How it all began

The story of One Eleven Web Design kicked off on January 11, 2012, when our Founder & CEO, Eric Vaughn, launched his first-ever website for Century Christian School in Lodi, California. At the time, Eric wasn’t a web guy—he was a construction industry sales manager with 15 years of experience and a side project building an iPhone app.

When the school couldn’t find a local web developer willing to maintain their site at a reasonable cost, a good friend (and CCS Vice Principal), Chris Finch, asked Eric to give it a shot. With zero experience but a lot of grit, Eric rolled up his sleeves and taught himself HTML & CSS to bring the site to life. The site ended up being one of the first responsive web designs in the area—mobile-friendly and forward-thinking, just like the school’s vision.

After it launched, word started to spread. Chris kept asking, “So, what’s your company called?” Eric shrugged it off—he wasn’t planning to start a business. But Chris wasn’t having it. He just smiled and said, “You don’t know the plans that God has for you.”

Meanwhile, Eric’s wife, Tracy, was encouraging him to lean into web design, too. He resisted at first, but eventually gave in with a reluctant laugh: “Fine… the name’s Red Truck Studios.”

The name came from his 1963 VW Crewcab—a red truck he had to sell during the 2007 crash just to keep the mortgage paid. As the brand took shape, the name evolved into Red Truck Designs, and with it came the first tagline: “Go out and surf the web…”

Eric stamped the bottom of that first website with “Built by Red Truck”, and sure enough—people started reaching out. By 2014, he had a full business plan and a goal to go solo by January 2018. But momentum had its own timeline. Within a year, the side hustle outgrew nights and weekends. Eric walked into his boss’s office and made it official—Red Truck became a full-time business.

Then came a new chapter—and a new name.

On January 11, 2018, exactly six years after that first website launched, we rebranded as One Eleven Web Design—a name that honors not just the day the business began, but something even more personal. Eric met his wife, Tracy, on January 11, 1996. So for us, one-eleven is more than just a date—it’s a symbol of new beginnings, bold choices, and the unexpected turns that lead to something great.

One year later, Eric cruised down to Huntington Beach to pick up another VW bus, bringing the story full circle. We’ve been wrenching on that little bus ever since.

Just like our web design business, it’s a work in progress—built with passion, care, and a drive to keep moving forward.