Can you tell us what type of business you run and how long you've been operating this business?

I run a web services company. I offer business owners and bloggers a one-stop shop for all their websites needs. I’ve been in the industry for almost 10 years now.



It started back in my mid-teens when I was close to finishing high-school and had no idea what I wanted to do for work afterwards. Then one day I was talking with a good friend of mine about his work - he’s also a web developer - and at some point near the end of the conversation he offered to teach me. He tutored me for a few months and then I continued my education through online schooling. I continued my education through online courses to expand my skills and knowledge.

Before leaving he did suggest a couple of websites I could use to take online courses. Ever since then that’s what I’ve been doing to expand my skills and knowledge. From time to time though I do reach out to him if I need any help or suggestions.

A big roadblock I’ve had to face is myself. I tend to be really hard on myself and compare myself with others which is one of the worst things you can do. It’s easy to look on social media and see the progress of strangers and start comparing yourself to them. In recent years I’ve been able to overcome this by focusing on my own successes, such as when I get a new client or gain a great network connection

Another big challenge I’ve had to face is doing this on my own. Most of my family is in the construction industry in some form, some for more than 50+ years. So when one of them faces some sort of challenge they can turn to one another. I tried construction work but it isn't for me. So I decided to carve my own path, while I did have some people I could ask for help, they were physically far away and busy with their own work. This meant that when I ran into an issue and I didn’t have anyone to turn to for help I had to solve the problem on my own, which sometimes would delay the time frame I had set to complete the project.

Over the years I overcame some roadblocks but others still stick with me. But being persistent in wanting to carve my own path has helped. My parents and most recently my wife have been of real support and encouragement while I try to make this business a success. Along the way I’ve learned what I am good at and what I am not good at, so focusing on the things I can do and services I can provide to clients has helped me to overcome roadblocks. 

Let's talk about the services you offer with Sparrow Web Services, who do you help, and how do you help?

I offer a one-stop shop for all your website’s needs. This means that I not only build the website for my clients but after it’s completed I also offer to take care of the hosting and maintenance of the website. 

Since the majority of my clients are business owners, their focus should be on growing their business. What most don’t realize is that once the website is built the work doesn’t stop there. It’s a bit like owning a house, if you never do any maintenance eventually the house will be in disrepair and you’ll either need to do major renovations or tear it down and build a new one. Similarly, a website needs regular maintenance and updates, which takes time away from more important matters and this is where I come in. This is also helpful for some of my clients who aren’t tech savvy. 

My services do not stop there though, when a client hosts their website with me I include an email address for the business along with tools for website security, loading speed and SEO. I also offer to create a Google Business listing which will boost their SEO and get the business on map platforms such as Google Maps and Apple Maps.

When it comes to optimizing websites for UX, or User Experience, what sets Sparrow Web Services apart from similar businesses in the industry?

The expression “Less is more” is a good one to live by when you build a website. People tend to want to cram lots of text or lots of images onto a web page thinking it’ll help. However, oftentimes people don’t want to read through paragraph after paragraph of text. I try to build client websites in a way that’s clean and easy to find the information you want to know.

Having a clean layout is not the only important thing though. Each website I make for my clients is tailor made for their business and with their target audience in mind. Oftentimes, people who build websites lose or never have that personal touch and begin to create cookie cutter websites. In order to have a good UX each website should feel like it was built for that business.

To illustrate, which would you rather have, an off the rack dress/suit or one custom made?

What is your best advice for a business that would like to optimize their website for speed?

There are many factors that will affect your website’s speed. However the one that is probably most overlooked but probably the easiest for anyone to control, is the media on a website (images and/or videos). The amount of media on your website plus the actual file size of images and videos can greatly slow down or speed up a website. 

Each time someone visits a page on your website, it has to load every image or video. So anytime I have a client who sends me images I always check the file size and if it’s over 1MB I always optimize it so it’s under 1MB. This could include cropping it or changing the dimensions of the image (Height and Width). When optimizing images the smaller the file size is, the better. So my goal is always to get it under 1MB.

If the client has a lot of videos they want to add to the website, the best thing to do would be to upload them to a video hosting platform. These would include Youtube, Vimeo, Loom or Wistia. Alternatively you can create an account with Amazon Web services and store all your media there instead of your website.

With all that you've accomplished so far, did setting goals contribute to your success so far?

Absolutely! While some things did happen because I know a guy, who knows a guy, what helped the most was setting small or short-term goals and achieving them. Any successful business person will tell you that you need to set goals in order to have a successful business.