Area
Web design in Selby
Selby is a market town on the River Ouse with a much more industrial economy around it than its centre suggests. The district's history includes the Selby coalfield, and energy remains central today: Drax, which describes itself as the UK's largest power station, sits just outside the town and employs around 1,000 people directly at the plant, with many more jobs supported in the supply chain across Yorkshire and the Humber.
To the west, the Sherburn in Elmet area has become the district's main industrial and distribution base, close to junction 42 of the A1(M) with links to the M1 and M62. The Sherburn2 employment park was built to add to it, and the area has been home to logistics and distribution operators including names such as Clipper and DHL. Plans for the former Gascoigne Wood colliery site have looked at rail-linked industrial space. All of this means a large share of Selby district's businesses sell to other businesses.
Business-to-business suppliers
Engineering contractors, fabricators, electrical and mechanical firms, maintenance companies, haulage and warehousing operators, and specialist suppliers to energy and manufacturing make up a big part of the local economy. Their customers are procurement teams, site managers and larger contractors, and those people check websites before inviting a supplier to quote.
What they look for is specific:
- Exactly what you do, described in the terms the buyer uses.
- The sectors and sites you work on, and any restrictions you can work under.
- Accreditations, safety systems and insurance you genuinely hold.
- Examples of work, anonymised where contracts require it.
- A clear route to request a quote or send a tender.
A vague site full of general claims makes buyers move on. A specific, plain one gets you onto the list. Our guide to websites for the rail supply chain covers the same principles, and most of them apply equally to energy and logistics suppliers.
Logistics and distribution
Distribution firms around Sherburn compete for contracts and, just as often, for staff. Their websites need to do both jobs: show customers capacity, locations and services, and give job seekers a clear picture of shifts, pay where it can be shared, training and how to apply. Recruitment pages are often the most visited part of a logistics site, so they deserve proper attention, with fast pages that work on a phone and an application route that does not ask for a CV upload on a mobile.
Trades and home services
Selby town and the villages around it rely on trades and local services: builders, electricians, plumbers, roofers, heating engineers, garages, cleaners and landscapers. Their customers search locally with intent, for example "electrician Selby" or "boiler service near Sherburn". For these businesses a tidy, fast site with a page per main service, a clear list of areas covered and a complete Google Business Profile is usually the biggest win. Photographs of real jobs build more trust than any amount of stock imagery.
The town centre
Selby's centre has independent shops, cafés, salons and services serving residents and visitors. For them the basics matter most: accurate opening hours, clear information about what you sell, and a site that matches the Google listing exactly.
How Selby customers search
Search behaviour splits along the same lines as the economy. Business buyers search by capability and region ("steel fabrication North Yorkshire", "warehouse space near A1 M62"), then check websites closely. Residents search by service and town name, and the map listings carry much of the weight.
Common mistakes we see in Selby district
Industrial firms often have a single page listing every service they offer, which makes it hard for buyers or search engines to tell what the company is best at. Splitting capabilities into separate, specific pages almost always helps. Another common gap is accreditations: buyers have to email to confirm what a firm holds, and some never do. A third is a careers page that sends applicants to a generic email address. In a competitive labour market around the A1 and M62, an application route that works on a phone in five minutes makes a real difference to who applies.
What we usually recommend
- For B2B suppliers: one page per capability, an accreditations page and anonymised project examples.
- For logistics: a careers section built for mobile applicants alongside the customer-facing pages.
- For trades: a lean site, a complete Google Business Profile and real job photos.
Relevant services include WordPress and custom development, local SEO and hosting and care for firms that would rather not manage updates themselves.