UWSAG talks to Greg A. Hartford
of the Acadia Magic Website

Owner: Acadia Magic
Winner: UWSAG Top Ten! May, 2003

1. What got you started in website design?
   
   "They say necessity is the mother of invention. The web is the perfect medium for travelers and vacationers to get information regarding a destination. It is also the perfect medium to promote photography. This was an opportunity that I could not ignore or resist. The only thing was, I could not afford to pay someone to create such a large site. So, this meant I had to learn myself – and so began the journey."
   
   
   
2. What do you hope to accomplish with your website?
   
   "My main goal (at first) was to make it aesthetically pleasing since the focus was the photography. As I learned more and added information about lodging, dining, and so forth, I became more cognizant of the importance of considering search engine optimization when making text and design choices. My goal, at this point, is to make the web site attractive, enjoyable, easy to navigate, and useful to its visitors. This is an ongoing process. Testimonials received add validity to this approach. The “icing on the cake” was when 20th Century Fox contacted me to use 14 images in a new movie."
   
   
3. What advice would you give other webmasters?
   
   "Plan well, avoid clutter, learn from the masters, and always consider the visitor."
   
   
4. What was the biggest problem you faced with your website?
   
   "The need for sleep."
   
   
5. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
   
   "SEO (search engine optimization) is a very important part of the equation. Knowing a few of the does and don’ts can save a lot of time and frustration."
   
   
6. What plans do you have for the future?
   
   "Keep improving AcadiaMagic.com, do more writing and photography, duplicate the concept elsewhere."
   
   
7. What else do you like to do?
   
   "Music, art, photography, writing, teaching, web site creation."