We’ll also included some compelling arguments as to why investing hours in the intricate labyrinth of DIY website management might not be the best use of your time. So let’s dive in!

Here are 7 ways to make your website updates stress-free

1. Backup Your Website

Creating a backup of your website ensures that even if something goes wrong during one of your updates, you can possibly revert to the previous version of your investment. It’s the best safety net you can have while working on your website. We actually include 24/7 off-site website backups as part of our low-cost ChromaCare Basic plan. Honestly, who wants to deal with backups when you can have a professional make sure everything is getting backed up properly on a regular basis.

2. Preview Before You Publish

Before making changes directly on your live website make sure you preview and proof carefully. Troubleshoot any issues carefully before you publish. Many websites will actually send a notification to Google to come check out your new content. You don’t want them showing up at your doorstep before you’re ready. Create a checklist for publishing new content and follow it every time before you hit publish to keep website updates stress-free. Don’t want to mess with this kind of stuff? Our ChromaCare Plus plan includes requested website changes which means we do the work and you can get on with your business life.

3. Update Regularly

Regular updates, whether it’s for content, plugins, or themes, are essential for website security, SEO, and performance. By keeping everything up-to-date, you reduce the risk of compatibility issues and ensure a smoother overall experience for your customers and clients. You should keep an eye out for significant compatibility issues between plugins, and a variety of tools will notify you of potential holes in your website’s armor. As part of our ChromaCare website management service we stay on top of all your website’s security and plugin updates automatically. We also scan for plugin vulnerabilities regularly to stay ahead of the bad guys and prevent malware.

4. Consider Search Engine Optimization

Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of managing a website is the SEO. There are companies out there that will charge you thousands of dollars a month to optimize your website to rank well for certain keywords in search engines. Some of those companies may very well be worth it, others are a complete scam. What most people don’t realize however, is that every aspect of your website has an impact on your SEO. Brushing up on some basic rules and SEO best practices can put you in a better position to rank well on Google. Also, one of the most underutilized tools for improving SEO is your blog. If you are interested in learning more about how that process work, we can help you develop a content marketing strategy. Let’s get on a call!

5. Educate Yourself

To make your website perform at it’s very best, you should be investing at least some time in learning the basics of WordPress, Elementor (if you’re a Chroma Sites client), even a bit of HTML and CSS will come in handy from time to time. While most website builders and CMS platforms don’t require too much coding these days, understanding these fundamentals can empower you to troubleshoot and customize your website confidently. If you don’t have the time or interest in learning to code, that’s certainly understandable. We speak it fluently, and we’re here to help you when you need us.

6. Implement Changes Gradually

Instead of waiting to make all of your changes at once, try updating your website one piece at a time. We like to say that a business website is a living, breathing document. It’s designed to be changes as often as it needs to be. In fact, Google and other search engines often give preference to sites which have been updated more recently. What’s more, this gradual update approach allows you to slowly monitor the impact of each update you make. Lastly, we all know that if you procrastinate making that change until you have more to do, it may never end up getting changed. An alternative to doing it yourself, is to have us to do it for you. We have purposefully designed our ChromaCare Plus website management plan to include priority website work every month. That way, you never have to even think about it. Send it to us and consider it done!

7. Stay Calm and Focus on Solving the Problem

In the event of an unexpected crisis, stay calm. Unfortunately, lot of things can and do go wrong in the website world. It doesn’t matter what platform you’re on, who built your website, or where it’s hosted. $#*! Happens! Panicking in this situation can lead to hasty decisions that may make the problem worse. Instead, focus on identifying the issue and seeking solutions methodically. Identify an error codes or exactly what looks wrong with your website. Google can be your best friend in trying to figure out what’s wrong. But beware: Not everyone online knows what they are talking about. If the problem is over your head, talk to an professional web designer or your hosting company.

We include a few features to protect against these kinds of problems and make your website updates stress-free, with our website management plans. First and foremost, we have been building websites for over two decades. We know the problems that come up and how to fix them quickly. Secondly, if it turns out there was a disaster of sorts (let’s say you accidentally delete an entire section of your website — don’t laugh, it’s happened), we can roll back the clock to one of our hourly backups. This brings your website back to the most recent point before it got mangled. Long story, short, don’t panic, just get ChromaCare.

Do you really need the stress of DIY website management?

Let Chroma Sites Website Management do the work for you. Stop the anxiety, enhance functionality, and increase the appeal of your products or services with the expert touch of Chroma Sites, a leader in business website solutions! 

Contact Chroma Sites today!

The post How to make your website updates stress-free appeared first on Chroma Sites.

Because they always ask if you want more cookies!

As you celebrate the season, try not to imagine a world where websites don festive attire, and mingle awkwardly after crashing the holiday party. Instead, you should be the one enjoying festive food, time with family and friends, laughing, reminiscing and giving. For those that need a break, the holidays should be a time when you can spend some quality time away from your business — so you can come back to work refreshed, with new ideas and a renewed energy. Hang on to all that holiday joy and find a way to use it throughout 2024. 

