All about Matthew

"After graduating from the University of Essex, with a BSc in Computer Science, I sat down and settled into one of the few areas of computing my course hadn't really touched upon - web design.  I found it a really stimulating medium to work with, being able to quickly create something visual and functional, expressing my creative flair while at the same time drawing on my technical abilities to code all the behind-the-scenes stuff.

"Several years later and the business has grown, and the passion and excitement is still just as evident as when I started.  It's such a joy to be able to do a job I actually enjoy!

"And I'm not one of those people who sits behind a computer all day every day.  I like to vary my lifestyle by mixing in my other interests wherever possible.  I'm a keen musician, composer and songwriter, I'm a Mini enthusiast, I have several boxes of Lego in the garage that aren't nearly as dusty as you might expect, and I'm a regular and heavily-involved member of a church."

About us

A brief history of us

"Us" is actually more of a "royal us", which is like the "royal we", but using a different word.  There is in fact only one person here, running every aspect of the business.  Matthew Dawkins started doing web design professionally in 2005 following popular demand for his services, and the company has grown steadily since then.

The company, which was originally simply called "Matthew Dawkins", specialised in creating web sites for churches, using personal and professional experience to create solutions that were both ground-breaking and affordable.  Since then the company has diversified and expanded, adding in more services (such as web hosting, copywriting and photography) and all the time improving and extending the techniques used.

Our most recent development has been to separate the church market from the commercial; ChapterNine is now our sister site, dedicated to continuing our service to churches and Christian organisations, while the commercial side of the business is now handled by Matthew Dawkins Web Design.  It's still all the same company, and the telephone number and e-mail addresses all come in to the same place, but it's a way of keeping the two target audiences separate so that we can focus our business more.

Moving offices

Since its earliest beginnings we have been based in Wivenhoe, just outside Colchester, Essex.  However, June 2009 saw a cross-country migration to Evercreech, Somerset.  This is mainly for personal reasons, but it does have implications for the business too.  Fortunately, being a web-based service, we can technically be anywhere in the world and still continue providing the same quality of service.  We have however built up a fantastic reputation in the Essex area, and we shall be sad not to be able to develop that further.  However, we are excited at the prospect of opening up new opportunities in the Westcountry.

As before, our physical address will be for correspondence only, and visitations will be by prior arrangement only.