Websites built by the person who writes the code.
Twenty years, over a hundred sites, four CMS migrations. If your site needs to do something a template cannot, that is the work I take.
Discuss a Website →Sometimes a template is the right answer.
If you need five pages, a contact form, and a map, a Squarespace or Wix site will get you there cheaply and it will work fine. I am not going to talk you out of that. Use the simple thing when the simple thing is enough.
The reason to call me is when it isn't. When the site has to talk to something else. When the feature you need does not exist as a plugin. When you have ten years of content trapped in a platform you have outgrown. Or when "it should just do X" turns out to require somebody who can actually write X.
Design with a purpose.
A good website isn't primarily a design project. It's a business tool that happens to need to look right. Every decision (layout, content hierarchy, calls to action, page speed) should serve the goal of turning visitors into customers. When that's the frame, the design follows.
We build websites for regional businesses that need something professional, fast, and maintainable without paying national agency rates. That means clean code over bloated platforms, copy that actually says something over placeholder language, and sites that keep working without needing constant care.
Dustin has been building for the web for over 20 years, starting when the tooling was primitive and carrying forward the discipline that came from having to make things work with very little. He previously served as Director of Digital and Web Development at Six Rivers Media, overseeing sites across multiple verticals. That background means every project gets both the technical execution and the strategic judgment about what actually matters. More on his background is on the About page.
Strategy first, design second.
The best-looking website that doesn't convert visitors is an expensive mistake. We get the strategy right before we get into visual design.
Discovery
We learn your business, your customers, and your goals. Who are you trying to reach, what do you want them to do, and what's currently getting in the way? The answers drive every subsequent decision.
Content and structure
Before design, we establish what goes on every page and in what order. Copy and structure come first, not as placeholder text, but as the actual content the site will use. Design built around real copy is always better.
Design and build
We design and build simultaneously, not in separate phases that get handed off between teams. This keeps the final product tightly aligned with both the intent and the technical requirements from the start.
Launch and handoff
We test on real devices, across browsers, and under realistic traffic conditions before launch. After launch, you get documentation on how to make common updates yourself, and we're available for anything beyond that.
You're in the right place if...
Your current site is embarrassing you out of opportunities
You're sending people to your website and hoping they don't look too closely. A site that was built in 2015 and hasn't been touched since is quietly costing you business every week.
You're a regional business that needs a professional presence without a national budget
You don't need a $50,000 agency engagement. You need something well-built, professional, and done by someone who understands regional business, and who will answer the phone when you have a question.
You want a site that keeps working without needing constant maintenance
You've been burned by a site that needed updates constantly or that broke every time the platform changed something. Clean, well-built sites don't behave that way. That's what we build.
A site that works from day one.
Every project delivers a fast, professional, fully tested website, with the documentation and support to keep it running after we hand it over.
Fully Built Website
A complete, launched website built to production standards, fast, mobile-responsive, accessible, and tested across browsers and devices before it goes live.
SEO Foundation
Proper metadata, semantic structure, sitemap, and page speed optimization baked in from the start, not added as an afterthought and not requiring a separate engagement.
Content Management Access
The ability to make common updates yourself without a developer, new pages, copy changes, blog posts, team bios, so you're not dependent on us for routine maintenance.
Analytics Configuration
Google Analytics or equivalent properly installed and configured so you have accurate data about what your visitors are doing from the moment the site goes live.
The right platform for the job.
There's no single platform that fits every business. We pick based on what the site actually needs to do.
WordPress
Our primary platform for clients: theme-based builds (including Enfold and Gutenberg), Gravity Forms, and managed hosting on WP Engine. The right call when you need a content team publishing regularly, a large plugin ecosystem, or ongoing editorial control without a developer on standby.
Static site
The right call when content changes rarely, speed and security matter most, and you don't need a content management system at all.
WooCommerce
The right call when you're selling physical or digital products directly and need inventory, checkout, and order management, including custom product options and category-level logic, built in.