That said, we know many small businesses get anxious about leaving their business for any length of time. Missing out on potential sales, customers not being able to reach you, and the ever-present possibility of a technical issue popping up and no one being around to fix it (or even notice).

Now most of that, we really can’t help with . . . but we can help protect your website when you’re out of the office. Our ChromaCare website management service helps protect your website, keeping it healthy and strong 365 days a year — it doesn’t really like holiday parties.

AI powered tools like automated off-site backups, security updates, malware scanning, and uptime monitoring, can give you peace of mind that your website is doing it’s job, even when you’re not.

We take our clients’ businesses as seriously as they do. And while we don’t know exactly how a business exudes joy, we know it has something to do with how it’s owners feel. We hope all of you have a joyful and stress-free holiday season and beyond. If you find yourself worrying about your website, whether it’s during the holidays or not, let us know and we’ll get you set up with ChromaCare ASAP (see everything that’s included here). You won’t have to worry anymore — at least not about your website.

Ok, one more question:
Why do websites take time off for the holidays?

Because they need to refresh too.

Ok, that’s our time. You’ve been great!

Happy Holidays from Chroma Sites!

The post Have a holly jolly website, even when you’re gone appeared first on Chroma Sites.

Now, you might be thinking, “Why discuss gardens in the middle of winter, when everything is just frost and bare branches?” Well, much like avid gardeners thumbing through seed catalogs in the chilly months, website designers are constantly looking for ways to nurture their digital landscapes. So, grab a cup of hot cocoa and let’s delve into how cultivating a website is surprisingly similar to tending a garden – minus the muddy boots and the need to remember where you left your gardening gloves!

Here are some of the worries and tedious tasks a website management service can take off your plate:

Prolonging the Life of Your Website

Your website can stay relevant for many years to come with the right care. Think of it as a garden that needs to be kept secure, easily navigable, and constantly rejuvenated with fresh content to stay appealing. Smooth operation of all its features and tools is vital. And just like a garden that flourishes under careful attention, a well-maintained website can significantly contribute to the growth of your business.

Routine Maintenance: The Necessary Chore

Routine maintenance for your website, while essential, may not be the most thrilling aspect of running your business. However, a good website management program can turn that chore into one of the few hands-free aspects of your operations. It’s like having a neighbor who is passionate about gardening and volunteers to care for yours every weekend—ensuring that your garden is always perfect without you ever going outside. Similarly, with good website management, your site remains up-to-date, secure, and user-friendly, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business with passion and peace of mind.

Requested Changes: You Don’t Need to Be a Pro

Updating your website with regular changes may seem daunting, much like trying exotic gardening without being a horticulturist. However, with professional website management, you can easily add new content and graphics without getting bogged down in technicalities. And, just like having that green-thumbed neighbor turn your garden into a praise-worthy jewel, website management services can get your innovative business ideas out in front of your customers.

Guarding Your Digital Garden

The importance of cybersecurity, like the need for a garden fence, becomes starkly apparent in the face of threats. Don’t wait for an online equivalent of a deer destroying your roses to take action. Effective website management services act as your digital fence, protecting your site from hackers and malware and ensuring its long-term health and success. Few things are more important than security when it comes to taking care of your website.

The Green Thumb for Your Digital Garden

Website management isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity for serious business owners who use their website to support their business. Those who let it deteriorate into a neglected gray patch of dirt, will need to start over every few years. However, if you take care of it, and nurture it, your website can grow into a powerful tool for branding, marketing, selling, and growth. 

So instead of worrying about what your website needs today… relax, focus on your business, and leave the website management to us. It’s way easier than wrestling with weeds and chasing the deer away!

Spring will be back before you know it! So if you want your website to be clean and easy to browse and secure, and you don’t want your website to turn into a tangled mess over the winter, you have to take care of it. With our website management service, we do that work for you.

Learn more about our website management services!

The post Taking care of your website is like nurturing your garden: 4 keys to growth and longevity appeared first on Chroma Sites.

You love and nurture your website as the centerpiece of all your marketing efforts. All your CTA’s (calls to action) are perfectly designed to entice visitors to contact you for more information, schedule appointments, bring in repeat business and so much more. The leads arrive, one by one, and you are very happy. Happy until . . .  that first contact form spam lands in your inbox and you start down a stress-filled emotional road with no end in sight.

The 9-step emotional reaction to contact form spam

Before we solved our problem with contact form spam, we would go through these nine emotions, step-by-step, on a regular basis. It was exhausting. So we finally did something about it…

Emotion #1: Anticipation

Oh wow! I got another lead!! Yippee! 

You had that contact form designed just for this purpose. You live and breathe to get emails from your contact form because it brings with it the joy of building a new business relationship with someone who is also excited to work with you. It sits there looking all pretty and important. “Click me” it croons. So you do. And that’s when things really start falling apart, according to mental health experts.

