In our current age of increasing automation and the need for secure and reliable data storage, there’s a case to be made for building your own server. Nowadays, the barrier to entry on building a server is lower than ever. However, that being said, you do need a bit of …
For small and medium-sized organizations, content is usually the trickiest part of putting together a website. That often results in it being the one thing web designers are left waiting for when trying to finish off a project. Even if the overall design and functionality are a go, a lack …
Keeping up with content creation can be challenging. One of the only ways to ensure that you execute and consistently publish high-quality content that drives results for your brand is by using a blog editorial calendar. Let’s look at what an editorial calendar is, why it’s important, and how to …
Sponsored content As 2020 wraps up and we begin to look forward to 2021, there is hope on the horizon. While COVID-19 still looms, there is an argument that companies could return to the office in the coming year. If you plan to get back to the office in 2021, …
As 2020 comes to a close, an uncertain winter lies ahead across the United States. The coronavirus pandemic will continue during the winter months and entrepreneurs will be hunkering down to the best of their ability. This includes businesses in rural areas, which face their own unique barriers due to …
For companies trying to grow by increasing their sales, the tried and true approach of email marketing has proved to be one of the best ways to generate leads. Even with the rise of social media, email marketing has held steady and is a valuable aspect of marketing strategy. Email …
In order for a website to rank well in Google search, numerous factors come into play. Amongst these factors is what you might call the “reputation” of the website. This reputation is enhanced when other websites have linked back to the site in question. However, it’s the quality of the …
If you want to wait until you graduate to launch a startup, there’s a chance someone will enter the market with your idea. Most startups are initiated by those who have full-time jobs. If you are looking for inspiration, there are plenty of examples around us of students who launched …
For over two decades, I’ve been fortunate enough to work from home. No maddening commute and all the coffee I can handle. Sounds pretty cool, right? And, even when a global pandemic sent the world scrambling to work remotely, things stayed relatively the same here (save for my child enrolling …
Two of the most popular entity formations for business incorporation are limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations. Both entities provide startup owners with certain benefits, and one of the biggest benefits is limited liability. This creates a separation between the assets of the business and the owner, and protects the …
Launching a new career can be daunting, but if you’re good with people and words, digital marketing freelancing may be an excellent option for you. Small businesses need a tech-savvy marketer who can handle advertising and communication while they focus on their core mission. Digital marketing includes any advertising that …
The ebb and flow of modern business is difficult to predict. Small businesses, in particular, can struggle to react to fast-changing market conditions. There may be times when short-term cash injections are needed to cover temporary cash flow problems or capitalize on opportunities for expansion. And at times like these, …
There was a time, early in my freelance days, when I gleefully accepted any client who came a-knockin’ at my door — no client screening or preliminary fact-finding recon necessary. However, I quickly learned that it pays to be selective, and moved to using a rigorous screening process early in …
On this morning’s WJR Business Beat, Jeff shares the story of a visionary entrepreneur in our region, Andrew Blake. Blake, a third-generation entrepreneur, came up with an idea to expand his family business by creating a product to sell at retail. The product is Blake’s Hard Cider, and it’s a …
Launching a new career can be daunting. However, if you’re good with people and words, digital marketing freelancing may be a good option. Small businesses need a tech-savvy marketer who can handle advertising and communication while they focus on their core mission. Digital marketing includes any advertising that happens online. …
There was a time, early in my freelance days, when I gleefully accepted any client who came a-knockin’ at my door — no client screening or preliminary fact-finding recon necessary. However, I quickly learned that it pays to be selective, and moved to using a rigorous screening process early in …
There’s a common saying in the fiction-writing world: kill your darlings. No, this isn’t some morbid encouragement to do bodily harm to your loved ones. Killing your darlings means that you should never get too precious about what you put down on the page. If something is not working – …
AR and AI tools are a goldmine for retailers that can gather customer data to improve marketing, product development and personalization. Read how AR and AI work together to drive trendy new innovations like touchless makeup trials that make distance shopping easier. Theresa Novicky knows makeup. Based in Raleigh, North …
