Written on May 20, 2019 at 9:00 am, by Beth Downey
Twenty years ago when I began my career in digital media, I worked as a graphic designer who focused on the print side of things. I was properly trained at an accredited university to not only begin designs on paper, but how to translate what my hand created into a digital file format using a Read More
Written on May 15, 2019 at 9:30 am, by Beth Downey
I own and maintain two personal websites – one that dates back to when I worked solely as a graphic designer for print. It showcases the work I completed at the time. The other is the one you’re reading now. Both operate with plugins that perform various operations for specific functionality, for example finessing SEO, Read More
Written on February 4, 2019 at 5:57 pm, by Beth Downey
In a previous blog, I discussed a few tactics to increase a website’s SEO. One approach I presented to increase Google ranking is including alt tags on images within a website. We’ve had this option for a few years now and it’s a cemented website SEO “best practice.” Recently, I uploaded an image to Instagram Read More
Written on January 31, 2019 at 8:43 pm, by Beth Downey
By now, everyone is familiar with computer viruses, even if they have had the good fortune to not have dealt directly with one. Most of the time when people are talking about computer viruses, they’re actually referencing malware. Malware is a word derived from “malicious software.” It’s an umbrella term that describes any hostile program Read More
Written on January 16, 2019 at 9:25 pm, by Beth Downey
Let’s face it, nobody wants to call tech support. NOBODY. The mere thought of it used to crank my anxiety up to eleven. After years of managing other people’s web properties, I’ve gotten fairly comfortable with speaking with the folks on the other end of the line or chat window. Over time I’ve gotten pretty Read More
Written on January 2, 2019 at 7:39 pm, by Beth Downey
Because I build websites, one of the more frequent questions and requests I field is about SEO. SEO, for the unfamiliar, is Search Engine Optimization. In short, it’s how you get your website to the first page of a Google search. Full disclosure, I am NOT a SEO expert. I don’t have to be a Read More
Written on December 10, 2018 at 3:45 pm, by Beth Downey
We’ve just returned from a fun and information packed weekend at WordCampUS – the western hemisphere’s global WordCamp conference. We saw old friends, made new connections, took in a lot of information in a short amount of time and sat in on Matt Mullenweg’s “2018 State of the Word.” The big discussion centered around Gutenberg, Read More
Written on December 5, 2018 at 12:40 am, by Beth Downey
When I sit down to write on my blog, it’s usually prompted by a real world scenario that I use to help the reader avoid a potential pitfall. Today, let’s talk about website photos; specifically, don’t be cheap with your website photos. Here are two reasons why: Your website photos are what jumps out at the Read More
Written on July 26, 2018 at 9:13 pm, by Beth Downey
As a web developer and small business owner, I believe it is my lot in life to advocate on behalf of my clients even if I am advocating for them to them. It’s a “help me help you!” plea in most cases. When the same issue pops up multiple times to the unsuspecting owner/manager of Read More
Written on April 24, 2018 at 7:02 pm, by Beth Downey
Within a span of two hours this morning, I drafted and sent almost 15 emails on a variety of topics. I’ve scheduled two work meetings, coordinated with members of a crime task force in my neighborhood on safety initiatives, and made notes to aid others with the co-planning of an annual spring event we’re organizing Read More
Written on April 3, 2018 at 12:15 pm, by Beth Downey
I have lost count of the number of times I’ve heard these words from a potential or current client: “Yeah, so my last web developer just disappeared on me.” And it’s not just me. I hear my tech colleagues talk about this phenomenon often. Who are these people who apparently have piles of money to Read More