As a small business owner getting ready to build your first website or redesign your existing one, you might wonder what you should be considering in terms of making your web design search engine friendly.

There are lots of things to take into account, but here are the five key things that you should know about SEO friendly web design and how it can benefit your visitors, too!

1. It Needs to be Responsive
For small businesses, especially local ones, having great rankings in mobile search is incredibly important. Why? For starters, 50% of consumers who perform a local search on mobile devices visit a store within a day of their search. What’s even more exciting is that 78% of mobile searches for local business lead to offline purchases.

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Small businesses are an integral part of our economy. Every business aims to solve a problem and create value in doing so. This is particularly true of small businesses. They provide a service or product that meets local needs and can fulfill requirements for larger businesses.

The benefits of small businesses are numerous, but often they can have difficulty creating, sharing, and establishing their message. Entrepreneurs, startups, and freelancers watch their budgets carefully, and expenses outside of delivering the product are kept to a minimum. That means marketing budgets get shaved first.

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You stare at a blank screen for what seems like hours, waiting for your brain to come up with a brilliant idea, and it never comes. There has to be a better way to brainstorm, right?

There is--and it might be as simple as doing the laundry.

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The beginning of the new year is when the worlds top investors make their predictions of industries to keep an eye on. Innovative technologies and ways of doing business are creating growth in certain industries. For those looking for something new to invest time or money in, take a look at these five industries that experts predict to have an increase in growth in 2018.

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Video is a medium that gives your small business lots of different options for communicating and sharing information with customers. But it can be sort of overwhelming for some small businesses. Arielle Kimbarovsky of CrowdSpring offers some suggestions for businesses looking to make the most of video in a recent post.

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Facebook is more than just status updates and photo albums -- it's a major marketing tool for businesses. However, if you don't know how to use it properly and take advantage of all it has to offer, you might as well not use it at all.

From engaging customers to entertaining them, Facebook Insights provides some of the best tips and tools for boosting your business. To start, Facebook Insights will tell you information about your customer base, such as the type of people who follow you, where they are located, how old they are and more. Another important area that Facebook Insights covers is your competition. Using the tool, you can track their posts and engagement in order to get ideas for your own business.

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It is not a one-time undertaking but an ongoing process that must be revisited throughout the life of any business. In fact, nearly half of all CEOs launch a company reorganization during their first two years on the job.

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Custom handmade surf tumbled sea glass and tumbled stone designs, jewelry, hair clips and ornaments. #seaglass #tumbledstones #jewelry #handmade #homemade #dejavudesigns #smallbusiness #smallbiz #stonejewelry #seaglassjewelry

How did life lead you to entrepreneurship?

I have been in the technology industry for 25 years. I am a business-facing technologist, which basically means I have a background in finance and business. However, I stumbled into being a software engineer early on in my career. This resulted in a passion for data and solution creativity.After hitting the 20-year mark of working for enterprise-size organizations, I decided I needed a change. I experienced some life-threatening health challenges--all while taking care of my two sons with their own unique needs. A culmination of it all really made me stop and reflect on what I really wanted to do on a daily basis and the people I do it with.

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If time is the only resource that we cannot acquire, then spending your days trying to run a business you no longer love -- or that does not serve your needs -- is one of the biggest ways to squander our lives. With that in mind, here are the seven signals and truths that indicate it might be time for you to find something else to do with your precious life span:

1. Your dreams have stopped.
Remember back when you were so excited about your business? You went to bed thinking about it. Brainstorms popped into your head at the dinner table. You told everyone who would hold still to listen. Maybe you dreamed you would take over or revolutionize your industry or imagined the lifestyle this little baby company of yours would grow up to afford you. If now it is  just about making it through the day -- or even more stressful, making it through payroll -- it could be time to consider doing something else.

