Where Websites Pull Their Weight and Work Like a Dog
I design and build websites that hold up under real use—so your team can add content confidently without worrying about breaking layouts, diluting the brand, or needing to “put it back together” afterward.
Not louder. Not trendier.
Just smarter websites designed for people who have to live with them.
Most Websites Aren’t Designed for the People Who Have to Use Them.
The Risk Isn’t Publishing the Wrong Content.
If your team hesitates before clicking Publish, that hesitation is earned.
Most websites aren’t fragile because someone might “do it wrong." They’re fragile because they were never designed to be used—only launched.
Behind the scenes, content and layout are tangled together. One small change can ripple outward, shifting spacing, breaking visual hierarchy, or quietly undermining the brand you worked hard to build. So updates get delayed. Content piles up. And the website becomes something everyone tiptoes around.
That’s not a training issue. It’s not a discipline issue. And it’s not a failure on your team’s part.
It’s a structural problem.
When a website doesn’t separate what gets entered from how it appears, every update feels like a risk. The safest move becomes doing nothing—and a site that isn’t being updated eventually stops pulling its weight.
Well-designed systems remove that fear.
They make the right output predictable, even when the input changes.
That’s the difference between a website that looks good…
and one that works like a dog—reliable, steady, and not easily spooked.
What Sophisticated Businesses Actually Need
High-functioning businesses don’t struggle because their websites aren’t attractive enough.
They struggle because their websites don’t reflect how the business actually operates.
As soon as offerings multiply, variations appear, or documentation becomes part of the process, most sites start to show strain. Pages get duplicated. Instructions live in PDFs, folders, or inboxes. Brand consistency depends on who last touched the content—and how careful they were feeling that day.
At that stage, what you need isn’t more pages.
You need structure.
Sophisticated websites are built around repeatable systems, not one-off layouts. Systems that anticipate change. Systems that allow complexity without exposing it. Systems that quietly enforce consistency so your team doesn’t have to.
That kind of design reduces cognitive load for everyone involved—customers, staff, and stakeholders alike. It replaces hesitation with confidence and friction with flow.
In short: the website stops being something you manage and starts behaving like a well-trained working dog—focused, dependable, and doing its job without constant supervision.
Rhonda Negard
Founder, Fat Dog Creatives
Meet Rhonda Negard, founder of Fat Dog Creatives.
Rhonda and her colleagues have been recognized with back-to-back Platinum HERMES Creative Awards for overall website design. But more importantly, they've helped businesses like yours transform their websites into tools that work for them—not against them.
They understand how overwhelming website updates can be. That’s why they build sites with custom post types—so you can simply fill out a form, hit publish, and trust that everything looks right.
You don’t need a website that causes frustration. You need one that makes life easier. That’s exactly what Fat Dog Creatives delivers.
Here’s how we’ll work together:
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Schedule a Call
We’ll discuss your business needs and goals.
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Design & Build
I’ll create a website that works hard for your customers and your team.
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Launch & Thrive
You get a site that’s easy to update and ready to grow with your business.
Services
We’re not just about fetching pretty designs—We’re here to create websites that communicate and cultivate success.
Design
Design Partnership: Whether you're looking for an ongoing design partner or someone to fill-in while your designer is on leave, you're covered!
Build
Development Partnership: Whether you're looking for an ongoing dev partner or someone to fill-in while your developer is on leave, you're covered!
Brand
Applied Branding, Visuals: Whether you're looking for an update or a brand new visual brand, you're covered!
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The impact of design on perception and behavior is significant. First impressions matter!
