New Website Builds
Custom sites built from scratch on a modern, server-rendered foundation, with clean URLs, semantic markup, and structured data planned before a single page is designed.
Chicago Web Development
Website Development Services in Chicago
Your website is a growth asset, not a brochure. Kyle Eggleston builds fast, crawlable, conversion-focused sites in Chicago with SEO engineered into the code from the very first line.
SEO since 20045.0 on GoogleFortune 500 to startups
Websites Built to Rank From Day One
Search is not a plugin you add at the end. It is a decision you make in the architecture.
The most expensive website is the one you pay for twice: once to build it, and again to make it findable. It is a common story. A business launches a handsome new site, and only when the traffic fails to arrive does anyone ask how Google was supposed to read it. By then the damage is baked in: content trapped behind JavaScript, URLs that read like database queries, and a page structure no crawler can make sense of.
Kyle works the other way around. Because he has done SEO since 2004, the architecture, URL structure, and rendering approach are settled before design starts, shaped by how search engines and AI crawlers actually read a page. The result is a website where good rankings are the natural outcome of how it was built, not a rescue project you pay for after the fact. That same thinking carries into your SEO services in Chicago once the site is live and ready to grow.
What you can build
Website Development Services, End to End
Whether you need a brand new site, a rebuild of something dated, a sharp campaign landing page, or a developer to keep improving what you already have, the same SEO-first standards apply to every project. Clean semantic markup, sensible URLs, server-rendered HTML, and structured data are the baseline, not an upgrade. Nothing here is templated across clients, and nothing important is left as a future phase you never get to.
Rebuilds and Replatforms
Aging sites rebuilt for speed and search, including moves off slow, plugin-heavy stacks onto a lean codebase that Google and AI crawlers can read without a fight.
Landing Pages
Focused, conversion-first pages for campaigns and services, wired for tracking and shaped around a single clear action rather than a wall of links.
Ongoing Development
New sections, features, and performance work after launch, so your site keeps improving instead of freezing the day it goes live and slowly falling behind.
Server-Side Rendering, Crawlability, and AI Readability
A lot of modern sites render everything in the browser with JavaScript, which means the first thing a crawler sees is a nearly empty page. Google can sometimes work around that, but it costs crawl budget and time, and the newer AI crawlers behind tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are far less forgiving. If your content is not in the HTML, it may simply not exist to them.
Server-side rendering solves this at the source. Every page ships full, complete HTML on the first request, so both search engines and AI systems get your actual content immediately, no JavaScript execution required. On top of that foundation Kyle layers clean semantic markup and structured data, giving machines clear signals about what each page is, how it relates to the rest of the site, and why it deserves to be surfaced in a result or an answer.
Core Web Vitals and Mobile-First Performance
Speed is not a nice-to-have. It is both a ranking signal and a conversion factor, and it is measured on real devices under real conditions. Google's Core Web Vitals track how quickly your main content loads, how fast the page reacts to input, and how much the layout jumps around while it settles. A slow, jittery page loses visitors before they ever read a word.
Discipline, not tricks
Good performance comes from restraint. That means image discipline with properly sized, modern formats, minimal JavaScript so the browser is not doing needless work, and a build that stays lean instead of accumulating weight over time. Because most of your visitors arrive on a phone, every layout is designed mobile-first, so the small screen is the priority rather than an afterthought squeezed in at the end.
Designed to Convert, Not Just to Look Good
A beautiful site that does not turn visitors into customers is an expensive decoration. Good web design is judged by what people do next, not only by how it looks in a portfolio. So every page is built around a job: guiding the visitor toward one clear action, whether that is a call, a booking, or a form, with layout, hierarchy, and copy all pointing the same direction.
That means obvious calls to action instead of buried buttons, honest headlines instead of clever ones, and a layout that removes friction rather than adding personality for its own sake. Once the site is live, real user behavior tells you what to sharpen next, which is where conversion rate optimization takes over to keep improving the pages that matter most to your revenue.
WordPress Migrations: This Site Is the Case Study
The best proof Kyle can offer is the page you are reading. kyleeggleston.com started life on WordPress and was migrated to a custom, server-rendered build. The whole point of the move was to gain speed and control without giving up the search visibility the site had already earned, and that is exactly what a careful migration is designed to protect.
Doing it safely comes down to fundamentals. Existing URLs are preserved wherever possible, redirects are mapped for anything that has to change, content and internal links are kept intact, and rankings are watched closely through the cutover. WordPress is a fine platform for many sites, and Kyle will say so when it fits. But when plugins have piled up and the site has slowed to a crawl, moving to a lean custom build can be the cleaner long-term answer, and it does not have to cost you the rankings you worked for.
How Chicago Web Development Projects Run
A clear, transparent path from first call to a live site you can grow.
Every Chicago web development project follows the same honest process, so you always know what happens next and who is doing it. There is no handoff to a rotating cast of junior staff. The person who scopes your project is the person who builds it.
01
Scope and Architecture
You start with a scoping call. Kyle maps your pages, URL structure, and content model up front, so the site is organized for search and users before design begins.
02
Design and Build
Layouts are designed around your goals, then built on a fast, server-rendered stack. Every template ships with semantic HTML and accessible, sensible structure.
03
SEO and Performance Pass
Before launch, Kyle runs a dedicated pass for Core Web Vitals, crawlability, metadata, structured data, and redirects, so nothing important slips through.
04
Launch and Monitor
The site goes live with monitoring on rankings, crawl behavior, and page speed. Early issues get caught and fixed while traffic settles into the new build.
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about building and rebuilding sites in Chicago.
How much does website development cost in Chicago?
It depends on the size and complexity of the build, so Kyle gives a flat project quote after a scoping call rather than a number off the shelf. Smaller consulting and advisory work runs $100 to $250 per hour, and ongoing development can fit inside a monthly retainer of $1,500 to $5,000. You always know the price before any code is written.
How long does a website project take?
A focused landing page can move quickly, while a full multi-section site with custom templates takes longer. Most of the timeline depends on how fast content and feedback come back to Kyle, not on the code itself. During the scoping call he gives you a realistic schedule tied to your page count, content readiness, and the features you actually need.
Should I stay on WordPress or move to a custom build?
If WordPress serves you well and stays fast, there is no reason to move. The case for a custom build is speed, control, and clean rendering, especially when plugins have piled up and slowed everything down. Kyle will look at your current site honestly and tell you whether a migration is worth it or whether tightening up WordPress is the smarter call.
How does web development affect SEO?
Heavily. Rendering, URL structure, page speed, semantic markup, and crawlability all live in the code, and they set the ceiling for how well a site can rank. When SEO is treated as an afterthought, developers ship sites that look fine but hide content behind JavaScript or bury pages under messy URLs. Building it in from the start avoids that expensive cleanup later.
Can you redesign my site without losing rankings?
Yes, and protecting rankings is a core part of the plan, not a hope. Kyle preserves working URLs, maps redirects for anything that changes, keeps your important content intact, and monitors search performance through the launch. This site is proof: kyleeggleston.com was moved off WordPress to a custom server-rendered build while holding onto its URLs and search visibility.
Do you handle maintenance after launch?
Yes. A site is a growth asset, so it should keep evolving. Kyle offers ongoing development for new pages, features, and performance work, typically inside a monthly retainer. If you would rather handle updates in house, he can hand off a clean, documented build. Either way, you are never locked into a contract that outlasts the value you are getting.
Build a Website That Earns Its Keep
Tell Kyle what your site needs to do and get an honest read on the smartest way to build it. A quick scoping call turns your goals into a clear plan, a flat quote, and a foundation ready to rank.