Small Business webpages are a big and fast-growing area of the web. As the web gets more and more surfers every business that has a phone or a business card or a sign out front will also have a webpage.

I am always on the lookout for good small business webpages, to use as examples. I was happy to run across the webpage of designer, Scot Crone, last week - Micrositez Web Design Studio

Scot’s page and portfolio are a real pleasure to look through. Scot gave me an interview as follows.

How did you get into web design?
“After university I decided to pursue web design full time. . .I reckoned everyone would want or need a website soon enough.”

Do you remember the very first site you designed?
“Yes. It was a small single page site for a local builder, not great looking but it did the job!”

You are doing a lot of small business web design is this a specialization for you?
“Yes. In fact we specialise in web page design for small businesses and startup companies.”

Where do you get your art for these webpages?
“Most images come from the content submitted by our customers, however we can and do use stock images from time to time.”

What will be the next big development in webpage design?
“I think we will see an increase in websites focused around content syndication using RSS, as the new IE7 is reported to have an RSS feature on its toolbar.”

Have you ever worked with website templates?
“Yes. We use aspects of templates from time to time, we rarely use a whole template as a final design, we normally cannibalise them for parts.”

What website template providers have you tried?
“We have utilised aspects of different templates from Template Monster and others.”

What was your experience with them?
“Templates or parts of templates are useful for their pre-made availability and low cost.”

What do you think about Flash technology?
“It is often over used.”

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Flash?
“Flash can give your site instant appeal (aesthetically) but it can have a long load time may have a negative impact on your SEO efforts.”

What are your sources of inspiration?
“Forums and newsletters help keep me creative.”

What are your favorite website designs that you did NOT design yourself?
“I like http://www.koenigsegg.com and http://www.tvr-eng.co.uk ”

What was the toughest project or customer situation you’ve encountered?
“A recent project for a Russian speaking church in London was tricky as we had a real language barrier which did create problems.”

What are your interests and dislikes in webpage design?
“I like clean uncluttered sites which are slick but easy on the eyes. I dislike flashing javascripts and animated gifs.”

Thanks Scot, it was a pleasure to interview you. Keep up the excellent work and the great values on your design packages.

Old School,
Arthur Browning