Emotion #2: Confusion

“Wait. What? Who is this? What do they want?” The email is from your very own website but it seems like it’s addressing you as the customer, instead of the reverse. An oddly written paragraph, or two, is attempting to sell you something . . . instead of asking for information about what you can do for them.

Emotion #3: Disappointment

It dawns on you, duh, that this is not a real lead! SPAM. Bummer. You always believed that your spam box was there to solve the spam problem but it turns out that those tools are mere catchalls for generic spam. For the most part, they do pretty well but it can’t filter out contact form spam. Why? Because it’s addressed to you so your email client thinks you want it.

Emotion #4: Anger

“I am a really busy person. I simply don’t have time for this! How dare they use my contact form. Grrrrr.”

Emotion #5: Loss of focus

You can’t remember what you were doing before this spam arrived? You want to focus and move the spam to your spam box, but no. Let’s say, for purposes of this blog, that this particular spam email is from someone claiming to represent wealthy investors who have an “interest” in buying your business. It’s cleverly loaded with flattery, and without even knowing what you do and how you help our customers, you fall for it. You feel flattered but you are not alone. Many contact form spam victims get sucked into promises of wealth, the glamour of ranking #1 on Google, threats of your website expiring, or free articles for your website. “How can I lose?!” The mind drifts into the bank account, now filled with millions, or billions, of dollars. Dreaming. Then you snap out of it and head into emotion #6

Emotion #6: Acceptance

This emotion only lingers for a few seconds. Then the next one sets in.

Emotion #7: Paranoia

OMG, you opened spam when your IT guy has told you NEVER to do that. You sink into the quicksand of the worst of all 9 emotions. You clicked on spam most likely unleashing a roving hoard of evil viruses upon the inner sanctity of your computer.

Emotion #8: Feeling stupid

Your defenses slump as you contemplate a fate worse than getting that virus. Now you have to confess to your IT guy what you have done. Most people usually put this call off and hope for the best because of the expense and the shame.

Emotion #9: Defiance

That’s it. You’ve had it. You are not going to take it anymore!! You click the spam button on the email and immediately begin to wonder, “how can I prevent this type of spam in the future?”

Then you remember reading this very blog post about contact form spam. You feel relief that your spam problem will be solved because there is a way to block contact form spam!

At Chroma Sites, we offer a three-layer spam-fighting system that will have your favorite spammers panicking when they can’t reach you anymore. This amazing contact form spam blocking technology is included in all of our website management services. It’s time to take your inbox back! Check out our website management packages now.

The post Do you get contact form spam from your own website? How to stop the emotional turmoil! appeared first on Chroma Sites.

You work hard to make your small business a success. You put in long hours and are always on the lookout for new opportunities. You take calculated risks that often pay off but you hate events that are completely outside of your control. Something like a website hacker sneaking digital fingers into the back end of your business website comes to mind.

The sad news is that there are, indeed, many different kinds of attack-wielding hackers out there. The good news is that technology has kept up and we can proactively protect against the damage they can do. To list them all would be impossible so, instead, I have chosen to tell you about three types of attacks, along with some simple remedies that just may help keep your data safe from hackers.

So don’t stress – read on and rest easy knowing that your business can be protected!

Hacking with a battering ram

A true story. Recently, we got a call from the panic-stricken founder of a well-known, not-for-profit association. They do wonderful, altruistic work, and utilize the website we have built for them to further their mission. Their website has all sorts of easy-to-use functionality that brings in many appreciative visitors each day. But apparently, it also attracted the attention of some overseas bad guys who have attempted to steal the data that our client has spent years gathering. These lowlifes don’t give a hoot about clean air or the animal kingdom. They just want to steal private information and sell it at incredible margins to other bad actors.

These particular hackers used a method called a Brute Force Attack whose very name sends chills up and down the spines of experienced hosting companies. Simply put, the hackers try out different combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols to gain access to the website’s back end. Unfortunately, they do not just attack the website a few times and then give up. Oh, no. They attack it from all parts of the world, over and over again just like a swarm of mosquitos that won’t leave you alone — bombarding and biting. They are basically using a battering ram on your login page until it breaks down the door. Why is this so frightening? Because the amount of time it takes to crack a short password (such as a four-digit PIN) is very short. But even if the password has both letters, numbers, and symbols, with enough computing power and determination, the attackers could eventually succeed.

Intentionally causing a traffic jam

Another type of attack has a less scary name but don’t be fooled: A Denial of Service (or DDOS) attack is not as passive as it sounds. Imagine that you are sitting in traffic on a one-lane country road at the close of a hugely popular country fair, or an event like Woodstock (ask any boomer). The cars are lined up as far as the eye can see, with no end in sight in either direction. This usually never happens because there are only a few cars at a time on this particular road, but not today. There is no place for these cars to go so they just pile up more and more until everything comes to a stop.

