About
One person, afloat, building sites for one-person businesses ashore.
I'm Dan, a web developer. Since 2020 I've lived aboard Dawn Treader, a narrowboat — and Towpath Forge is run from its cabin.
Most of my customers are people who work exactly the way market traders and small shops do: on their own, responsible for everything, short on time. You don't want an agency. You want one person who knows your site, answers the phone, and changes your prices before Saturday's market.
Why fixed prices
Because "it depends" quotes mostly protect the seller, not the buyer. I've priced the jobs most small businesses actually need — a one-page site, a small multi-page site, a small online shop — and I do exactly that job for exactly that price. If something outside the list comes up, I tell you the price first and wait for your OK. You'll never open a surprise invoice from me.
And the care plans are one all-in number: hosting, updates, backups, monitoring, a monthly report and a monthly call, with the reply times published on the pricing page. Cancel any time with 30 days' notice — I'd rather earn the next month than trap you in a contract.
The narrowboat
The boat is my home and my office. It moves at walking pace, which suits the work: careful, made on the water, nothing rushed out the door. Service area: currently cruising the Grand Union, working with businesses anywhere in the UK. Wherever I'm moored, it's mostly email or phone.
Slow travel, fast replies — I publish my response times on the pricing page and I keep to them. If I'm steering through a lock when your message lands, I'll reply as soon as I've moored up.
What I don't do
I don't promise rankings, traffic or sales — nobody honest can. I don't take on work that needs a team, and I'll say so and point you to someone good if that's what you need. And I don't invent proof: every claim on this site is something you can check with me directly, by email or phone, today.