Here is where we share two-plus decades of web-centric business experience (& some un-sexy truths) for entrepreneurial types more grounded in reality than, oh…IDK – Instagram? TikTok? #girlboss?
It's fun to believe click-baity posts that promise amazing, easy and instant results from doing next to nothing. But you won't find many of those here. Why? Because growth and profitability come from consistently making the right moves.
Topping the list of right moves: Treating your customers right. Doing good work. Sharing it on your blog. Making your website easy and attractive for people you don't work with yet, but want to.
Not on the list: Clicking click-baity headlines about the latest guaranteed hack for skyrocketing your social media views. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Glenn Muske, in his recent post for Small Biz Survival, gives what should be commonsense advice: Research has found that potential customers need to hear or see the name of a new business three to five times before they even recognize that the business exists. Thus, a one-time big advertisement will do little to bring … Read more
Got smarts, and more time than money? Here’s how to get a website without spending a dime. »
In a recent post about web host GoDaddy, Judi Knight echoes my thoughts, as well as my experience. With even a modest web site, many variables are in play – hardware, software, hosting outages, domain name problems, DNS problems, database glitches, etc. etc. This often makes it difficult to pinpoint the cause of a problem. … Read more
…use WordPress? No – I’m serious (mostly). There will always be people who don’t want to get their hands “dirty” (if that word even applies to typing on a keyboard) by messing around with servers and FTP and whatnot. I’m grateful for these people because they help me feed my family, pay the mortgage and … Read more
I’m currently developing a site design for a client with a huge membership, so they chose a content and member management system that doesn’t quite have the elegance of WordPress but is pretty much the only non-custom solution that can handle their needs. Peeked under the hood of the member management company’s blog and guess … Read more
People who know HTML know that they have six levels of headings to help effectively communicate the content on the pages they build. Even if you don’t know HTML, however, you should know the point of properly-formatted headings and be able to create them yourself. The explosive growth in the number of do-it-yourself web site … Read more
Last night I had the pleasure of introducing fellow Atlanta WordPress users to LESS, the dynamic stylesheet language that streamlines web design and development and helps make sites more consistent. Photo by Mike Schinkel The group has a mix of people ranging from beginning WordPress users to designer/developer hybrids like me to experienced PHP/theme/plugin developers, … Read more
This past weekend I attended WordCamp Atlanta, my third WordCamp event to date and definitely not my last. If you’re not familiar with WordCamp you may wonder why I recommend business owners attend, even if they’re merely considering the WordPress platform. The bottom line is that there’s something for everybody at WordCamp. But there is … Read more
It’s been a few months since I’ve worked with HTML e-mail – the colorful, graphical kind used most often for marketing communications. From the time I began coding for e-mail up until the time I created my most recent HTML e-mail template, the general rule was to code like a web page – one from … Read more
the simpler web is now accepting Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards in payment for web design and development services. These new payment options can help you launch or upgrade your web site when the timing is optimal – even if cash flow isn’t. It’s also helpful when you need a quicker turnaround and … Read more
Actually, it’s more than Microsoft Word that will give you grief when copying and pasting content into WordPress or other web site Content Management Systems (CMSs). Sorry. It could be your e-mail client, your web browser, or any number of apps commonly used to communicate text and images. Have you ever copied content, pasted it … Read more
