About JWD
We build websites South African businesses actually grow with.
Since 2013, JWD has designed and built websites that do more than look good, they rank, load fast and turn visitors into customers. We're a Cape Town based studio working with businesses across the country, from lodges and clinics to industrial and retail brands.
Founder-led, in-house, remote since day one.
JWD is led by director Shane Snyman, and every project runs through one in-house team rather than being farmed out between subcontractors. We started building websites for South African businesses in 2013, before remote-first was the norm, and that way of working has stayed the same as the business has grown: one team, working directly with the client, from first call to launch and beyond.
What's changed is scope. What started as website design has grown into full custom web application development on modern frameworks like Laravel, Vue and React for businesses that need real user accounts and admin systems, technical SEO and AEO work aimed at both Google and AI answer engines, and a client base that now includes businesses outside South Africa as well as inside it. One thing hasn't changed: we build something that actually works for the business paying for it, not just something that looks good in a portfolio.
Years building
Sites launched
Happy clients
In-house
What we actually build
WordPress websites
Fast, well-built WordPress sites for businesses that want an affordable, manageable platform, from a single-page site to a full e-commerce store.
Custom web applications
Real applications on modern frameworks like Laravel, Vue and React, with user accounts, admin dashboards and role-based permissions, for businesses whose website needs to do more than display information.
SEO and AEO
Technical, on-page and local SEO, plus the structured data and AI-crawler access that determine whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can find and cite your business.
Hosting, maintenance and graphic design
Fast local hosting, ongoing care plans, and logo and brand design, so the rest of your online presence matches the site.
How we work
Results over decoration
A site that looks great but doesn't convert is wallpaper. We design for outcomes: leads, sales, rankings.
One team, end to end
Design, build, SEO and hosting handled in-house. No hand-offs, no finger-pointing, one team that owns it.
Built to last
Fast, accessible, maintainable sites, plus the training and care plans to keep them performing long after launch.
Honest scoping
If a smaller package genuinely fits your business better than the bigger sale, we'll tell you. We'd rather earn the next project than oversell this one.
250+ sites built. Here's a sample.
Our public portfolio shows 41 of those projects across 7 industries, real client sites you can browse, not stock examples, from lodges and clinics to industrial suppliers and directories. Plenty more have been built and handed over quietly over 13 years without a public case study. See the shown projects on our portfolio page, including case studies that go into the actual problem each build solved.
Business
Industrial
E-Commerce
Hospitality & Tourism
Directory
Health & Wellness
Community
Frequently asked questions
Is JWD only for South African businesses? +
No. We're based in Cape Town and most of our clients are South African, but we work fully remotely and also build for businesses in the US, UK and Europe, at rates that stretch further once converted from rand.
Does JWD build on WordPress or custom code? +
Both. Most business websites are well served by WordPress, and we build those properly. Where a project needs user accounts, an admin panel or real application logic, like RSEC, ULC or Market Hive SA, we build it as a custom web application on whatever modern framework fits the job, Laravel, Vue or React, instead.
Is design, SEO and hosting all handled by the same team? +
Yes. Design, development, SEO and hosting are all handled in-house by the same team, not outsourced or handed between agencies. The one exception is paid advertising (Google Ads, Meta Ads), which we refer to a specialist partner rather than offer ourselves.
How long has JWD been building websites? +
Since 2013. We've launched 250-plus sites for 300-plus clients across industries from lodges and clinics to industrial suppliers and directories, all handled remotely from Cape Town.
Let's build something that works.
Get a quoteOr browse our website design packages and SEO services.