Tools we use & recommend
The tools we run on, and the ones we recommend to you.
This is not a directory of everything under the sun. It is the short list of platforms and tools we genuinely use to build and run websites for UK small businesses, chosen for the same privacy-first, EU-sovereign posture behind every build. Where we partner with a tool we rate, we say so plainly.
The critical client-data path stays on UK or EEA-hosted foundations, as standard, not as a premium add-on. You can see the live version of that posture on our sub-processor disclosure, and read the full argument in our EU-sovereign by design whitepaper.
Recommended, privacy & security
The privacy suite we run on, Proton.
Proton is a Swiss, privacy-by-default suite, Proton Mail, VPN, Drive and Pass, with the Proton Unlimited bundle pulling them together. Everything is end-to-end or zero-access encrypted, the apps are open source, and the no-logs policy is independently audited. That fits the privacy-first, EU-sovereign posture behind every build here, the same posture set out on our sub-processors page, so it is what we recommend to businesses and individuals who want private email, VPN, passwords and storage. Our own email at TicketWave HQ runs on Proton Mail.
Proton Mail
End-to-end and zero-access encrypted email, so Proton itself cannot read the messages stored in your inbox. It is a calm, standards-based alternative to the big free mailboxes that mine your correspondence to sell advertising, and it is the mailbox we use for our own business email.
Proton VPN
A no-logs VPN that hides your IP address and encrypts your connection. Its NetShield feature blocks ads, trackers, and malicious domains, and the network reaches servers in 110+ countries, so you can reach content that is limited to another region while keeping your browsing private. It reduces what networks and sites can see about you, though no tool makes anyone completely anonymous online.
Proton Pass & Drive
Pass is an encrypted password manager with built-in email aliases, so you can share a throwaway address instead of your real one. Drive is encrypted cloud storage for your files and photos. Both are zero-access encrypted, so only you hold the keys.
Proton Unlimited
The bundle that ties Mail, VPN, Pass and Drive together under one plan, with more storage, custom domains and premium features across the suite. It is the simplest way to move a whole business or household onto private-by-default tools in one step.
There is usually a partner offer running, recently up to 70% off Proton VPN on the two-year plan and around 30% off Proton Unlimited annual, but the live deal can change, so check the current partner offer on the link above.
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we use and rate, and we use Proton for our own email.
Recommended, business phone
The local business number we use, AirLandline.
We run our own Leeds 0113 number through AirLandline. It is a proper geographic landline that rings your existing mobile, with voicemail to email, from a few pounds a month. A local number builds trust and helps you get found locally, with no second handset and no line to install.
A local number, on your phone
Choose a geographic number for your area, a Leeds 0113 in our case, and calls ring your current mobile through the app. You keep your personal number private, and callers see a settled, local business rather than a mobile.
Why it helps you get found
One consistent local number across your website, Google Business Profile and every directory strengthens your local search presence. A single number, used everywhere, is one of the quiet foundations of local SEO.
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we use and rate, and we use AirLandline for our own number.
Recommended, email marketing
The email platform we run on, MailerLite.
Our own mailing lists, and the newsletters and automations we set up for clients, run on MailerLite. It is EU-hosted in Lithuania, GDPR-friendly, and generous enough to start free, so you can own your audience properly rather than renting it from a social feed.
Own your audience
Campaigns, automations and signup forms in one place, so a list you own does the work: welcome sequences, follow-ups and a regular newsletter that lands in the inbox because the sending domain is authenticated.
EU-hosted, GDPR-friendly
MailerLite is based in Lithuania, inside the EU, which fits the privacy-first, data-in-jurisdiction posture we build everything else on. A free tier gets you going, and it scales as your list grows.
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we use and rate, and we run our own email on MailerLite. New users get a $20 credit.
Recommended, scheduling
The booking tool we run on, Cal.com.
Our own calls, the free intro, the paid deep-dive and the founder strategy call, all run on Cal.com, and we wire it into client sites for enquiry-to-booking flows. It is open-source scheduling that integrates paid bookings through Stripe, and you can self-host it if you need full control of the data.
