Business continues to be hopping and exciting here at Beacon.  We now have 6 clients in the Boston, MA area after winning contracts with high profile clients like Harvard (Center for Education) and Boston College (School of Management).  We also re-signed the Massachusetts Library Information Network to a long-term hosting agreement (MLIN has been with Beacon since 2002)!  Couple this with new projects that includes Tufenkian Carpets (NY, ecommerce), Flirties Earrings (FL, ecommerce), MathMoose (GA, custom app dev), Spouse Got The House (FL, ecommerce), Shelba Johnson Trucking (Grensboro, web dev)  and all the ongoing work from existing clients and… well…(deep breath)… it’s busy!   There’s certainly been an uptick of development projects (ecommerce & content websites using CMS), which is why we are actively looking to hire experienced technology resources – especially experienced software engineers/consultants/project managers that have strong customer-facing consultative skills.

We also have several new, very large digital marketing projects coming in this month, while our existing clients are steadily investing more and more to expand their online reach due to the success of their current web marketing programs.  We recently hired Gus Kroustalis (MBA, Elon) into our web marketing team and we are looking to hire 2 more web marketers in the next 2-6 weeks.

The addition of Michael Swink (BS, Western Carolina) to our sales team has also contributed to the uptick in new work.  He brings a solid, professional sales approach that will certainly produce significant sales and force further growth within our web development, web marketing and web hosting teams.

Ever been mystified by the numerous acronyms involved in DNS and/or what the heck DNS is anyway?  This fun six-minute video is well worth the time and does a really good job of explaining the mysterious world of the Domain Name System.  Of course, our Web Hosting experts can also assist with any questions you have, so be sure to contact us!

Beacon kicks off its 2012 conference series with ASPDotNetStoreFront’s user conference in Ashland, Oregon on March 20th.  Members of our Development Team have been participating in the conference for several years, but this year Beacon wanted to exhibit the great things we have been doing with the platform in regards to design, development, marketing and hosting. So we’ll not only be soaking up knowledge in the sessions, we’ll also be sharing some on the exhibit floor.

Myself, Tracy Dirks (Dir. of Development) and Mike Wood (Sr. Engineer) will be manning the booth throughout the conference.  I’ll be holding down the fort a good bit of the time while Tracy and Mike are in the sessions, so I’m a little bummed to miss out on the interesting topics like: personalization, multi-store, mobile, social media and integration.  So if you are at the show, come by table #6 and say ‘hello.’  It would be great to hear about your business, cool things you are doing with the product, ‘take aways’ from the sessions, your journey to Ashland (14 hours and 3 flights from North Carolina), etc.

Also, If you are interested, I’m happy to talk about some of the awesome things Beacon has done for clients like Business-Supply, Robert Ham, BMI and dozens of others.  Our team has been turning out amazing sites featuring custom design and development work as well as really powerful solutions we’ve put together in conjunction with our partners, like: Bronto, Nextopia and Windsor Circle.

As always, please help keep those less fortunate (like the exhibitors, my fellow teammates back at Beacon and the others who couldn’t make it) in the loop via #ASPDNSFconf on Twitter – we’d really appreciate it!

Have a safe trip and see you in Ashland!

We’re proud to announce the release of the Greensboro Housing Authority redesign!  As always, Beacon was right on-time with our deliverables, which is always our goal.  The client chose a soft launch date of December 1, 2011 because they wanted to show the new site to their Board of Directors at their annual meeting that day.

Their Web site was designed and constructed in-house several years ago, which meant that it was time for a completely new look.  The site also had content that was very out-of-date, so the client took it upon themselves to do a complete rewrite of the content, and restructure the site to be more intuitive.  Also, they wanted to get away from having to update the site by-hand using HTML, and wanted it in a content management system.  Finally, they wanted a new Web hosting partner.