Plenty of people dream of launching their own business, but then they undermine themselves, coming up with reasons to put off their dream just a little longer. And then they put it off again. And again. Maybe they don’t feel like they have the capital to pull it off. Maybe …
As developers, we’re always looking for tools, libraries, and frameworks that will make our lives easier. It’s no different for Laravel developers. That’s the reason why we love this framework to begin with, as everything is made easy for us — allowing us to focus on building awesome applications instead …
One of the most powerful search engines in the world is probably a site you don’t even consider to be a search engine. Falling just behind Google, YouTube is the second most popular search engine in the world. Yes, you read that right. The same site you watch funny cat videos …
Email design continues to evolve. Email has transformed from simply serving to communicate a message to also being aesthetically pleasing. Sooner or later, email creators will experiment with combining different design elements. Additionally, they will experiment with new effects that will take email design to a whole different level. With …
Daymon Hoag is the owner and operator of Buckeye Web Development, LLC, based in Kenton, Ohio. We caught up to him for a discussion ranging from his pride in the Buckeye State, to a love of ecommerce, to the power of believing in yourself. The who: Given a business name …
Having a local development environment for WordPress websites is incredibly useful. It allows you to design, develop and experiment with projects – all on your own computer. This is both a powerful and efficient way to create websites. File edits are reflected with a refresh of your browser as opposed …
Sawadi krub, everyone! If you haven’t heard, I’m stuck in a hotel room in Bangkok for a 15-day quarantine. This is mandatory for anyone coming into Thailand. I’ve been here for a week and it hasn’t been too bad. I get 3 meals per day, a good internet connection, AC …
This article explores different video player controls, their purpose, and which controls to pick for specific use cases such as learning platforms, social media platforms, power users, or mobile users. Did you know how many cool power-user controls YouTube has? Read on! An engaging video player can attract more viewers. …
Cherry – A starting point for your design system that comes with a minimal set of pre-defined styles. Google Design’s Best of 2020 – The tech giant takes a look back at the year’s most resilient design projects. Newsletters – An enormous, illustrated rant about writing on the web that …
As an entrepreneur, you’re always on the lookout for ways to bring more organic traffic to your website. We’re constantly told that “content is key,” but there are plenty of misconceptions out there regarding the best approaches to content curation and marketing, and how search engine algorithms (such as Google’s) …
Icons are among the most versatile tools in a web designer’s arsenal. They can be used as attention-grabbing visuals just about anywhere on a website or app. Whether they’re alerting users of a flash sale or a new social media notification, they usually get the point across. Thus, utilizing icons …
If you’re an entrepreneur with a fantastic new product or service, there’s often nothing more tempting than wanting to release it into the world in its full glory. But, from a business perspective, this is rarely the right thing to do, for a number of reasons. Primarily, it’s important to …
Whatever your opinion of JavaScript, everyone thinks date handling is a mess. The Date() object implementation was copied directly from Java in 1995. Java scrapped it two years later but it remained in JavaScript for backward compatibility. These are the problems we face with Date(): it only supports UTC and …
The never-ending road of entrepreneurship is about a constant flow of ideas, rethinking existing methods, and putting them into practice to see a business thrive. If you’ve been on this path for years, you know exactly what it entails. Being an entrepreneur, you’ve already realized that just a few of …
Amber Khan-Robinson, the daughter of the first African American athletic shoe designer in the U.S., has always had entrepreneurship in her blood. So when she was looking for ways to keep her three children from staring at screens all day, she decided to help them “start a business.” Working at …
Adam Mark Smith went from being a CFO to being on food stamps after protesting at a Chick-fil-A. The viral video cost him his career, reputation and sense of self. Author of “Million Dollar Cup of Water,” Smith shares his personal journey from rags to riches, back to rags, and …
On this episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff is joined by guest co-host, Andrew Blake. Blake is President of Blake’s Family of Companies and the founder of Blake’s Hard Cider, an independent, family-owned Michigan craft cidery located in Armada, Michigan. When Blake returned to the family business after college, he knew …
React developers need a code editor that enables them to write React code productively. There are thousands of free extensions in VS Code’s marketplace that can help supercharge your development workflow. In this article, I’ll highlight a selection of extensions and settings that will drive your React coding productivity to …
We all know that the COVID pandemic has created a massive wave of job losses in the U.S. over the last year. So, with all of this economic hardship, one would reasonably assume that the rate of new businesses is at a standstill, right? Wrong! Over the past three months, …
