How to Choose a Great Domain Name


How to choose a domain name

Today we’ll be talking about one of the least technical pieces of planning your new website, and one of the most important to get right: choosing a domain name. Your goals, in the order I’d put them in, are: Available. Memorable. Succinct and typeable. We’ll be going backwards through this list, to show how we […]

Five Traits to Look For in a Web Developer


It’s hard to find a good web developer. Part of that is because web development is a jungle of unlicensed practitioners with very different interests, price points, and skill levels—meaning it’s a lot tougher to know where to start than if you were looking for a good, say, heart surgeon. But it’s also important that […]

Three Simple Ways to Increase Your Site Speed


bullet | site speed

Having a fast-loading website should be a top priority for any business. Not only does it dramatically improve the user experience, as anyone who has frustratingly had to wait while a site crawls in can attest to, it also can affect your website’s position in search rankings. Increasing your site speed is always a great […]

Why You Need a Plan for Site Support


Jenga | why you need site support

The moment your website launches, support starts. Ongoing support is one of the most underappreciated costs of owning a website. The moment your website launches, support starts. Believing otherwise is a bit like buying a pet goldfish and being surprised that you also need to pay for fish food. Why You Need Support You need […]

Video: The Three Plans You Need to Have in Place Before Starting a Website


Here’s a video about what makes websites succeed and fail. The video explains that every website needs three kinds of plans to succeed: A strategic plan: the overall vision (inspiration) for the site, turned into measurable goals, with evidence that the goals are achievable by the site owner, and a look at strategic risk (possible challenges and obstacles to […]

What You’ll Need to Invest in Your Website


A website is not a purchase; it’s an ongoing investment. This is perhaps the most important thing you can hear before having a site built. We’ll be exploring this distinction by looking at what proper website maintenance requires. Before that, though, we’ll be using a (we hope memorable) metaphor to examine the ways most websites […]