Duramen Studio · Topeka, KS
About Duramen

Pretty isn't a strategy.

A website's job is to bring in business. Everything at Duramen Studio, from the first question to the last pixel, is built around that.

Founder-led · Message first
Hands opening a notebook beside a laptop and a cup of coffee
Fig. 01 · Words before pixels
01 / The story Why I build this way
[Portrait · Clayton Meininger]
  1. 01 · Operations technician
  2. 02 · Production artist
  3. 03 · Junior designer, then web designer
  4. 04 · Senior UI/UX designer · StoryBrand certified

I learned to make things work before I made them pretty

— Clayton Meininger, founder

You're great at what you do. Websites aren't your job, and they shouldn't have to be. I started in operations, where things either worked or they didn't. Then production, then design, and eventually senior UI/UX work. Every step taught me the same thing: the clearest version wins.

Duramen Studio is a small studio on purpose, based in Topeka, Kansas and working with businesses anywhere. You talk to the person who builds your site, and that person cares more about your phone ringing than about awards.

02 / The name

Duramen (dur-AH-men) is heartwood.

It's the botanical name for the dense core at the center of a tree. You never see it from the outside, but it's what holds the whole tree up and why some trees stand for a hundred years.

That's how we think about websites. The part that matters most is the part people don't notice: a clear message, a solid structure, and a site built to last. Get the core right, and everything else holds.

Clear at the core. Built to last.
03 / How we work Three rules, every project
Always

Message before design

If the words aren't clear, no amount of design will save the site. We write first.

No clutter

One page, one goal

Every page has one job and one main button. Everything else gets out of the way.

No sliders, no b-roll

No distractions

Motion and extras earn their place or they don't ship. Your customer's attention is precious.

04 / Credentials Who's building your site

Senior UI/UX designer

[NUMBER] years designing websites and digital products, from production art to senior design.

StoryBrand certified

Trained in Donald Miller's StoryBrand framework, the message-first method behind every Duramen site.

Built to make things work

An operations background means process, deadlines and plain communication come standard.

Your next step

Let's look at your site together.

Book a free site review. 20 minutes, no sales pitch. You'll leave knowing what's working, what's costing you customers, and what to fix first.

Book a free site review

Or call [(785) 000-0000]