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Graphic design is an essential aspect of any marketing campaign or emerging business. You can't brand a business without design tools. When you are starting a business, contracting designers for a website, marketing materials, flyers, a logo, and countless other business expenses can add up fast. At some point, you have to be willing to take on some of the creative challenges yourself.

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Small business sentiment is on the rise to kick off 2020, with confidence nearing all-time highs, according to data from CNBC and SurveyMonkey. The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index climbed two points in the first quarter, from 59 to 61, as concerns over trade policy impacts lessened, thanks to a trade deal with China and the signing of the USMCA. This is a sharp turnaround from the lows seen last summer as trade turmoil weighed on Main Street’s outlook.

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While telecom carriers are continuing to expand coverage areas and add cellular towers, most cell phone users still experience dropped calls and spotty coverage at times.

Many external factors and things out of your control can inhibit cell phone reception. Fully understanding the variety of factors that can cause poor cell signal may assist you in knowing how to improve a poor cell phone signal.

The following can all impact the strength of a cell signal:
How to Improve Cell Phone Signal

Staying tuned in to the pulse of your industry is key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Public groups, online forums and the like are among the most valuable resources for gathering and contributing industry information. But if someone is looking for in-depth insight into their business niche, locating the right groups where this discussion occurs is the first step. T

After an amazing amount of procrastination, I've finally managed to redesign the site. All old links still work (if they don't, please let me know by emailing me at 'bill at this domain name').

Why? Two reasons: 1) I found my old layout limiting for what I want to do and, 2) Something in my toolchain got borked and I wasn't able to update my main page. This last one was a godsend because I decided that - rather than troubleshooting the problem, I'd put that energy toward my redesign.

Notable changes:

• No more MovableType. I got a lot of mileage out of using MT, but in the end I hated having to use a database to store what is essentially static data. Furthermore, the templates and even writing of entries was a bit too much of a flow-mismatch. I wanted to write copy and edit layout in vim and just push the changes to the server. Now I'm using docpad and I have pretty much exactly that workflow

• My "Thoughts on..." blog is no longer the main page. Right now, the main page is pretty sparse, but as I add more projects (I have some in mind, it'll start to fill up some more. For now, it's an easy way to get at some of the more popular material on my site, and...

• My dabbling in Fiction. A few years back I started writing flash fiction under my middle name ("Edward"). I haven't in a while, but I hope to start again. So, now that's here too.

• Total style overhaul. Hope you like it, because I'm sticking with it for a while. My goal was minimalism. This site has always been about what I write. Therefore I want to make it easy to find the stuff here and read it with no distractions.

• No comments. This may change at some point (I had embedded Disqus but removed it) as I'm going with the Oatmeal Philosophy - I'm struggling against several years of writers block. Feedback can be great, but it can also demotivate. I need to avoid demotivators as I ramp this up.

That's it now that I have put everything I could see I needed in place, I'm outta excuses. Whether that means I'll be writing more, we'll have to see...

Programmers solve problems. How they solve each problem is a function of their skill, talent, knowledge & time. The resultant solution will resolve the problem with greater or lesser complexity in the design. Thus, I find thinking about how (and more importantly where) complexity is handled, a useful way to evaluate a design. For this I use the time-honored technique of having three levels:

Level Zero

(Below this level, the problem is not solved)

The programmer has provided a solution. However, the interface is a mine-field; click things in the wrong order, the program crashes. Or it works great, but you need to reread the documentation Every. Single. Time. Or the resultant surrounding workflow is a Rube Goldberg device. However it surfaces, the programmer has placed the complexity on the user.