Whether you’re ready or not, it’s time to start your business planning for 2021. Even if you’re a one-person business, don’t underestimate the importance of having a business plan for the next year to help guide your decisions and keep you on track, especially as we all try to navigate …
All released this year, each of these free web-based apps offers a time-saving solution to many of the web design tasks you will need to perform from time to time. Without ever having to install anything, all you have to do is bookmark and save them for that day when …
The demand for high-quality Photoshop brushes is huge. Every designer wants them. Every designer needs them. And as you will no doubt already know, we love to highlight and share as many free design resources as we can. And today we take a look at some of the best high-resolution …
As you step into the role of entrepreneur, you’re going to learn countless lessons along the way. Fortunately, many have been where you are, and there are numerous resources you can use to help learn those lessons—you don’t have to learn every lesson the hard way! Get the advice and …
Flarum is incredibly fast, extensible, free and open-source forum software. In our first Flarum tutorial — “Writing a Flarum Extension: Building a Custom Field” — we covered how to add a new custom field to a user’s profile in a blazing fast and extremely extensible open-source forum software called Flarum. …
If you’re working on a design project that needs to evoke feelings of nostalgia or working with a brand who has an established history, chances are you’d do well by using vintage or antique brushes. From retro advertisements to old-fashioned writing, there is a vintage brush for any type of …
Choose Your Mentors Wisely You’ve started your own home based business and you’re excited about the possibilities. You have dreams of paying off your home, traveling the world, brand new cars parked in the driveway, spending quality time with your family all while your computer works like a robot around …
I recently discovered that a popular WordPress plugin had enabled automatic updates without explicitly informing users. How did I find out? I received emails from each site where the plugin was installed informing me that an update had been completed. But it gets better. Over a holiday break, a colleague …
Why do people buy what they do, when they do? Understanding why the customer does anything is important in delivering the right product or service at the right time. That’s one reason learning how to anticipate needs with consumer psychology and micro-moments is key in building a successful business. Business …
When professionalism matters, it’s time to turn to the experts. But don’t think that means hiring a video producer and breaking the bank. Instead, use a professional intro video template for After Effects to set the stage. You could use professional video templates for many purposes, like: Start off a …
After a year like 2020, it’s tempting to advise any and all entrepreneurs to simply hold on for dear life in 2021. Many businesses are still scrambling to move online, and big brands are diving into e-commerce in a way that may intimidate some smaller players who are looking to …
As consumers continue to turn to online to start building their dreams and ventures, it is more important than ever for entrepreneurs to find the right domain names. Yet, some of those domains might already be registered, but unused. We now make it easy for customers to list their unused domains for sale right where so many searches and ventures begin: GoDaddy. Every day, millions of entrepreneurs visit GoDaddy to start their dreams and turn them into ventures. And many of those start …
Having all your eggs in the proverbial basket is disastrous for your future as an entrepreneur, especially if you are also not planning effectively for your retirement. Retirement planning is a critical activity that should evolve throughout your entrepreneurial journal. This should be regardless of the money you are making …
The JavaScript ecosystem evolves at a rapid pace, and you know your toolset will be superseded the moment you choose it! It’s impossible to keep up with all libraries, frameworks, and techniques, but you can observe trends and directions of movement within the industry. React.js, Vue.js, Svelte, Node.js, and Express.js …
How many hours each week do you spend emailing clients? Once recent study from CNBC suggests the average worker commits more than five hours a day to tapping away at emails. That’s a lot of time you could get back — and at GoDaddy Pro, we’re all about taking back …
Technical SEO is an important — but often misunderstood — part of search engine optimization. This article breaks down what technical SEO actually is and provides a helpful checklist for any small business to DIY tech SEO. First, we’ll gain an understanding and explore key technical SEO definitions. We’ll talk …
Karen Etchells runs Innovast Digital Marketing, a creative web agency specializing in informational websites and content creation. You can find Innovast on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can connect with Karen on LinkedIn. Tell us about yourself. Who are you? Where are you based? I’m Karen Etchells. Mom of five, …
