When analyzing your website's goals, it is tempting to use traffic as an indicator of success. If your site has thousands or even hundreds of thousands of visitors each month, it must be successful, right? Wrong. Traffic includes all the visits to your site, many of which will never turn into business. So which metric […]
When a business or person begins creating or updating their website, they often focus on its content, design and features. What should the logo look like? Color scheme? How will the site interact with social media? Will it have a blog? What about SEO? All of these things are important but there is one critical […]
Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide by John Jantsch My rating: 5 of 5 stars This guide is bursting with small business marketing strategy and tactics. It’s well-written and practical, based on extensive firsthand experience. The system advocates an expanded version of the marketing funnel, content marketing, digital marketing, and […]
I love podcasts about the business of web design. They're a great way to keep up on the aspects of running a web design agency: marketing, sales, pricing, proposals, contracts, project management, productivity, client relations, and more. Here's the latest round of my favorite web design business podcasts, listed in order of preference. If you like these, […]
Are your eyes are bigger than your website budget? By that I mean, is your dream or vision for your website beyond what you can currently afford? I've talked to many businesses about their website desires, and have seen that their eyes are often bigger than their website budgets. What's a business to do? Here are a few options, […]
"How should a small business choose a web design company?" This was one of the many questions asked at the Small Business Tech Panel at the Warehaüs, a coworking space in Holland, Michigan in March 2014 (yes, I'm posting this over a year later). Here's an expanded version of the answer I gave. These are the attributes to consider […]
Is WordPress the right choice for your business website? In most cases, yes! (Without knowing your business, I can't say for sure). Let's look at the reasons why. WordPress is the world's most popular content management system. WordPress sites currently make up over 23% of the web, and over 60% of CMS sites! Its popularity brings many of its […]
I was interviewed about managing WordPress projects for the WP Round Table podcast on March 16, 2015. We talked about scoping projects, qualifying prospects, managing a remote team, and more. I had met host Kyle Maurer at WordCamp Grand Rapids 2014, and I was honored to be a guest on the podcast. Below are video and audio. I had […]
You know your small business needs a website, but simply having a website isn't enough. Do you know what it needs to succeed? Let's look at the content and design your website needs to meet your business goals. I gave this presentation, What Your Small Business Website Needs to Succeed, at the Small Business Symposium hosted by […]
Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This content strategy primer has both theory and application. It explains the problem, how to perform discovery, how to form strategy, and how to implement the strategy. It's well-organized and well-written, with just enough humor for this type of book. The […]
Are you making mistakes with your small business website? Business websites exist to sell, directly or indirectly. Small businesses often lose sight of that, and make mistakes with the content, design, marketing, and technical aspects of their sites. Learn how to fix these mistakes so your site delivers business results. I gave this presentation, Website […]
Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even If You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of the best sales and marketing books for service professionals that I've read. It walks you through how […]