Level One

The interface is well thought out and reasonably intuitive. Controls work as expected and the solution is robust - even bulletproof. The solution not only fits the larger context, it improves it. The code itself however, is hard to change (or even understand). It is not well-organized; Or is, but full of tricky, interleaved logic. Or over-engineered, over-patterned etc. Here, the programmer has placed the complexity on the maintainer.[1]

Level Two

The burden of managing complexity is on the current programmer. The person writing the code takes the time and employs the talent and skill necessary to find an elegant solution that reduces the code to the minimum complexity needed to solve the problem and does so in such a way that is understandable (and changeable) later: The user gains the benefits of a level 1 design, while maintainers are left with clean code to change.[2]

Implications

Level zero code is common; it's the default for new programmers and an uncomfortable amount of commercial software. The thing of it is: Too often this sort of code is derided (including by me) when there is both a de facto and a cost-benefit rationale for managing complexity this way. Short-term projects are one example; software written for one's own use is another.

Level 1 software can be very valuable and enduring. I tend to equate this type of code with the Hacker ethic in all senses of that term. And I don't mean that pejoratively - we all use hacked together solutions every day and much of the world's technology infrastructure is built on it. It is a practical and stable design level.

Having the skill (and the time) to write level 2 code is a rare and wonderful thing. Amidst the hyperbole, aspiring to be such a programmer is at the heart of the "Software as Craft" movement and is a worthwhile goal for anyone who aspires to be a professional programmer.

I don't believe level 2 is inherently better than a level 1 (or level zero!) - it's about context - however, I think that for regularly edited and changed code (i.e. much IT software), this level of skill is what's implicitly expected (if not gotten) by the customer. Ironically, the time needed is often the first thing that goes as a non-technical customer can only assess code quality based on level 1 considerations and so pushes for faster results because everything "looks" OK. Only later - when their investment can't be changed without major overhaul - do they realize there is something wrong. And so the cycle continues...

Summary

[1] This may well be the same person who wrote the code. The essential characteristic of a level 1 design is that complexity is put off to future efforts, not the current one. Thus level 1 designs tend to be high in technical debt.

[2]How the programmer achieves this is a matter of personal preference and technique. I do not subscribe to the notion that any particular set of programming practices provides this - or inhibit it by their absence. It has always been the people, not their practices that is the essential determinant of quality. Anyone who says different, is selling something.

 I spent yesterday in Dallas, at the Heritage Auction headquarters -- I had decided to auction off some artwork and memorabilia to benefit two charities (The Authors Literary Fund and the Hero Initiative, which help authors/writers and comics creators who have fallen on hard times or who need help), and, just as importantly, I wanted to give something back to the artists whose art I was entrusting to new custodians. 

It seems to me fundamentally wrong and inequitable that art that artists sold for $50 or a hundred dollars thirty or forty years ago now sells for hundreds or thousands of times that amount, but the artists, most of whom are old, some of whom are no longer working or not working as they were, never see another penny. I decided the best way to change that would be to set an example, and show people another way of doing it.

Here's the New York Times article before the auction: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/23/arts/design/neil-gaiman-auction-collectibles.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Xk0.5PkB.9iQtuvn6Bwof&smid=url-share

And here's me in Dallas two nights ago, walking around the exhibition before the auction with Robert Wilonsky from Heritage, with guest appearances by my oldest friend Geoff Notkin, whose fault this all is: 

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 12, 2024 ) The India Drone Market is witnessing a remarkable surge, with a projected growth from USD 654 million in 2024 to USD 1,437 million by 2029, driven by an impressive CAGR of 17.0%. This growth trajectory indicates a transformative shift in the adoption and application...

En la ciudad de Cuenca, el ambiente está cargado de emoción ante la inminente llegada del Carnaval, uno de los eventos más esperados por la comunidad. El Concejal de Festejos, Alberto Castellano, ha destacado la colaboración entre su departamento y la Asociación Amigos del Carnaval para fortalecer esta celebración anual. «Llevamos ya tiempo trabajando en […]

Artículo publicado en : Álex Simón Designado cartelista del carnaval 2025, que tendrá lugar del 1 al 15 de marzo

El próximo domingo 24 de noviembre, el reconocido grupo musical Candela & Son ofrecerá un concierto solidario en Toledo con el propósito de recaudar fondos para los afectados por la reciente DANA. El evento, que comenzará a las 19.00 horas en el pabellón del Colegio Nuestra Señora de los Infantes, tiene un costo de entrada […]

Artículo publicado en : Concierto Solidario De Candela&Son En Toledo Por La DANA: ¡Consigue Tus Entradas Ya!

