Online Content Management Systems allow you to consolidate the entire back-end of a website into a single secure yet easy to access location.

Traditionally any time you wanted to make an alteration to a website you needed to contact your Webmaster, who would in turn render your changes into code and and then use specialized programs to upload this code onto the servers which shared your information with the rest of the world.

No matter how responsive or dedicated your webmaster, the need to work through an additional person would build in a lag - one which would only be exacerbated by …

A month-and-a-half ago Google launched Sidewiki - a service that lets web browsers with the Google Toolbar view and write comments along side of any website.

Setting aside my professional mask for a moment, Sidewiki is one …

Over the past couple of decades, Internet users have learned that not all websites are created equal. There are a few things that the web savvy browser will look for without even realizing it. If you do not provide the answer, your visitors will come to their own conclusions.

Who wrote this page?

Remember that not everyone will find your website by typing it’s URL directly into their web browser. Most new visitors will follow links from search engines or other sites. One of the first things they’ll want to learn upon arriving is whom they are …
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You invested on your website and are happy with the results. How long are you “done” for? The real answer is that a website is never done. You need to keep its content fresh on an on-going basis. But what about the larger overhauls? Assuming there have been no significant changes in your business or industry… how often should you re-design or re-build your website?

The answer will vary depending on what type of site you have. On average, though, we would recommend taking a serious look at your website every 18 - 24 months. Why?

Design trends change. As new technology …

Unfortunately it’s very common to hear from a website owner that his website is not bringing in business only to find out that the site’s traffic and performance is not even being tracked.

How do you know how your website is doing if you don’t put the right tracking mechanisms in place?

Many people know about tracking traffic by using Google Analytics. It is a free service and easy to install. Google analytics does tell you a lot about your visitors, traffic sources, and content… but there’s more than you can do.

For example, have a unique email address on your website that …

We do a lot of maintenance work for our clients at MB/I. Maintenance is key in keeping a site fresh and up-to-date. Depending on the site and the client, maintenance costs can become substantial. Here are a few tips for keeping these costs down:

• Group your requests so you’re not sending several separate emails during the same day or even week. Each time your web developer gets one email from you, he has to locate your project, open the right file, make the edits, upload the revised file to the server, test his work, and move on to his next task. …
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So, you have decided to invest on a content management system for your site. Which one should you use? Here are 10 key features a good CMS should have.

A) Supports custom design
When considering a content management system, make sure that you are not forced into using a particular design template. There are several inexpensive CMS solutions. The catch is that you have to choose one of their design templates and look like everyone else. Your website should have its own unique look. You want a system that can be implemented on any design.

B) No knowledge of code required
Make …

As business changes, so must your web content. After all, your site exists to communicate to your clients. They need to know whenever you offer a new product, service or sale; when your calendar changes; or when you post a new edition of your newsletter.

One way of making the necessary updates to your website is by sending the changes to your web developer. If your site’s content needs to change quickly and often, this may proof to be an inefficient and costly process.

A better way is to use a Content Management System or CMS. A simple definition is:  A tool …