The same thing can happen to your website. In a denial-of-service attack, someone intentionally blocks your website from being seen by sending extraordinary numbers of fake visitors to your website. If this happens, the website might not work anymore because it has too many hits for the server to handle. It’s just a horrible and mean thing to do.

Getting between you and your customers

My final pick is the infamous Man in the Middle attack and while this may sound like a child’s playground game, it is far from amusing. As you may or may not know, all communication on the internet happens when we, the visitor, keyboards in an address or search term. This is called a “request” and our expectation is that the website’s host will immediately show us exactly what we are looking for. We all do this every day through Google searches or on social media. But, middle man attackers first insert themselves between the requesting computer and the remote server and then cleverly impersonate one of them to steal information from the other.

For me, the middle man attack is the most insidious of ruses because it violates a carefully honed trust in order to alter honest communication. Imagine if this were to happen in real life within a family or among friends. The consequences would be devastating!

Please don’t worry. I’m not going to go into a lot of technical jargon that explains how these evil deeds are accomplished and prevented. There will be no HTTPS, SSL, or PCI deep dives to make your head hurt. What I will say is this: You are correct to be nervous but you don’t have to figure it out alone. We, at Chroma Sites, have proudly built many websites and we are determined that each and every one of them remains strong for your business and enjoyable and safe for your visitors. Your fear-of-website-hackers can be a thing of the past.

You can NOT just wish away a cyber attack

Think of your website as a battleground. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to protecting it. just as there is no single strategy that will work for all cyberattacks. However, we do offer the following services to help ensure your website is as safe as possible from attackers and digital thieves.

• Off-site website backups are essential. They keep a copy of your website safely stored in a secret location, just in case. The more frequent the backups the better!
• Automatic software, plugin, and security updates patch up any vulnerabilities and close the gaps hackers squeeze through to get in.
• Vulnerability scanning and malware removal can locate and shred the bad stuff before it does any damage.
• Uptime monitoring (and restoration) means we know if and when your website goes down so we can get it back up and running before your customers notice.
• Hacking and website disaster recovery is what peace of mind is all about.

But don’t stress!

We’ve got your back. Check out our website management packages to learn more.

The post Do you have a bad case of FOWH (fear-of-website-hackers)? appeared first on Chroma Sites.

Not true. I buy interesting things. A can of organic pink beans here or a box of Columbian red hot seasonings there adds emotional color to my cart. Certain items strum my heartstrings because they are unique, or exotic, or ethnic, or have pretty labels. There’s a special place in our kitchen cupboards for my finds, although most linger in the dark, unopened, for years

I have his shopping list, a transparent and shameless attempt to keep me on track. Heinz Ketchup is his first and last item but I really like ketchup so off I go.

Seductive boxes, bottles, and jars whiz by my cart whispering. “Buy me! No, buy me!” Ignoring their pleas, I ask for directions to the condiment aisle. It’s far, far away but I will try to get there without any impulse stops. I am strong. 

Wandering down, I do find myself eyeballing the relishes and mustards for something a bit exotic but soon see a sea of red as the many brands of ketchup vie for my hard-earned money. 

As we al know, Heinz bottles can be upside down in your refrigerator “after opening”? No palm pounding to get the stuff out as your burgers get cold. Working with gravity is so clever and such a nice, outside-the-bottle brand feature. I reach for a bottle but… 

Wait, what? The mouth-watering brand words, Heinz Ketchup, have been replaced with two new words. 

“Tomato Blood“

Picture this: All alone, stacked neatly from front to back, sit ten bottles labeled “Tomato Blood”. The shelves on either side are empty. The Tomato Blood’s neighbors had probably sold out for fear that all ketchup would soon be named something in a similar vein.

What is Tomato Blood? My stomach heaves as I reach for a bottle out of morbid curiosity. I can’t go home empty-handed because our cheeseburgers are waiting, fresh off the grill, wrapped in soft buns. How odd they would look without thick ketchup squishing out the sides. How sad to not have them crowned in this all-American sauce, its flavor so integral to the experience.

I placed a bottle carefully into my cart. Right before I put it back on the shelf.

I don’t know about you but my brain doesn’t like an unfinished story or the lack of a good explanation. If either of these are missing, I just come up with my own plotline to fill the void. That day, right there in that aisle, I “decided” that Tomato Blood was not real ketchup. I imagined a sadder version, perhaps devoid of sugar and all the other delicious ingredients of the authentic Heinz ketchup recipe. 

Turns out, the story I had invented was wrong. It seems that Tomato Blood has exactly the same ingredients as its blood brother. I know it’s true because I found it on the internet. Just Google Tomato Blood and you will see that, sure enough, it is an honest-to-God, brand extension. But instead of having different ingredients, Tomato Blood is EXACTLY the same formula as the traditional Heinz Ketchup. 

