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Web design · SEO · Cologne

Websites that rankand convince at first sight.

I build Next.js sites for businesses across Cologne, Bonn and the Rhineland — sites that rank in Google's top 3 and get cited by ChatGPT. Lighthouse 95+, sub-1-second load, PWA included — and you edit them yourself by prompt.

Send a message
  • Reply within 4 business hours
  • Complete packages from €2,890
  • Cologne · Bonn · NRW
  • Building for the web since 2014
Trusted by
  • TV-known brands (Astro-Adviser: VOX · ZDF · RTL)
  • Local SMBs across the Rhineland
  • Own SaaS product (Scandate)
95+
Top-3 ready in Google

Lighthouse 95+ — no plugin drag

< 1 s
Faster than your competitors

Mobile load on 4G — typical sites take 3–5 s

Top 3
Local Google visibility

ø 4–6 months to page 1 for Cologne & region

PWA
App-like, no app store

Installable, offline-ready — no surcharge

Web Developer & Frontend Designer · Bergisch Gladbach

Why Next.js + SEO?

Six reasons your competitors look outdated.

WordPress was modern in 2010. Next.js is modern in 2026. And SEO without solid technical foundations is wasted money. Here's what that means for you.

Speed

The page is already prepared before your browser asks. Visitors in Cologne never wait more than a second for first content — and Google rewards that with better rankings (Server Components, Edge Rendering).

SEO

Google sees your full page immediately — no waiting time. Clean heading structure, automatic sitemap, indexing prepared from day one (Server-Side Rendering, semantic HTML, Core Web Vitals).

GEO

ChatGPT and Perplexity don't quote random websites — they quote the ones they understand. An invisible info-sheet in the source code translates your content into machine language (JSON-LD, Schema.org, AI Overviews).

Local SEO

When someone in Bergisch Gladbach searches for “tenancy lawyer”, your firm should be on top — not one from Hamburg. Clean geo data and a Google Business link make the difference (LocalBusiness schema, Google Business Profile).

PWA

A website that installs on a phone like a real app — without the App Store / Play Store detour. Own home-screen icon, full-screen view, works in spotty signal too (Progressive Web App).

Future-proof

Next.js is built by Vercel and Meta and used by Nike, Notion, OpenAI and TikTok. Translation: you won't be stuck on dead technology in five years like many WordPress themes from 2018.

Four pillars for top rankings

How I get your site into Google and ChatGPT.

SEO in 2026 isn't just “add some keywords”. It's a technical, editorial and structural craft. These four pillars come standard — every project.

Säule 01

Technical excellence

I decide which pages Google sees — and which it shouldn't waste budget on. Protection against duplicate content, mobile-first structure, scores above 95 in Google's own measurement tool. Since the 2021 Page Experience Update this isn't a nice-to-have, it's the baseline (Core Web Vitals, sitemap, robots.txt, canonicals).

  • Core Web Vitals
  • Sitemap
  • robots.txt
  • Canonicals
Säule 02

Content & semantics

Clear heading levels so Google understands hierarchy. One search intent per page — no two pages competing for the same term. Content that machines understand and humans actually want to read (heading hierarchy, keyword map, internal linking).

  • Heading structure
  • Keyword map
  • Intent
  • internal links
Säule 03

Local SEO Cologne & NRW

When someone in Bonn searches for “tax consultant”, your firm should appear — not one in Hamburg. Name, address and phone identical everywhere (otherwise Google thinks you're two different companies). Google Business Profile linked too (LocalBusiness schema, NAP consistency, Google Business Profile).

  • LocalBusiness
  • Geo data
  • Google Business
  • NAP consistency
Säule 04

GEO — Generative Engine Optimization

ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews only cite sources they recognize as reliable. Questions are marked up in source code so the AI can quote them verbatim — the new SEO discipline of the next 24 months (JSON-LD, FAQPage schema, AI-Overview optimization).

  • JSON-LD
  • FAQPage
  • ChatGPT
  • Perplexity
  • AI Overviews

Why working with me beats hiring an agency.

Most agencies in Cologne run WordPress, route you through three account managers and bill every email. Not me.

  • Point of contact

    Freelancer

    You speak directly with the person who builds.

    Agentur

    Account manager → project lead → developer.

  • Tech stack

    Freelancer

    Modern stack (Next.js 16, React 19) — what Linear, Vercel and Notion run on.

    Agentur

    Usually WordPress with 30 plugins that need regular updates.

