Local website firm wins Canadian Business Award

By KENDALL KING, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on March 31, 2022.

A Medicine Hat-based business has been named the Best eCommerce Website Agency in Western Canada by the Canadian Business Awards.

RAD Websites, a business specializing in WordPress, eCommerce and custom websites, with a focus on search engine optimization, was established in 2010 by Hatter AJ Frey.

Frey, who moved to Medicine Hat in 2021, has had a life-long aptitude for computer construction and operation. When he was a child, he would often tinker with computers. He recounts how he disassembled a Commodore 128 before the age of 10, then reassembled it when his parents found out.

While he enjoyed working with computers in his youth, Frey didn’t initially go into website design. Instead he spent several years working in boating then the oil and gas industry before founding RAD Websites in an effort to provide individuals, businesses and organizations with functional and easy-to-operate websites.

“One of my slogans is ‘Making the world rad one website at a time,'” said Frey.

RAD Websites has just six full-time employees, but is so well-known there is currently a wait list for their services.

“We’ve built massive eCommerce stores for hydroponics retailers, we’ve built stores for the cannabis industry, we’ve built automotive, construction, a couple non-profits, a little bit of everything.”

Frey believes the service provided by the RAD Websites team is one of the features, which sets his business apart and made them a candidate for award nomination.

“I think the one thing I like to (say) to people is ‘let us do what we’re good at, so you can do what you’re good at,'” said Frey. “To me, that means we want people running their day-to-day business and knowing their website is going to help them and assist them in that, and they don’t actually have to take over and learn a bunch of new things. We built something for them, we’ll train them on it, then off they go.

“I want to work with people who have had good experiences and bad experiences online, because we can make sure they have a good experience this time.”

Frey believes RAD Websites is providing many positive experiences, as the business was anonymously nominated for the Canadian Business Awards in 2021 and ended up winning first place in its field for the 2022 calendar year.

“(I felt) disbelief at first. I thought it was a scam,” Frey said when describing the moment he found out his business won. “It was just surprise and a sense of validation and excitement.

“Being a small agency and competing against large agencies in Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, etc. and actually doing a better job than all of those, helps me feel good.”

With his award now proudly in hand, Frey hopes to continue providing websites and possibly even expand to reach a larger clientele.

“The vision is really just to continue growing,” he said.

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