Last Updated March 23, 2022

If you’re going on a big driving trip you’ll probably check your car over before you start.  Is there gas?  How do the tires look?  Do the windows need to be cleaned?

How long has it been since you gave your website a similar checkup?

Giving your website regular checkups is important as it’s often the first thing that people see when researching businesses.

Here’s a list of ten items to review to make sure that your website is at its best.

1. Take a look at the text on your website.  Be especially sure to check out your contact information, products, services and rates.  Is everything correct?  Have there been any changes that aren’t reflected in your website?
2. Now, look at the information on your site from a customer’s viewpoint. Does the website easily get you the information that you need? Is it simple to contact you or place an order?
3. Use the contact form to send yourself an email.  Is the form easy to use?    Do you get the emails or do they end up in your spam filter?
4. If you have an online shopping cart, do a test buy.  Be sure to check the sales tax and shipping charges.
5. How does your website look on mobile devices? Or if you always look at your site on your cell phone, take a look at it on a laptop.  Websites need to look good no matter what the device.
6. Check your site for broken links.  I use this website’s free tool.
7. Does your website’s software need to be updated?  Sites running out-of-date software are much more likely to be hacked.
8. Are you using Google Analytics? If not, make this the year that you get a handle on your website traffic.  You need to be able to make informed decisions about your website and business based on solid information.
9. Is your site HTTPS? Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a technology that allows visitors to communicate securely with the web server.  It’s a free benefit offered by many website hosts.  Also, it’s now expected that all websites are HTTPS.  If your site isn’t you’re losing visitors.
10. Make sure your website files and database are being backed up. Many website hosts offer this as a free service.  Make sure that it’s getting done and that you have access to those backups if needed.

Let me know if you need help with anything on this list.  I’d be happy to help!

Last Updated on August 26, 2021

One perk of my job is that I can live wherever I want. All I need is an internet connection. For a time, I lived in Port Townsend, Washington. It’s a lovely, small town. The largest newspaper in the area is the Peninsula Daily News.  I loved the newspaper except for their propensity toward puns.  I’m not a fan of puns!

One day I went to their site and instead of seeing their regular home page I saw this:

This pun-free page is what Register.com displays when a customer forgets to pay their domain name registration fees. Once the invoice is paid, the newspaper site was restored.

Sadly, I’ve seen the same thing happen with customer’s sites.

One organization’s domain name registration was by the organization’s secretary.  She used her personal email address as the official email address for the GoDaddy contact.  When she unexpectedly passed away, no one thought to go in and change the details of the domain name registration.  The group eventually was able to access their domain name, but it took some time and effort.

It’s vital to keep your domain name registration current. Without that piece in place, your website will go down and you’ll even lose access to any email address associated with your domain name.

Step one of taking charge of this issue is to set the domain names up to auto-renew. If you change credit cards or your credit card expires, be sure to go in and update that information.

Make yourself a note to double-check on your domain name registration. It’s OK to be paranoid about this.

Also, if you’re using Register.com you’re probably paying too much for your domain name registration. Check with your website host or with GoDaddy. Your domain registration costs should decrease by significantly.

Last Updated on August 11, 2021

I’ve been the website developer for the Billings Village RV Park for a long time.  How long? I was their original website developer back in 2007. 

Billings Village RV Park is a destination RV park in my home state of Montana.  It has all the little touches that people are looking for in an RV park.  There are flowers at the park entrance.  The laundry room and bathrooms are spotless.  There’s free wi-fi as well as a book exchange.

And earlier this year, their hand-coded website got a serious upgrade.

The website is now mobile friendly.  The owners added an online reservation system, and I worked with them to integrate it into the website.

It was truly a team effort.  They made the logo and took the photos.  We talked about what they liked and what they didn’t like.  I shared best practices in website design and development.

In the end, they have a beautiful website that I hope will serve them well for another 14 years.  

Contact me if you’d like to talk about a fresh look for your website.

Last Updated on August 11, 2021

If you use FeedBurner on your website, you may have received an email that said:

Now starting in mid August, we are transitioning FeedBurner onto a more stable, modern infrastructure. This will keep the product up and running for all users, but it also means that we will be turning down most non-core feed management features, including email subscriptions, at that time.

