Why IT professionals shouldn’t design your website

Posted by Jeremy L. Knauff | January 19th, 2010

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Before we get started, this article is in no way meant to marginalize the many talented and knowledgeable IT professionals out there. It is simply meant to highlight the differences between them and a website designer. No doubt, I’m certain we’ll get a lot of heat from the IT community, but that’s the nature of the beast. That being said…

Many companies have an in-house IT department, and even some of the smallest companies at least have a local IT firm on speed dial. To most people, it may seem logical to ask an IT firm or in-house IT department to design their website, after all, it’s related to computers and they certainly know their way around those, right?…

What is a content managment system?

Posted by Wildfire Marketing Group | November 25th, 2009

Something we’re asked about frequently are content management systems. Many people have no idea what a content management system is or what it can do for them, which is a shame since it can give them a powerful competative advantage.

In a nutshell, a content management system, or CMS, allows you to easily edit your website content though a web-based interface. Your content is usually stored in a database, and the structure of your website is controlled by a single set of files. The benefit to this it that:

• You can edit your content without knowing HTML or CSS
• You can edit your content without worrying about breaking your website
• Changing your content doesn’t have to cost you anything since you can do it yourself
• You can change your content on your schedule
• You or designated staff members can

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5 things your web designer won’t tell you

Posted by Jeremy L. Knauff | November 17th, 2009

Your website probably doesn’t need to be redesigned

A professionally designed website should stand the test of time. Depending on your industry, it’s usually advisable to redesign your website every few years to maintain an up to date image, but not more frequently than that. The only time you should make sweeping changes to the design of your website is when you feel that it doesn’t present the image that you want for your company. But remember, you will tire of it long before your visitors do.

You don’t have to pay every time you want to make a change

Even if all of the content on your website is perfect today, it will probably change at some point in the future. Almost every business owner has found themselves in this position at some point in time They’ve had to wait for…

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should…

Posted by Jeremy L. Knauff | November 9th, 2009

When the Internet was just beginning to be used for business, we didn’t have anywhere near the flexibility that we take for granted today. I remember the early days of website design, when the <blink> tag first showed up. Everyone thought it was the coolest thing and wanted it added to their website just because it was possible. A few years later, it was Macromedia Flash (now Adobe Flash) and everyone was just dying to have an obnoxious Flash intro, again, just because they could.

Don’t misunderstand; there’s nothing wrong with being on the cutting edge of technology, especially if it gives you a competitive advantage, but it’s a bad idea to do something just for the sake of doing it. Anytime you have a design idea, do yourself a favor and ask yourself what purpose it serves. If there is…