Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie O’Keefe.
Hi Stephanie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey to Southern Creative wasn’t exactly a straight line—but looking back, every step helped lead me here.
Early on, I took a few marketing classes and began questioning whether the traditional 9-to-5 cubicle life was really for me. From there, my career took a few turns, including a pivot to teaching and eventually to being a stay-at-home mom. After having my second son, I found myself wanting two things that sometimes felt difficult to balance: I wanted to be present for my family, but I also needed a creative outlet and work that felt like my own.
In 2019, I came across a program that taught moms how to build freelance businesses from home. It felt like the opportunity I had been searching for, a way to use my creativity, contribute to my family, and build a career without giving up the flexibility that mattered so much to us.
I signed up in December 2019 and committed to doing at least one thing every day to move the business forward. I began by exploring different freelance services and saying yes to opportunities that allowed me to learn. One of those opportunities was a virtual assistant position with a web design agency. That role introduced me to the world of website design, and it didn’t take long for me to realize I had found the perfect combination of everything I loved: creativity, marketing, technology, and strategy.
Within my first six months, I began narrowing my focus to web design and brand strategy. As Southern Creative grew, I continued expanding my skills in WordPress development and search engine optimization. I saw so many talented business owners investing in beautiful websites that still weren’t attracting visitors or generating inquiries. I knew I wanted to help bridge that gap.
Today, Southern Creative helps service-based businesses build strategic WordPress websites and SEO foundations that allow them to stand out, get found online, and create a better experience for their clients. What began as a way to find a creative outlet and greater flexibility for my family has grown into a business that supports clients across industries and has completely changed the way my husband and I think about work, family, and what is possible.
The business has evolved tremendously over the years, but the heart behind it has stayed the same. I believe business owners deserve a website that reflects who they are, supports where they are going, and works for them behind the scenes. Being able to combine creativity and strategy while helping other entrepreneurs bring their visions to life still feels like the perfect fit.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to balance growing a business with being present for my family.
When I started Southern Creative, I was building the business around motherhood. That flexibility was one of the main reasons I began, but working from home doesn’t automatically make balance easy. There have been seasons when client deadlines, family needs, and everyday life all competed for my attention. I’ve had to learn how to set boundaries, create systems, and accept that balance doesn’t always look the same from one week to the next.
Confidence has also been a struggle at times. Like many business owners, I’ve dealt with imposter syndrome and questioned whether I was experienced enough, talented enough, or ready for the next opportunity. Every new service, larger project, and step forward came with a learning curve.
Over time, I realized that confidence usually comes after taking action not before it. Each project helped me strengthen my skills, trust my process, and better understand the value I bring to my clients.
Those challenges have shaped Southern Creative into the business it is today. They’ve made me more intentional, resourceful, and empathetic toward the business owners I work with. The road hasn’t always been easy, but every difficult season has helped me grow both personally and professionally.
We’ve been impressed with Southern Creative, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Southern Creative is a WordPress web design and SEO studio that helps service-based business owners build a stronger, more strategic presence online. We specialize in creating websites that are not only beautiful, but also easy to use, built to grow with the business, and designed to help the right people find our clients through search engines.
Our services include WordPress website design and development, brand strategy, SEO audits and optimization, SEO coaching, consulting, and ongoing website and content support. We work with service providers across a variety of industries, including coaches, consultants, interior designers, real estate professionals, local service based brands, wellness brands, creatives, travel businesses, and event professionals.
What really sets Southern Creative apart is the way we combine design, strategy, SEO, and technology. A website can look beautiful, but it still needs a clear customer journey, thoughtful messaging, a strong technical foundation, and a plan for getting found online. Every design decision has a purpose, from the structure of the pages to the keywords behind the content.
We also take a highly collaborative and personal approach. Handing over a business you have poured so much into can feel vulnerable, so we take the time to understand each client’s story, values, vision, goals, and customer experience. Our goal is never to create something that looks like everyone else’s website. We want the final result to feel unmistakably like the client while giving them the tools and confidence to manage and grow it moving forward.
