A Dorset Web Agency with a difference

In 2014 the team at Novus Digital, were sent a text message just before Christmas saying that they wouldn’t get paid. A few put their heads together and Chris Ryu (former Technical Director) founded “The Honest Agency offering web design in Dorset as well as Poole & Dorset SEO and wordpress development.

It was an instant hit!

The secret to it’s success was simple, the team thought back to what was wrong with previous agencies they had worked for or hired and tried to flip the issues on their heads. This resulted in an agency that charged less for the work, gave their team more flexibility and then to take away greed, gave all of it’s profits back to the community!

It had founded an educational non-profit arm and opened a STEM education centre in North Dorset (read more below) and while other funding fell through for the centre, Honest stayed true to its word and kept putting money into the centre to keep the children’s activities going.

Dorset Tech was born

5 years later – Chris teamed up with another agency owner (more on that soon) to agree a 1 year plan to merge 2 agencies as the Honest Tech Group, sharing resources and overheads, but cover 2 very different catchment areas. Both would be social enterprises sharing the original ethos of The Honest Agency, but rather than engaging in lots of community programmes to give back, we’re focused on helping start-ups and non-profits succeed.

High Street Location

Late 2019 the group expanded, adding a high-street head office in Gillingham, North Dorset. Complete with maker space, IT suite and superhero shop, it makes us an accessible part of the community. We offer web design in Dorset as well as Poole & Dorset SEO and wordpress development.

Chris Ryu - You're in Safe Hands!

Chris is a serial social entrepreneur who has devoted the last 10 years to trying to make the world a better place. He recognises he’s a small cog in a big wheel, but actively lives by the mantra of:

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

He’s an experienced marketeer, software developer and a proven problem solver. Notable achievements include:

Studied diplomas in Marketing & Mechanical Engineering
Former Marketing Manager for Poole Audi & Yeovil Audi
Over 15 years web development experience in over 10 languages
Ran his own successful E-commerce webstores
An integration specialist – achieving “the impossible” on multiple occasions
Former Technical Director for an established agency
Founded a reef preservation society
Volunteers around 15-20 hours every month for good causes

Testimonials

"Honesty and integrity are words flung around way too much. Chris embodies these ideals and it shows in his work and the way he conducts himself. With an absolutely solid understanding of the web as whole and a thorough technical background, he is the perfect mix between client facing communication and a skilled productive developer."

Jonjoe Whitfield - Competitor

"Chris is a very organised person with outstanding knowledge of the target market. It has been pleasure, both for myself and my team to be able to work with Chris."

Tomasz Dyl

"Chris possibly knows more about marketing than I've had hot dinners.... and I've had a few! He's also a very knowledgeable person in the specialist field of marketing. Put these two together and you have a formidable force on your side"

Paul Bennett

"Can’t recommend Dorset Tech enough they are absolutely amazing!"

Tessa Robinson

"Chris comes highly recommended by me as a creative and experienced Marketing expert. Being very intuitive into market trends his knowledge is very extensive."

Brian Bradly

Dorset Science & Tech Centre

Opened in May 2017, the Dorset Science & Technology Centre was the only privately funded STEM centre in the UK. It’s goal was to promote the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) to children through fun sessions and exhibits. Nearly 60% of students were girls, far exceeding the targets set.

Almost entirely funded by The Honest Agency, but with equipment/zone sponsors including: Santander, Rubicon People, VOIP Unlimited and Dorset County Council, the centre was able to boast the county’s only fixed Planetarium.

Robot Combat Arena
IT Suite
Educational Shop
Makerspace
3D Printing
Laser Cutting Facility
Dinosaur Zone
Space Zone

Mars Zone with Rover
6m Green Screen
Planetarium
Large Centre Telescope
Engineering Zone
Reptile Zone
Bug Zone
Arcade Zone

The centre is now closed for refurbishments.

Superhero HQ

Opened in December 2019, Superhero HQ on Gillingham High Street has become the head office of the entire group. An office, makerspace and superhero shop has made us a big part of the community.

Directly opposite Lidl, you can’t miss our vibrant signage and digital video signs! Come in for a freshly ground coffee while we discuss your new project.

Honest Tech Group always aims to be a remote agency as it allows us to save you up to 70% on your web project, but a selection of our team are based from the Superhero HQ allowing you the best of both worlds.

The new Dorset Tech Superhero HQ
Superhero & Educational Shop
- Official Marvel/DC Merchandise
- Exclusive Clothing
- Jewellery
- Tech products
Customer lounge area
Product photography studio

Coming Early 2020

Small Makerspace
3D Printing
Computer repairs
Refurbished Computers

Dorset Tech in the Community

How we give back

Donate our time to produce village magazines
Run a kids robot combat club
Free advice service
Donations to local events

Donate hosting to various good causes
Discounted rate for non-profits & companies working with animals/children
Help run local community events
Free/heavily-subsidised projects for good causes

May We Present Our Team

Chris

``Chameleon``

As the owner of a busy agency, Chris wears many hats. He must adapt to market changes and customer styles - he is ``Chameleon``. With a marketing diploma, a dozen programming languages and 15 years experience under his utility belt, Chris is the leader of the Superhero Web Agency.

Adam

``Zeus``

Adam is our Lead Designer and everything he touches turns to gold! He touches every project before it even starts and performs final sign-off to ensure than all our websites are godly!

Emma R

``Angel``

Emma is our resident comic book expert! Who better to source the products in our store? She keeps us organised, ensures web orders reach people on time and plays a vital role as our cheerleader, motivating us all throughout the week.

David B

``Uno``

Dave is our SEO specialist and an experienced coder, keeping up with new developments as they occur and building new innovative strategies to get you the number 1 spot - Numero Uno!

Josh R

``Oracle``

Josh is our hardware specialist and resident video editor. When he's not helping people with their sites and videos, he's fixing computers out the back.

Mark

``Wordsmith``

Nidavellir may be where Thor's hammer was forged, but Mark is making some seriously powerful copy on his laptop! Mark has a natural flair for copy-writing and Pay Per Click advertising that converts visitors into customers.

Gitesh

``Nightwatch``

Gitesh holds down the fort while we're all sleeping, providing out of hours support via our ticket system. WIth 8 years experience and a broad range of skills, he's the ideal guardian.

Hugo

``Bright Spark``

Our R&D Specialist Hugo has over a decade of experience in R&D for the Motorsport and Aerospace industries. There's little he doesn't know about electronics and as a result, he's our king of prototypes!

David T

``360``

David is a great all-rounder - great design flair mixed with superb development skills. When he's not helping you with your site, he joins Chris & Josh in building custom Gaming PCs for the store.

Pit S

``Gravity``

Pit is a PHP developer that specialises in API integrations. He pulls in data from third parties just like gravity pulls matter into a black-hole. With 6 years freelance experience, he's already integrated most of the common APIs, so efficiency is a core strength.

Simon

``Swift``

Simon is our resident App developer. With experience in both Native and Hybrid app development and over 8 years website development experience, Simon can cover the server side of your app too.

Mikey

``Padawan``

Mikey is our trainee Tech Hero. He's early in his career, but don't let that fool you!

Freelance Development Specialists

Our core team are backed up by a network of freelance specialists, from animators and app developers to integration specialists and even special effect artists. This means we always use the right person for the job!

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