# Contact

> Available for new work now, taking one or two projects at a time. What to put in the first email so the reply is actually useful, what happens next, how quickly I reply, and where I am. Edinburgh, working with businesses across Scotland, the UK and worldwide.

Canonical page: https://daveellis.dev/contact/
Made by Dave Ellis (Edinburgh, Scotland). Email: dave@daveellis.dev
Last updated: 2026-11-12

How to get in touch, what to put in the first email, what happens next and how quickly Dave replies.

## One email is enough.

There is no form, no discovery call to book and nothing to sit through. Email me what you need and you will get a real answer from the person who would do the work, including when that answer is that I am the wrong fit.

dave@daveellis.dev

## Four lines, and I can be specific.

A one-line enquiry gets a one-line reply asking questions. Include these four things and the first response can be an actual opinion with numbers in it.

### Worth including

- What your business does. One sentence. It changes almost every piece of advice that follows.
- What you want to happen. Not the solution, the outcome. More enquiries, fewer phone calls, stop losing job sheets, pass a tender.
- Whether there is a deadline. A contract award date, a season, an insurance renewal. This is the single most useful thing in the email, and the most often left out.
- Roughly what you expect to spend. Not a negotiating position. It tells me whether to describe the £1,200 version or the £12,000 one.

### Not needed

- A written brief. If you have one, send it. If you do not, do not write one for my benefit.
- Knowing what you need technically. Working out whether it is a website, an app or a system is my job, not a prerequisite.
- Having your content ready. Copy and photography get sorted during the project, and shaping the words is part of what I do.
- A decision. Plenty of these conversations end with nobody buying anything, and that is a perfectly good outcome for both of us.

## No funnel, no sequence.

- A reply, usually within a day Within one working day in almost every case. If I am mid-launch it can be two. You will not be added to a mailing list and nothing automated will follow up on my behalf.
- Honest thoughts, free What I think the real problem is, which of the things on this site actually addresses it, and roughly what that costs. Including the version where the answer is cheaper than you expected, or is a tool you can buy for £30 a month.
- A call, only if it helps Half an hour if there is something worth talking through, on your premises if you are near Edinburgh and it is a business system. Not a sales call, and not a prerequisite for a price.
- A fixed quote A number with the scope written beside it. Business systems get the paid £500 discovery first, which produces the scope and comes off the build. Nothing is signed before you know the figure.

If you are getting in touch about Cyber Essentials or ISO 27001, forward whatever landed on your desk and say when it is due. Half the value of that first reply is telling you which certification you have actually been asked for.

## Where I am

Edinburgh, Scotland. Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, Glasgow and the central belt are close enough to meet in person, which is worth doing for a business system because watching the work happen beats hearing it described.

Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Aberdeen, the Borders and the Highlands work the same way remotely, as do clients across the rest of the UK and further afield. Many projects never need a meeting in a room at all.

## Elsewhere

- Email: dave@daveellis.dev, which is the fastest route to me.
- LinkedIn: daveellisdev, for the professional version.
- GitHub: daveellisdev, if you would rather read code than a website.
- Availability is on the home page, and it is kept honest rather than permanently optimistic.

### Are you available for new work right now?

Yes. I take on one or two client projects at a time so each one gets proper attention, and I have space for new work. The quickest way to find out whether I am the right fit is a short email to dave@daveellis.dev describing what you need.

### How do I start a project?

The best first step is a short email about what you need at dave@daveellis.dev. I will come back to you with honest thoughts on scope, timing and cost.

### Do you work with businesses across Scotland, or only in Edinburgh?

Across Scotland. I am based in Edinburgh, so Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, Glasgow and the rest of the central belt are close enough for a kick-off meeting or a discovery session in your own premises. Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Aberdeen, the Borders and the Highlands work the same way remotely, and plenty of projects never need a meeting in a room at all. I also work outside Scotland: Charnwood Coatings & Fabrication in Loughborough is one recent example. The SEO and GEO work is built for global reach as standard, with local search signals added wherever they will win you work.

Every question, answered