Carnoustie Creative

Q: What's your name and position in the company?
A: Miles Gilmour, I'm the the owner.

Q: Describe your company in 5 words.
A: Creative, Professional, Responsive, Reliable & Dynamic

Q: What's your business philosophy?
A: We aim to give clients the best value by providing them with creative websites that match the objectives and image of their organisation. Developing websites that give people a visual edge over their competitors, including things we believe make a difference (like a mobile-friendly version of the site) for free as we view them as essentials.

Q: Describe your office environment.
A: To keep costs down we mainly work from home, so each office is different. I prefer to work with some music and spend at least half my waking hours with a coffee in my hand. Come to think of it, maybe that's why my working hours are so long!

Q: Describe how your team interact and work together.
A: Usually by email or Skype, I like to have a quiet time every day where I don't answer the phone or read email for a few hours to help me be more productive.

Q: What makes you different from other web design companies?
A: We have a diverse range of talents and experience, with some staff having worked in large organisations giving them a different perspective on things like security, backups and availability. That breadth of experience mixed with design skills and a focus on new technology helps us to provide a service that's difficult to match - creative design, based on a solid platform and for very reasonable prices.

Q: How do you get the majority of your business?
A: The majority of the business comes through referrals from existing customers. We do get some via website visitors/search engines.

Q: Describe how you manage projects from the initial client contact to completion and handover.
A: After an initial meeting we develop visuals and set deliverables. Longer projects are split into phases.

Q: What do you think is the most crucial element of creating a good client relationship?
A: Building trust by delivering on your promises is crucial. Likewise, early communication of any issues is very important. Nobody wants to find out their site won't be going live the day before, when the design company have known for a week. I supposed both of these things are about being honest with your clients.

Q: How do you manage demanding clients?
A: By agreeing deadlines and deliverables early in the process, and sticking to them. If for any reason the deadline (or deliverable) has to change, we try to communicate this as early as possible. We also try to ensure that expectations are set so they can be met.

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: Look at their existing work, and if possible speak to a recent client. Are they happy with the work? When you are communicating with the company, are they asking you what you want and listening, or just telling you what they do? Some clients need guidance, but I've not me many that don't know their own needs.

Q: Where do you see your company in 10 years time?
A: Sold to Google, as I retire on a Caribbean island! Seriously though I would like to see us grow into one of the premier web design studios in the UK, with a number of small teams based around the UK.

Q: Where do you see the web design industry in the future?
A: The web design industry will have to move away from seeing PCs and Macs as the main canvas that sites will be viewed on and toward a world where multiple different devices - all with different capabilities - will be used to access web sites. This process has already started with mobile phones and tablets, but it sure to continue.

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

Q: How was your company name chosen?
A: It was based on our location Carnoustie and our perception, and hopefully that of our clients :-), as a company with ideas and creativity.

Q: If you were to give your clients one tip on how to get the most from their website what would it be?
A: Keep it up to date. Nothing destroys confidence like visiting a site and seeing information that is clearly out of date. It makes you look uninterested or worse, like you might have stopped trading!