Katie Taylor is a Web Designer from Oxford in England. She has done a lot of web design work since she started building websites. She designs a lot of brochure style websites currently and offers SEO consultation services as well. On her website you can find a PDF that will help you plan your website for those of you that are new to web design. She loves her two children, Firefox extensions and magazines including .NET magazine.

1. I know that many different web designers have their own story of how they started in web design, what’s yours?

I have a background in design and jewelery design but was working in professional photographic labs when we bought our first computer in 2000. After all the hype about the internet I felt very disappointed about it visually. Within weeks I went to a bookshop and bought a huge book, read it cover to cover and the rest is history.

2. When you designed your website for your web design business what was the idea behind how you were going to market your skills as a web designer?

I wanted the site to give a humorous but professional appearance hence the ‘let me build you a new home’. I think when working for yourself it is really important to look approachable and friendly. I found the great image of a caravan first and the design led from there.

3. What time of day do you find that your best work is produced?

I have two young children 3 and 6 so I generally work best whenever they aren’t around! School times and evenings.

4. Where do you get your ideas for new web design projects?

All around really. I read magazines I go to galleries etc. sometimes you just see a couple of colors together. For example I love the black and light pink combination of flamingos, I haven’t had a chance to use it yet though.

5. Is there a web technology that you couldn’t live without?

I would find it hard to live without my firefox extensions. I use the web developer toolbar, the HTML validator and colorzilla among others everyday. It would be very difficult to sort out problems without these.

5. Where did you get your education for your talents in web design and animation? Are you a self taught guru who dreamt about the building the perfect website while studying for your degree in Accounting or has your love of design always come first in your life?

I am completely self taught. I have read endless books and magazines including .Net magazine, Computer Arts and Computer Arts Projects and I also look at various web site forums and tutorials for help and information.

6. I downloaded your PDF for planning your website, do you find that a lot of your clients personally use this document when planning their websites? I must admit that I think it’s a great idea that most web designers sometimes forget

My clients do find this PDF very useful it gives them the opportunity to do some research before even contacting me. Before I had it on the site I used to get a lot of clients coming to me knowing that they needed a site but without any idea what they wanted. I think that it is important to inform and guide clients about web design it takes the confusion out of it and helps clients to feel confident that they know what they are asking for. I have also started sending informative email newsletters as well on web related topics this is also a good way of informing clients. I make old issues available on the site as well.

7. Do you have multiple clients that work with ongoing? If you do, how do you manage the work that they need you for?

Not really. Most of my clients want small brochure sites that I build with the CMS (content management system) Textpattern so that they can then maintain the sites themselves. Clients then only really come back if they want new areas of the site or new design elements such as buttons etc.

8. SEO is a hot buzzword these days. Do you find that a lot of clients want your services for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or does most of the work that you do come from web design? How do you showcase your SEO results to interest new clients?

Mostly my work comes from web design. The service I offer for SEO is mostly advice and guidance really not full on SEO.

9. Was there anyone that encouraged you to pursue a career in web design? If so, who was it and did it keep you going when friends and family thought “Oh my God, what is she doing?”

Not really a person more my determination. I have always really enjoyed the challenge of building web sites but I was thrown into being self employed when I was made redundant whilst pregnant with my second child. My determination to be as good as I can be has kept me going and meant that I keep learning which is vital in this business.

More about this Web Designer

URL: Kmtaylor.co.uk

Email/Contact: Click here

Phone: 01865 762360