Enter Beacon:

• We provided them with a brand-new graphical design;
• Developed it to display perfectly in multiple browsers;
• Implemented the new site into Cascade Server (content management system) to allow multiple users to update the content with an easy-to-use solution;
• Incorporated a new search feature;
• Imported approximately 60 pages of content, including 20 fact sheets about each of their properties;
• Transferred their Web site to a shared hosting package here at Beacon.

Several Beacon staff members made this project a success:

• Wendy:  Without much direction from the client, Wendy put together a design that they liked on the first try, which is phenomenal.
• Stephanie:  She was instrumental in getting the project off the ground, attending the initial meetings and providing meeting notes, the business requirements, and proposed site hierarchy.
• Zed:  He was thrown into the fire, as this was his first development project here.  He developed the front-end HTML/CSS/jQuery, and implemented the site into Cascade Server (which he picked up on very quickly), and entered most of the content.
• Tiffany:  Provided assistance and training to Zed.
• Justin:  Project Management and Cascade Server documentation & training.
• Beacon’s Technical Support Group (TSG):  And finally, no site hosting transfer is complete without the efforts of TSG, specifically Caleb and William, for setting up the hosting and troubleshooting some DNS issues over a weekend.

This is another high-quality design to add to our portfolio, and another non-profit site we can be proud of.   Thanks to everyone involved!

Before

After

When was the last time your disaster recovery (DR) plan was revised? A viable DR plan may be what saves your business. Having a DR plan is a bit like an insurance policy. You don’t want to use it but are glad to have one when you need it. If you have a current DR plan, you realize the value of being able to recover from a catastrophic event. Well run companies not only have a DR plan but have assigned a monetized value for it. Establishing the value of a DR plan also indicates a level of commitment.

The extreme weather that has created earthquakes this summer in the Northeast is one disaster example. If your business is not impacted directly, chances are your suppliers or vendors are in some way. How prepared are you?

A basic DR plan includes :

1. contact list - where is it, how to access it and contains information on internal staff and key customers.
2. documentation - reactive scenarios to use based on the type of outage (network, infrastructure, data center, customer support, manufacturing).
3. training-  the staff  in IT, Sales, Customer Support, and Purchasing is trained on their roles and what to do when a disaster occurs.
4. commitment - last but the most important aspect. The management team and the worker bees are committed to knowing and being able to execute a DR plan.

Let’s assume you have a plan. When did you last update it? Is the plan reviewed periodically? Is having the plan revised connected to anyone’s performance goal? The amount of planning captured in the plan is directly proportional to the value management assigns to the DR plan.

Having a DR plan is fundamental to every business. What it contains and how extensive it is indicates your level of commitment. Kind of like the value of your insurance policy.

We regularly receive calls from company leaders that are searching for a new web technology partner – usually because they are unhappy with their existing web development, web marketing or web hosting firm(s) – or their current vendor has vanished.  We hear stories about lack of ongoing support.  We hear about low-ball initial quotes to get in the door, only to give way to further charges, or “nickel-and-diming” once they are already deeply invested.  We hear stories about the web development company pointing fingers at the web hosting company (and vice versa).  We hear how the web marketing company cannot make progress due to slow implementation by the development team.  And we hear complaints about web applications not working properly and the inability of the web development team to address deeper technical issues.  In some cases, the code is so poorly written (by amateurs) that it’s too hard and costly to maintain or even decipher.  I’m just sharing some of things we’ve heard over the years.  There are certainly many good web technology firms out there to choose from.  But like every industry, there are good ones and bad ones.

We all know that the web world seems to grow in complexity daily.  There are so many different platforms, development languages, content management systems, ecommerce solutions, database management systems, browsers, web marketing channels, hosting infrastructure components and third party software options.  New plug-ins, apps, tools and devices are popping up every day – and it is nearly impossible to keep up.  There’s no question that these complexities and options will only increase as we move forward.  Consequently, technical experience, business-mindedness and effective development methodology will become even more intertwined in order to produce seamless integration.  Businesses that are serious about their online presence should think twice before engaging a rookie, their friend’s high school student or the one-person-stay-at-home-web-designer to create and manage the face of their business to the world.