Did you know that Google received nearly 2.3 trillion searches in 2019? No matter what question people have, nowadays, their first instinct is to open their laptops or grab their phones, type it in Google, and check the first, second, or perhaps third result that shows up. This means one …
As per the nature of 2020, many businesses downsized or have fewer full-time staff. On the bright side, increased online traffic led to other businesses pivoting to digital or offering more virtual products/services. No matter the case, business owners and entrepreneurs still need support, a gap that can be easily …
A year ago, Elsie Russell watched as her home décor shop, 2 Chicks Home and Market, was heavily damaged by a fire that ripped through the 300 block of historic downtown Denison, Texas. “I just stood across the street with a crowd of people, watching it burn,” she says. “I …
You may not know all the best practices for website navigation, but you can probably tell when they haven’t been followed. Have you ever landed on a website and been unsure of where to click in the top navigation? Or, felt overwhelmed by crammed stacks of links in the footer? …
With a rapid shift to online presence this year, many companies are having to explore digital options now that they hadn’t considered in the past. One business function quickly making the move to digital is public relations (PR). If you own a business, you might be asking yourself, what is …
If you’re not growing your business online in the current climate, you will likely leave a lot of money on the table. As 2021 begins, we’re witnessing a fast-changing landscape. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything from working to socializing to ordering and shopping online has become the norm. In …
Starting and running a home-based business offers many benefits: decreased commute time, increased flexibility, and lower overhead costs, to name a few. However, when building or transitioning to remote business, several areas require extra attention. Digital advertising, data systems and connectivity tools need to be updated, and so does your …
The time has come. The WordPress Gutenberg block editor has become reliable enough to power your existing website. You can now eschew that aged page builder plugin in favor of a native content editor. That’s the situation I’ve found myself in. A client that has, for years, utilized a bundled, …
After you’ve spent dozens (if not hundreds) hours working on your next mobile app, carefully designing every feature and element, it’s important to showcase the quality of your work during your meeting with or presentation for your clients. Normally, app designers opt for screenshots and diagrams. However, for the majority …
It’s not uncommon for couples to consider going into business together. After all, your life partner is an easy pick, as many spouses are loyal, supportive and even share the same dreams and goals. Plus, marriage in and of itself is the ultimate test. Like any type of partnership, …
Many business owners, entrepreneurs, and even veteran marketers devise their strategy for the New Year starting in January. I’m here to make a case for developing your 2021 marketing strategy now, or more specifically, throughout the last quarter of the year. 7 steps to develop your 2021 marketing strategy Developing …
In much of the world, 2020 started off like any other year. January 1 provided a reason to celebrate and look forward to good things. You don’t need to be a historian to know the rest of the story. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with social and political unrest, made 2020 …
2020 was a chaotic year, especially when it came down to traditional marketing strategies. But while we saw plenty of business and marketing changes in 2020, it’s time to also look at new trends emerging for 2021. Here are six key marketing trends to watch for your business. 6 marketing …
2020 has been… shall we say… an interesting year. It’s certainly been a year of surprises in the eCommerce industry. (All those people who mocked you back in 2016 for starting a store that only sold toilet paper and banana bread baking supplies—now who’s laughing?) Customer spending has been transitioning …
In the modern world, social media permeates every aspect of business, but especially marketing. When using these digital platforms to promote your company, creating content is only half the battle; you must also connect with your audience in a meaningful way. With this in mind, let’s talk about boosting your …
*This post originally appeared Dec. 18, 2020 on the Media Temple blog. Here at the end of 2020, agencies resoundingly have a positive outlook for 2021. And agency leaders we’ve talked to have voiced a strong sense of the path forward. There’s good reason for it, too. The distribution of …
Resolutions aren’t just about reading more books or getting to bed earlier or finally breaking your addiction to oatmeal creme pies. Resolutions, like the marketing resolutions here, are also great tools to help you make critical decisions and improvements in your business. Try out these marketing resolutions Here are five …
Hey everyone, Happy New Year week! Whew, 2020 is almost over. What a crazy year. I’m so glad 2021 is almost here. It can’t get any worse than 2020, right? Hopefully, we’ll all be vaccinated by June so we can have a great summer. Anyway, let’s put 2020 behind us …
