My Brand Is Me:
Why Experience Matters
in Web Design
You don’t just get a designer. You get me—Steve Crayne.
After building brands like Blockbuster, MovieStop, and Boardworks—and working with everyone from Grammy winners to grassroots nonprofits—I started Starting Gate Marketing with one goal: to deliver websites that perform, persuade, and reflect real-world strategy.
This blog series shows how my lived experience gives my clients a distinct advantage.
What Makes This Series Different
Unlike typical web design blogs, this isn’t theory. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how my experience in retail, marketing, advertising, pricing, advocacy, and customer service directly impacts the results I deliver to clients—from startups and nonprofits to eCommerce and personal brands.
Blog Series Index:
1. Why Startups Choose This Atlanta Web Design Company Over Big Agencies
→ How building MovieStop from scratch gave me an edge in helping new ventures thrive.
COMING SOON:
2. What Most Web Designers Don’t Know About eCommerce (But I Do)
→ From managing $50M in inventory to building 2 Chainz’s CBD store, this one’s about ROI.
3. Web Design for Non-Profits: Strategy with Soul
→ Save GA Hope. Serve The People. Fed Worker Strong. When it’s mission-driven, I get it.
4. Web Design for Local Businesses: Capture Attention. Build Trust.
→ Billboards taught me the 3-second rule. Now I apply it to local business websites.
5. Great Service Isn’t a Slogan—It’s a Reflex
→ What Blockbuster taught me about service still defines my business today.
6. Web Design for Creative Entrepreneurs: Story, Style, and Serious Strategy
→ From Grammy winners to influencers, I turn ideas into standout digital brands.
7. Web Design with a Cause: Political and Advocacy Sites That Move People
→ My work for the Georgia Horse Racing Coalition and Fed Worker Strong explained.
8. Creativity, Chess, and Web Design: Strategy Is My Secret Weapon
→ What do chess, storytelling, and websites have in common? Everything.
