For many businesses today, connecting with consumers through the Internet is crucial. Most businesses have a Web site, and here in Chillicothe, many local businesses have Web sites designed by Stephen and Melissa Patrick. In 2003, the couple moved to Chillicothe with the hopes of starting a business and raising a family. Stephen studied graphic design and worked as a desktop publisher and database programmer for five years. When his company downsized, the family moved back to Melissa's native Chillicothe and founded Westside Media.
"We were able to get a contract with Petland, and so that was really the beginning," Melissa said. "I guess that was the launch for us, and then we started spreading the word about our business." The Patricks found there were a number of local businesses interested in revamping or creating their Web sites. The company has netted contracts with the Old Canal Smoke House, The Pump House Center for the Arts, the Chillicothe YMCA, Praises bookstore, a number of local churches and countless other local, regional and national companies.
Web site design is crucial to promoting and marketing a business, Melissa said. "Having a good design is make or break it for a Web site," Melissa said. "Just because you have a Web site doesn't mean people will be interested and poke around the site - you have to make it appealing." Because Westside Media interacts with its clients as a local business, it has been successful not only in securing contracts, but delivering a product its clients love.
"We always like to have a face-to-face meeting," Melissa said. "I think it's important to get to know them as individuals and then try to get an idea of what they'd like to see." If clients don't really know what direction they'd like to take their Web site in, that's OK, too. Melissa said they often help businesses that are just starting out to develop an identity and a logo that can help in the design of the Web site and other marketing. "We are new business owners, too," Melissa said. ''We can help them establish their identity on the Web." Establishing an identity not only is important, but through a Web site, even the smallest of businesses can present their products in a visually appealing and often inexpensive way. "It's like leveling the playing field," Melissa said. "If you have a good Web site, it makes you an equal."
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