Deep Blue Sky Digital

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Jim Morrison, Managing Director

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Focused on our clients' goals

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: We believe that anything is possible if you approach problems with a clear goal and strategy for achieving your goals. So when we sit down with a new client our first questions are about understanding their commercial objectives and the objectives of their customers. By understanding our clients we're able to provide real, easy to understand and actionable advice on how best to move forward.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: We're exceedingly lucky to share a great open plan office in the centre of the beautiful city of bath with a brand agency and a press agency. It's vibrant, energetic and full of creative ideas.

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: We're a small, perfectly formed team. We each have our own core discipline but we take the time to understand and get involved in each other other's projects because that's how great ideas happen.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: Our breadth of technical knowledge and commercial understanding. We build big multi-language systems for blue-chip clients but we also build websites for companies our size or startups even smaller than us. This gives us an affinity with small businesses with the development experience to help them realise their dreams.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: Referral & community work. The vast majority of folk who get in touch have either been referred by happy clients or have come to us from one of our magazine articles, web developer tools or just from reading the blog.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: Consultation, Fixed Quote, Wireframe/Storyboards, Open/Visible Development, Testing & Launch. The relationship invariably continues after launch.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Communication & Clarity of Purpose. We have developed processes over the years to ensure that everyone involved in the project - on both sides - understands the project roadmap and what is required at each stage. Our design & development processes include the client at every stage to ensure their expectations are always being met.

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: All good clients should be demanding - they should want the best even if their budget doesn't allow for it. It is necessary for us to be clear up front, and to be firm. Almost all difficulties arise from misunderstandings, and these tend to arise from lack of clarity.

Q: If a client was trying to decide between a shortlist of web design companies, how would you recommend they go about selecting the right one for them?
A: Rate the shortlist in terms of your level of confidence in them. We've lost count of the times a potential client has told us of the horrors they experienced by going for the lowest quote. Get to know the web design company, ask searching questions, take up references, be comfortable - and confident - that your supplier knows what you want.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: Continuing to answer client needs, maintaining long term client relationships, and having a happy client base. This is more important than the size of the company - get the essentials right and the rest will follow.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: As with any developing industry, the better educated and informed the client, and the more mature the tools and platforms, the more demanding and impressive the results of what can be achieved. Visual design will be complemented by more non-visual elements, static by motion, passive by sensing. The pace of change will not let up.

Q: What computers do you have use in your offices, PCs or Macs?
A: Both PC and Mac

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Know what you most want out of your website - its number one priority: leads, sales, information, data-access, etc. Then focus every effort in the pursuit of that priority, don't be distracted by anything, imagery, technology, buzz-words. Always focus on the priority and justify the inclusion - or exclusion - of everything against the priority.