Brighter Websites started with a love for building things online, websites, forums, communities, and a drive to turn that passion into a business that helps others shine.
My journey into web design began when I was a teenager. I built my first website for my dad’s martial arts school using Dreamweaver and raw HTML, recreating his logo pixel by pixel from an embroidered patch on our uniforms. Not long after, I launched TKD Talk, a national Taekwondo forum that gained over 100 active users a week, all before Facebook or Reddit were even a thing. I wasn’t trying to be an entrepreneur. I just loved the tech. I loved building digital spaces people actually used. Even when things got political, I focused on encouraging open communication, taking feedback, and improving the forum as best I could. That mindset, to make things better, simpler, more useful, has stuck with me ever since.
Over the years, I kept creating websites for bands, sporting clubs, friends with small businesses, anyone who needed help. I never advertised. It was just something people knew I could do, and I enjoyed it. While I worked in IT and customer service roles, I was always the go-to person when a site broke, when something didn’t look right, or when someone needed to figure out “how to make the internet work for them.”
Eventually, I co-owned a café in Brisbane with my partner. While he was front-of-house, I managed the behind-the-scenes marketing: SMS campaigns, social posts, customer loyalty strategies. We were profitable from day one, but what I really loved was building the brand and making things look and feel cohesive. That’s when I realised how much I loved the process of building and growing something, even if it wasn’t my ideal industry.
After we sold the café and moved to regional Victoria, I helped my partner’s family with renovations, then took a job in the short-stay accommodation sector. During COVID, I started managing a handful of Airbnb-style properties. I didn’t love the industry, but it gave me real experience running a business, managing bookings, keeping clients happy, dealing with tech and admin, and trying to make it all run smoothly. That period helped me realise what I didn’t want, and made it clearer what I did.
In 2022, I returned to Brisbane to be closer to my son. Managing the accommodation business remotely quickly became too stressful, and that was the push I needed. I knew what I really wanted: to build websites, properly, as a business.
I’d always enjoyed the creative side, the design, the UX, the “how-do-I-make-this-work-better” side of things. I’d dabbled in SEO, branding, and automation over the years, but never with a formal plan. Around this time, I joined an online business community where I learned more about lead generation, sales, and what it takes to turn skills into a scalable service. That’s when I realised: I didn’t need to be an agency to be successful, I just needed to be reliable, results-focused, and human.
Brighter Websites became my way of bringing everything together, the tech, the creativity, the strategy, and the service. I’m not a big agency, and I don’t want to pretend to be. I work with a small number of clients at a time, providing one-on-one support, honest advice, and real results. I have trusted collaborators I bring in when needed (like photographers, copywriters, or marketers), but I stay personally involved in every project.
I’ve seen too many small business owners get burned by agencies that charge too much and deliver too little, or by freelancers who disappear halfway through the job. I wanted to be the opposite, someone my clients can trust, contact easily, and feel genuinely supported by.
At its core, Brighter Websites’ exists to make digital marketing feel easier, not harder. I build websites that work. I help clients understand what’s possible, what matters, and how to actually grow their business online, without jargon, fluff, or inflated promises.
If you want a simple, effective online presence that reflects who you are and where you’re headed, you’re in the right place.