Digging deeper, it seems that back in October of 2021, someone at the Heinz company heard through the tomato vine that Heinz Ketchup was often used to bloody up gory Halloween costumes. So, Heinz decided to encourage the behavior by filling some bottles with the same ingredients but changing the name to Tomato Blood. Here is what CHEW BOOM had to say:

“Heinz Releases Limited-Edition Tomato Blood ketchup For Halloween 2021. While Tomato Blood ketchup is the same as the brand’s signature ketchup, it comes in a special limited-edition bottle . . . You can find it on the shelves of retailers nationwide.”

At first, I thought the Halloween idea was cute. But, eww. I could not shake off the image of Halloween costumes covered in gooey blobs of ketchup, staining furniture, attracting flies, and smelling like a 3 AM diner. Gross. And, like an annoying My Pillow commercial, the more I tried to forget the disgusting images, the more they kept following me around. My mother’s Mother’s Day Magazine vision of Heinz Ketchup was replaced with blood and gore. It was brand depravity at its finest!

Why mess with a great brand?

Heinz first introduced “Catsup” in 1876 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is now the best-selling brand of ketchup in the world. Heinz spent almost 150 years convincing people like me that Heinz Ketchup needs to be in our kitchens. 

In all fairness, Heinz probably believed their Tomato Blood extension would be off the shelves by the end of October. But no. I found it on the shelves at the end of December, right smack in the middle of the Holidays, when people are feeling all lovey-dovey and sentimental and junk — certainly no longer in the mood for ghosts and goblins with bloody knives sticking out of their bellies. 

Long story short, Heinz lost me as a customer that day (at least for now). Even though this happened a few weeks ago, I still can’t get the images of that label out of my head. I didn’t buy the Tomato Blood, and with no other options, I ended up picking up a bottle of TRADER JOE’S Organic Ketchup on my way home.

Now, I don’t think that Heinz intended for me to think about all of this as I picked up a bottle of their 150-year-old ketchup recipe. Was it really worth alienating me just to be seasonally clever?

As strategic website designers, we at Chroma Sites talk about branding a lot. While we rarely do website and online marketing for food products, my sticky story applies to every small business. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself when considering a shift away from your typical branding.

1. Are you thinking about incorporating fads and gimmicks that could make your loyal fans cringe? 
2. Will you be adding something that may only appeal to those who actually buy your “ketchup” for what it is NOT? 
3. Are your brand extensions a net positive or negative for your overall brand? 
4. Is your promotion attracting the people who will stick with you through thick and thin? 
5. Is your publicity stunt a buzz word or a buzz saw? 

There is a fine line between differentiation and being completely outrageous. Your website needs to be different in order to stand out among all the other websites on the internet. However, you don’t want to go so far, and make it so jarring, that it alienates your core group of customers.

As marketers, we know how easy it is to dilute a great brand. Be mindful of how far you can bend the image of who you are, before it breaks. There is nothing wrong with sticking with what works. And, if you need a good listener, call Chroma Sites before you do something stupid.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Heinz

The post There won’t be blood — unless you mess with a great brand. appeared first on Chroma Sites.

As I pondered what to do with my life, I took some business electives to try to figure it out. I couldn’t stand finance, management wasn’t my thing, and accounting was excruciating . . . but I fell in love with marketing. I decided to double down and pursue a second degree. Fortunately, I was able to graduate with a viable and even promising life-direction in mind — and only a little bit behind schedule!

After graduation I found an entry-level job at a digital ad agency on Wall Street as a “marketing associate.” Initially, my responsibilities were akin to those of an unpaid intern — getting coffee, taking lunch orders, delivering things around the office, doing some basic research, and a variety of other grunt work.

It wasn’t a huge agency (I think we had about 40 people at the time), but the people in charge, the partners and the creative director, were well-connected industry insiders. Our roster of clients was impressive: Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Fujifilm, MinuteMaid, and Western Union just to name-drop a few.

Our business was focused primarily on digital content and advertising. While the industry was still relatively primitive back then, we were typically tasked with developing company-wide content strategies and targeting various markets through rudimentary display and search engine ad campaigns.

The Opportunity

One of our other big-name clients was the withering Circuit City. For those who don’t remember, Circuit City was one of the largest big-box electronics store chains in the country. If you wanted a new TV or a computer, that’s where you went. However, by the time I was working on Wall Street, Circuit City was having major problems. They were getting killed by their primary competitor, the up-and-coming Best Buy, which was exploding — they were even named “Company of the Year” by Forbes magazine somewhere around that time.

While Circuit City may have once been a shining beacon in our client portfolio, the prestige of that account was fading fast. There were murmurs around the office, and everyone knew Circuit City was imploding. The writing was on the wall — at least internally.

As a result, Circuit City didn’t get a whole lot of respect or attention from the partners. Ad and content campaigns weren’t given much thought, and many of their projects were dumped on  people like me, with no real instruction or direction.

