The following is an article printed in the April 22nd issue of the Park Record, and is reprinted with permission:

Website creator favors simple, clean & modern

By ANDREW KIRK Of the Record staff

Language purists may not appreciate that “Googling” is now an accepted verb, but the reality is that Google and similar search engines are the primary means many people use to find things they want or need.

Website designer Bryan Hoffman understands that, and believes it makes him the right choice for small to medium-sized companies in Park City hoping to get noticed.

A website has many functions, but getting noticed and indexed on Google is the primary one for many businesses, he said. Hoffman’s company, Spigot Design, focuses on creating sites with the right characteristics to be prominently featured as a result of Internet searches.

Spigot Design began in late 2007 and is run by the husband-and-wife team of Bryan and Kari Moe-Hoffman. They moved to Park City from Minneapolis for the outdoor lifestyle, he said, but it’s also the perfect sized community to build a reputation for quality and reliability.

“I don’t know that I could run a business like mine in a big city,” he said. “Here, people are so outgoing, you get to know others pretty easily. Word of mouth spreads faster here.”

Although analysts say the end of the recession is not yet in sight, Hoffman said his call volume is actually picking up. Advertising is one of the first areas to recover when financial situations improve, and a website is not only essential for that, but does far more, he said.

“A website to me is more than advertising. It’s a 24-hour showcase of your business. People realize that,” he added.

To grab people’s attention, many sites use Flash to create busy, fast movement. Spigot Design does not. Using Flash can make it difficult for search engines to identify the key terms listed in a site that result in connections between sites and search queries, he said.

Hoffman is careful to not interfere with that identification process, but also creates features that will enhance the probability of being found – like blogs.

“You don’t need to call them that. On my site I call mine a notebook. But it’s a great place to keep your site updated with fresh content. Every time it’s updated, it’s an opportunity for owners to add key words their clients will be looking for,” he explained.

Hoffman describes his style as clean and easy to use. As website building gets more complicated, it’s increasingly important to make a site user- friendly. Business owners should be able to update information without difficulty.

He also prides himself on meeting deadlines and returning calls promptly. That’s expected in the business world, he said, but sometimes small contractors like himself take that for granted. The world of design is changing so fast that no schools teach what he’s currently doing.

That specialization is no reason to neglect customer service, he said.

“That’s super important to me,” he said.

Two working sites Hoffman is proud of are chiropracticworksofparkcity.com and ParkCityArchitect.com.

“They took pride in providing personal service and added a creative edge that as a business tool, continues to garner a highly effective web presence for my business. Our site continues to maintain a top search listing presence. It was a pleasure working with them and I highly recommend them to other local business owners,” said Bradley Mimlitz, president of Park City Architecture.

Hoffman is currently working on a new site for the Park City Museum. Emily Beeson with the museum said he’s been great to work with.

“He’s very clear, very artistic. Gave us exactly what we were looking for,” she said. “He does clean design and it goes along with whole redesign that we’re doing.”