What this means is that FeedBurner will still work for reading RSS feeds.  However, FeedBurner will no longer send out emails about new blog posts.  You’ll need to find another solution for that.

Keep reading to learn what I’ll be doing with my own FeedBurner subscribers.

History of FeedBurner

FeedBurner was founded in 2004.  They offered several services, but one of their most popular was a service that allowed people to subscribe to a website’s RSS feed. The free service made it easy for readers to subscribe to be notified about new blog posts on websites.

In 2007, Google bought FeedBurner for a rumored price of $100 million.

Google has made some changes to FeedBurner over the years.  However, the email subscription service continued to work for existing FeedBurner users.  That’s scheduled to change later this month.

FeedBurner Alternative

If you’re using FeedBurner, I urge you to download the list of your FeedBurner subscribers (more about that below) and add that list to another subscription service.

One key to long-term survival as a website owner is redundancy.  You need multiple income streams and multiple traffic sources.  A newsletter list is an effective way of bringing traffic to your website.

So what’s a good FeedBurner alternative?  I recommend AWeber. They have a free plan for lists of 500 or less.  They also can handle large lists.

I’ve worked with a lot of newsletter services and AWeber is by far the best.  The thing I really appreciate about them is their customer support.

I have multiple websites and most of them have email lists.  The combined list size is almost 5,000 contacts.  AWeber has great technical support and offers a lot of services including:

• HTML emails
• RSS to email
• Professional images you can use in your emails
• Hundreds of email templates
• Drag-and-drop email builder

How to Download Your FeedBurner Subscribers

Log into your FeedBurner account.

Click on the feed title that you’d like to download.

On the Analyze tab, select Subscribers.

Scroll down until you see FeedBurner Email Subscriptions.  Click on that.

Select Manage Your Email Subscriber List.  That takes you to another page.

Under View Subscriber Details, click on CSV.  (It’s next to Export.)

I’ve been using WordPress software for years and I love it!  Here are five interesting facts you may not know about WordPress.

1. Before there was WordPress there was B2/Cafelog. B2/Cafelog was blogging software created in 2001.  As there are branches in your family tree, there are “forks” in software development.  In 2003, some developers took B2/Cafelog in a new direction.  The new direction or fork became WordPress.
2. WordPress is Open Source software. That means that the source code (the computer code that makes WordPress run) is open to the public.  It also means that the software is free to use.  Because of this there are hundreds of people all over the world working to make plugins, themes and code improvements for WordPress software.
3. Some of the main developers of WordPress founded Automattic. While it’s true that scores of people are working to make WordPress better all the time, it’s also true that there are a few key players.  In 2005 some of those key players got together and founded a company called Automattic.  Automattic has worked on a slew of projects including WordPress, WooCommerce, Akismet, JetPack and more.
4. WordPress is a database-driven application. Yep, at the heart of its programming, WordPress uses a MySQL database.  All your settings, posts, comments, users and pages are stored in a MySQL database.  So with every post you’re actually manipulating data in a database.  In my book, that’s pretty cool.
5. WordPress can be used to make a website, a blog or a website that has a blog. They initially developed WordPress as blogging software.  However, users quickly realized that WordPress can also create standard websites.  While it seems intuitive to us now, at the time it was radical thinking.  Use blogging software to make a website without a blog? It can be done and it works very well!

If you’d like to learn more about a WordPress website or blog please contact me.

Do you have an old, hand-coded website and are thinking about doing a website overhaul and moving to WordPress?  If so, here are some things that you should know.

What are the benefits of WordPress?

• WordPress is free software.
• Once you learn a few things about WordPress you’ll be able to update your own website pages.  The system was designed to be easy to use.  If you need help getting started with WordPress, I’d love to help you with some WordPress coaching.
• WordPress uses plugins to add functionality to websites.  (Plugins are to websites what apps are to cell phones.)  There are thousands of free WordPress plugins. They help with things like website security, contact forms and slideshows.
• WordPress sites use themes to determine website layout and colors.  There are many free themes that can be customized to give your site a unique look and feel.  Most themes are designed to look good on mobile devices.

Are there downsides to moving to WordPress?

