Spicy Web Designer Interview with Nathanael Ellacott of E Media Architects

Nathanael Ellacott is one half of the husband and wife team behind E Media Architects, a web development company based out of Kitchener-Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Together with his wife, Allison, they have been building a web development company since the spring of 2004. They currently keep all of their web design work “in-house” and have personally seen to all the web design projects that they take on at E Media Architects. Nathanael handles more of the development and coding while Allison handles more of the design and marketing aspects of running E Media Architects. One area of business is helping Automotive Dealerships getting setup with a web presence that works for their sector of business.

1. How long has E Media Architects been in business?

My wife and I started E Media Architects in the spring of 2004. Thanks to the ongoing support of our clients, so far we have enjoyed five years in business here in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.

2. I know that you are currently a Husband and Wife team but I am curious if you hire any freelance web designers or developers or if you have anyone else working in-house? If so, how many other employees do you have?

We do not currently employ anyone or hire external freelancers. We had one past project where we hired an extra hand for coding.  But other than that, we have done all the design and development work ourselves.

3. How does your company feel about outsourcing?

Well, Web design work tends to come in spurts, and turn-around time is important. So it’s fair to argue that a higher volume of work could be accomplished faster if we were to outsource or hire additional help. Of course, you never know how things might develop in the future. But our intention has always been to keep to just the two of us. Our goal is simply to provide for our family. Our clients also value being able to deal directly with the people who will be doing the actual work, from planning to completion to providing support for hosting and E-mail. On a practical level, this has meant that rather than taking every job we can get our hands on, we strive to cultivate our reputation for outstanding person-to-person service with a view to building a limited but loyal repeat clientele.

4. What role do you take in projects currently? Do you handle more of the coding or design related aspects or both?

I take the lead in coding. I do most of the development, and also answer clients’ technical questions and manage hosting. My wife, Allison, does some of the coding and handles all the graphic design for printed applications, marketing strategies, and domain name registrations, the final quality-control testing for Web projects, writes content and deals with the everyday management of our company, E Media Architects.

But with Web design, we share the work 50/50. While we tend to work on our initial design concepts independently, it always ends up a team effort, because all designs need small tweaks (at minimum). When a person is working totally alone it can be easy for inspiration to run dry or to lose objectivity after you’ve stared at the same layout for hours. This is a classic design hurdle for many freelancers. So in our case, we avail ourselves of the advantage of always having another person to bounce ideas off of and to offer realistic criticism of the work. This really improves the end quality of the entire project.

5. Does your company work off of a proprietary platform that was built-in house or do you use pre-built platforms (WordPress, ExpressionEngine, osCommerce, etc.) to run your clients online web presences?

We use WordPress when blog-style functionality is the focus of a site.

Generally speaking, we custom build every aspect of a site for the optimal fit to the clients’ needs.

At the moment, most of our clients do not have in-house staff assigned to handle site maintenance, so they just get us to update their site for them as the need arises. If they want to regularly manage certain portions of their content themselves, our approach has been to identify the repetitive tasks they need to perform and then build simple management tools to specifically handle these isolated functions. That way, clients are only presented with the features they really need to complete the task, which makes their job very efficient.

6. What are some of the most frequent questions people ask about your business and how do you answer them?

“Are you hiring?” The answer is, while we’re very flattered that you would like to work with us, for now we’re sticking to just the two of us.

“Where did you go to school?” We are open about the fact that we are both self-taught, and that we value keeping up-to-date by learning new techniques every day. We have also benefitted from the practical skills we each learned in our years of previous work experience – Allison in graphic design and me in Internet service and computer hardware.

