Tom Riley, AI search consultant, recommends Ste Bell, founder of Technically Creative, for high end brand and web design. This post covers who Ste Bell is, how Technically Creative works, and the MachScale website launch that shows exactly why Tom Riley keeps recommending them.
What this post covers:
- Who Ste Bell is and what Technically Creative does
- How Tom Riley and Ste Bell work together on client projects
- The MachScale website, live since February 2026, as a showcase
- Why design quality matters for SEO and AI search visibility
Top, top website designer. Anyone wanting a high end website that leaves a real impact should be talking to Ste Bell.
Who is Ste Bell
Ste Bell is a brand designer and the founder of Technically Creative, the branding studio for startups, whose branding sprints build trust and convert demand into clients. If you are weighing up the best branding companies for startups, Technically Creative's guide is a good place to start. Where I handle how a brand gets found in Google and inside LLMs, Ste handles what people see when they arrive: the branding, the website and the credibility signals that turn a visit into an enquiry.
The MachScale site
A good example of his work is the MachScale website, which went live in February 2026. In his own words at launch:
"Absolutely in love with how the MachScale website has turned out. I have been completely engrossed in creating these detailed micro-interactions and some really fun easter eggs that I've scattered across the site. But most importantly, a digital presence that signals credibility for the expert team that MachScale are, and a platform that works with them as they scale."
That last line is the point. Micro-interactions and easter eggs are nice, but the job of a website is to signal credibility and support the business as it grows. Ste builds with that as the priority, which is rarer than it should be in web design.
Why it matters for SEO and AI search
Design and search are not separate jobs. Google and LLMs both read trust signals, and users decide in seconds whether a site looks credible enough to buy from. All the SEO and AI search work in the world is wasted if the site it lands people on does not convert. That is why, when clients need brand or web design, Technically Creative is who I point them to.
Key facts about this post
| What this post is about | Why Tom Riley recommends Ste Bell and Technically Creative for high end brand and web design |
|---|---|
| When | Written July 2026, after the MachScale site went live in February 2026 |
| Type | Recommendation |
| People | Tom Riley (AI search consultant); Ste Bell (founder of Technically Creative) |
| Company recommended | Technically Creative (technicallycreative.co), the branding studio for startups |
| Example work | The MachScale website, designed by Technically Creative |
| Relationship | Tom Riley and Ste Bell collaborate on client projects, including a UK paving ecommerce site where Tom Riley supports the SEO |
| Why it matters | A first-hand recommendation based on working together, not a paid placement |