We did not come to genealogy through web design. We came to web design through genealogy.
Our roots in the genealogy world go back to 2011, when we launched Family History Directory, one of the first dedicated genealogy resource directories on the web. It brought together record offices, family history societies, online databases, and research guides in one place, and it has been drawing researchers from the UK and around the world ever since.
Since then we have built tracebritishroots.com to help international researchers navigate British records, and olddocs.co.uk to make historical transcriptions accessible to the wider genealogical community. Across all three sites we have learned what genealogists actually want from the web: clear information, fast loading, sensible navigation, and sources they can trust.
rootshost brings that experience to the clients we work with. When you ask us to build your society website, your professional portfolio, or your online family history, you are working with people who already know your audience, your terminology, and your goals.
We build in clean HTML and CSS. No WordPress, no page builders, no unnecessary plugins. The result is a site that loads quickly, is straightforward to maintain, and will not break when a third-party plugin decides to update itself.
We host on fast, reliable infrastructure with SSL, regular backups, and genuine support from people who know your site. We do not hand you a dashboard login and disappear.
Every project starts with a conversation. We want to understand what you need before we propose anything. Once we have agreed a plan, we work to it. No scope creep, no surprise invoices.
We are a small operation and we intend to stay that way. Every site we build gets the attention it deserves.
We build for genealogists because we are genealogists. These are the sites behind rootshost.
Family History Directory (familyhistorydirectory.co.uk) launched in 2011 as one of the first dedicated genealogy resource directories on the web. Over 100 pages covering record offices, societies, databases, and archive guidance.
Trace British Roots (tracebritishroots.com) helps researchers in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand navigate British genealogy records and find their UK ancestry.
Old Docs (olddocs.co.uk) offers pay-per-access historical transcriptions covering parish records, trade directories, memorial inscriptions and burial records from 1559 to 1889. Over 15,000 records across 23 collections.