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 I began designing websites in early 1995, when the Internet was still in its infancy, and most of the website designers in the world wore thick glasses and spoke in code. I had hired a company in New York to design a site for my hotel marketing business. After two trips from Washington state to NYC, and after months of agonizing over the lack of progress on my site, I decided to take matters into my own nands. I became a fixture at our local Barnes and Noble, reading the books on website design and learning the website language known as HTML (yes, I began talking in code myself!). Eventually, I designed my own site and was quite pleased with myself.
To the Internet, 12 years is an eternity. Anyway, I was thrilled that Equi-Site did very well, becoming one of the "big three" equine related sites at the time, and winning many awards, including being a Net Vet Pick of the Litter, being featured in a Nationwide calendar, and being profiled in USA Today. My next project was to design a site for my Andalusian farm which, at the time, consisted of one half-Andalusian colt. :) In early 1997, the website for Miraval Andalusians was born. To my delight, it has gone on to become one of the highest trafficked horse sites on the Internet, averaging 2800 visitors per day. Comparatively speaking, my Andalusian herd has now grown to 20 Andalusians, 5 half-Andalusians and my older geldings of various breeds that I have had for years. Over the last few years, I have begun to design sites for farms, breed associations, and equine artists. All of my sites are custom, and the pricing reflects that. It is impossible to give an estimate until I have an idea of what someone has in mind. My rates start at around $600 and go up from there, depending on the size and complexity of the site.
I enjoy capturing the emotions that horses evoke in us, and it is inspiring to try to make each site a reflection of the personality of the farm, horse, or individual that it represents. Today, I am proud of the portfolio of websites and ads that I have compiled... with the support of my friends and clients. While I have primarily focused on the Andalusian world, I am looking forward to branching out into other breeds. I have particular interest in Andalusians, Friesians, Lippizans, Arabians, Dutch Harness Horses, and others. If you are interested in having a site designed, please feel free to contact me.
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Well, it didn't take long to realize that
it would be MUCH more rewarding (and fun!) to apply my new-found knowledge
toward my first love....horses! My business colleagues were skeptical
(why would a horse farm need a website?), but I was not deterred. I
sat down and designed my first equine site: Equi-Site...the Internet's
Most Exquisite Source for All Things Equine. Remembering at that site
now, it was so simplistic, but you must remember, the technology was
very limited "way back then."
I am very visually oriented, and therefore
you won't find a lot of high tech bells and whistles on the sites I
design. Since I have the pleasure of promoting one of God's most amazing
creatures, I like to use the technology available to call attention
to their beauty, not to the website itself. As a result, my sites are
easy to navigate, load quickly, and have a personal feel to them which
is lacking throughout much of the internet.