Welcome to my new blog series! Over the next few months I will be introducing you to some super talented creatives that I have met along the way.

First up, let me introduce you to Adam Allaker from Surrey Creative.  Adam designed and built my new website which we launched a few months ago. I did love my old website but my business had changed  over the last few years and I wanted the new website to reflect this. I couldn’t have been happier with the result!

Adam was brilliant to work with. He really took the time to understand my business right from the start and nothing was too much trouble.

I caught up with Adam just recently and asked him a few questions.

 

How did you come to specialise in web design?

In 2008 while working in Car Sales the economy crashed and my sales career was de-railed. I took the time to take stock of my life and had always wanted to pursue a creative career. So I bought some books and taught myself how to build websites. Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to work with some fantastically talented designers and developers who really helped me to hone my craft.

 

Can you tell us a little about your journey to date?

My first industry role in 2009 was working as a junior support developer for a automotive website specialist. I was quickly promoted and when I left the company in 2013 I was their lead designer/developer. I then joined a boutique branding agency in Guildford and had the pleasure of working alongside some very talented graphic designers as a lead developer. This role really helped me develop my skills in all aspects of design & development.

In 2016 I joined a digital marketing agency just outside of London. Here I headed up the website department managing large projects for big businesses. They were closely affiliated with Google and I was able to gain a valuable insight into digital marketing.

In 2018 I decided it was time to put myself to the ultimate test and use all of my experience to create a smaller more personal digital agency to serve my clients with the best possible experience whilst helping them to achieve digital brilliance! Surrey Creative was born and has been going from strength to strength ever since.

 

What do you most enjoy about the job?

We often have clients who perhaps had a budget site to begin with when they were just getting started and now that they are making a success of things decide to invest in a professional site that does their business justice. I really enjoy seeing clients become proud of their website once we’ve re-designed it. When the new site goes live and the client is super excited to show it off to everyone is really rewarding.

 

How do you work with clients?

I always try to get to know my clients and their businesses. I spend time understanding where their business has been and where they’d like it to be in the next few years. By understanding this I am able to produce a website that really supports their business goals.

I’d like to think I am pretty easy to work with; we’ve not had any complaints so far!

 

What’s the most challenging part of the job?

Fitting everything in! We’ve been super busy recently which is great but with that comes its own challenges as we can only produce so many websites in a year! We never rush out a project as we feel that each site needs time to be the best it can be so the real challenge is when we have a client that wants a website completed in a couple of weeks and we need to try and manage those expectations so that their site is not just delivered quickly but we have the time to deliver a quality product.

 

What have you got coming up in the near future?

We’ve just finished a site for some office software developers which we are super excited about and next up is a site for a Personal Stylist which will feature a fully integrated online booking software and online shop. Before the end of the year we’ve got two accountants sites, a property developer and Guildford Pavilion Events all to design and deliver!

 

What would be your dream job?

That’s an easy one. I’ve always been fascinated by the world and love to travel so landing a job that allows me to be paid to travel the world like Michael Palin would be ideal!

 

In a nutshell what makes a really fabulous website?

My ethos is always to produce something simple, effective and optimised. Both users and Google respond to clean, uncluttered designs where they are presented all the information they need in a succinct and easy to digest format. Of course, it needs to look great, but I always make sure the site is easy to use first and foremost.

 

When did you last write a handwritten note?

Oh blimey, now you’re asking. If greetings cards don’t count then I can’t actually remember, it’s been so long. As I spend most of my time sat in front of a computer, everything I write is typed. I’ve always been a little embarrassed by my dodgy handwriting, so I think I shy away from anything handwritten. My 8-year-old son has better handwriting than I do!

 

Thanks Adam for sharing. I am glad the career in Car Sales was short lived! Maybe you should come on a workshop to improve your handwriting skills!!! On a serious note if you are looking to invest in a new website do get in touch with Adam, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Visit SurreyCreative.co.uk to find out more.

Thank you for stopping by!

Best wishes

Judy