Who is Unbox Interactive?
So far, Unbox Interactive is just me, Bridget Wessel. I’ve been building websites for over 15 years.
Why I love my job
I love to bring a well thought out, beautiful website design to life. Figuring out how to make a website work functionally and meet its marking goals are my passion. Your website isn’t just a paycheck for me. It’s an opportunity to build something great that stands out and helps grow your business. When your business grows, mine grows too.
History
In 2001, I started my website programming career as the only female in a seven-person web development firm. (I applied to be a designer, but luckily, they saw me in a programming role.) After a few years I left to join a fellow co-worker who started his own company and later joined him as a partner. Soon web content management systems started to mature and we began focusing on Drupal development because our clients, mainly universities and museums, were asking for websites built in Drupal.
In 2011, I found WordPress – and things changed. Using WordPress I could build websites faster and concentrate on unique custom solutions without reinventing content editability every time. I could add in better multi-browser support and responsive/mobile formatting without adding an extra week of development costs. I could be more efficient, saving my clients money or opening up opportunities for more complex functionality. With WordPress, my clients can easily update their own content and add new pages without any programming knowledge. In late 2011, I started Unbox Interactive so I could concentrate on WordPress and do the work I really wanted to do. So far, I’ve built nearly 100 WordPress websites. I usually contract with agencies in the Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago areas. Some of my agency contacts I’ve never even met, but we chat or email almost daily, and have built numerous complex sites together.
Design Matters
Despite being a programmer, I believe design and content matters – a lot. You have fractions of a second to grab a very distractible visitor’s attention and stop him or her from hitting the back button to their Google search results. If your visitor is confused or your design doesn’t look credible, they will leave and not be back. I take design very seriously. I understand whitespace is just as important as everything else on the page. Most designers I work with tell me they’ve never had a programmer translate their design to web so accurately. I also do a thorough code review before handing the site over, which greatly reduces those pesky bugs that can creep into code. As a co-owner and employer, I’ve been on the other side of issue tracking and I know it is not fun. If I produce exactly what you spec in the digital design file, it saves everyones’ time and frustration.
My Partners
I primarily contract with agencies or design studios. I work with a handful of agencies frequently, and they usually have my schedule filled with awesome projects.
Four-legged Partners
I currently work out of my home and my day to day partner is my rescued Italian Greyhound named Sophie. She makes sure I get out of my office chair regularly, and boosts my spirit daily. I volunteer for Midwest Italian Greyhound Rescue and sometimes foster dogs join our family until they find a forever home.