Welcome, and thanks for stopping by.
I’m Ian Southwell, the owner and lead web developer at IJS Websites.
Everybody knows that a fantastic website is essential for any serious business. But that’s easy to say, and much harder to achieve.
The truth is, making and managing a website is complicated. And larger web design, development, hosting and management companies can’t provide the personalised service their clients want.
That leaves many business owners feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do.
It’s time for that to change.
My goal at IJS Websites is simple: to support your business with a stunning website at a reasonable price, and to help you grow with expert advice and support.
That means developing a strong relationship with you to find out exactly what you need from your website.
But building that relationship is a two-way street. So, here’s a bit about me…
The story behind IJS Websites
In my career, I’ve spent a lot of time working in three particular fields:
- Education
- Business management.
- Computer technology.
At first I was on the front lines as a college lecturer in IT. Although I was passionate about teaching people first-hand, I realised technology was the key to unlocking their full learning potential.
So, I soon became a trainer for schools and local authorities, where I designed and implemented technologies for education. Our team built the second largest web-based educational learning platform in the world – surpassed only by Harvard University – which supported over 250,000 users.
After discovering how technology could raise the standard of education, I was excited to put my skills to good use elsewhere. So, I decided to enter the world of business, and qualified as an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) trainer.
In this role, I trained businesses to budget for, introduce, and train staff in new technologies, as well as to back up data and set up a service desk for troubleshooting. By matching their IT services with their goals, these businesses were able to drastically improve their productivity and streamline their operations.
From my position supporting businesses, I eventually began to manage them. I became an area manager for some of the biggest companies in the UK, like Dixons and Currys, and was the lead for marketing and innovation at The Colleges’ Partnership. I’ve also been managing director of my own business, Tech-knowledge E-Learning, which created digital content and learning platforms for educational institutions across the UK.
Over the years, I’ve worked my way up from service desk to company head. Now, it’s time to take a step back and focus on my true passion of web design and development.
That’s why I started IJS Websites.
Providing web design, development, hosting and management services is my opportunity to pass my skills and experience onto a new generation of business owners. I keep my costs low and develop an ongoing relationship with each client because I want to help them make their vision a reality. That’s also why I offer business growth and development advice to guide them towards reaching their business goals.