Web designers hoping for a date with success

Mar 17 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

TWO web designers who met while working on separate projects for the same customer have teamed up to build a business that has received a boost from people looking for love online.

David Calvert, from Cramlington, and Alan Easton, from Consett, originally both worked from their own homes as freelancers but have now moved into business premises in Ashington so they can grow their Boxmodel Design brand.

They have put together general business websites as well as ones focusing on sport and education but the popularity of online dating and social networking has helped to grow the business, which now has a staff of four. Boxmodel has already created six internet dating websites and the partnership is confident there is more in the pipeline.

Mr Calvert said: “Worldwide, there is a £2.6bn industry in dating websites alone. Each one of our websites is bespoke and exactly matches what the client and the end user needs from a web-based match-making service.

“Its just it could be because there has been so much in the news of late. People have busy lives and people are so busy these days in city areas. They have caught on to it and people enjoy Facebook.”

He believes the ‘Facebook effect’ – linking people together online at the click of a mouse – has increased the interest in internet dating and other social networking sites.

“It’s the age we’re in – people just like to log on to their computer and see who is interested in them. The technology has come about at the right time,” he said. “We fell into the online dating market by default. We were getting a lot of enquiries and as a lot of the work we had done in the past, people saw us as a specialist. But that’s not all that we do.”

Although based at Ashington’s Lintonville Enterprise Centre, the company is dealing with businesses based around the UK. Its next dating website due to go live is a project for a London business Kicked Myself Dating, which is aimed at people who have spotted someone they liked the look of in a public place such as a pub, restaurant or public transport, and want to get in contact.

Mr Easton said: “Many of our clients have ideas that they really don’t know how to convert into reality and that’s where we can help them. It’s quite ironic really that dating websites have developed into one of our core businesses, both David and I are happily engaged to our fiancées so we won’t be using the services of our clients – no matter how good their websites are.”