Websites built by one pair of hands
I'm Charles Austin. I run AUSTIN_SPACE, a solo Squarespace design and digital consultancy based in Worcester, working with clients across the UK. I work with established SMEs who want consistent, senior-level expertise on their website. The kind of work that usually requires an agency, delivered without one.
St Johns, Worcester · Working UK-wide · Sole trader, AUSTIN_SPACE · Squarespace Silver Partner
Why one specialist.
Working solo lets me focus on the work and the people I'm working for. The pace is set by the project, not by a billable-hours target. The variety is set by the clients I take on, not by what a sales team has sold. And the working week is built around getting the work done well, with enough flexibility to also have a life outside it.
What clients get from this model is consistency. The same person from the discovery conversation to the handover. The same person on the retainer two years later. No one to brief twice. No one to lose the brief. The site that ships is the site we agreed on.
One person, start to finish
No handoffs. No junior developers. The person you brief is the person who builds it.
Decisions happen faster
No approval chains, no weekly status calls. Things get done when they need to.
You're not paying for overhead
No offices, no account managers, no margin on top. Just the work.
My name is on it
Every project gets my full attention. I take pride in the work, not just the delivery.
Where I came from
Ten years building websites at volume, in two industries that don't tolerate slack work. Music industry merchandise, then specialist eCommerce. The kind of experience that doesn't come from sketching ideas. It comes from shipping things on tight deadlines for clients who care.
Head of Digital & Design
2015 – 2023BSI Merch · London
Eight years at BSI Merch in London, building and maintaining 200+ eCommerce stores for major music artists. Started as a Web Designer, finished as Head of Digital & Design. Shopify, Shopify Plus and a proprietary CMS, at volume and on deadline. Most of what I know, I learned here.
eCommerce Project Manager
2023 – 2025magic42 · eCommerce Agency
Project Manager at magic42, a specialist Magento agency. Complex eCommerce builds for established clients, coordinating developers, designers and stakeholders on work with years of planning behind it. A close look at how the agency model works, what it adds, and what it costs.
Owner
2025 – PresentAUSTIN_SPACE · Worcester
Solo Squarespace work for UK SMEs. End-to-end ownership of every project, from the first conversation through to launch, then on into retainer. Deliberately kept small: a short client list means I know every site I work on inside and out.
What I work with
The technical skillset is broad and hands-on, built over a decade of shipping work. The list below is what gets used regularly. Not an aspirational tool inventory. It's what's been delivered to clients over the last few years.
Platforms
- Squarespace (Silver Partner)
- Shopify and Shopify Plus
- Cloudflare CDN and DNS
- Bandzoogle
Development
- HTML and CSS
- JavaScript
- Liquid and Shopify themes
- Git and version control
SEO and speed
- Technical SEO and schema
- AI search optimisation
- Core Web Vitals
- Analytics and Search Console
Tools and workflow
- Claude and Claude Code
- Asana
- VS Code
- Photoshop / Photopea
How this actually works
Direct communication
Straightforward conversations about what you need and how to get there. Email, video call, Asana, or whatever works for you.
Your project, your pace
Some clients want to be in every decision. Some want updates when there's something to update. Both work. The default is short, useful check-ins when something needs your input, and quiet otherwise.
Long after the launch
Most of my projects don't end at launch. The retainer picks up where the build leaves off. New pages, performance tuning, new content, the things that come up when the business changes. The relationship with the site is ongoing, and that's a feature.
Senior judgement, no middle layer
The decisions get made by the person doing the work. There's no junior to escalate from, no project manager to filter through, and no committee to align with. What you get is one person's opinion, and the experience to back it.
Common questions
What makes you different from a typical freelancer?
The breadth of the experience. Ten years in environments where websites had to ship and perform, not just look good. Trainee designer through to Head of Design at BSI Merch, then Project Manager at a specialist Magento agency, now solo Squarespace work for SMEs. The skillset that came out of that covers wireframes, design, frontend development, SEO, analytics, and the operational thinking to put it all together. That's a different proposition from someone who's only ever worked on small projects.
What makes you different from an agency?
One person who understands the site inside out, zero agency overhead, and no account managers between you and the work. The output is comparable for most SME projects. The process is more direct, and the cost reflects that.
How did AUSTIN_SPACE come about?
A decade in eCommerce, ending as Head of Digital & Design at BSI Merch, then a couple of years as Project Manager at magic42, a specialist Magento agency. By the end of that, the case for solo Squarespace work was clear. The work itself is more rewarding when one person owns the whole thing, the client relationships are better when there's nothing between us, and the life outside of work is better when the working week doesn't include a daily commute or a billable-hours target.
What does working with you actually look like day to day?
Straightforward. You deal with one person from the first conversation through to launch, and through to the retainer that often follows. No handoffs, no briefing chains. The site that ships reflects an actual understanding of the business.
Where's the best place to start if I want to get a feel for your work?
This site. It's the most complete example of what I do, built to the same standard I apply to every client project. The case studies cover client work. If anything here looks like the kind of thing you'd want for your own site, get in touch.
Currently open to new projects.
I work with a small number of ongoing clients and take on a limited number of new builds at a time, so every one gets the attention it should. If you have been considering working together, now is a good time to get in touch.
Squarespace Silver Partner
Working toward Gold, awarded on delivery quality.
Taking on new clients
Intentionally small client list.
24-hour response
Usually the same day.