One such project was the annual “Top 10 Holiday Gift Guide”. As you might expect, this was basically just a projected list of the most popular products for the upcoming holiday season. With Circuit City becoming an afterthought around the office, the honor of creating the Top 10 List this particular year went to — you guessed it — ME.

Making the List, Checking it Twice

I took my newfound responsibility very seriously. This was my first task of any real importance and I wasn’t about to squander the opportunity. I had no idea where to start, but I was always interested in electronics and computers, so I began with what I knew — by digging into tech blogs and magazines. Before long, I had a list of dozens of potential products across all sorts of categories. 

I worked on that list for two weeks straight. If I had any other work to do, I assure you it was neglected. Even though it was only the middle of August, I worked like Santa on Christmas Eve to get it delivered.

By the time I was finished, I was extremely proud of my list and very confident in the top ten I had picked.

I had scoured insights from the biggest, most influential names in the tech review industry and compiled them all into a carefully curated list of MY top-10 holiday products — all of which could be conveniently found — where else — on the shelves at Circuit City!

I don’t really remember any specifics about the list, except that I had ranked the newest Garmin Nüvi GPS as my #1 gift idea. Using a GPS to get around was quickly growing in popularity and Garmin was one of a few well-known manufacturers at the time. Other electronics stores had them prominently featured on their own websites and catalogs, and tech gurus were going ga-ga for the latest and greatest models. It was hardly going out on a limb for me to put the Nüvi first on my list.

When I proudly brought the completed gift guide to my boss, complete with pictures and witty headlines, he looked it over for a minute or two before saying, “Great, thanks.” Somewhat stunned and more than a little disheartened, I managed to utter a, “Sure, no problem,” before heading back to my desk. And that was it….

The Recognition

In hindsight, I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting or looking for. Maybe copious amounts of praise coupled with an on-the-spot promotion — but that didn’t happen. In fact, while I increasingly got more and more stuff to do, I don’t think I ever got tasked with another project that was quite on the same level as “the list.”

I grew increasingly frustrated. I just wasn’t getting the kind of hands-on experience I had hoped for. I was not being exposed to the client side of the business or even the thought process of how the campaigns were created for our clients. Even worse was the commute — two and a half hours door-to-door, every morning and every night was brutally de-motivating. Nearly ¼ of my day was spent on a train or a subway. I decided at that point that agency life in the city wasn’t for me. I quit and started looking for opportunities closer to home.

I happened to have a few rudimentary web design skills and actually ended up building my first professional website for my uncle’s business. I spent a couple months figuring out what the hell I was doing and actually launched it! Then I got another. And another. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to pay the bills while I looked around for something else. But all of that is another story.

Later that fall, I got a call out of the blue from my old boss who sheepishly informed me that Circuit City was planning to base their entire holiday sales strategy on my top-10 list! They wanted to know how I got my information and where I “got the list”. I was kind of dumbfounded, to say the least, but I managed to explain that I was the one who organized the list, and that there were probably hundreds of actual sources. I told him whatever I could remember, but in hind-sight, I probably wasn’t all that helpful. Either way, I was thrilled that I had finally gotten some recognition for my work.

The Rainmaker

At this point in the story, I would love to be able to tell you that we saved the company with my  masterfully crafted Top-10 Holiday Gift Idea list. We did not. The Circuit City that exists today is not even the same company that existed back then. Honestly, I have no idea if we had any impact on that seasons’ holiday sales whatsoever.

What I do know is that GPS devices, sold by Garmin, TomTom, Magellan, and others were absolutely HUGE that season. In fact, they were the biggest growing product category that year (up 170%), and it wasn’t even close. In the years that followed, this technology would become completely ubiquitous, eventually becoming a mainstay and an integral feature in modern phones and cars.

I like to think that this world-changing technology was all set in motion by me. Because of my Top-10 List, I had single-handedly put ‘GPS’ on the map!

The Reality

Okay, okay, maybe I wasn’t the only one responsible for the global rise of GPS — I guess I should give the engineers and product designers some of the credit too — but I played my part!

Who knows if my contribution to a holiday gift guide for a failing electronics store had any tangible impact on the success of a product line that is now literally in everyone’s pocket — but I contributed.

One of the lessons I learned while working on that Circuit City gift guide is that no matter what, it pays to do something as well as you possibly can. While the monumental impact I had on the world may exist mostly in my own mind, I can look back at that experience with pride, knowing how it shaped my future and my personal success.

The Realization

Looking back on this now, I also see a second lesson. Very few of us will ever have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the world. Fewer still will actually do the things we need to do to change it.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t all claim the impact that’s rightfully ours.

Recognizing that each of us are capable of magnificent things is really just the realization that we have already done something amazing. Each small success builds on other achievements until one day you become aware that other people look to you as the expert. And in that moment of realization, you can see the value of all the things you’ve done leading up to it.

