Customer Spotlight:
Claes Jonasson
On improving the efficiencies of businesses while providing modern-day, branded websites.
Claes Jonasson has been on fire with an entrepreneurial spirit since 2007 — all centered around media creation and storytelling. As Claes put it to us, he has worked in media since he was able to hold a pencil: “Drawing pictures, writing, telling stories, and eventually film and video.”
“I like to improve the efficiencies of businesses while providing a modern-day branded website.”
Claes went to college for a degree in film and video production, and he worked in that industry for many years. After that, he says he “got into doing print design and publishing. Along the line, I edited magazines for a while. So it’s always been media for me. Then I moved into web design, which wasn’t an intentional switch for me at all.”
For Claes, that unplanned switch was a life-changing one.
The Beginnings of a Successful WordPress Website Design Career
When Claes launched his business back in 2007, his focus was on film and video production. But, of course, he knew he couldn’t have a successful business without a quality website.
“I knew that I needed a website. And I had a friend who had just started doing web design full-time. And so I figured, this is perfect. I’ll just go and talk to him about it. But instead, he looks straight at me and says, ‘Well, you’re a smart guy, you can figure that out.’”
“iThemes Sync is really a good way to stay on top of most of the sites that you manage, and make changes without any hassle.”
At the time, this was not the answer Claes was looking for. After all, he had just launched a new business and was focused on building up his operations and client base. He didn’t feel that he had enough time to figure out how to create his own professional business website. Especially because the learning curve seemed so steep.
As Claes explains, building his own site “was a bit like diving into the deep end of the pool and not knowing how to swim.” But he built a website, and the designer in him “made it really, really cool. But it didn’t convert. Total crickets.” So Claes went back to the drawing board and learned more about building websites “that actually connect with your audience,” as he puts it. He says, “It’s been a continual learning journey ever since.”
On that journey, Claes did end up building his own website. And when he did, a business was born. Almost right away, somebody came along and asked if he could build a site for them.
One thing led to another, and the next thing Claes knew, he was doing professional web design and copywriting for multiple clients.
But that was only the beginning.
Website Design “For the Rest of Us”
Claes learned a valuable lesson early on in his website-building days. The first business website he built in 2007 for his film and video business looked great. But it didn’t bring in the business it needed to.
The lesson, along with many others throughout his years of building business, commercial, and personal websites, eventually led directly to the birth of his WordPress website design business, claesjonasson.design.
Claes Jonasson Design LLC’s biggest promise is to go far beyond the task of building a functional, well-designed website. In fact, Claes works directly with his clients in much more extensive ways.
Describing his process, Claes says, “I review your business model and strategy. If needed, we’ll clarify them together. Then I provide a solution that will work well throughout its lifetime. It’s all about a relationship that goes beyond the initial project. Because getting you connected with your ideal customers is what I do.”
“I have a strong marketing background. I have the knowledge of how this is all supposed to come together and work.”
Claes even offers a free 20-minute initial consultation with prospective clients, reviewing their current online presence and goals. And he does website reviews with complete reports showing website owners actionable items so they can immediately begin to improve.
In other words, Claes genuinely cares about the success of the people he works for.
As he explains, “I firmly believe that nothing ever is wasted. This includes both our successes and our failures because they are all learning opportunities and we keep growing. I look at all the different aspects of things that I’ve done, and it all comes together to help me work better with my clients today.”
Finding WordPress as the Preferred Website Design Solution
Claes tells us that he used several other tools to build websites before he discovered the power of WordPress around 2008.
“Making a great connection, creator — client, on a job is very important. Because together we’re creating the online face of the client’s business.”
“The very first website I ever built on my own was in 1994. Back then, there were few options for website building. So I basically started with a blank page, did some HTML coding, and dropped a little bit of styling in there.”
Then came a variety of web development tools. Until he discovered WordPress.
With his knowledge of coding, design, and databases, Claes saw that WordPress could be used for building fully-functioning websites. Even though most WordPress users were only utilizing it for blogging.
Design vs Content: The Biggest Challenge Most Clients Present
The main mission of Claes’ WordPress web design business is to help his clients create websites that convert. And he knows that, ultimately, it’s the content of a website that drives users to conversion.
To help his clients fully understand this, he offers a free guide on his website that covers 7 mistakes that can seriously derail any website, costing business owners lost customers and revenue. It also covers the number one reason visitors leave a website without buying or engaging. Claes’ guide is full of tips on how to fix those website-killing mistakes.
And this has proven to be a helpful tool for bringing in new clients who are ready to focus equally on design and powerful website content.
“Content is huge. It’s like the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. And we’re going to pretend that the room is spacious and has plenty of room and I can dance on the floor all I want, even though I’m squeaking around the walls because the elephant is taking up all the room.”
“That was often the number one reason why a project would be delayed: Waiting for the client to provide the content.”
He continues, “Part of the problem is there’s a huge difference between writing for print, writing for the web, and writing for emails. All web content is copywriting, as far as I’m concerned because it’s there to help people get from, ‘I don’t know who you are and what you do?’ to, ‘This is a product or service that will provide a solution for me.’”
“Sometimes the challenge is convincing a potential client that they really, really need to spend the money to have somebody seriously help them with the content, if not take over the content creation process completely for them.”
“To ensure quality content for websites he builds, Claes uses his copywriting skills to work with clients in a variety of ways: providing tips and guidelines for those who want to write their website content themselves, content co-creation for those who want more help, and also a ‘content-for-you’ approach for those who prefer a more hands-off approach. In all cases, the goal is to have the right copy on the website, so that visitors truly feel like they just had a conversation with the website owner.”
The Power of iThemes Training
Claes has been extremely active in our iThemes training programs, almost since beginning to professionally design WordPress websites.
For him, the biggest benefit of iThemes training is knowing that he’s never alone. And because our training lead Nathan Ingram’s office hours are so far-reaching, he knows that he never has to feel alone when he runs into issues that don’t have immediate answers.
“iThemes Sync is really a good way to stay on top of most of the sites that you manage, and make changes without any hassle.”
But beyond that, there are also times when Claes finds himself dealing with issues that other people in the iThemes family have come across. In those cases, he can simply reference how they handled the situation. He doesn’t need to figure out his own solution from scratch.
“There are a lot of processes that I use and systems within WordPress that I haven’t had to figure out on my own because of iThemes training. When I have questions, I know there has already been a full training from Nathan done on my question, that will give me an immediate answer.”
The Future of ClaesJonasson.design
As the portfolio of claesjonasson.design continues to build year after year, Claes stays laser-focused on ensuring that his clients get absolute premium value from the services and expertise he provides.
He’s created an online 5-week course for small business owners to empower them to have the website they truly need. It’s called “Your Ultimate Website Roadmap” and provides exactly that: A roadmap for the business’s next website that will effectively connect with their ideal customers. Whether the business owner builds the website themselves or has it built for them.
Claes also has a workshop, “Supercharge Your Website in an Afternoon,” that he teaches live online, focused on 3 key areas where a majority of websites can be improved with relatively little input.
Along with Claes’ teaching, we’re sure his balanced approach to professional website design and powerful copywriting will lead him and his clients to a lot of future success.
Learn more about Claes at claesjonasson.design
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