Web Design - Behind The Scenes 1

3rd May 2013

We recently took a trip to Armidale for a meeting with some potential web design clients. We travel regularly throughout the New England region. Moree, Glen Innes, Guyra, Uralla, Tenterfield.? Some really nice country to drive through. The picture above is a driveway we passed in Armidale. Armidale really turns it on in Autumn.

You might have an idea about what a web designer does. I knew I had some pre-conceptions before I got into it. We have just past our 4th year running our our web design business in rural NSW, it is a lot different to what I thought.

Travel is a big part of it. Being a technology industry you would think we could do a lot over the Internet. We certainly can, I have worked with clients in interstate Australia, China, and America. Our communication and development of the website have all been via modern technologies.

For a lot of local clients we prefer face-to-face meetings. It helps our design. We get to understand our clients, their business, their customers and their needs. It helps to have a real yarn with them. See them in their place of work so we can understand their passion and uniqueness. What needs to be converyed in the website.

After this initial meeting, we revert to modern technology to communicate through the design process. But initially it is good to meet people.

In our Armidale trip we got to meet a Saddler, with a passion and knowledge for farm sustainability and soils. A family run caravan park where the second generation was doing a revamp of their website. We also caught up with an existing client, a coffee roaster, that wanted to take advantage of changes in the web since last we built their website.

Days like this can be long hours in the car, and a lot of listening and drawing out requirements. But it is a beautiful place to drive and you get to hear some great stories. Sometimes my family have time to travel with me, which makes for a great day.

So travelling, talking and listening to people are a large component of the web design industry. Especially in rural NSW.