The birth of the Kolbeco web department.
To offer our clients a complete marketing experience, it became clear a few years ago that Kolbeco might consider the creation of an in-house web department. We had experience designing websites and working with outside developers to complete projects. And while we were able to complete websites, we often had to give up design elements to accommodate the development process.
It was time to find another solution…
After all, our team put thought and care into designing a website that spoke to the user about the client’s brand. Did we really have to give up elements to allow for the development? We did not think so. With the rate at which technology was advancing, we were certain there was a platform that could accommodate our needs, the client’s needs and the development needs.
I raised my hand…
Having always had a passion for being creative, I saw this as an opportunity to bring that to my work. This also satisfied my need to challenge myself and test the boundaries of what I can learn. Those attributes, along with my genuine desire to deliver a client’s website vision were my motivation. I began to research what options existed for meeting the requirements we saw as important to the process: 1) ability to build a website consistent with our client’s brand, 2) a development process that allowed up to keep the integrity of the design and, 3) the ability to give client’s management of their site after launching. With those three things as top priority, my search began.
My career thus far has allowed me to take on many similar challenges with successful results and I would approach this with the same enthusiasm. Having worked with many different software programs at an advanced level, I was ready to tackle the backend development that building a website demands. I knew this past experience gave me a good foundation for beginning the task and what I didn’t know, well, frankly I Googled it and figured it out. I have always been a self-learner and have taught myself skills that range from upholstery to ceiling fan installation, it just my nature.
Enter WordPress…
What started to pan out over the next couple months was a 180 in my career path. I went from being an accountant to an accountant/web designer/developer before I knew it. Once I discovered the WordPress platform and the vast community of support and open source code, I knew this was solution I had sought and could even tackle this myself. I watched many webinars, read and analyzed lines of code, taught myself HTML and CSS and ,viola, I was developing website for our clients. I was able to work closely with Erin Celuch, art director, to present a design to the client that both met their marketing and branding needs and could be developed as we envisioned.
To date, I have completed and launched approximately 15 websites. My curiosity and passion to learn more about web design and development grows stronger every day. I am thrilled to have supported the Kolbeco vision of creating an in-house web department and today enjoy challenging my skills to bring new ideas to our client websites.
