West Hills Design, a graphic and web design studio specializing in custom WordPress websites, has opened shop in Bend. WordPress gives business owners a distinct advantage as website owners says Elise Jones, co-owner of West Hills Design.
“WordPress began in 2003 as a simple blogging platform and has grown into a full-fledged content management system (CMS), allowing site owners to have the ability to make updates to their websites without calling on their web designers,” explains Jones. “They can make their own changes through an internet browser such as Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari. As a free blogging tool and content management system, WordPress benefits from the creativity and genius of developers around the world who create plug-ins and make them available to all users. Plug-ins allow users and developers to extend their website’s abilities beyond the basic WordPress installation. Additionally, WordPress is known for being search-engine friendly, giving businesses using WordPress an automatic advantage over their competition on the web.”
West Hills Design develops their websites on the WordPress content management system because they believe that business owners need the ability to make changes to their websites on their own, without a degree in graphic design or computer science, and without spending a fortune. After hearing many small business owners complain they had not updated their website in a long time because it was cost-prohibitive or simply difficult to reach their web designer, Tim and Elise Jones of West Hills Design decided the market was ripe for a new business model.
“I spoke with one business owner in particular who was unable to afford simple changes to her site like address and phone number after moving to a new location, and I thought, there must be a better way,” says Elise Jones. “We offer custom-designed websites that enable business owners to take control of their own web presence—at a price they can afford.”
The company also offers consulting for WordPress users who find themselves in need of a few hours of troubleshooting or website maintenance.
Elise Jones is an award-winning graphic designer. Prior to opening West Hills Design, she was the art director for The Source Weekly in Bend for five years and a freelance graphic designer with clients throughout Central Oregon and beyond. Tim Jones has been designing and developing websites since 1994. His client list includes Esquire, Marie Claire, Outside Magazine and Oprah. The husband and wife team opened West Hills Design in January after recognizing “not only the complementary nature of their skills but also the great need for affordable, easy-to-manage websites, particularly in a struggling economy.”
West Hills Design announced the launch of a new website for their client, Ride Cycling Tours of Bend, a recreational tourism company offering high-end, fully-catered cycling tours. The Ride Cycling tours website (www.ridecyclingtours.com), was launched in early April.
“In an age when more and more revenue is being generated by online companies, it is becoming increasingly important to have an exceptionally strong internet presence to convey your message and to separate yourself from your competition,” says Ride Cycling Tours owner Whit Bazemore. “West Hills Design did an outstanding job of listening to our ideas and understanding our vision to create a site that tells our story and makes it easy for our customers to buy our trips.”
Elise Jones at 541-678-5889 or elise@westhillsdesign.com.
