What can Roddy Digital do for a Newport business?
Newport clients usually come to us for one or more of six things. Each links to its full service page, and our packages page lists the website prices.
- Web design: a new site, written and built to bring in enquiries, live in 30 days.
- Website and web app development: portals, quoting tools and integrations for when a brochure site is too small for the job.
- SEO and AI search: getting found on Google and named by ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI answers.
- Online marketing: Google Ads, content and email that send the right visitors to the site.
- AI automation: enquiry handling, quoting and follow-ups that run without anyone retyping data.
- AI training: half-day workshops and private team sessions, so your staff use AI well.
Start with whichever one is costing you the most. I would rather you see a result from one piece of work than buy everything at once.
What kind of business city is Newport?
Newport is a city of about 159,600 people, up 9.5% between the 2011 and 2021 censuses (ONS). It has a strong industrial core, a working port and a city centre in the middle of a long rebuild.
Compound semiconductors. South Wales is home to CSconnected, described as the world's first compound semiconductor cluster. Its 2025 annual report puts the cluster at 3,140 jobs and £531 million in annual sales (CSconnected). KLA opened a $138 million R&D and manufacturing centre in Newport in 2025 (Cardiff University), and the council names KLA and Microsoft among the tech firms it has attracted to the city (Newport City Council).
Ports and logistics. The Port of Newport is the UK's leading steel port. In 2022 it exported 955,000 tonnes of steel, about 72% of UK iron and steel exports from major ports (ABP). With the M4 running through the city, haulage, warehousing and trade suppliers sit across its estates.
Events, the city centre and the east. ICC Wales, in the grounds of the Celtic Manor Resort, opened in 2019 and can hold more than 5,000 delegates (Conference Matters). In the centre, the council's cabinet member for regeneration reports Newport Market and the Market Arcade thriving after major regeneration, with a 15-year placemaking plan for the wider centre in draft (Business News Wales). To the east, the former Llanwern steelworks is being turned into a new community and business park (City of Newport).
How do Newport customers find a supplier?
It depends on who your customer is, and Newport businesses tend to serve very different buyers.
A household in Bettws or Rogerstone searches "boiler service Newport" or "roofer near me" on a phone and picks from the map results. Google Business Profile, reviews and a fast mobile page decide who gets the call.
A procurement manager at a manufacturer searches more like "precision machining South Wales" or "cleanroom fit-out contractor", often at a desk, and reads several supplier sites before shortlisting. They want capability, standards, sectors served and a named person to talk to. A single vague "Services" page loses them.
An organiser planning an event at ICC Wales looks for caterers, AV, transport and rooms, and more of them now ask an AI assistant for a shortlist. If your site never mentions the venue, the events you cover or your capacity, neither Google nor ChatGPT can put you forward.
Newport buyers can just as easily hire a firm from Cardiff or Bristol, so being nearby only helps if your site makes the case. The business whose page answers the question best usually gets the enquiry.
What should a Newport website include for your sector?
Manufacturing, engineering and the semiconductor supply chain
Build a page for each capability and each sector you supply, with equipment, tolerances, standards and lead times written out. Add case studies that set out the problem, the job and the outcome. Give recruitment its own section too, because a growing cluster needs skilled people and your careers page is part of your pitch.
Logistics, haulage and trade suppliers
Put the quote form near the top and ask the questions your team asks on the phone: collection point, delivery point, load and dates. Then connect it to your CRM so every quote is logged and chased. This is where workflow automation often pays back early, because the same steps repeat on every job.
City centre shops, cafés and venues
Keep opening hours, menus and events identical on your site and your Google Business Profile, since a mismatch sends people elsewhere. Mention the street you trade on and what is close by, so people planning a trip into town can find you.
Hospitality and suppliers around Celtic Manor and ICC Wales
Write pages for the visitors you actually serve: delegates, wedding parties, golfers. Name the venues, show capacity and booking lead times, and make a group enquiry quick to send.
How much does a website cost for a Newport business?
Our website packages have fixed monthly prices, all + VAT on a 12-month term, and every site goes live within 30 days.
| Package | Pages | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Kickstart | Up to 10 | £350 |
| Accelerate | Up to 25 | £650 |
| Launch Pad | Up to 50 | £1,000 |
Design, build, copywriting, on-page SEO, GA4, Search Console, Google Business Profile set-up, hosting, SSL, security and backups come with each one. A city centre café will usually fit Kickstart. A manufacturer that needs a page per capability and per sector is more likely to need Accelerate or Launch Pad.
Portals, integrations and larger AI systems are scoped after a call. Our hourly rate is £95 + VAT, and longer engagements run as a Growth Partnership scoped over twelve months.
How do we work with Newport businesses from Cardiff?
Roddy Digital's office is at 11-13 Penhill Rd in Pontcanna, Cardiff, a straightforward run along the M4 from Newport. We have no base in the city, and you will not need one.
Meetings happen on Zoom and are recorded, so colleagues who missed the call can watch it and nobody relies on scribbled notes. If you prefer to meet face to face, you are welcome at the Pontcanna office by arrangement.
I lead every engagement personally. I've spent fifteen years in websites and digital marketing, starting in sales, and worked on brands including Vodafone, Sainsbury's, Airbus and LVMH in earlier roles. That sales grounding is why our sites are written around the questions buyers ask before they pick up the phone.
Every build has a fixed scope and a launch date agreed before work starts, and one person to contact throughout: me.
How should you choose a web designer in Newport?
- Ask for prices in writing early. If a provider will not give you a range before a meeting, expect the quote to move.
- Ask what happens at the end of the term. Find out who holds the domain, the content and the hosting, and what leaving would involve.
- Look for proof with numbers. Enquiries, rankings and leads, ideally from businesses like yours. A gallery of screenshots tells you little.
- Test their B2B sense. If you sell to other businesses, ask how they would present your capabilities to a procurement team.
- Ask about AI search. ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI answers now shape shortlists. Run our free Cited AI visibility check on your current site first, then ask each provider what they would change.
- Weigh location against fit. A Newport address is convenient. A provider who understands your buyers is worth more.