Lift Development is all about the client

Before I tell you more about what I actually do, I want you to know a few of my goals for you as a client of Lift Development:

  • I want you to end up with a website that you’re proud of. You’re spending quite a bit of money – you deserve to be happy with the end-product.
  • I want you to get over any fears of running a successful website. I’ll give you pointers and advice along the way. I’ll teach you how to use WordPress and give you resources for finding answers to future questions.
  • I want you to have an enjoyable experience working with Lift Development. We’re in this project together, and I want us both to have fun and count it as a positive, productive experience.
  • I want you to succeed. Bottom line: your website should be more than just a “presence.” It should be a legitimate part of your organization’s success whether driving new sales or acting as a point of customer service.

What I do

Lift Development is all about launching custom websites on the WordPress platform. Whether you already have a design and simply need someone to turn it into a full-featured website, or need both design and development services, I’ve got you covered.

The two types of projects I take on are:

  • Development-only: I team up with graphic designers or design agencies that are looking for a partner-developer to perform the front-end & WordPress development of their site concepts, or I take your existing website and adapt it to WordPress.
  • Design & Development: Specifically offered for organizations that need a full website designed and developed from scratch, I specialize in clean, professional layouts.

Really, there’s not much more I need to share. I could tell you about my extensive background in front-end CSS/HTML development and my abilities to use PHP and jQuery to customize the functionality in your new WordPress-based website…but you’re probably more concerned with the experience and the end-product.

How I work

During every project, my goal is to keep the client in the loop as much as possible. That being said, I use Basecamp for all project management. Basecamp allows us both to log in at any time and see which project tasks have been completed, specific milestone dates, files for the project, and it also gives us a place to communicate about the project itself (thus keeping our inboxes from overflowing).

As for billing, I use Freshbooks to send all invoices and process payments. Each project requires a deposit up front and specific payment terms are planned out prior to starting development. All invoices are payable by check or online via PayPal.

I’m not the best person to talk about the experience. My clients do a much better job.

On a personal level…

Web developer Dave YankowiakI started Lift Development full-time in 2008. That’s about 24 years in web-years. Prior to that, I spent five years as a web developer for a successful marketing services agency in St. Paul, MN.

My wife, three daughters, and I call the town of Grand Rapids, MN home. This region of Minnesota is known for beautiful lakes and a national forest, and I enjoy just about anything involving these two features including fishing, canoeing, hiking, biking, and camping. It’s a great place for a summer vacation so come visit sometime.

I also have a deep love of numerous styles of music and actually played in a rock band during my college years. Nowadays the style of music we played would be referred to as “garage revival,” and we’d probably be world famous…yes WORLD famous…in that genre had we stayed together. Timing is everything. Or maybe not.

My education includes a B.A. in business/marketing from Bethel University as well as some sort of one-year web development diploma from a tech school that no longer exists. What I really learned during that year was how to use the web to teach myself pretty much anything. Google answers all questions.

The community of Grand Rapids is absolutely wonderful. I’m involved with the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, a member of the board for the Grand Rapids Public Library, and a co-founder of a local co-working space known as CommonSpace.

Thank you for taking the time to dive deeper into what I do!

~Dave Yankowiak

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