Ben HarvieFounder of WebLothian, and the person who answers when you ring.
Websites, software and AI · Portobello, Edinburgh
More customers and less admin for businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians
A website that brings in calls and bookings, and AI that answers customers, sends the reminders and drafts the quotes, so you win back hours for the work that matters.
Free, no obligation, and a written quote before any work starts.
Half price on your first project
Opening offer: half price on your first project for businesses in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife, when you book by 31 December.
Book by 31 December 2026 to claim it.
Book a free consultation (opens in a new tab)The full price and the saving are both written into your quote.
What changes
Six ways to win customers and time back
Each one is a result for your business first and a service second. Start with one and add the rest when you are ready.
SEO and GEO
Be the answer on Google and in AI
Customers who find you for free, every day, instead of you paying for every click. SEO (search engine optimisation) gets you found on Google and its map. GEO (getting recommended by AI assistants) gets you named when somebody asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity or Copilot who is good near them.
Free, no obligation, and a written quote before any work starts.
An illustrative shape, not data.
SEO: Google search and the map
GEO: the business AI recommends
How it works
- AuditA free look at what Google and AI can read about you today.
- FixThe behind-the-scenes fixes, so every page can be read and opens quickly on a phone.
- AnswerLocal pages with clear answers to the questions people ask, and the hidden labels that tell Google and AI what your business is.
- Listing and reviewsYour Google Business Profile completed and kept current, and a simple habit for asking for reviews.
- TrackGoogle’s own reports, so you see the results for yourself.
Nobody can control what Google or an AI says, and nobody honest promises a ranking. What I do is make your business the clearest, most trusted answer to give.
Where your hours go
The jobs that eat your week
Most small businesses lose hours to the same handful of jobs. Here is how AI and simple software could take each one off your plate.
Answering the same questions
TodayOpening hours, prices, parking and "are you free on Saturday?", by phone, email and message.
Could beAn assistant could answer them from your own information at any hour, and pass real bookings to you.
Chasing no-shows
TodayRinging round the day before, and an empty slot when somebody forgets anyway.
Could beReminders could go out by WhatsApp or text on their own, with a link to rebook.
Writing quotes
TodayEvenings spent turning site notes into a tidy quote.
Could beImagine a draft quote ready from your notes, for you to check and send.
Posting updates
TodayRemembering to post on Google and social media, and finding the words when you do.
Could beA post could be drafted from a photo and a line, ready for you to approve.
Sorting email
TodayEnquiries buried between invoices, receipts and newsletters.
Could beUrgent enquiries could be flagged and sorted before you open the inbox.
Changing the website
TodayWaiting days for somebody to change the opening hours.
Could beType the change the way you would say it, and it could be live in moments.
AI for your business
Let AI take care of the busywork
The useful kind of AI for a small business is not a robot: it is the reminder that sends itself and the customer answered at nine at night. Here is what it could do for you.
Customers answered out of hours. An assistant could answer from your prices and hours at night, and pass bookings to you.
Reminders that send themselves. Appointment and MOT reminders could go out by WhatsApp, so fewer slots sit empty.
An inbox sorted before you open it. Urgent enquiries could be flagged and quotes drafted for you, before your first coffee.
A reply ready for every review. Imagine a draft reply in your tone under every Google review, sent once you approve it.
Your website, changed by typing. Type "add Saturday opening" and it could be live in moments, and easy to undo.
It knows when to hand over. Anything it is unsure of could come straight to you, never a guess, under rules you agree.
Who is it for?
- Businesses across Edinburgh and the Lothians, in person
- The UK and worldwide, over Zoom
- Anyone after more sales, happier customers and less admin
How do I get started?
Book a free consultation with Ben, a local web designer and developer. Tell him about your business and what you want to change, and you get a written quote before any work starts.
Two startups sold behind these ideas. Ben was the founding engineer at huntr, the bug bounty platform Protect AI bought for over a million dollars, where the work grew into the world's first bug bounty programme for AI. Protect AI was then bought for over seven hundred and fifty million by Palo Alto Networks, one of the hundred biggest companies in America (the S&P 100). The same work, now at the size a local business actually needs.
Free on-premise AI audit
See where AI could give your team hours back
I come to your premises, watch how the work actually gets done, and show where AI could take the repetitive jobs off your team so your staff can focus on the work that matters.
Free, no obligation, and nothing to prepare.
- A visit on a normal working day, at a time that suits you
- The repetitive jobs spotted, in plain English, with no jargon
- Where AI could help, and where it should not
- Nothing to buy and no obligation at the end of it
In person across Edinburgh and the Lothians. Anywhere else, over Zoom.
Illustrative
What could time back be worth?
