About Kitchen Table Web Design
WordPress Website Design Company
Founded in 2009, Kitchen Table Web Design specialises in Affordable WordPress Web Design
Website design with a dollop of wisdom for growing your online presence.
At competitive rates.
Why are you called Kitchen Table Web Design?
There are two reasons. Firstly, because I like to meet my clients around my kitchen table and drink coffee. Our logo is a wifi signal coming from a cup of coffee. Secondly, because I love working with “kitchen table” entrepreneurs. We are all familiar with the myth of the entrepreneur beginning their journey in a humble garage. The founders of Amazon, Apple, Dell, Disney, Google, and Microsoft have all made this claim. How about we start telling another story? The one about home businesses that start around kitchen tables.
Kitchen Table Web Design was started at my kitchen table in 2009 prompted by personal circumstances. I took a leap of faith to turn my business into a reality. This is why I am so passionate about empowering small businesses, especially those that start around kitchen tables.
I don’t have New Zealand statistics, but in the UK, there are 2.9 million ‘homepreneurs,’ so-called "kitchen table firms, " generating £300 billion for the UK economy. A third of them trade nationally, and an equal number also trade internationally. These are serious businesses. It is not just women; about 40% of these businesses are started by men.
Our Team
Tarnya
Web Design and Owner of Kitchen Table Web Design
Tarnya founded the company in 2009. She has over 10 years of experience working with WordPress websites. She has a BComm and enjoys working with small businesses to help them succeed.
She also has over 25 years working in the non-profit sector.
Rachel
Web Designer and Email Marketing
Rachel loves helping businesses with their online presence. Her services include web design & management, social media, business marketing & virtual assistant services.
Claire
Freelance Copywriter, Proof Reader and Social Media Marketing
Claire has many years of experience as a writer, proofreader and content creator. We collaborate with Claire for written content on websites as well as Social Media Marketing. You can find more about Claire on her website: Unmistakable.co.nz
WordPress Web Designer Auckland
Tarnya is our Web Designer, SEO consultant, and founder of Kitchen Table Web Design. She writes:
Web design is my ideal career. It brings together some diverse strands of who I am:
- Being creative. I have a lifelong love of being creative and making things.
- Geeky. I enjoy front-end development.
- Marketing. I have a BComm in Marketing and have enjoyed applying these principles to the web.
- Psychology. I am partway through a Graduate Diploma in Psychology.
- A love of learning.
Web design is always changing. It requires innovation and the desire to keep on improving. Being a web designer calls on various skills: marketing and business acumen, communication, branding and design, psychology, creative problem solving, and coding skills.
WordPress is a free open-source content management system that powers over 28% of the websites in the world. If you need a bit of help to fix a WordPress Website or to create a website, we will be happy to help.
We are a professional WordPress Web Design Company. Therefore, when you hire us, you will start off on the right foot, and have access to a wealth of knowledge and experience. Furthermore, your website will be mobile-friendly, attractive, and of high quality. Similarly, consistent branding, being user-friendly, with responsive design, quality photography, SEO copywriting and excellent site structure for easy navigation are standard. All our websites are built on clean, optimised code with smart design architecture for achieving the best rankings possible. Likewise, they follow WordPress security best practices.
Before you speak to a web designer
Just like hiring a tradesperson, it is well worth doing some research so you can equip yourself to choose the best web designer to get the results you want.
Ask yourself these questions listed below before you start choosing.
Some important questions
If you are able to take the time and answer the questions below you will well prepared to begin your journey choosing your WordPress web designer.
Think about the purposes of your Website Project
Are you clear about what the purpose of your website project is? Why do you need a website? Or why are considering a redesign?
For example, do you want your website to act as a brochure site so people can learn more about your products and services before they contact you? Or do you need your website to generate new leads? Do you want people to call you? Is Search Engine Optimisation important? Have you done some competitor research?
When you meet with a potential Web Designer, do they try to understand your business? Are they listening to the reasons why you want this website project?
It is vital that they do.
The website needs to take your business strategy forward. If the website is to achieve a return on your investment it needs to align with the goals you have for your business.
You may like to write down the purposes for your website project.
What are you essentials?
You have terrific ideas, very ambitious design plans and unique functionality concepts. Write them down. You may like to sketch some design concepts and note the links of your favourite website. Record your vision.
Then take some time to focus in on the purposes you had for your website project. What would be a Minimum Viable Website for you? What would you website need for it to be a success and to fulfil its primary purpose?
For example, if you are a preschool, it might be essential to you to have a professional photographer take photos rather than use stock images. Your primary purpose is to communicate your uniqueness, and you feel photos will do that well.
If this is your first website, be realistic. To get the best return on your investment, you need to focus on those essentials first.
In our preschool example, make sure you set aside the budget for professional photography photos. Perhaps using a template for the website rather than using a custom design might be a good solution to free up funds for the photographer. Or maybe there is someone in your preschool community who will be willing and sufficiently skilled.
You may like to write down the list of your essentials, what is important to you and then make a list of what would be nice to have.
Who is going to be involved in the Website Project?
Consider who is going to be involved in the website project and who will be providing the different components.
Do you have your own graphic designer? Who will write the content?
Here are some areas to consider
- Business strategy. How does your website fit into your overall marketing strategy? Who are your competitors? What is your unique selling point?
- Project Management. Managing the project make sure everything is moving in the right direction. They will also need to pull together the content strategy, SEO, graphic design and website design.
- Website Designer - Will they create the sitemap, branding and design concepts?
- WordPress Developer - are there are any custom functionality requirements that will require a WordPress developer?
- SEO consultant and content strategy.
- Content Creator - This is the person who creates the right words for each page.
Depending on the project, this may be you and the web designer or there may be a team of people.
Write down the list of the people who will be involved in the website project and what will be their role. Record the main tasks for each role.
What about Hosting and other matters?
Are you happy for your designer to host your website? I recommend that you have control of your hosting and your domain name by having them with separate companies. You can certainly ask a web designer to give recommendations for hosting. When you own your hosting, you keep control of your website. If you are unhappy at any time, you can move hosting companies or web designers more easily. It is more secure if your domain is at a company separate from your hosting than with the same one.
Make sure to check with your potential web designer that you own the website.
Does the web designer offer website care plans? How will be the website be maintained and updated? How will the site be backed up? How will you get future support? What will be the ongoing costs?
Do you want to learn how to update the website? Does the web designer offer documentation or tuition?
You might like to write down your preferences for Hosting and other Services. Also, note any additional questions you may need to ask.
Learning how to build a website takes time, energy and even if you do everything yourself, there are costs. However, with a little help from a professional web designer, you can gain access to a wealth of knowledge and experience.