  • Response time

    Freelancer

    Under 4 hours on weekdays — no hotline, no ticket system.

    Agentur

    Response times per contract, often 2–5 business days.

  • Pricing

    Freelancer

    Fixed price up front. What's agreed stands — no surprise add-ons.

    Agentur

    Hourly rate plus tracking, every change as a billable change request.

  • Editing after launch

    Freelancer

    You type what should change — AI adjusts the code. Self-editable.

    Agentur

    Every text change costs an hour of fees plus admin overhead.

  • Code ownership

    Freelancer

    The full source code lives in your account — switch providers any time.

    Agentur

    You can't leave the system without rebuilding the site.

  • Contract terms

    Freelancer

    Cancel monthly — no lock-in, no friction.

    Agentur

    Often 12–24 months minimum term.

Numbers that count.

Three levers, three results — based on industry benchmarks (Google Web.dev, Backlinko 2025, Sistrix Cologne).

+72 %
Visibility

Average rise in organic visibility within 6 months — when switching from WordPress to Next.js plus technical SEO.

Quelle: Industry benchmark, Sistrix

−61 %
Bounce rate

Sub-1-second load times measurably increase time on page. Google uses that as an engagement signal.

Quelle: Google Web.dev, 2024

Top 3
Local rankings

With clean LocalBusiness schema plus Google Business Profile, top-3 positions for “[industry] [city]” are realistic within 4 months.

Quelle: Local Search Ranking Factors, Whitespark

References

Selected projects.

Two client projects and one product of my own — all live, built with the stack I describe above. Click in, judge for yourself.

More projects and case details in the discovery call — some clients prefer to stay unnamed publicly.

Killer feature

You edit the site yourself — by prompt.

After handover you change copy, images and entire sections with a single sentence. No backend login, no plugin drama, no “where was that button again?”. You type what should change. I've already left the building.

  • Change text? Type.
  • Swap an image? Type.
  • Add a section? Type.
  • Fix a typo? Type.
prompt-editor.indievisual.design
Change the headline to “Web design that sells.”
Done. Want me to adjust the subline too?
Yes — shorter, with a Cologne reference.
Live. Change deployed in 0.8 s.
Tippe deine nächste Änderung …

My process

Six steps. Three to six weeks. A site that ranks.

Schritt 01

Briefing & analysis

60-minute call. We clarify goal, target audience and competition. You receive a free site analysis: technical, editorial, SEO.

Schritt 02

Keyword & intent

Research of the queries your customers actually type. One clear search intent per URL. No keyword cannibalization.

Schritt 03

Design

Clickable live mockups in the browser — built with v0, Lovable or Claude Artifacts. You click through real components instead of dead Figma frames, comment inline or via Loom. Two rounds of feedback, then design is signed off.

Schritt 04

Build

Implementation in Next.js 16. You see daily progress on a preview URL. No black-box month without updates.

Schritt 05

SEO & GEO

I set up every page so Google can index it and AI tools like ChatGPT recognize your content as a source (on-page SEO, Schema.org JSON-LD, sitemap, Open Graph). Result: stronger visibility in your city and a real shot at being cited by ChatGPT.

Schritt 06

Training & handover

60-minute live session: prompt editing, Google Search Console, KPI reporting. After that, 30 days of support included.

Industries

Who builds with me in Cologne, Bonn and NRW.

Consulting & coaching
Trades & construction
Restaurants & hotels
Car rentals
Yacht charters
Lawyers & tax advisors
Healthcare practices
Agencies & studios
B2B service providers
Online shops (Shopify, Shopware)
SaaS & tech startups

My tech & SEO stack

Pro tools, not WordPress plugins.

Build

  • Next.js 16

    The foundation of the website.

    Makes your site load in under a second and lets Google understand it immediately. Used by Nike, Notion and OpenAI.

  • React 19

    The building blocks of the visible UI.

    Buttons, forms, transitions stay smooth — on a MacBook and on a three-year-old Android alike.

  • TypeScript

    Strict typing rules in the code.

    Errors surface while writing, not weeks after launch. Cuts the bug rate roughly in half compared to plain JavaScript.

  • Tailwind v4

    A design system right inside the code.

    Want to change a color later? It's one place, not two hundred.

Ship

  • Vercel

    The server hosting your site.

    Delivers from the Frankfurt edge node — your visitor in Bonn loads from 200 km away, not from the US. Makes Lighthouse 95+ realistic.

