We help you understand your YOUNESS. Then we figure out how that looks when it’s translated into the technology you need to run your business.
The YOUNESS part comes first, so you don’t go down a dead end creating something that doesn’t express who you are. That happens in one or more sessions with Karen, using a variety of “lenses” and her deep skill to draw it into a clear shape.
Then we find the tech that does the best job of showcasing that, and we make it all work smoothly together.
Good tech should stay out of your way. That’s our goal, so we use systems we know you can rely on, for as much or as little as you need.
For the web work, the hub of your online world, we use:
- WordPress (Genesis Framework / Studiopress themes) for service businesses
- Shopify for product businesses
We use WordPress rather than Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, or other services because it’s still the best combination of flexibility and reliability. There is literally NOTHING you cannot do with WordPress, and while we start you simply, you will never have to tear your site down and start over as you grow because the Genesis Framework is the industry standard.
Likewise we only use themes (the “skin” or outer appearance of your site) from Studiopress, the creator of the Genesis Framework, so that we are sure there won’t be compatibility problems. Each of the themes is widely adaptable without needing custom coding, so we can make something that looks like YOU quickly and easily. Take a look at our five sample sites by clicking the links to see some of what can be done with each theme: Swank, Beautiful, Parallax, Sixteen Nine, and The 411.
For product-based businesses, we have been thrilled with Shopify – it’s an extremely solid, easy-to-set-up site that offers the “shopping” section built into the overall site seamlessly. We can use your own domain (www.yourname.com) and they offer a wide array of themes, both paid and free. They’re an excellent company to work with and will be reliable for you once we’re done setting you up.
We host all service business sites at Siteground, an exceptional hosting service with top-notch customer service, business ethics, and reliability. Product sites are hosted directly with Shopify.
Our preferred scheduling tool is Acuity – their flexibility and customer service are unmatched and they offer a range of prices and functions to suit everyone.
Mailing list services are through Mailchimp, who we feel truly are the best in the business, and who also offer a range of costs and options.
Payment can be done with Paypal, Stripe, or Square, and set up for invoicing, “buy now” functionality, package pricing connected to Acuity, and other options. Each service has its pros and cons, so we can work out which fits best for you.
Voice services are through Google Voice and/or Freeconferencecall, both the services we use and which have the best features and reliability.
Business cards are through Vistaprint or Moo – your choice. We believe it’s still important to have something physical to hand people for getting in touch and remembering your services, and both of these companies produce excellent cards.
We provide training in the most commonly used functions of these tools (most of them… we won’t train you how to hand someone a business card) to allow our clients to be self-reliant with confidence.
To talk about what might suit you, hop on over to our contact page and get in touch! We’d love to hear from you, and we’re happy to get on the phone and answer questions.