Custom application builds
When a project needs more than a CMS: both tricitiesailab.com and dustinlifford.com run on custom Python/Flask builds with CDN delivery, and app-style projects (Next.js/Supabase) are within scope.
Managed hosting
The right call for any of the above once the site is live: monitoring, backups, and updates handled so the platform choice doesn't become a maintenance burden later.
Leaving a platform you have outgrown
Page builders are decent tools and there is no argument with them. Calls still come in from businesses that need to get off one and take a decade of content with them, intact, without losing their search rankings. That is a specific job with specific traps.
The platform is chosen per project, not the other way around. Most clients end up on WordPress because it fits how they work; some are better served by a fast static site or a custom build.
The part most shops subcontract.
Not every site needs any of this. When one does, this is where a design-only shop stops and hands the work to someone else.
Custom applications and internal tools
Purpose built software for a specific workflow, not a plugin bent into an approximate shape.
Third party and API integrations
Connecting the site to the systems a business already runs on, including CRMs, booking systems, and internal databases.
Data driven pages and reporting
Pages generated from real data rather than maintained by hand, and reporting that pulls from the source instead of a spreadsheet.
Platform migrations and content recovery
Moving off an outgrown platform with the content and the search rankings intact.
Form and workflow logic
Conditional routing, calculations, multi step processes, and validation past what a form plugin covers.
Document search and handling
Making a large body of documents searchable, sortable, and usable.
It's your website.
You own the domain, the code, and the content. Nothing is held hostage to keep you as a client.
Built toward WCAG 2.1 AA.
Every site is built with WCAG 2.1 AA as the target standard: keyboard operability, sufficient color contrast, proper heading structure, and usable focus states. This is a design and development standard we build to, not a claim of a completed third-party audit.
Recent work.
A sample of recent builds across law firms, contractors, healthcare, recreation, e-commerce, and professional services in the Tri-Cities region and beyond.
Some of these were built from scratch and some were built to a client's specification. Each is noted.
Spurrell, Studer & Matney Law Group
Full law firm site for a Johnson City practice: five practice areas, attorney bios, case results, a legal blog, and a case evaluation form.
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A Stitch of Grace
Online boutique selling apparel, DTF transfers, and embroidered goods, with custom product options and category logic.
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dustinlifford.com
Custom Python/Flask portfolio and blog platform with CDN delivery, built and maintained in-house.
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Barrister Intelligence
Intelligence firm serving law firms nationwide. Service pages for intelligence reports, witness location, and corporate structure research.
Built to client specifications.
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Templeton Strategic Group
Licensed criminal defense investigation firm. Attorney testimonials, services, pricing, and team pages.
Built to client specifications.
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Berger Law Firm
Atlanta personal injury firm focused on premises liability, with case results, publications, and endorsement pages.
Built to client specifications.
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Hudson Stoneworks & Masonry
Tri-Cities masonry contractor site with service pages, before-and-after sliders, and a project gallery.
Built to client specifications.
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Sexton Specialty Lawn Services
Lawn care and landscaping site built around a free estimate request funnel, with gallery and review prompts.
Built to client specifications.
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Albatross Logistics and Consulting
Consulting firm of retired federal agents, featured in a Financial Times investigation. Bilingual English and Spanish site.
Built to client specifications.
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Shipley Law Firm
Homepage, attorney bios, and a Meta lead-generation funnel built for a direct law firm client.
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Medication Management Center
Kingsport medication therapy management practice led by Dr. Billie J. Minton, Pharm.D. Team bios, services, and patient testimonials.
Built to client specifications.
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PC Virus Tech
Rogersville computer repair and IT services company. Service pages for repair, virus removal, networking, security cameras, and data backup.
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The Swing Lab
Indoor golf simulator business in Kingsport. Simulator and course details, events, and session packages booked and sold online.
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Dr. Wolfe Energetic Healthcare and Dentistry
Johnson City holistic dental practice site with an online product store, patient forms, and an extensive content library.
Visit site →The first conversation is always free.
No slide deck, no sales script to get through. Just a straight conversation about what you need and whether we're the right fit.