  • Resend

    The mail service behind your contact form.

    Inquiries land reliably in your inbox, not in spam. Auto-confirmation to the sender included.

Get found

  • Google Search Console

    Google's own toolbench for site owners.

    Daily view of which queries you rank for, where traffic gets lost and which pages Google can't find. Mandatory for serious SEO.

  • Ahrefs

    The pro tool for competitor analysis.

    Reveals which keywords your competitors in the Rhineland capture — and which gaps you can fill without crowding.

  • Sistrix

    The visibility magnifier for the German market.

    Shows month over month whether your site is rising or sinking in Cologne and surroundings. Makes SEO success measurable.

  • Schema.org

    An invisible info-sheet inside the source code.

    Tells Google and ChatGPT what the page is — practice, law firm or restaurant in Bergisch Gladbach. Prerequisite for AI search engines like Perplexity to cite you.

Stay fast

  • PageSpeed Insights

    Google's speed test.

    Measures how fast the site really arrives at the visitor — on a 5-year-old smartphone, not on my workstation. Score below 90 = we grab a coffee and fix it.

  • Lighthouse CI

    Automatic quality check after every update.

    Warns immediately when a change breaks load time — before it goes live.

Progressive Web App

Your website. Like an app on every smartphone.

A PWA (Progressive Web App) is a website that installs on a phone like a real app — without the App Store or Play Store detour. One tap on “Add to Home Screen” is enough. No 30 % Apple commission, no week-long store review, no duplicate code for iOS and Android.

  • Installable on iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows — not just one device
  • Works in spotty signal too because content is cached locally
  • Own home-screen icon — like WhatsApp or Instagram
  • Full-screen view without a browser bar — feels like a native app
installed
Indievisual
offline-fähig
Portrait von Robin Borchers, Web Developer & Frontend Designer aus Bergisch Gladbach
Robin Borchers · Web Developer & Frontend Designer

About

Robin Borchers. Web design & SEO from Bergisch Gladbach near Cologne.

I've been building websites for over ten years — the last four almost exclusively with Next.js, with a clear SEO focus. Used to be agency-side, now solo: closer to the code, closer to the customers, further from slide decks.

My standard: I deliver sites that don't look like templates, rank in Google's top 3 and that you can maintain yourself without calling me.

  • 10+ years of web development
  • Specialized in Next.js & SEO
  • Based in Bergisch Gladbach, Cologne metro area
  • Direct contact, no account managers

Packages

Clear prices. No hidden costs.

All prices as “starting from”, because every project is different. Always included: PWA, training session, 30 days of support, full code ownership for you.

Starter

One page. To the point.

from €1,490
  • One-pager with up to 7 sections
  • Responsive, dark mode, PWA
  • Contact form with mail delivery
  • Technical SEO + Schema.org JSON-LD
  • 60-min training on prompt editing
  • Hosting setup on Vercel
Inquire
Beliebtester

Business

Multi-page site that ranks.

from €2,890
  • Up to 6 sub-pages
  • Custom design language, no templates
  • Blog or portfolio integrated
  • On-page SEO + GEO optimization
  • Local SEO Cologne (LocalBusiness, GBP)
  • 60 days of support included
Inquire

Pro

When the website is the product.

from €4,900
  • Fully bespoke architecture
  • Booking, login or shop logic
  • Custom API endpoints & integrations
  • SEO audit + keyword strategy
  • Multilingual (i18n)
  • 90 days of support included
Inquire

SEO retainer

from €690 / month

For sites that need to keep getting better.

  • Monthly reporting (GSC, Sistrix, Analytics)
  • Content updates & on-page optimization
  • Backlink monitoring
  • Expanding GEO structures
  • Response time < 24 h
  • Cancel monthly

FAQ

What customers ask before the first call.

Starter from €1,490, Business from €2,890, Pro from €4,900. SEO retainer from €690/month. Final price quoted after briefing — fixed before project start, no “small extras at the end”.

Starter 2–3 weeks, Business 4–6 weeks, Pro 6–10 weeks. Depends on how quickly content and feedback come back from you.

WordPress was modern in 2010. Today it means: PHP stack, plugin dependencies, constant security updates, performance issues, editor lottery. Next.js delivers pre-rendered pages, loads under 1s, is secure by default and has no plugin chaos. If you already run WordPress and it's working for you — keep it. For a new site I recommend Next.js for these reasons.