I am probably going out on a limb in writing this article, but there are distinct differences between website design companies in southeast Alabama. Over the years many design companies have come and gone, but several have dug in their heals and stayed for a while. It is these companies that we will look at today. Much of this information is pulled from their respective websites. The purpose of this article is not to belittle any of the designers mentioned, but just to provide a location where they can be compared.
Dothan By Design: Rick has been designing websites for many years. He has probably been in Dothan the longest of all of the companies discussed in this article. At one time Rick did a lot of coding by hand, but currently he is utilizing Joomla, an off-the-shelf content management system, for many of his sites including his company site. Rick usually works by himself.
Strategy6: One of the least experienced among the companies in this article is Brandon Shoupe, although he does has a degree in a programming related field. According to his website Brandon started Strategy6 in 2008 out of his house. In 2009 he opened an office in downtown Dothan, Alabama and hired a co-worker in the spring of 2010. Brandon normally works with several programming languages. At one point he indicated that his charge for an average website was between $3,000 and $5,000.
Advertising Companies: Advertising companies are the only group as a whole I will say anything derogatory about in this article. The Hive Group, The Scarlet Group, the Karma Creative Group and some others all advertise web design as part of their services. Although I have seen several very nice looking sites built by these companies for their customers, most rank poorly in the search engines and most are "wrecks" as far as websites go since most were built by graphic designers as opposed to website developers. Some of these companies have even called and asked us for website construction advice.
VeriQik: VeriQik started out as a cell phone, wireless internet, technology company who offered website design. As their business grew they hired a designer with experience, however the relationship broke apart after about a year. Most of the websites shown on their portfolio page were built by this designer. Currently they are not a leader in website design in Dothan, but continue to offer the service.
WebWise: This company was started as a marketing company and held some large accounts. In the past year or two the owner hired a web development team and began offering website design and development. Thomas Azar, one of the team, bought the company in late 2009 and is now focusing the company more on website design.
Wiregrass Web Works: I know the least about this company of all the website design companies in Dothan as their company website has remained unfinished for several months. They appear to offer a large selection of graphic design related services such as posters and vehicle wraps. At the time of this writing their website is build on a Word Press content management template.
Greg Rickaby Designs: Greg Rickaby works extensively with Thesis content management systems. At one time I believe he was associated with VeriQik, then started a design business with an office on Ross Clark Circle with his brother, but has since closed the office and works for Blue Water Broadcasting working on several radio station websites. He currently resides in Montgomery, Alabama.
509Media: I was not going to mention this company as they are new to the Dothan market area, but as I was perusing Dan Dubose's website I was struck by the many similarities between articles on on our own website and Dan's site. I guess I should be pleased that our website is worth copying by another company! Much of Dan's work has been for automotive and radio controlled vehicle companies. I will admit, Dan is a good graphic designer.
Wiregrass Advertising, Inc.: This is the largest website design and internet marketing company in southeast Alabama with well over 200 clients spread across the United States and three foreign countries. Corporate President, Tim Alexander, has a degree and background in marketing and entrepreneurialism. He has been designing websites for almost fifteen years. Lead Designer Christian Helvin's background is in web development and programming. He began developing websites over five years.
Keywords: 2010
2009
509Media construction website design content writer contnet writing domain name domain registration dothan alabama web design companies Dothan By Design Greg Rickaby Designs host hosting Inc. Internet definitions marketing marketing consultant marketing consultation Nashville programmer seach engine optimization search engine SEO strategic marketing Strategy6 VeriQik web designer website design website developer website development WebWise Wiregrass Advertising Wiregrass Web Works