One thing that many small businesses don’t understand is that marketing is really just a way to jump start this perception.

A website, for example, provides an opportunity to identify the success you’ve had and amplify those achievements to the world.

When you promote a product or a service, you are isolating their best selling points and packaging them together in a way that’s appealing to the people you want to convince.

Understandably, this is not an easy thing for most people to do. It requires you to view your business and see the value you provide, from your customers’ perspective.

As tricky as it is, few things are as important to the growth of a small business as understanding how to effectively identify and articulate those things your business does well.

Anyway, here’s my point: If you have an amazing business, but no one knows how amazing it is, how can you ever expect it to grow? People are out there looking for help — help that you can provide. And now, more than ever, there are a ton of tools that can help you to get your message out in front of them.

Don’t let your lack of knowledge, skills, or whatever stop you from showcasing your experiences to the world. It’s all a matter of perspective. You are more of an expert than most. If you need help showing people that, we’re here to help.

The post How I Single-Handedly Put ‘GPS’ on the Map appeared first on Chroma Sites.

A few minutes later he comes back on the speaker to say that they are still checking the engine, need to run a few more tests, and we will be taking off in about 15 minutes. So sorry for the delay.

Fifteen minutes later, the now contrite captain comes back on the speaker to tell us that the culprit engine is leaking badly and that this airplane will not be taking off anytime soon. “Please gather your belongings and disembark the aircraft. The flight crew will apprise you of the next steps at the gate.”

The media loves to show videos of passengers having mid-flight fistfights and shoving matches. I have even seen footage of unruly passengers being tackled and bound with duct tape, which apparently flight crews are permitted to do. So, I was highly surprised to not hear a single groan of frustration or wail of anger from my fellow passengers when hearing the news about our leaky engine. Everyone just stood up and patiently waited their turn to walk back up the jetway we had just walked down.

When we piled out of the gate, there was indeed a smartly dressed steward pointing where we should go while repeating a gate number over and over, “B10. B10. B10. Hurry, they are about to board you now!”

Deja vous!

We dragged our carry-ons back all the way back to gate B10 and sure enough, our destination and flight number were up on the board with calm airline staff just waiting for us to arrive. 

Turns out it was the same crew, same kind of plane, same ticket, and of course us, the same passengers. We were soon onboard sitting next to the same people as the first plane. Seamless.

When it comes to flying, it’s really important to go with an airline that knows what they’re doing. You probably want to pick one that has at least a few flights back and forth. In general, you want to know that the pilots they hire have extensive experience, so you know you will arrive safely.

It’s really the same for any service business. As a customer, it’s pretty much impossible to know EXACTLY what you’re going to get. However, if you choose a service business with a ton of experience and a slew of happy customers, you can dramatically increase the likelihood that you will end up happy with your choice.

When experience matters, go with it!

Hiring a website design firm is a great example. If you are the one evaluating the options, you probably want an experienced firm that immediately asks the right questions and picks up on what you want to accomplish. You want them to inspire confidence that they can do what you need them to do. 

If you hire someone without the right experience, how could you possibly have confidence in their work or know for sure they are making the best decisions for you. Even if you truly believe someone has your best interest at heart, without that crucial experience, there is no track record to know you will land safely on the other side.

In web design, the process is riddled with turbulence. You can’t overlook the technical elements of optimizing a website for search engines and mobile phones or ensuring they can troubleshoot a problem quickly because they’ve seen it all before. You can’t look to them for advice on the best use of a call-to-action, or how the use of different colors may affect your visitors.

It would not be fair to expect someone without vast amounts of experience to be able to provide all of this to you. 

Modesty aside, we’ve built a few websites in our day. We have experience working with all types of companies in every industry you can think of. What’s more, we can recognize the nuances of your business because we actually care to understand what makes you different.

And speaking of differences, we don’t put you on autopilot once your website is launched. We’re here to help you maintain it and make sure it stays relevant to your business. If there’s ever a problem, our crew is available to fix it quickly and get you wheels-up again.

We know what it takes to produce a gorgeous, strategic, secure, mobile-friendly website that speaks to your customer because we’ve built over 300 of them already!

So, if your business is not quite at cruising altitude, schedule a free consultation today! Chroma Sites will have you flying high with a strategic, new website in no time.

The post Whaddya mean my plane’s engine is leaking? appeared first on Chroma Sites.

In our business, people who are interested in a new website come to us from all over the country. But compared to those who found us on their own, small business owners who have been referred to us by a mutual connection are far more likely to engage with us and be invested in the process from the onset.

Amazing referrals can arrive from lots of different places but consistently flow from people who know us best and have worked with us before. In addition to our phenomenal clients, we are very fortunate to be part of an incredible networking organization called Alive Networks, whose members truly get the point of networking. In fact, understanding how to network is a major criteria for being invited. As a group, we all realize that better networking is about more than just referring leads which results in direct sales. It’s about connecting people who mutually complement each other to help grow their business interests.