• WordPress is a popular software system, so it’s the focus of more hacking attempts than hand-coded websites.  Having a WordPress site means that you need to pay attention to things like website backups and updates.
• Speaking of updates, WordPress software needs to be updated on a regular basis.  This includes updating the plugins and themes.  You can do this yourself  or I provide an update service.

Does Moving to WordPress Mean That you Need a New Website Host?

Most website hosts support WordPress and even have tools to make working with WordPress easy.

If you do need or want a new website host, I highly recommend SiteGround.  They host this website as well as many of my customers’ sites.

If you’re ready to make the move to WordPress or if you have additional questions, feel free to contact me.  I’d love to help.

Do you have a Facebook business page and are wondering where Facebook has hidden the “see pages feed” link?  Or wondering why using “https://www.facebook.com/YourPageHere/pages_feed/” no longer works?

Why did Facebook change its existing systems?  Why do they have no documentation (that I can find anyway) on a way to find the pages feed for your business Facebook page?  So many questions and no good answers.

I’m just taking comfort in the fact that I’ve found a way to see the feed for my Facebook business page.

NEW Technique: Go to the URL of your Facebook page and add /news_feed/ at the end.  In other words go to:
https://www.facebook.com/YourPageHere/news_feed/

Note that this only works for Facebook business pages.  It will not work for personal pages.

How can you tell the difference between business and personal Facebook pages?  Can people “friend” your page?  If so, it’s a personal page.  That’s true even if your page is about a business.

If people can “like” your page then it’s a business page.

Here’s an article about how to change your personal Facebook page into a business page.

No website host is perfect. Stuff happens. However, at some point enough is enough. How do you know it’s time to find a new website host? Here are some warning signs that indicate it might be time to hit the road.

1. Site Outage – Unless your site is on a dedicated server you’re going to have a small amount of website downtime. The outages should be minimal and in most cases I’d expect planned outages because of server maintenance. If you find yourself saying, “I can’t believe my site is down again!” it’s time to move on.

2. Site Speed – Do you go to your site and impatiently twiddle your thumbs as you’re waiting for it to load? Do you click on update in WordPress and have time to get yourself a cup of coffee while you’re waiting for your changes to be saved? You’ve got a site speed issue.

There are a number of things you can do to improve your site’s speed. If you’ve tried those and you’re still having issues, the problem might be your website host.

3. Upselling – Let’s assume that you’re a typical website owner. You’re not running 150 sites on one shared account or using ancient software. You’ve got a normal website and expect a normal amount of service.

There’s a problem with the site and you call the website host. But instead of fixing the server trouble, email problem or whatever the issue is . . . you get a sales pitch. “You know on shared hosting things happen. If you want a site that really runs well you should update to one of our VPS accounts.”

Really? You’re already not doing what I’m paying you for, now you want more money?

4. The Big Wait – You know what’s worse than upselling? Waiting on the phone for half an hour or more before you can talk with anyone at all. You’re already behind schedule because of the website problem and then you have to wait ages for any help.

5. Poor Communication – One time a client’s hosting company started caching website pages without letting anyone know about the change. They didn’t even tell their own technical support team about the change. I spent a few hours trying to figure out why pages weren’t updating.

In another nightmare scenario, a client saw their website brought to a standstill by throttling. This was because their host developed CPU limits for how many resources each customer on a shared server could use. Having CPU limits is actually a good idea. The problem was that the host did NOT communicate these limits to customers they just started throttling the sites.

OK, I Do Need a New Website Host. Now What?

If you need a new website host I highly recommend SiteGround.

I’ve been with them for several years and I couldn’t be happier. Their servers are fast and stable, they have 24/7 customer support and they offer some great extras. For example:

• Free SSL certificates
• They have a plugin to help migrate WordPress sites
• GrowBig plans and above come with free staging areas
• Sites are backed up daily

Questions? Concerns? Let me know if you need any help moving your website to SiteGround.

Are you a small business owner thinking about getting a website for the first time? If so, you’ve got some tough decisions to make.

Comparing website offers from different companies can be hard!

Recently a potential customer wanted to know how my services differed from a website package he was considering from another company.

The package deal included the items in bold. My response follows.

