Our History

When you imagine a web designer, probably the picture of a white-haired granny doesn’t even begin to cross your mind. Yet the Founder and Director of Charleston WebBuilder is exactly that.

Proudly, I am a white-haired granny from the Bronx who builds webstores and makes chicken soup. What a combo! You get professional services with a scoop of nurturing on top.

After raising three kids and juggling a career in sales and marketing, I went back to school at age -ahem- to study web design.

Why, you may ask?

Because I had to earn a living and I was not a spring chicken and also not exactly a hot commodity in the job market. And it seemed like a good idea.

After two years of school, learning HTML coding, Java and the other new scripts becoming popular daily, I apprenticed with a young tekkie guy for over a year.

This was in 2008, we introduced ourselves as Granny and the Geek (he would say with a smile: “You can call me Granny.”) and boom!  we were cutting edge innovators!

I felt scared and yet confident to go solo in 2009, and started to build my business and my reputation. Being an entrepreneur is a complicated business, as you know. So I wore many hats: designing websites, marketing my business, frequent speaker at business forums representing the new technologies.

And in time, my reputation as a competent and caring web designer took root.

Since 2010, when the then little-known and less understood technology called “e-commerce” started to emerge, I jumped on board with both feet and bunions. After testing different e-commerce platforms, I eagerly started building stores for my clients on Shopify, the most reliable and versatile platform.

In 2013, Shopify invited me to become a Shopify Guru (yep, that’s what they called us back then) and they started referring Shopify store owners to Charleston WebBuilder for expert help in getting their stores designed and up and running.

At of today I have designed many dozens of stores for clients all over the world, from Dubai to Oklahoma City, some with 1000’s of items and others with one great product that they nurtured from an idea.

My clients have taught me so much about the grit and determination of aspiring entrepreneurs. With them, I watched what once was an impossible dream – ecommerce–  grow to the international behemoth it is today. And Charleston WebBuilder has adapted as well, learning how to deal in this marketplace effectively and what makes for success in this environment.

You may expect a white-haired granny web designer to be a bit different. You’d be right. It is my life’s mission to personally help persons with aspirations to achieve success in the business world of 2023.

So, to that end, I strive to provide you the best in design and technology with a huge helping of caring and support.

Professional & Educational Background of Donna H. Powell

B.A., Hunter College, NYC, NY, 1974

Graduate Studies, Rutgers University, NJ, 1974-1976

Atlanta Institute of Art, Online University, 2006- 2008


Professional Background

Copier Sales Account Manager 1985-1995

Executive Sales Manager, RIA/Wolters Klue Publising & CCH/Thomson Legal Publishing, 1995-2002

Owner, Charleston WebBuilder, 2006- present