About

Ben Huffman.
Your web person.

I'm from the Grand Forks area, and I've run Dirt River Design since 2014. Most of my clients are blue-collar contractors, but over the years I've built websites for businesses across just about every industry.

Tell me about your project See the work

Where I work

I work with clients across a wide area, but I like to keep things local whenever I can. I live a few miles south of Grand Forks, out in the country, and serve businesses throughout the Red River Valley, including Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, Devils Lake, Grafton, Crookston, and the surrounding rural communities.

If you want to meet in person, I try to accommodate that around my schedule, usually after work hours or on weekends. Otherwise, I work by phone, email, and screen share. Most of my clients never need to meet face-to-face, but the option is there if it matters to you.

Who I am

I have a background that's a little all over the map: an Associate's degree in Electronics and a Bachelor's in Geology from UND. I've worked as a research scientist doing carbon capture lab work, as a geologist in the oil field, and as an industrial maintenance planner in a sugar plant handling instrumentation and automation. Through all of that, I was always running servers, fixing networks, and building websites on the side. Eventually, people started pushing me to make it official, and Dirt River Design was born in late 2014.

Today the shop is deliberately small and high-service. I don't chase volume; I focus on a handful of projects and long-term maintenance clients. I also build and sell three software products: BayRoster to run my own storage lot, PineRoster for seasonal campgrounds, and HaulerHQ for a family garbage service, each with a public live demo.

How I work

The no-fluff advantage.

AI can generate a page. It cannot take responsibility for your whole web presence. That is the difference.

You talk to me

When you have a question, you call or text me directly. You'll never get a support ticket or an account manager. I'm the one who builds the site, and I'm the one who supports it.

I handle the hard parts

DIY tools and AI builders are easy until the real-world details show up. I manage DNS, email deliverability, redirects, forms, hosting, server security, and the technical headaches you should not have to worry about.

I use AI, and I stay accountable

AI speeds up drafts, layouts, and cleanup. I still do the judgment, troubleshooting, architecture, hosting, and final quality control myself. AI speeds up the work, but I am the one accountable for the result.