About Charlotte Web Designer and Developer Matthew Way

Charlotte Web Designer's History

How I Got Into Web Design

Matthew Way
In 1998 I was working in retail as an assistant manager. I had been given the assignment to track the profitability of specific products in the store (as all good businesses do). The District Supervisor had given our store an old computer from another store that had recently closed and it had Microsoft Office on it. I dove into my assignment and constructed an Excel workbook that could keep a running total of our margins for the year. Each member of the management team simply had to put the key figures into the right cells of the spreadsheet and the software would do the rest. Of course, the nice part of it was that when the the District Supervisor would come through our store and begin asking questions like "So how is this display doing?" Our team was able to produce a gross margin report for the the entire fixture. I began to appreciate the value of computer software and saw how it could make the job easier and help the entire team perform better.

Among the staff at this retail store was a college student studying computer science. My affinity for using software to solve problems had stirred my curiosity for programming. I asked her, "If I was going to learn computer programming, what language would you suggest I learn?" Her response to me was, "HTML". I bought a book and began learning the language of the web. At first, my projects were small and solved very specific problems. I wasn't even using websites and did not know anything about how to get a website on the Internet - but that would change.

Education Through Freelance Website Design Projects

As I got more familiar with designing websites I started, like most self-taught web designers, building websites for practice and to help solve problems for others. My friend and I ran a small business together out of the basement of my home where I served as the designer doing graphics for the websites and web applications we would build. Because business was inconsistent, we took on freelance work for a web design and web hosting company out west to fill time between our own projects. Freelancing gave me some insight into various approaches to developing websites and helped me better grasp the importance of good communication planning the site with the customer.

Choosing to Design Websites Full Time

Eventually, my friend landed a job he had been seeking for a while and I stayed with web development and continued to learn new ways of doing things and taking on new customers when I found a good fit. Even though I don't take on every project - some are not a good fit- over the years I have been able to work on unique, medium sized projects for start ups and small projects for customers that run local businesses. I particularly enjoy working with locally owned businesses that have a good handle on running the business, but aren't familiar with how to use the Internet to improve their sales. Why? Because that is where I feel I can do the most good. Large projects are better suited for marketing agencies that can throw a team of developers on a project to get it done in a timely manner. However my goal is different.

Developing a Productive Website

My focus is on supporting the small businesses locally that not only need a website but also need someone to help them build a great website that will engage their customer and work to improve the overall success of the business. That task involves much more than just building the website. It includes building the site in such a way that helps search engines find your website first and then help customers find what they want to see on your site. While I continue to refine my skills and learn new ones, I am grateful that I have been able to build websites that get found by the search engines for over a decade.

What's Ahead

Being relatively new to the Charlotte area, I am working to establish myself as a premier web specialist in the Carolinas. That will take effort and time, but for me, finding great clients that appreciate a job well done is well worth it.

Contact Us

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Web Design Fusion
Web development firm based in Charlotte, NC specializing in web design for small businesses.
13413 Pontchatrain Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28273
Phone: 417-230-2637
Website:
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM