From Banking Systems to Building Businesses Online
Technology has been my career. Building businesses online became my passion.
My journey into website design and digital marketing didn’t begin with WordPress or social media. It began decades ago, working with some of the most complex computer systems in the banking industry.
I spent around 27 years working in the financial sector, much of that time involved in the development of electronic banking and EFT systems. I worked for Standard Bank for 17 years before joining Nedbank, where I was involved in developing and managing major banking technology systems.
That experience taught me something that has stayed with me throughout my career:
A website is not simply a collection of pages. It is a business system.
It needs to work. It needs to make sense to the customer. It needs to make life easier for the business owner. And, most importantly, it needs to produce results.
From systems development to the web
In 2004, I took my experience in technology, systems development and business processes in a new direction and started working independently in Website Design and Digital Marketing.
Over the years, I have built websites for businesses across different industries, working with technologies such as WordPress and WooCommerce, while developing practical experience in e-commerce, SEO, Google Ads, online payments, stock management, delivery systems and business process integration.
- I have never been interested in building a website simply because a business “needs a website.”
- I want to understand what the business is trying to achieve.
- Who are its customers?
- What does it sell?
- How do customers find it?
- How do they place an order?
- How does the business receive payment?
- How are orders processed?
- How are products delivered?
- And ultimately, how does the website help the business make money?
- That is where my background in systems development has proved invaluable.
Building a real e-commerce business
One of the projects that brought all of these skills together was my work with a dairy farm in South Africa.
I designed, built and managed an online e-commerce website for the farm’s dairy operation.
This wasn’t simply a website displaying products. It became part of the day-to-day operation of the business.
Customers could order products online, make payments, and arrange deliveries. The system incorporated e-commerce, recurring orders, delivery management and stock control.
I also became involved in the practical side of the operation — extracting online orders, preparing deliveries and reconciling stock. This gave me something that many website developers never experience:
I saw first-hand what happens after the customer clicks “Place Order.”
I understood the problems that occur behind the website and how technology can be used to solve them.
My background in banking systems development, systems design and operations gave me the ability to look beyond the website itself and redesign processes where necessary.
Websites should work for the business
Today thousands of people can build a website.
There are also thousands of agencies offering SEO, Google Ads, and digital marketing services.
But I believe there is a difference between building a website and building an online business system.
My approach is practical.
I don’t believe a small business needs an unnecessarily complicated website filled with features that nobody uses.
I believe it needs a website that is:
Professional.
Easy to use.
Easy to manage.
Easy for customers to find.
Designed around the business.
And built to generate results.
That philosophy is particularly important when working with smaller businesses and owner-managed businesses, where every dollar spent on marketing needs to count.
A different kind of web designer
My career has given me an unusual perspective.
- I understand technology.
- I understand business.
- I understand systems.
- I understand e-commerce.
- I understand digital marketing.
- And I understand what it is like actually to operate a business that depends on its website.
That combination allows me to approach a website from both sides — the technology behind it and the business in front of it.
I don’t want to sell you a website and disappear.
I want to understand your business, identify where your website and digital marketing can improve it, and build something that genuinely helps you move forward.
Why I do this
After many years working with technology and business systems, I still enjoy the challenge of taking an idea and turning it into something that works.
Whether it is a small local business wanting its first professional website, an established company wanting to improve its online presence, or an e-commerce business looking to attract more customers and streamline its operation, I enjoy finding practical solutions.
I have spent much of my life making complicated systems work.
Today, I use that experience to help businesses make the Internet work for them.
Build your website. Grow your business.
Let’s build something that works.