The beginning of the year has always been a popular time to start a business. If you’ve been considering forming an LLC or incorporating, but are curious about the benefits of starting up in January, look no further. We’ll catch you up on the biggest reasons why entrepreneurs like forming …
To call 2020 a turbulent year for business would be a severe understatement. With an evolving set of rules by various state and local governments, businesses are having to think on their feet and take drastic steps to increase sales to stay afloat. By August 2020, 29 prominent U.S. retailers …
Saras Venkatram runs SV3 Designs, an agency specializing in WordPress websites for small businesses, startups, individuals and non-profit organizations. You can find Saras on Facebook. Tell us about yourself. Who are you? Where are you based? My name is Saraswati Venkatram (Saras for short). I am a freelance web designer …
Accessing the OS clipboard using browser JavaScript has been possible for several years using document.execCommand(). Unfortunately, there are some problems: clipboard access is synchronous, which has performance and security implications support is patchy, especially on older versions of Safari on macOS and iOS permissions access varies across browsers, and the …
Brand awareness is one of the fundamentals of any marketing plan. It goes hand in hand with search engine optimization (SEO). As the cornerstone for your brand exposure, it’s essential not to overlook a thorough SEO strategy. Solid SEO means better user experience and improved rankings. Here are five ways …
Finding the best VPS provider is clutch because a website communicates with clients far more than we ever could. That’s why it demands such a significant share of business resources. Still, cost is always a key concern, especially when we’re just getting started. It’s common to initially go with less-expensive …
With all of the changes and rapid advancements CSS has gone through over the last few years, we should not be surprised at the vast volume of open-source resources and tools that are continually being released. These time-saving CSS libraries, frameworks, and tools have been built to make our lives …
Moving to a new city for a job is a major decision and commitment. Some people decide to relocate for a better opportunity, while others are just looking for a new experience. However, uprooting your life for a job doesn’t always work out like you planned. Before making any kind …
A year “like no other” is about to come to a close. 2020 was certainly unique for everyone – web designers included. And it challenged us on several levels. Our daily grind was complicated by shutdowns, kids invading the home office, and clients who needed our help in rapidly changing …
Email marketing is one of the most common ways of attracting new customers to your business and growing your brand. Those who invest the necessary time into this practice quickly learn that email marketing comes with many benefits for business owners and clients. That is, of course, if the …
Marketing your business rarely comes easily. There’s always room for improvement and new things to learn. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make marketing a little easier on yourself for 2021. Let’s talk about seven ways to make marketing in 2021 easier — including marketing planning, marketing systems and …
Sponsored content Entrepreneurs are collectively being led to believe that data is the new currency. This attitude has prompted executives to hoard sizable amounts of data on behalf of their businesses. However, the truth is that the leaders at many organizations have no idea what they should be doing with …
Silicon Valley is known for its revolutionary ideas, grandiose statements and ability to challenge the status quo. By now, we’re all familiar with the classic persona of the Bay Area-located, hoodie-wearing techie, who tells their team to “move fast and break things” in order to “disrupt” entire industries. However, what …
There’s one constant for small business owners and entrepreneurs: the continuing need to adapt in the face of changing technological and societal landscapes. This need to evolve and move quickly can be challenging, but positively, we’ve found that entrepreneurs are optimistic about these new opportunities and confident in their ability …
As 2021 approaches, we’re past the initial pivot stories, in which vodka makers turned to developing hand sanitizer, and clothing companies began producing face masks on the side. These were, of course, smart and applaudable pivots that helped companies survive while aiding the greater good. However, most of these were …
This episode of StartupNation Radio is brought to you by Pappas Financial On today’s episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff is joined by co-host, Norm Pappas, president and CEO of Pappas Financial. Together, they interview two guests: Mark Manzo, a professional business manager, and Dr. Bryan Weinstein, a psychiatrist and entrepreneur. StartupNation exclusive …
Once they’re out of design school and battling it out in the real world, designers can find themselves in a pretty crappy predicament. Maybe your teachers warned you to be as discerning as possible when taking on new clients (or maybe they told you the opposite, but you knew it …
Sometimes, you may get a client who wants you to do something that you’re just not comfortable with. We all want to please our clients, but how do you please a client who, say, really wants you to directly copy another company’s logo design or sales copy? Or who wants …
