Self-taught web designer opens shop downtown

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Self-taught web designer opens shop downtown

There’s a new web design business in town.

Amanda Honeywell, a self-taught graphic and web designer, launched Hillsdale Web Design in March. Hillsdale Web Design offers all types of web services — including hosting, creating, managing, and consulting.

Honeywell currently works full-time for Stockhouse Corporation, but picked up web design when she was on maternity leave a few years ago.

“I knew that times are changing and things need to be more digital, so I just started learning about web design,” Honeywell said. “I was able to teach myself. It’s super fun and I really enjoy it. I could do it for hours and not even realize that I’m working.”

Honeywell has been designing websites for a couple of years, but officially launched Hillsdale Web Design last month. Though she hasn’t attempted to market Hillsdale Web Design, Honeywell has seen her fair share of business.

Honeywell said she sees a “huge market” for web design in Hillsdale, and even helped start Hillsdale County’s Chamber of Commerce’s new website.

“Every day I see something where I think, ‘This would look better if they had a better photo, or if it was laid out in a different way, or if they hired someone to write content,’” Honeywell said.

Honeywell explained it is much easier to create a website today compared to a decade ago.

“It’s not expensive to have a website nowadays. It was ten years ago — it would cost you $20,000 just to have one created. But there’s so many different ways to have a website. It can be beautiful, and you don’t even have to pay someone like me to create it from scratch. You can just pay me to put it together,” Honeywell said.

Honeywell is not pushing her web design currently as she is committed to her job at Stockhouse, but she hopes to turn it into a full-time endeavor at some point in the future.

“My ultimate goal is to ramp up the web design,” Honeywell said. “Right now it’s helping me get experience and it’s helping me build a base.”