During this time of year, as we come up on Thanksgiving, we want to express our gratitude to all of those who have introduced us to their family, friends, and colleagues as a resource to help with their website needs.

To all of you, we say thank you! You put your reputation on the line for us, and we never take that for granted!

Great Referrals Come in All Shapes and Sizes

I’d like to share three short referral stories from the last few months. None of these are what we would call a ‘routine referral’ but we are incredibly grateful for each and every one that we get:

“That’s all it was?”

About a month ago, we received an email from one of our higher-profile clients introducing us to one of his own clients who was having “painfully slow” website problems. After a quick conversation and a look around his website, we were able to diagnose the issue and offer a quick fix that would solve 90% of the problem. Within the hour, the website went from loading in 20 seconds — to just under 2! No pitch for a new website, no complicated technical jargon, just a simple fix. Our client was generous enough to recommend us to someone they knew and cared about. He wanted to help solve their problem, and also connect us with a potential new client. We were only too happy to jump in and do what we could for them.

“We’ve never met.”

Just this week we started working with a new website client who was referred to us via LinkedIn. When we had our initial conversation, I asked “So, how do you know ________?”, and she responded, “Well, I actually don’t! We’ve never met.” Apparently, the two had been connected on LinkedIn for years, following each others’ posts, liking, commenting, and sharing, without ever speaking directly. But through those engagements and those minor interactions, they grew to know and respect each other. When the question came up if anyone knew a good website person, the relationship was ripe for our amazing client to send our name and make a compelling introduction.

“By the way…”

The third story happened just a few months ago. This referral came from a fast-growing startup in the financial sector. We’d been working closely with this company to help develop their overall messaging and website presence. One day, out of the blue during a zoom meeting, our client says, “Oh, I have to introduce you to someone! They’re just starting out and are looking into a website.” She introduced us via email on the spot. As it turns out this was a close colleague of hers from a former corporate life who had recently signed on with a brand new, federally-backed, energy project. Not only is this initiative potentially revolutionary, but it’s also likely this project will become one of the biggest we’ve ever worked on! It never ceases to amaze me how one of those, “Oh, I almost forgot” moments can turn into a transformative opportunity.

The emotional “It” factor

I recognize that one-to-one referrals can be more valuable to some businesses than others. One of the biggest factors that plays into this equation is the emotional connection between a product or service and its users. These customers are prime candidates for amazing referrals.

When people start using phrases like “I love it” or “I couldn’t live without it,” emotion has become the driving force for their attachment to your business. That’s what we strive for as a website design company. We work with people who are insanely passionate about their businesses because we’re absurdly passionate about helping them!

So again, to all of you who have been so thoughtful and have trusted us enough to work with someone you know (or even someone you don’t), we say thank you! We literally would not still be in business without all the amazing referrals we receive every year — and because of that, we are eternally grateful.

What about you?

Think about referrals for your business. Is there an emotional connection between your customers and the benefit they get from your products or services? Does it sync up with your website and marketing? If not, it might be worth a fresh look.

Now, if you found yourself nodding along while reading this and you have the kind of business that thrives on referrals, let us know how we can help! Send us an email and let’s schedule a time to catch up!

In the meantime, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

The post Building the emotional connection: Why we’re so grateful for great referrals appeared first on Chroma Sites.

Here’s the recipe:

Wash and pat dry your turkey as you want to make sure the keywords stick. 

Open an online thesaurus and begin copying some keywords into a bowl. For this recipe, I found some small, second-grade keywords that go nicely with turkey stuffing.

Toss a few breadcrumbs into your bowl along with your keywords and veggies. Throw in a bit of water to taste. Stir vigorously. 

We suggest using 10-15 keywords per pound. Make sure the words are heavily packed into the bowl. You never want your website content to be light and fluffy, so don’t leave a lot of air around them and press them down firmly. This will help make sure you have enough keywords to soak up the liquid. If you like drier stuffing, add more keywords.

Add a bit of creative writing to the bowl but make sure your sentences are stilted and feel like they were written by a robot. Mix thoroughly, coating each sentence with soggy breadcrumbs.

Make sure your turkey is breast-side up and gently spoon the keyword stuffing into the turkey until it is overflowing. If some of the keywords fall out, scoop them up and save them for the gravy. See our recipe for keyword gravy on page 203.

Preheat the oven to 375º and cook the keyword-stuffed turkey until the button pops. Peek inside to make sure all the keywords have swelled to dominate the cavity of the bird

Remove from the oven, let rest, and serve with generous dollops of keyword-stuffed headlines and subheads, and a heaping side of sarcasm. 

Enjoy! Because no one else will. 

Moral of this story: Don’t stuff your website with keywords. Write naturally with your customers in mind and the kudos will come.

The post Grandma’s Famous Thanksgiving Turkey with Keyword Stuffing! appeared first on Chroma Sites.