I run a one-person studio, so I'm not exactly neutral. But there are real trade-offs both ways, and you deserve the honest version before you choose.
When you need a website or help with marketing, you've broadly got two routes: a one-person studio like mine, or a larger agency. Both can do excellent work. They're just built differently, and that difference affects your price, your experience, and who actually does the work.
What you get with an agency
Agencies have teams. That means more hands, specialists in different areas, and the capacity to take on big, complex projects. If you're a large organisation needing a sprawling website, a brand overhaul and ongoing campaigns all at once, an agency has the scale for it.
The trade-offs: you usually pay more, because you're funding account managers, sales staff and office overheads alongside the actual work. You often speak to a manager rather than the person doing the job. And smaller clients can end up handled by junior staff while the senior people focus on bigger accounts.
What you get with a one-person studio
With me, the person you speak to is the person doing the work. There's no translation layer between what you want and what gets built, because you're talking directly to the maker. That tends to mean clearer communication, faster decisions, and a result that matches what you actually asked for.
You also generally pay less for comparable quality, because there's no overhead to cover. And because I take on a smaller number of clients, your project gets genuine attention rather than being one of fifty.
The fair counterpoint: one person has limits. I can't build a hundred-page enterprise platform next week, and I'm one person's availability, not a team's. For most small businesses that's no issue at all. If you're an exception, an agency may suit you better, and I'll tell you so.
The questions that actually decide it
How big and complex is the project?
Standard small business website, marketing help, branding? A studio is ideal. Enormous, multi-part build with lots of moving specialists? Lean agency.
Who do you want to deal with?
If you value talking straight to the person responsible, a studio wins easily. If you'd rather have a managed process with a single point of contact coordinating a team, that's the agency model.
What's your budget?
Pound for pound, a one-person studio usually gives a small business more for its money, because you're paying for craft, not infrastructure.
Why I built MW Reach the way I did
I deliberately kept it just me. Not because I couldn't grow, but because the moment you add layers, the client stops dealing with the person who cares most about the work. When you hire me, you get me, start to finish, for the design, the SEO, the ads and everything in between. That accountability is the whole point.
For a small business that wants quality work, a fair price, and a real human who picks up the phone, that's a combination worth having.
Want to work directly with the person doing the work?
That's the whole idea here. Tell me what you need and you'll deal with me, from first chat to finished site.
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