One of the things I am most proud of is that Southern Creative helps make website strategy and SEO feel less intimidating. Many of our clients come to us feeling overwhelmed by technology, unsure of what their website needs, or frustrated that they are not appearing in search results. We break the process into clear, manageable steps and explain what we are doing in a way that feels approachable rather than overly technical.
Education is also becoming a larger part of the Southern Creative brand. In addition to our done-for-you services, we offer SEO coaching and are expanding our courses and educational resources for business owners who want to better understand their websites and take a more hands-on role in their online growth.
We are also focused on developing website courses and customizable website templates for both WordPress and Showit. These offerings are being created for business owners who may not be ready for a fully custom website but still want a professional, strategic foundation. Our goal is to give them the design, structure, and guidance they need to launch confidently without starting from scratch.
I am especially proud that we are creating multiple ways to support business owners at different stages. That might look like a one-page website for a newer business, a strategic semi-custom or custom website, focused SEO coaching, a course that helps someone build their skills, or a website template that makes the design process more accessible.
At the heart of Southern Creative is the belief that business owners deserve a website that works just as hard as they do. It should reflect the quality of their work, help them confidently show up, and guide potential clients toward taking the next step. We are known for bringing the creative, technical, and educational sides together to help business owners build websites that are equal parts beautiful, searchable, and strategic.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I believe the website design and SEO industries will change significantly over the next five to ten years, largely because of artificial intelligence and the way people are beginning to search for information.
Search is already expanding beyond the traditional list of blue links. People are asking longer, more conversational questions and using AI-powered search tools to compare options, gather recommendations, and make decisions. Google has made it clear that its AI search experiences still rely on strong SEO foundations, including helpful original content, a clear technical structure, and information that is easy for both people and search engines to understand.
Because of that, I don’t think SEO is going away. I think it will become broader and more strategic. Businesses will need to think beyond ranking for one keyword and focus on becoming a trusted source within their industry. Firsthand experience, recognizable expertise, strong branding, original ideas, and genuinely helpful content will become even more valuable as generic information becomes easier to produce.
Websites will also need to communicate more clearly with search engines, AI platforms, and other digital tools. Strong site architecture, accurate business information, structured data, and well-organized content will play an increasingly important role in helping technology understand who a business serves, what it offers, and why it should be recommended.
AI will make it faster and easier to create websites, write content, troubleshoot technical issues, and complete repetitive tasks. WordPress is already exploring deeper AI-assisted workflows for creators and developers. However, I don’t believe these tools will replace thoughtful designers, developers, or SEO strategists. Instead, they will shift our role. Clients will need less help simply putting content onto a page and more help making strategic decisions, building trust, creating a distinct brand, and turning their website into something that supports real business goals.
I also expect more business owners to choose a middle ground between fully do-it-yourself and fully custom services. High-quality templates, guided website courses, coaching, and strategic support will allow people to build more independently without being left alone to figure everything out. That shift is one reason Southern Creative has expanded into SEO coaching, website education, courses, and WordPress and Showit templates.
Accessibility, usability, and performance will become even more important as well. A website should work for people using different devices, abilities, and ways of navigating the internet. Accessibility standards are designed not only to support people with disabilities, but often improve the overall experience for every visitor.
Ultimately, I think the future will be less about simply having a website and more about building a complete digital foundation. The businesses that stand out will be the ones with a clear message, a recognizable point of view, helpful content, strong technical foundations, and a website experience that makes people feel confident taking the next step.
The tools will continue to change, but the need for clarity, trust, strategy, and genuine human connection will remain.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://southerncreativeco.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/southerncreativeco
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/southerncreativeco
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/southern-creative-co/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@southerncreative
- Other: https://www.southerncreativeco.com/contact/
