Blog on Nordwind

Every second counts – why load time decides success

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Nobody likes waiting. If a page takes more than three seconds to load on a phone, many visitors are gone before they have read a single word.

Fast is no accident

We plan for speed from day one instead of bolting it on at the end:

Static pages instead of database queries on every request
Modern image formats like WebP in the right sizes
Little JavaScript – only where it really adds value
A CDN that serves the page close to the visitor

What it gets you

Fast pages rank better on Google, keep visitors around longer and lead to more enquiries. Our projects regularly score 95 to 100 in Lighthouse.

Ten years of Nordwind – five things we've learned

Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ten years ago we shipped our first website – from a living-room table. Today we look after more than 150 projects. Time to look back.

1. Simple beats complicated

The websites that keep working well the longest are the simplest ones. Every extra feature needs maintenance – so for every request we ask: do we really need this?

2. Listening is half the job

The best projects start with lots of questions and few answers. If you understand your clients’ goals, you build the right website – not just a pretty one.

Accessibility is mandatory – and an opportunity

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has applied across the EU. It mainly affects online shops and digital services – but the idea behind it applies to every website.

What matters

Accessibility doesn’t mean a site has to look boring. Most of the time it’s about details:

sufficient contrast between text and background
a page that can be used entirely with a keyboard
alternative text for images that carry meaning
forms with clear labels and error messages

Better for everyone

Building accessibly means building better for everyone: people wearing glasses, reading in bright sunlight, or holding a pram with one hand. And search engines understand well-structured pages better, too.

How a relaunch works with us

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A relaunch sounds like a lot of work – and it is. With a clear process, it still stays predictable.

The four phases

Getting to know you: We listen, review your old site and agree on goals and budget.
Concept & design: Structure and content turn into a clickable prototype.
Build: We develop the site, and you can follow progress on a preview URL at any time.
Go-live: Set up redirects, test, publish – and keep looking after it afterwards.

What we need from you

Mostly time for two or three check-ins and feedback within a few days. The faster we hear back, the sooner your new site is live.

Five questions to answer before your website project

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most delays in web projects don’t happen during development – they happen because the basics are unclear. These five questions help.

The questions

What should the website achieve? Enquiries, sales, applications – one main goal is enough.
Who do you want to reach? Knowing your audience leads to better decisions.
Who provides the content? Copy and photos are often the biggest time sink.
Who will maintain the site? That shapes how we build it.
What’s the budget? A rough range helps us suggest the right fit.

Don’t worry

You don’t have to answer everything on your own. That’s exactly what our first call is for – afterwards you’ll know what you need.

Content first – why we start with words

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Lorem ipsum” always looks great in a mockup. Things get tricky when the real copy is twice as long – or half as long.

Content shapes the design

That’s why we start with content: What do visitors need to know? What questions do they have? What order makes sense? Only then do we design.

Short, clear, specific

Good web copy has a few things in common:

It speaks to visitors directly.
It answers one question per section.
It says specifically what happens next.

The side effect: search engines love pages that answer questions clearly. Good copy is the best SEO there is.

A day at the Nordwind studio

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How does a small web agency actually work? A look at our everyday routine.

9 am – stand-up

We start with a quick round: who is working on what, where are we stuck? After 15 minutes, everything’s been said.

Mornings – focus time

No meetings until lunch. Design, code and copy need quiet – notifications stay off.

Afternoons – collaboration

Now it’s time for client calls, joint reviews and quick questions. With us, you talk directly to the people building your website.

Why we build static websites

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most of our websites are static: they’re generated once and then served as ready-made files. It sounds old-fashioned, but it’s thoroughly modern.

The benefits

Fast: Nothing needs to be computed when someone visits the page.
Secure: Without a database or admin login, there’s hardly any attack surface.
Affordable: Hosting often costs just a few euros a month – or nothing at all.
Low maintenance: No plugin updates breaking the site at the weekend.

What about forms?

Static sites can handle forms, search and multiple languages too. For contact forms we use small serverless functions that only run when someone hits send.

Core Web Vitals explained

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Google rates the user experience of a website with three metrics, the Core Web Vitals. They sound technical, but they describe everyday experiences.

LCP: How fast does the content appear?

Largest Contentful Paint measures when the largest visible element has loaded – usually an image or a heading. Good is under 2.5 seconds. What helps: small images in modern formats and a fast server.

INP: How fast does the page respond?

Interaction to Next Paint measures how long the page takes to visibly respond after a click or key press. Good is under 200 milliseconds. The biggest enemy: too much JavaScript.

How we test every website before launch

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A website is only finished when it works everywhere. Before we publish, every page goes through our checklist.

Devices and browsers

We test on real phones, tablets and desktop computers – in Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge. Especially important: small screens and slow connections.

Accessibility

Can everything be reached and used with a keyboard?
Is the focus always clearly visible?
Does a screen reader read the content in a sensible order?
Do all pages pass the automated test with axe?

Content and forms

We check every link, submit every form and make sure the emails arrive. We test error messages too – by filling in forms wrongly on purpose.

SEO basics for small businesses

Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Search engine optimisation sounds like secret knowledge. For small businesses, though, a few solid basics are often enough.

What are your customers searching for?

Think about the words people use to look for what you offer – not what you call it internally. “Bike repair Berlin” rather than “two-wheeler service”.

One page, one topic

Every page should have a clear topic, with a fitting title and a description that sparks curiosity. Both appear directly in search results.

Getting dark mode right

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Many people use their devices in dark mode. A website that stays glaring white quickly feels dated. But careful: dark mode is more than inverted colours.

Not quite black

Pure black with pure white is tiring for the eyes. Very dark blues or greys and slightly muted text work better.

Check contrast again

Colours look different on a dark background. A blue that reads well on white can be too weak on dark. That’s why we check contrast in both modes.

Good images for the web

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A good photo says more than any text. But a photo that’s too large means nobody gets to see the text at all.

The right format

WebP and AVIF are much smaller than JPG at the same quality. For logos and icons, SVG is ideal – razor-sharp at any size.

The right size

A phone doesn’t need an image 4,000 pixels wide. We generate several sizes automatically, and the browser loads the right one.

Accessible forms in five steps

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Contact forms, orders, sign-ups: forms are where visitors become customers. All the more annoying when they don’t work for everyone.

The five rules

Visible labels – placeholder text inside the field isn’t enough, it disappears as you type.
Mark required fields – and not with colour alone.
Clear error messages – right next to the field and specific: “Please enter an email address” instead of “Invalid input”.
Keyboard first – all fields and buttons must be reachable without a mouse.
Matching field types – so phones show the right keyboard and autofill works.

Want an example?

Our own contact form follows all five rules. Give it a try – keyboard only, if you like.