tied to Supabase.
• Wix: AI site generator (Wix ADI). You enter your details, choose a style, and the AI creates a complete site. Closed platform, you can’t take the code with you. User‑friendly though.
• Replit: Online development environment with built‑in AI assistant. You can program in 50+ languages. Really for people who already know a bit of programming or want to learn.
• Manus: An AI agent that not only writes code but also researches your competitors, makes a plan, and sets up the site entirely. End‑to‑end, no lock‑in. Credits can add up for large projects.
• Appy Pie: No‑code platform with AI design. A design in 60 seconds, then visually customisable. Mobile apps also possible. Closed ecosystem.
• Mobirise: Offline website builder (Windows/Mac) with AI. Drag blocks, AI helps with texts, images and SEO. You can export the code, so no lock‑in.
• Brizy: Visual website builder for WordPress and cloud. AI can generate texts, create images and set up pages. For those who want WordPress but don’t want to see code.
• Dorik: No‑code platform focused on simplicity and speed. AI generates complete sites based on a few questions. You can export the code, so you remain owner.

Yes and no. The AI can indeed put together a website in minutes that looks professional at first glance. But:

• It takes time: You need to learn how to talk to the AI, formulate prompts, and often adjust. The first site is quick, but then the fiddling begins.
• It requires patience: AIs are smart, but they quickly lose track with more complex wishes. You soon end up in a prompt loop of trial and error.
• You have to do it yourself: If something doesn’t work, there’s no helpdesk to solve it for you. You are the developer.

In short: for those with time and inclination, it’s a fun and educational challenge. But "quick website" often becomes "a weekend of tinkering".

Honestly:

• Choose AI if: you have a small budget (starting freelancer, non‑profit with limited means), the time and desire to play with it, and you’re not afraid of some technical tinkering. Then feel free to use the links in the "What AI website builders are there?" section above.
• Choose me if: you want it to just work, be immediately good for Google and social media, and you don’t want to waste time fiddling. If you want a site that not only looks good but is also technically completely sound. And if you want the certainty that it will still work in five years without you having to look after it.

I understand that money isn’t always abundant. That’s why I deliberately keep my prices low, and why I honestly give you the AI options. But consider this: a site from me is one‑off, lasts years, and costs you no maintenance. Building an AI site costs you time (and time is money), and if you’re not satisfied, you have to search further or eventually hire someone. Calculate your hourly rate, add the hours you put in, and you are often more expensive than if you had hired me. Let that sink in.

Still want to try the AI route? Great! Then use the links in the "What AI website builders are there?" section above. And if after a few months you find it’s not quite right, I’m still here to make something beautiful out of it.

Yes, you can always email me. I don’t work with subscriptions; for any change we simply make a new, fair price agreement.

My sites are standard HTML/CSS/JavaScript/PHP files. Any competent developer can understand these files. You are never dependent on me.

No. I’m not going to struggle through someone else’s code. Moreover, my prices are low: for a simple website you’re often better off with a completely new site than with me trying to decipher foreign code by the hour. And how far should I go? Is the code okay? If not, do I have to fix that too? Too much hassle!

Existing sites are often made using software. In the past FrontPage or Dreamweaver, nowadays for example Pinegrow or RocketCake. Every block you drag, every colour you choose generates extra HTML, CSS and scripts – much more than necessary. Also, simply saving a Word document as HTML gives you a huge amount of superfluous code. That makes such sites slow and hard to maintain. Hand‑written code is much cleaner and more efficient.

Experience shows that in such a case you often end up almost building a new site, and then I prefer to start with my own clean slate.

That’s a bit of a story: I have a YouTube channel "Den ingenieur". I wanted an English version, but of course "The Engineer" already existed, while "Just The Engineer" didn’t. Since I also wanted a website for both channels, I bought the domain names for them. And when I started my business, I thought this would be a nice name for the shop. Hence.

It also suits me, because it’s a big part of who I am. Just an engineer. I focus on the technical core and the engineer’s approach: efficient, solid, and without marketing fluff.

And why English? I don’t rule out international collaboration. One of the nicest things about my time as an ICT manager for an international research group at KU Leuven was working with so many people of different nationalities. I’m still in touch with some of them today.

Because it’s all interconnected. I have a broad engineering education and have always made all sorts of things: from software tools to websites. That technical baggage means I don’t see web design as an isolated island, but as part of a larger whole. My didactic background (as a former professor and current study coach) also means I enjoy explaining why I do things a certain way. So you get a partner who thinks along with you.