Building Digital Success: An Interview with Purple Creative Studio’s Phil Upton

Purple Creative Studio has been crafting digital solutions for over two decades, growing from a two-person operation into a dynamic agency specializing in web design, branding, digital marketing, and cloud solutions. In his exclusive Website Planet interview, Co-Founder & Managing Director Phil Upton shares insights into their journey, expertise in DNN-based web development, and how they help businesses establish a strong digital presence.

Can you share a few details about Purple Creative Studio as a company and its backstory?

I started working on mainframe systems back in the 1980s and can recall the launch of the IBM PC, along with the Microsoft Operating System, which changed the landscape of desktop computing.

I spent years working in business computer sales, corporate network solutions, and software applications, which all culminated in managing the technology requirements for a large London-based Sponsorship Agency. My co-founder Allan’s journey is slightly different in that he worked for the General Motor Group and later contracted to British Telecom, looking after large database applications.

Following redundancy in 2001, I started working solo, and Allan, who was and still is a best friend, joined in 2009 so Purple Creative Studio was born.

Purple Creative Studio (PCS) is a digital agency providing services across 4 key sectors:

Digital Marketing;
Email & Cloud Solutions;
Graphic Design;
Website Design.

PCS is not a big company and doesn’t need to be. What started out as a 2-man enterprise, developing websites, has grown into a team of 9 with a number of external partners who we have worked with for years and who have become valuable members of our very talented Purple team. This has enabled us to provide a responsive and professional service to clients both locally and spread further throughout the UK.

What can you tell me about your web design services?

Websites tend to be our core service offer with the other services built around this and, unlike many agencies, PCS is a technical-based company which helps us deliver more advanced web solutions rather than just brochure-type websites.

A lot of this is due to our IT/Technology backgrounds and our ability to develop bespoke web solutions where ‘off-the-shelf’ plug-ins or modules do not exist.

Since around 2004, our preferred web development platform has been DotNetNuke, now known as DNN. As a Content Management System (CMS) DNN evolved, like many, from the needs of technology people in need of tools to create websites without using traditional coding methods. DNN is one of many CMS solutions and all of them have their own fan bases.

DNN, which is built on the Microsoft ASP.net framework, uses the actual SqlServer database and allows us to use Windows-based servers, of which we currently have 12 dedicated cloud servers to underpin our client websites.

We find that this platform gives us the flexibility we need to use established 3rd party modules, for some functionality, and develop bespoke functionality as required. Preferring not to use themes or skins from template libraries, to manage the style and appearance of a website, we always create our own skins based either on a bespoke design or our own in-house template which can be adapted as required where budget constraints exist.

We feel this is important as without knowing the provenance of a theme, you cannot always rely on their behaviour for mobile use or satisfying Accessibility guidelines and requirements.

What is your approach to Graphic Design and Creative Services in general?

Developing a website style usually starts with the Logo or Brand. Many established businesses already have their brand and logo created and, unless they are considering a rebrand, this can help inform the design and style of their new website.

Conversely, new businesses have yet to create their own image and style so we provide Graphic Design and Creative Services to develop a ‘brand’ and logo for them. For a new client this is often where the journey starts and having discussed and learnt about them and their business plans, we will create a range of designs for the client to consider. These are then usually distilled down until a final design is approved. So, from a Logo to new Business Cards and other printed matter, to a website, and of course finding a suitable domain it is then quite usual for a client to also need email accounts.

Can you elaborate on your Digital Marketing & Social Media services?

Having created the new Logo and Website, clients then need to get a presence online and whilst many people know and use services such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram, they do not necessarily have the time.

We provide a retainer-based service where we research and act on behalf of many of our clients to manage these accounts on their behalf. We will generally prepare material a month or so in advance to be approved by the client and then scheduled to be posted on the various platforms during the coming month. This has proven to help with their online visibility resulting in increased sales.

You also offer Email & Cloud Solutions. What can you tel me about that part of your work?

We have been an Authorised Google Partner since 2012 providing business-grade email solutions. In 2018 we also became a Microsoft Partner so that we would also offer Microsoft email solutions to give clients choices.

With these connections, and our experience and knowledge of software applications and technology platforms, it was inevitable that we would also then be able to help with Cloud based Google and Microsoft solutions. In conjunction with our other partners, we are then also able to help with wider technology requirements for computing, broadband, and telecoms connectivity.

Who is your targeted clientele and with what clients do you work the most?

Our client portfolio has expanded considerably and, as a small business in the early days, we actively chased any opportunity that we could. Our typical client then was a small business or a new start-up.

Over the years things have naturally changed, and we have a portfolio of clients covering a wide range of sectors, including: