Almost hidden by bricks and mortar, the outside building to the naked eye might not be a true representation of web designing, but inside the two-story building that housed Digital Ink Technology (DIT), the small business in the downtown core of Whitby, Ont. is more than just that. Rob Ragusa, a Durham College (DC) alumni started this business out of what started out as a hobby and turned into a million-dollar company.
Web Designing may just be the easiest industry to enter, but to stay can be a tad bit more difficult, especially starting your own company.
DIT owner, Rob Ragusa, is a DC alumni who started his web design company from the ground up. The award-winning solution team now has about 15 employees at its Whitby location.
DIT designs and develops web pages for communication on the Internet. The company has worked for many organizations and is still continuing to grow.
Rob Ragusa is the founder and chief executive officer) at DIT. He produces engaging online experiences for his clients with technologies such as web design and development, app development and hosting to make their online experience easy and interesting.
Rob Ragusa says he wanted to create and build a company that delivers web solutions that excite people. He wanted to capture their imagination and allow them to think bigger than they thought possible about their products, business, and themselves.
Ideally, the business was built as a hobby, but today Ragusa is innovated with projects in web design that delivers a product the customer desires.
Rob Ragusa explains the importance of your website is being consistent with your brand.
“Your clients want to know what you are about, what services you will give them and how good you are at your job. Make sure your site represents you and what you do!”
-Rob Ragusa
With the modern age of technology change is constant and web design needs to keep up with this. It is smart to keep websites up to date the services. Try to update your website on a consistent basis. DIT went years without being completely updated and Ragusa does admit that it not advisable.
The biggest change to modern web design is the mobile aspect. There are so many people who use phones and tablets to access websites instead of laptops, so companies need to shift their focus to meet their clients where they are accessing the internet. It is important for a company’s website to look as good on mobile as it does on a laptop.
If you want a great website for your company, DIT is the one who delivers top-notch design for all types of businesses.
On the top level of the downtown Whitby Ont. office, a team of five, mash together ideas and pound out HTML codes to get the website ready for launch. It’s a daunting task but one Byron Niblett doesn’t mind. Both he and Ragusa are graduates of Durham College in Web Design and are now doing what they love and studied.
Byron Niblett is a coder at DIT. He takes the vision the client has and makes it a reality on screen. Niblett has been doing this for years, which enables him to confidently work with codes and know his work will look like the vision the client has. He does admit that coding is like learning a new language so it takes time and practice. For many coders it is a matter of trial and error, see if one code works and if it does look quite right then move on to another code.
Niblett says that even with the changing face of web design the code remains relatively the same. This means coders do not have to go back for classes, it’s about using code to create new designs, not adding a new language.
Over the years, DIT has developed a few products like a learning management system, content management system, and inspection system.
DIT recently changed their own website in early October and says it was time.
The reason behind the switch was because the company is growing and taking on bigger clients like Wal-Mart.
Some of Ragusa’s projects include HarvardReady.com, MyEveningOut, BartenderOne, Havergal College website, Marathon Watch, and 360insights.
HarvardReading.com is a LSAT prep course, which helps students master the LSAT.
MyEveningOut is designed to help people with new ideas and choices for a night out, whether it’s dinner, dancing, sports, or a club.
BartenderOne focuses on the best content taught in bar schools, and provides solutions to problems faced by managers who hire bartenders.
The Havergal College website is a new marketing website, which helps communicate the college’s message and drive up enrolment numbers.
Marathon Watch is a high quality, combat proven, military watch manufacturer with a store to sell online.
360insights focuses on innovation and delivering better approach to the world of incentives and rebates.
No matter how fast this industry grows or how many companies there are in web designing, DIT can bank on growing, because in the end, almost every company needs a web guy.
