APEX News Interview - March 2010
Disclaimer: Interviews published express the views of the contributing parties and are not necessarily those of the APEX Board of Directors and/or the APEX Newsletter Editor.
Introducing David Conway - the owner of Aylis Ltd and Nodus Awards™
Interviewer - Hi David - welcome to the APEX interview room and thank you for giving our members the opportunity to learn a little about you.
To begin, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself? ( You may include any personal information you wish to share. )
David - My name's David Conway, I was born in England, November 1980. From drawing and painting in junior school, to graduating with a BSc Hons in Product Design, creativity has always played a major role in my life. In July 2002, I founded a freelance graphic and web design business called Nodus Design. In November 2004, I closed Nodus to join a former client full time as Chief Designer and was appointed Creative Director, responsible for the company's service development and delivery from 2006. During my time there, I introduced a new service to the eBay marketplace that generated over $2.5m in sales and an e-commerce website solution that quickly grew to facilitate over $6m client transactions a year. In August 2009 I left for a new challenge and I'm also the owner of Aylis Ltd, a web development company. I love cooking, playing sport and driving fast cars!
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Interviewer - What was it that initially stirred your interest and convinced you to create and/or manage web sites?
David - I've always been inquisitive and the web really appealed to me because it seemed like the only limitation (besides 56k dial up!) was your own imagination. The idea of owning my bit of the web was very exciting; it still is today! The web promotes innovation, freedom of information and allows people who previously couldn't be heard to have a voice. My work is my passion and for this, I am very grateful.
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Interviewer - What benefits have you personally experienced by having a web site presence?
David - I guess the tangible answer is that it has taught me valuable skills, increased my knowledge and provided business opportunities that are directly responsible for my achievements to date. On reflection, opening that first ever site (despite how bad it was), has set me on a journey that I will happily explore for the rest of my life.
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Interviewer -What (if any) do you consider to be the positives and/or negatives of owning/managing web sites?
David - A website is like a plant (bear with me); if it's in the right environment and you nurture it carefully and frequently, it will grow. If you neglect it, in time it will die. The sense of achievement you get from building a popular site is fantastic but ironically, this is when negatives can occur. As the site grows in popularity, the time needed to nurture it increases, as does the cost of hosting. You should always be looking to future proof growth by finding/developing technology to automate procedures and finding suitable ways to generate supplementary revenue such as advertising, subscriptions and/or donations.
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Interviewer - Who, if anyone, influenced you the most when you began to create your web sites or when your web sites initially went online and how did this person or these persons influence you?
David - At the very beginning, I explored on my own. I created some very average looking graphics, found some free hosting and “went live”. I remember adding a big ugly hit counter and checking every 10 minutes to see if anyone had visited - alas not. I realized I needed a way to encourage people to come take a look which is why I started a web award program called “Nodus Awards”. My intention was for it to be an inexpensive way of gaining traffic but I soon grew very fond of the web award community and the friendly, like minded people within it. My program started from humble beginnings but thanks to hard work and the teachings from more experienced AP owners, it grew to be recognized as one of the toughest and most sort after web awards and was highly prized by designers. I wouldn't be able to name everyone who helped me but a few who stand out are Denny Lancaster, Maggi Norris and Gary Leineweber. They taught me the importance of well structured content and intuitive navigation. Working towards the top Award Sites! rating levels (Nodus achieved AS! 4.5) definitely influenced my approach and understanding of good website creation.
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Interviewer - In your opinion, what is the biggest mistake a non-professional website designer might make?
David - Tricky one. I think anybody can be taught how to use programs such as Photoshop and Dreamweaver but it's having a natural eye and sixth sense that you're either born with or not. Design is a language and the biggest mistake made by non-professionals (and some pros) is failing to communicate with their audience. Always put yourself in the other person's shoes and ask the questions; how will they interpret my message? What emotions and thoughts will occur? Is this the response I want?
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Interviewer - What tips can you give to website owners who are looking to improve their web sites?
David - Technology is becoming more and more advanced but the way we interact with it is being simplified. The simpler you can make things for your web users, the easier it will be for them to reach the goals you want them to achieve. Too much information is confusing as everything is vying for attention. Simplicity doesn't mean removing functionality or access to information. Applying the principle can be as simple as removing unnecessary elements or by reducing the steps it takes to complete a specific task. Think fewer pages, less clicks, less clutter and more white space.
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Interviewer - I understand you have many varied Internet interests. Would you like to share information on your interests with our readers?
David - Back in late 2008, I really felt the urge to have my own bit of the web again and so in Jan 2009, I launched Aylis.com; a parent site for various niche websites. All Aylis owned sites are different but their one common trait is that they all have automated, self growing properties which is the Aylis philosophy. The next Aylis site to go live (eta March) will be TraceBay.com which is an eBay related service. It has big potential and I'm very excited about it.
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Interviewer - Is there anything further you would like to add?
David - I can't think of anything profound so I'll sign off with a quick tip . . . Don't discount social network sites as just a bunch of people telling the World what they had for breakfast. If you're not doing this already; Get yourself an RSS reader (I use Google Reader) and pay a visit to Twitter.com (and other social sites) Then either type your your niche's top keyword or your website name into the search and on the results page, click the little RSS button to add it to your reader. You'll now be able to monitor this term and others you set up from one central location. It's a great way to know what people are saying and keep your finger on the pulse.
Interviewer - Thank you David. The time you have given is much appreciated.
Acknowledgement: The above interview is Copyright © David Conway 2010 with sole publishing rights being held by APEX and may not be republished and/or redistributed without the written permission of the Author.