Stephanie Mandryk and Zak Wheaton started their new business, {bracket} Web Design, and have been happy with the business they have seen so far.
“We have been doing pretty good,” said Mandryk, adding that they have finished two websites and have more jobs coming up.
The duo feels their business fills a niche market because Wheaton, the designer, builds websites from the ground up using code. This is different from websites that are built using programs that fill in standard templates.
Wheaton has taken courses to learn this type of coding but he is also largely self-taught. His skills give their clients personalized websites, said Mandryk.
“We can give the customer whatever they want,” she said. If the customer wants a certain aspect of the site to catch the eye, Wheaton can design it that way.
In addition to this personalized design style, the company makes websites that fit nicely onto a cell phone screen. Many of the local websites don’t have this feature but {bracket} Web Design includes it in their pricing – which starts at $400.
“It takes more time to do mobile (sites),” said Mandryk. Each part of the website has to be scaled down to fit onto mobile phones. “It’s more complicated but it’s more functional.”
Despite the extra work, this means that potential customers can access websites when they are on the go. According to Mandryk, Grand Forks companies don’t have many mobile sites.
For those wanting to build a website from the ground up, {bracket} Web Design also offers hosting services for an extra cost. They also do branding and Internet marketing plus Mandryk offers photography services.
Potential customers won’t find Wheaton and Mandryk in a local store. They run their business from their homes to save on overhead costs. Mandryk feels their business choices allow them to be priced competitively in the local market. When they were determining their prices, they were able to cut costs and offer their services for less than half the fees quoted by similar businesses in surrounding communities.
Information on {bracket} Web Design is available at their site, www.bracketwebdesign.ca.