Julie Matthews Burnette has been designing websites since 1995, drawing
upon a 20-year background in technology marketing.
Like many web designers, Burnette tends to focus on certain types of clients.
Most of her clients are software companies. She also designs websites for
associations, universities and small businesses.
"Our focus is always on the marketing," says Burnette. "We're less concerned
about the technologies, because the main message is the message. And portraying
that message in an attractive, compelling way is the most important thing."
Some web designers might be tempted to add videos and animation to websites
just because they can. This is a mistake, says Burnette. It might show off
your skills as a designer and programmer, but it may not be in the best interest
of the client.
"We base any technology decision on the marketing needs of the client,
because that's the important thing," says Burnette.
"We're here to help them be successful, whether that's to make money or
gain members or whatever it is. So we always keep that as our primary goal,
and I think one of the things that designers tend to do is they want the latest,
greatest, hippest thing, whether that's going to meet their client's needs
or not."
Because Burnette has been in the industry for a long time, she's had a
chance to see the industry evolve. She's also been able to establish a reputation
that gets her a lot of repeat business, great word of mouth and good rates.
"I've been doing this for longer than anybody I know, because the web didn't
really get going until the late '90s," says Burnette. "I was working for a
software company and I was there when they were building their first website,
and they were among the first companies in the world to build their first
website.
"Because I have so much experience, I may be able to command better rates,"
Burnett says. "But in my mind people are paying for the design. They're paying
for me to have the eye and to know what to do and how to best market that.
And that's not a function of how many hours it takes."
Burnette says being her own boss is one of the best things about having
her own web design business.
"I love the freedom," she says. "I love being able to work in my pajamas.
And if I have a friend in town and I want to go out for half the day, I can
do that and I can make up for it some other time. I like that kind of flexibility."
Of course, any profession also has drawbacks. One is the need to constantly
market yourself (unless you're working in-house for a large company), and
never knowing how busy you'll be from month to month.
"The business is always cyclical, so I've had really phenomenal years and
I've had really not-phenomenal years," says Burnette. "I always have to be
on the alert for new opportunities."
For website designer Dean Watkiss, interacting with clients is the best
part of the job.
"When we go in and we sit down at the table and we start chatting about
the design, the marketing, and all kinds of different things, it's the people
that I enjoy working with."
Watkiss also enjoys the diversity of the work he does. Although he started
out by mainly doing sites for outfitters (companies that provide
products and services for the outdoors), he now designs sites for an eclectic
mix of clients. His current clients include a business that provides online
ordering of meals, a mayoral candidate, and a company that provides portable
facilities to oil fields.
Here's the key advice Watkiss offers for anyone thinking of working in
this area: "I recommend to anybody that's involved in any kind of web development
work to grab hold of as many marketing books as you can, and learn marketing.
Because when you learn how to market yourself, you'll learn how to market
somebody else."