Autor: Redakcija 031 Naslov: Sigurno i bez pirotehnike u nadolazećim blagdanima
Postano: 12.11.2024. 13:22 (GMT 1) Kako bi još jednom pred nadolazeće blagdane, građanima poslali zajedničku poruku da je od izuzetnog značaja tijekom veselja i slavlja voditi računa o sigurnosti.

Zajednički možemo postići da nam nadolazeći blagdani budu mirni i spokojni. Suzdržite se od uporabe pirotehnike i na taj način kreirajte mirno i sigurno okruženje za vašu obitelj, prijatelje, susjede u vašem kvartu. Vodimo računa jedni o drugima posebno u vrijeme blagdana.

Iz policije podsjećaju da petarde i rakete nisu dio blagdanskog ozračja i njihovo neoprezno i nestručno rukovanje može izazvati teške posljedice. Pirotehnička sredstva nisu bezopasna, pogotovo kada su u dječjim rukama, i od njih mogu nastupiti teške tjelesne ozljede šaka, ruku, očiju i lica. Petarde uzrokovati požare, a njihova uporaba može biti itekako opasna u zatvorenim prostorima i na mjestima gdje se okuplja veći broj ljudi.

Kazne za one koji ne poštuju propise su dosta visoke.

Učinite svoju okolinu sigurnom, brinite za svoje susjede posebno starije životne dobi, kao i kućne ljubimce, kojima detonacije petardi nisu nimalo ugodne.


Foto: Pixabay.com/Ilustracija

Svartzonker is niet enkel een beroemde kunstaasbouwer, hij is ook een uitstekend hengelbouwer. We voelen ons vereerd om u een speciale roofvis serie aan te bieden waarvoor enkel uiterst lichte componenten gebruikt werden.

The Bears have signed restricted free agent tight end Josh Hill. The New Orleans Saints have five days to match the offer.

Fantasy Football Expert Mark Morales-Smith discusses the Fantasy impact of Alfred Morris moving from the Washington Redskins to the Dallas Cowboys!

Mark Morales-Smith discusses the Fantasy Football impact of the Cleveland Browns' most recent signing of QB Robert Griffin III.

What did I tell you?

Some of the noms de guerre Lee employed at KOTV sign-off time were dillies. He lists a few in GroupBlog 321.

A new book by Steve Clem, "Tulsa's KAKC Radio, The Big 97" is now available. Attend a book signing at Tulsa Historical Society on Tuesday, April 16, 6:30 pm. Steve and several of the former KAKC DJs will also be on hand to sign books, including Scooter Segraves, Dick Schmitz and Mike McCarthy.

Announce that either you, your baseball jersey or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you or your BBQ apron is now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you or your Button is now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your calendar print or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either your dog or your Dog's T-Shirt is now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your fitted t-shirt or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your golf shirt or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your hooded sweatshirt or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you or your journal is now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your jr. baby doll t-shirt or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your jr. hoodie or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your jr. raglan or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your jr. spaghetti tank or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your large coffee mug or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your long sleeve t-shirt or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you or your Magnet is now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your men's muscle t-shirt or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you or your Messenger Bag is now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your mousepad or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your organic cotton tee or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.

Announce that either you, your ringer t-shirt or both are now available for rent, hire or to be used temporarily (for a fee of course). - Are you available for rent, hire, to be used temporarily (for a fee of course) for whatever occasion or event? Or, maybe you are just after making a couple extra bucks and it really isn’t you for rent, but it’s your shirt, coffee cup or mouse pad that is for rent.