Pick a job your team does every week and move the sliders. The numbers are yours, not mine: a rough guide, never a promise.
Try an example
Time that could come back
- Hours a month
- 22
- Hours a year
- 260
5 minutes × 60 a week × 1 person × 52 weeks ÷ 60 = 260 hours a year
Illustrative only. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
Want to know which of your jobs AI could really take on?
Book a free AI audit (opens in a new tab)Recent work
Real businesses, live today
Sites and tools built for real businesses. Click through and judge them for yourself.
GHS JoineryA new website for a family-run joiner in Tranent, built to be found across East Lothian and to turn visitors into phone calls.A page for every townA new article every weekFound by Google and AI searchSee the project
The Filling StationA family-run pie and sandwich business in Prestonpans: brand, website, online ordering and Google presence.Brand designWebsiteOrder onlineSee the project
CI AssociatesAI for an international financial advice firm: a meeting recorder for Mac and Windows that writes the notes and lines up the CRM update, plus a faster way to check new leads against the CRM.Works on Mac and WindowsAny meeting appNotes written for youSee the project
PageNumberOneMy own SEO subscription service, WebLothian's sister service: a free check, three plans ordered online, onboarding and a blog that writes itself, run largely by automation.Free check, report by emailPlans ordered onlineA brief after every orderSee the project
ItemFinderSix online shops selling Bluetooth trackers, each with its own name and look, all run as one.Six shops, one systemPay without leaving the pageReferral schemeSee the project
GameBroA retro handheld games console shop, built from nothing into a shop taking card payments.Card paymentsOwner dashboardBlog that brings in visitorsSee the project
The process
Four steps, and the first one is free
Four steps, and you can stop after the first without owing anything.
A free consultation
I find the pain points: what is costing you time, what you wish worked better, and how the job actually gets done today. Face to face anywhere in Edinburgh and the Lothians, or on Zoom or the phone from anywhere in the UK or worldwide.
A written quote
A fixed price, a list of what is included and a date, in writing, before anything starts. No day rates that quietly stretch, and no bill you first see when it lands.
Built and launched
Design, build and testing, and you see it take shape as it goes. Your web address, hosting (where your site lives), security certificate and email are all set up for you, so there is nothing for you to buy or set up.
Looked after
Hosting, security updates, backups, changes to your words and photos, and a local number to ring. Anything bigger is quoted before it starts, so the running cost stays the number you agreed.
Questions
Common questions
How much does a small business website cost?
For a small business website in Edinburgh or the Lothians it depends on the pages and what the site does, so every job gets a written quote after a free consultation. If a page builder would do it for less, I will say so.
Do local businesses get a discount?
Yes. Businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians get a heavily discounted local rate, worked into your written quote after the free consultation. Businesses elsewhere in the UK and worldwide are just as welcome over Zoom.
How long does a website take?
Most small business websites take a few weeks from the consultation to going live, and the written quote gives you a date.
What do I need to give you?
Whatever you already have: a logo, some photos and your opening hours. If you have none yet, that is normal and it gets sorted as part of the job.
Which areas do you cover?
Face to face: Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian, plus nearby towns in Fife, Falkirk and the Borders. Elsewhere in the UK, over Zoom. Ben is happy to travel further afield for a consultation, but the cost of the trip needs agreeing first.
Does the consultation have to be in person?
No. In person across Edinburgh and the Lothians, or Zoom and the phone from anywhere. Either way it is free, with no obligation.
Do I need to buy a web address (domain) and hosting myself?
No. Both are set up for you and included for the first year, then one modest monthly fee covers the running costs, month to month. The web address is registered in your business name, so it stays yours.
What if I already have a website?
It may not need replacing, whether it is on Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy or WordPress. Sometimes speed and search work on what you have is enough; sometimes a rebuild is cheaper. The free consultation decides it.
Can you really let me edit my own website by typing a sentence?
Yes, that is the AI dashboard. You type the change the way you would say it, such as "open at ten on Saturdays", and it is applied. Nothing to learn and nothing to break.
Who owns the website when it is finished?
You do. The web address is in your business name, there is no contract holding it hostage, and everything goes with you if you ever move.
What is the free on-premise AI audit?
I visit your business, watch how a normal day runs and show you, in plain English, where AI could take the repetitive jobs off your team. It is free, with no obligation. In person across Edinburgh and the Lothians, or over Zoom from anywhere else.
Will AI replace my staff?
That is not the aim. The point is to take the repetitive jobs off their plate, so your team can spend their time on customers and the work that matters.
Ready to win back some hours?
Tell me what your business does and what is eating your time. You get a straight answer, and a written quote if there is a job worth doing.
Free, no obligation, and a written quote before any work starts.