Maximum Number of Pages – Before I made a website bid, I get a good idea about what’s wanted and a company’s business goals. I offer suggestions and choices as well as answering questions.

I look at the project as a whole. Some people want slideshows, newsletters or other special features.

Since my services are so personalized, I’m also open to the possibility that the customer might only need a one-page website. It all depends on what the customer needs and wants.

Every project has a unique bid based on that project.

In terms of website pages, we talk about a general number of pages. If you want a few pages more or less, that’s generally no big deal.

Maximum Number of Images – Again, I don’t have strict rules for things like images or pages.

Also, I often find that websites grow and change over time. I’m happy to help with that and even plan for change.  I like to build lasting relationships with my clients. I’ve been working with most of my customers for years.

Email Accounts – Setting up email accounts isn’t an issue. Your hosting account will allow for a bunch of email accounts, but most people only need 1 or 2. If you want more that’s okay.

Rotating Headers – When I see something like this, I’ve got questions. Does “rotating headers” mean a slideshow on the home page? If so, that’s no problem.

Maybe “rotating headers” means a header image that can easily be updated. That’s no problem either.

This is the sort of thing that I discuss with customers before I make the website bid.

Domain Name – Your domain name is an important business asset.  I can’t stress that strongly enough. This valuable business asset needs to be in your name and totally under your control.

I can help, but you will need to actually register your the domain name.

Basic Web Hosting – A website is an important part of any business.  I can suggest a company, but website hosting needs to be in your name and something you set up.

Animated Images on Content Area – I don’t recommend a lot of animation other than slideshows. Animation can slow down the site and present problems on the mobile view.

Flash Header Design – Flash isn’t popular any longer. I would stay away from it.

Contact Form – Contact forms aren’t a problem. I only use contact forms that backup the form submissions. That way if there are email problems, you’ll still get your emails.

Blog – Some people want to blog and some people don’t. If you want to blog, I’ll add a blog page and show you how to make blog posts. You can also use this knowledge to update most of your website content yourself.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) –  In some cases, I add software to help with SEO. I do an initial setup. After that I can help with SEO or I can give you resources so that you can do it yourself.

With other websites, I set up all the SEO tagging manually.

Either way, SEO is covered.

Content Creation – You’ll provide the text. I can edit or tweak if needed.

Google Mobile-Friendly Test – All the sites I build are mobile friendly and can pass Google’s mobile-friendly test.

Website Maintenance – I’m happy to help maintain your website. I can update content, change photos, provide troubleshooting and update software.

I don’t have package deals, instead, everything is done at my normal, hourly rate.

When I first started out as a website developer, I offered maintenance packages. I quickly discovered that it wasn’t a good fit for me or my customers.

Website maintenance packages are offered with some sort of estimate of the hours that will be worked.

If I worked less than that, I felt guilty. If I worked more than the estimated number of hours, I felt ill-used.

So I charge by the hour for everything. I value my customers and work hard for them.

What I have to offer is individualized services, long-term planning, attention to detail and a business relationship that will last.

I find that the longer I work for a customer, the more value that I can provide.  I understand their business more. I’m familiar with their likes and dislikes. This all enables me to provide better suggestions and work more quickly on their site.

I hope this helps give you a better idea of what it’s like to work with me.  If you’d like to get a website bid, contact me and we’ll set up an appointment to talk about your project.

Do you want a website for your small business or organization?  How does a great-looking website, that’s mobile-friendly and doesn’t require software updates sound?  Let me introduce you to the world of hand-coded websites.

Hand-coded, handcrafted websites are perfect for smaller websites that don’t need frequent content updates.  There’s no software to maintain or troubleshoot.  In fact, these websites can run for years without being touched.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing the matter with building websites with systems like WordPress.  I use WordPress every day.

However, if you want a small website you don’t need the overhead of a website builder.  That’s right!  You can make a website without using something like WordPress, Wix, Weebly or Squarespace.   Hand-coded websites are a great alternative to those systems.

Not only will you get a great-looking website that doesn’t need any maintenance, but I’ll also be walking you through the entire process.  I can answer your questions and take care of the technical details.

Ready to learn more and see three different sample sites? You can learn more about these classic, low-maintenance websites here.