Some Info About us
My name is Darin Loken, and I am the founder and head designer of “TK WEB DESIGNS”. I built my first webpage back in 1998. It was pretty simple, using the basic HTML language. I started out on webtv, but went to a PC a couple of years later. I learned to code myself, with some help from some friends online, chatrooms, and a few websites. I was going to college then for electronics and doing this on my own, it was addicting to say the least.
Later, in 2003 I decided to go back to school and take the plunge. I wanted to become a web designer for real, not just doing it on the side on my own. But learn what it really takes to do things right. So I went to school for web design and web development. I learned SO much there, more than I ever thought I would. I learned the proper way of coding, the programs to use that help you code, like “Dreamweaver”. I also learned all about “Graphic Design” and the programs to use, and how to use them correctly, and the importance of using the right color combinations. I learned the importance of proper web page structure. And how search engines REALLY work, and the funny thing about that is, now everybody is just starting to do what they taught us WAY back then. I also learned that U.S. web designers are considered the worst in the world, why? Because they have fallen into what’s called the fast food of web design. Make a website as fast as you can, and forget about the important things in the website itself. They don’t put emphasis on the structure, or the coding, or the “SEO” or “Search Engine Optimization”. You can check out more info about this from: Beanstalks Article.
Some people ask me, “What’s the difference between “Web Design” and “Web Development”. Well, “Web Design” is simply that, Making a “Website”. A good Web Designer will know how to make a “Good Looking” site that interacts well with the people viewing it, and will also make a site that is easy to navigate. A “Web Developer” is concerned with the back-end of the website. A good “Web Developer” is concerned with coding, or the programming and interactions on the pages. He’s usually concerned about how the site works, and how the people viewing it get things done on it. They usually have some kind of programming skills, like “CGI”, or “PHP”, “JavaScript” or at least “CSS3” and “HTML5”. A good Web Developer will understand how the site works, and keeps it running smoothly. So in other words, a person cannot say “He”, or “She” is a “Web Developer” if they DO NOT KNOW HOW TO CODE!
We use hand coding, and we also use a program called “Dreamweaver”, and a few other programs to help us build our sites. Like Bootstrap and sometimes WordPress. These programs will help do the coding for you, it makes the website building faster. But if you want custom made website, you will still have to know how to CODE. There are other programs like the “WYSIWYG” editor, or the “Netobjects” editor that come with premade templates. There are also websites people use to make websites, like “WIX”, or the”Intuit Website Builder” that come with the premade templates. If we use Bootstrap or WordPress we always use a blank framework, then use mostly hand coding to fill in the codes we need to make it work.
I was in a discussion group with “Web Developers”, REAL one’s, not these fake ones that are out now. And the question was raised, has “Web Development” gone the way of the dinosaur? Because of all these programs people can buy for cheap, like the “WYSIWYG”, or “Netobjects” to make websites? The answer was a NO! People who like use them to build their entire site will always be around, taking the “Cheap” way out. But real web designer and web developers will always be around, because there will always be a demand for websites that are done correctly. Even if some people have to pay a little more to get the quality, they will because their standards are higher.
Our goal is pretty simple here, we offer great website designs at great prices that look great and are easy to navigate, are mobile friendly, work with all browsers and mobile devices, work great with search engines, but most of all, you get it the way you want it. Not the way we want to make it for you. You can ask us anything, where we went to school, how we’re making your site, what we’re making your site with and we will always be honest and straight forward with you about everything we’re doing, and we’ll never charge you for something we’re not doing.
We used to have a bunch of testimonials up, but felt it was kind of reduntant. I mean, have you ever seen anybody put a bad testimonial on any website? I have given a few bad ones on a couple of servers I’ve had my site hosted on over the years, but I have never seen them on their testimonials. So I just thought if you want to know how our clients really feel about us, you should contact them and ask them how they feel about our work. We’ve always felt best way to get to know how well a person has done a job is to ask the people he’s worked for previously.
Thanks for reading, Darin