Its time to babble

You may feel like your words are taken for babble - why doesn't anyone listen to me? Its true we talk so much people forget how to listen. So put a stop to all the waste and make your thoughts be heard!

Let me introduce you to my latest client and friend Scott George, aka Babble Man, of Norton Massachusetts. His product is "Bumper Babble", He is a "Babble Man". Babble is the future and "The Future is Now"!

The Best Sandwich

Am I talking about food again? I guess I am. You have no idea how hungry I get designing websites all day long. Especially if the website is for "The Best Sandwich Shop". With menu items such as "The Best Italian", "The Best Chicken Caesar Cutlet", "The Best Thanksgiving Sandwich" (only available on Thursdays mind you) how can I help myself. I think I will stop here - its only 8:30 AM and I have to hold out until lunchtime.

2 local businesses now each with a brand new WDbR website

This is my favorite part of my job - promoting my clients. 2 local businesses now each with a brand new WDbR website.  So without further delay let's get started introducing Corrao Electric and The Guravage Studio.

Corrao Electric

Corrao Electric is known as the Area's Dependable Electrical Professionals. This is their tagline which sets them apart from others and stays in your mind after you meet them. Chances are you have met them because they are active networkers. Jillian Corrao is the VP of my BNI chapter, Hockomock BNI, that meets at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield every Tuesday for lunch. Ken & Jillian are also members of the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce.

5 things you can learn about public speaking from kids.

I am a 4H leader for my children's club. Every year 4H kids around the world are challenged to create and perform a visual presentation. Children as young as 5 years old do this - therefore so can you. This weekend my boys Daniel and Trevor competed at the state level after winning at county. I will share with you what I use to help my club members perfect their VPs.

Do you own your website? (Part 4 - website hosting)

This is part 4 of the series "Do you own your website?".  Today you will learn what website hosting is and how to purchase it.

I will ask a new client to perform two tasks when they hire me to design their website.

1) Pick and purchase a domain name for their website, which I covered in another blog article.

2) Purchase a hosting plan, which is the main focus of this blog article.  I will start by explaining what a website host is.

How does an internet browser know where a website lives?

It begins with registering your domain name with the whois database.  All domains are registered here.  This is how they know which ones are available and which ones are not.  The whois database record that contains the domain name also contains the address of where the website lives.  This address is normally that of a computer server that has access to the world wide web, www, 99.9% of the time.

Do you own your website? (Part 3 - content management websites)

This is part 3 of the series "Do you own your website?".  Today you will learn how Content Management Websites can give you control of your website.

In part 1 of this series you learned why it is important to own your website's domain name and how to check if you do.  In part 2, I explained to those just starting out how to pick and purchase a domain name.  Domain name ownership is an important piece of website ownership.  However having your name listed as the registered owner is only half the story.

Can you make changes to your website?  And when I ask this question I'm assuming you are not a web coding guru but instead an everyday business owner rocking and rolling in what you do best, your business.  If this is the case, then updating your website is a task that can be simplified by using a content management system. 

Join me in welcoming The Guravage Studio to Mansfield Massachusetts

John and Pamela Guravage of Mansfield opened the doors of their new photography studio yesterday during a Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony. Check out the ribbon cutting photos on facebook and browse their portfolio online at their new website www.theguravagestudio.com.

If you missed the ribbon cutting but would still like to check out the new studio - stop by for their open house on March 19th, 2011 between 12 and 6PM. The Guravage Studio is located at 311 North Main Street in Mansfield MA.

Do you own your website? (Part 2 - pick and purchase a domain name)

This is part 2 of the series "Do you own your website?".  Today you will learn how to pick the right domain name for your website and a few tips to follow when you purchase it.

Picking a domain name

Take some time to pick the perfect domain name for your business website.  A good domain name should be relatively short, easy to say and easy to type.  The rules of the past are changing - today you need something remembered rather than something that meets google's standards.  In other words - brand yourself and focus your search engine optimization efforts else where.

Back in 2005 when I purchased my domain name, www.web-design-by-robin.com, we were told google couldn't read words without the hyphens.  Six years later you can imagine my frustration relaying it over and over to people in conversation with all those hyphens.   And trying to type it into your smart phone - forget about it!

Since then I have purchased www.websitesbyrobin.com and permanently pointed it to my original domain name using a 301 redirect.  This will be my mobile domain name and the one I give out in conversation making my life and those interested in viewing my website so much easier.

Do you own your website? (Part 1 - domain name ownership)

This is part 1 of the series "Do you own your website?".  Today you will learn what a domain name is, how to find out who owns it, and why domain name ownership is important.

What is a domain name?

We all love to name our websites. So what is a domain name?

A domain name starts with www. and ends with an extension such as .com, .org, .net etc. I choose www.web-design-by-robin.com for my business website. Extension .com stands for commercial and is the most commonly used and therefore easily remembered.

What the average week of a small business owner is like

Before I go right into my story I want to stop here and say that my blog title is only truthful if I am your average small business owner because this story is about me.  As you are reading however think about how your week usually plays out.  Am I far off?  I'd like to hear about your story so please comment at the end.

Monday morning I started off the week with 13 jobs on my breakfast plate.  Before the week was done the job list grew by 5, shrunk by 5 and a half dozen were moved along.  Just the fact that I have the knowledge to state these statistics is, by my standards, wildly impressive.  I am a small business owner fighting the good fight!