Booking that fits your site
Event types for each kind of appointment, team scheduling and round-robin, plus paid bookings settled through Stripe. It embeds cleanly into a site or links out, so a visitor books in a couple of clicks instead of playing email tennis.
Own it, or let us run it
Cal.com is open-source and self-hostable, so a business with strict data-residency needs can keep scheduling on its own infrastructure. For most clients we run the hosted version and connect it to their calendar, their site and their CRM.
Affiliate link. New users get 20% off for 12 months, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we use, and we run our own booking on Cal.com.
The full stack
Everything else we build and run on.
Beyond the tools we recommend to you directly, this is the working stack behind every UK Web Marketing site: the infrastructure it sits on, the tooling that ships it, and the regulators and references the work is held to. Almost all of these are plain links, an honest account of what we actually use. Where one is an affiliate link, we mark it and disclose it beside the link.
Infrastructure
The platforms every UK Web Marketing site sits on. Chosen so the critical client-data path stays on UK or EEA-hosted foundations, close to home.
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The deployment platform every site here runs on, global edge network, London region pinned, instant rollbacks.
We use them for: Hosting, edge functions, preview deployments per branch.
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Developer-first transactional email with an EU-region option, so personal data never leaves the bloc.
We use them for: All outbound email, leads, reviews, Stripe receipts.
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Serverless Postgres for the lead and client database, held within the EEA under intra-EEA safeguards.
We use them for: The lead and client data store behind every enquiry form.
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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DNS, DNSSEC and DDoS protection at the registrar layer. A considered, documented exception in our sovereignty posture.
We use them for: Authoritative DNS and DNSSEC for client domains.
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PSD2-compliant payments settling in GBP via Stripe Payments Europe, Limited (Ireland). A documented exception, kept by design.
We use them for: Subscription billing for every monthly plan.
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Cookie-free, GDPR-compliant analytics built in the EU. No banner needed, and a lightweight script.
We use them for: The only analytics on every client site.
Tooling
The open-source and developer tools that make these sites build, search, and ship the way they do.
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The static-first web framework every UK Web Marketing site is built with. Zero JavaScript by default, islands when you need them.
We use them for: Page rendering, content collections, MDX for blog posts.
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Fully static, fully private site search. It generates a tiny index at build time, with no server and no telemetry.
We use them for: Site search at /search across every client deployment.
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Version control and CI for every site. Pull requests are how every change ships, including the one rendering this page.
We use them for: Source of truth and CI checks before any deploy.
UK regulators & professional bodies
The bodies whose guidance the industry pages here lean on. Linking to the source beats paraphrasing it.
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The UK's data-protection regulator. UK GDPR and DPA 2018 enforcement, registration, and guidance.
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Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Code of Ethics and professional conduct for chartered accountants.
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Independent regulator of solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. SRA Standards and Regulations 2019.
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Statutory regulator of doctors in the UK. Good Medical Practice and online-presence guidance.
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UK registrar of companies. The canonical public record, every business on this site is verifiable here.
Educational & reference
Institutions whose teaching shaped the standards we work to, plus the open-web references we point clients at.
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Jordan's alma mater, BSc (Hons) Architectural Engineering and Design Management, studied within the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, ranked 1st for Building (Complete University Guide 2027).
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Mozilla-stewarded reference for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the web-platform APIs. The web's canonical documentation.
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Google's guidance on Core Web Vitals, accessibility, and modern web best practice. The performance posture every build here is held to.
Why this list looks the way it does
Chosen for where your data lives.
Anyone can list popular tools. The reason this stack looks the way it does is jurisdiction: for a UK small business, we want the critical client-data path on UK or EEA-hosted foundations, so it does not sit under US legal reach by accident. Cloudflare and Stripe are kept as considered, documented exceptions, not accidental defaults.
That is not anti-American. It is an honest statement of which laws apply, so you can make an informed choice instead of an accidental one. The tools we recommend on this page, and the whole stack behind every build, are picked with that in mind.