“I have a Web site that needs help. Can you fix it up/finish it?” We explain that we primarily do all-in-one custom Web work. If an existing site’s code is dysfunctional or unfinished, there is no telling the extent of the issues it may have. So it’s going to be more cost-effective for the client to have us start fresh than to track down a problem and try to find a remedy for it. Furthermore, if it is the design that needs help, a new overall concept is usually more effective than trying to patch up a reinterpretation of someone else’s vision. On the other hand, if they do not need help with their site code and are just looking for us to provide a new design concept, we are willing to supply an artwork file to them which they can implement as they wish.

7. What are the biggest challenges you currently face with web design in your company?

Specific to Web design, the biggest challenge is helping the public to really understand

1. the objectives and process in Web site creation;
2. the value of the Internet as a medium for business; and
3. what to look for and expect in a Web company.

Many people fail to grasp the purpose and value of creating a Web presence that can really compete in business. They know they need a site – they may even want a decent one – but they cannot confidently move forward. This is often because they haven’t been sufficiently exposed to the technology or the industry to even know what questions to ask. Therefore, they may not be prepared for the investment of time and money it will take to turn out what they have envisioned. And many do not equate getting a Web site with first seeking out a professional who both suits their business objectives and whom they can trust.

To assist potential and current customers, we strive to give them the tools they need to make decisions. Our Web site’s blog and our monthly clients-only E-newsletter, emaNews, are used to help educate and inform business people about what to consider when developing and expanding their Web site, how to understand Web concepts and online tools, and what to fundamentally look for in a Web company. While we don’t expect readers to learn everything there is to know, we hope they can feel a little more prepared to face the choices they need to make.

We also want to help people select the designer that’s right for them. To do so, differentiation is vital.

The reality is that there are many competent designers out there – each with their own strengths – and so blanket statements like “we’re the best” don’t really accomplish anything in terms of helping the client make an informed choice. In fact, it just reinforces the industry concept that all designers and companies offer basically the same product and service on a varying scale of better to worse. We feel this isn’t true. A good doctor wants the patient to get the best care possible from whichever physician is best suited for that particular case. Likewise, in Web we feel the customer should be encouraged to find the designer that is the best fit with their business, tastes and needs. So we try to be open about what we have to offer, what makes us different and what they can expect from us.

8. What is your company best known for in the web design industry?

Within the industry, I can definitely say that we are primarily known for modern, clean, and stylish design. Our work has a signature look.

People also think of us as “that husband and wife who do Web design.” It isn’t very common to find a young married couple who work together every day, so that makes us stand out.

We also are known for helping automotive dealers create unique custom Web sites that represent their individuality on-line.

Perhaps the most notable aspect, though, is how seriously we take both our work and how we operate our business. Our clients are real-world businesses, and they count on us to respond to them promptly, to be organized, punctual and reliable. It has been commented that this is what’s missing in some designers. So, while the customer may truly value a designer who is a genius at their art, they really also need someone who will answer their messages and keep an appointment. So both through our Web site and in person, we try to reflect that we value these qualities too.

Our business model is also viewed as a little different because, rather than high turnover, we’ve focused on developing ongoing relationships with our clients. For example, if you find a good lawyer or mechanic, you don’t just go to him once – you return whenever you need some advice or assistance. It’s the same for us. We don’t just build a site and then it’s over. We stay on hand for ongoing maintenance, expansion and auxiliary print marketing. In this way, we develop a rapport with our clients. This attracts a more discerning client who takes a long-term view of their marketing, and it fosters a respectful relationship. We come to understand the nature of their business, and they come to trust our recommendations. Many of our clients request our input on their general marketing or ask us to develop concepts for specific campaigns.

9. Do you have a physical office where clients can come in for a consultation or does the office run virtually?

Because there are just the two of us, we work from an office in our home. Doing so helps keep operating costs low and affords us the scheduling flexibility we need for our personal circumstances.

When it comes to Web and E-mail hosting, that is all located in an off-site datacentre.

For client meetings, we go to their place of business whenever possible, but when necessary we will have clients to our home. We prefer to communicate via E-mail, opting for telephone or in-person meetings only when doing so would be more efficient.