About
ATX Web Solutions is built around a simple idea: custom websites and applications should feel like they were made for your business—because they were.
I'm Chris Van Hauen, owner of ATX Web Solutions. I’ve lived most of my life in the Midwest, and most of my family is from Iowa. If you see me around Austin, there’s a good chance I’ll be wearing Iowa State gear.
I moved to Austin at the end of 2015 after getting out of the Air Force, where I worked as a programmer at Maxwell Air Force Base. Austin felt like a natural place to land if I wanted to keep building software, and I’ve been doing that here ever since.
Why I Do This
I’ve always been drawn to building custom things. That started early, making up board games with friends, creating custom maps in Warcraft 2, experimenting with mod combinations in games like Elder Scrolls. It was never about using something “out of the box” if there was a way to shape it into something better.
That mindset carried directly into software. The software I've worked on throughout my career has had a highly custom aspect to it that is both challenging and rewarding. The challenge is that one size fits all is easier to develop, but the reward of custom work is providing a solution that resonates with the real users of the software. Starting my own business gives me the flexibility to build things the right way for the situation instead of forcing a problem into a generic solution.
How I Approach My Work
Most people don’t need more features. They need something that actually works for what they’re trying to do.
One of the advantages of custom software is that you can remove a lot of unnecessary complexity. Instead of hundreds of settings designed for a mass audience, you end up with something more focused and easier to use.
That’s usually the goal: take something that feels complicated or overwhelming and turn it into something straightforward.
What Working With Me Feels Like
I care a lot about what I put out.
Not just getting something live, but how it holds up over time. When something breaks, it’s not just a task on a list—it bothers me until it’s fixed. That’s kind of the nature of building custom things. There’s always a personal aspect to it.
You’re not dealing with a layer of account managers or a faceless team. You’re working directly with the person building the thing, which tends to make everything clearer on both sides.
Why That Matters
One of the biggest issues in this industry is the gap between the people building software and the people actually using it.
As companies grow, that gap gets wider. The people doing the work don’t always see how it’s being used day to day, and the people using it don’t feel heard. That’s where a lot of unnecessary frustration comes from.
I try to keep that gap as small as possible.