 My point is this:  Your web technology vendor must function as a “business technologist”.  The companies that we work with are not coming to us saying, “Here, build this.”  They are asking for guidance about how to more effectively use the web to match their business processes.  They ask, “What do you see other companies doing to solve this specific problem?”  They want to brainstorm about business solutions and tap into Beacon’s extensive experience in solving “business technology” issues around the web.  Our small business clients want to know what they should do first to grow their business on the web.  They are very rarely asking us to “build a website”.  They are asking us to partner with them to “build an effective web presence”.  Big difference, very big!  It’s similar to getting “take out” from a fast food place versus “dining in” at your favorite restaurant.  They want to hear about recommended items on the menu.  They want the food prepared to their special needs.  They want someone checking on them regularly to make sure everything is okay and refill their beverage glasses.  They want to take a look at the dessert menu even though they may pass.  They want, and expect, to be taken care of.

Internet business is my passion – and has been for the last 15+ years.  I can assure you that no project is “cookie cutter”.  Every project is different with unique requirements.  I want you to be successful with your web initiatives – good design, solid code (ecommerce or CMS), dependable technical support, effective web marketing,  and most importantly, real business results that can be tracked through accurate web analytics.  There’s no question that your budget will drive the level at which you utilize the web.  That’s part of the game.  But you can certainly focus on getting the most for your investment, regardless of whom your web technology partner is.

And remember, fast food take out is typically not healthy.  Dine in.  Sit down.  Relax.  Look over the menu.  Let the experienced staff take care of you.

Our website hasn’t been updated in 3 years.  Way too long, but updating our own website always takes a back seat to our client work – which thankfully has been plentiful during this period.  The last design was fantastic and I struggled with the idea of replacing it.  However, it was time.

When I consult with businesses about web technology and marketing, I always talk about the “leap of faith” that exists for a buyer when choosing a vendor.  No matter how you look at it, there’s an element of trust here.  Can the vendor really do what it says and deliver as expected (on time and within budget)?  I believe you narrow this “leap of faith” through credibility, which is something we wanted to emphasize with our new site.  Additionally, we wanted to practice what we preach with ties to social media, video, map features, case studies, dynamic phone tracking and web marketing tactics.  As with any website (and as a good marketing approach), it’s important for visitors to quickly understand how our services will help their business, rather than just see a listing of services.  Simply put, it’s about what they get, not what we do.

I’ve been in the IT business a long, long time.  Prior to starting Beacon in 1998, I was with AT&T for 15 years, the last few years of which, leading the development of its global corporate intranet (custom-integrated into Peoplesoft).  The growth in web technology businesses has been incredible since then, which certainly isn’t a surprise.  However, I’m surprised at how many web companies profess to be experts by using their websites to list all the things they “can” do without any strong credibility references.  Hey, I completely understand that any new business has to earn and build up credibility.  Been there.  Done that.  You just don’t start with it, so consequently, you must market the expertise of your staff because that’s all there is.  But at some point there has to be a shift.

I guess that’s why I’m so proud of this new website.  It represents 13 years of hard work that has led to growth, stability and credibility.   We removed the flash content and made the message very straight forward.  Web Development, Web Marketing & Web Hosting.  Automate, Grow & Connect your business.  The map on our new home page shows our reach across the United States.  It clearly accentuates our valued relationships with strong, well-known companies like Google, AspdotnetStorefront (ecommerce system with thousands of implementations), Hannon Hill (Cascade Server CMS, used by hundreds of Universities and businesses), Bridgeline Digital, Dell, LabTech and TW Telecom.  SEO friendliness has been improved through better page sculpting.  You will also see links to a few of our prominent clients in each area of our business.  Over the years, Beacon has also had the pleasure of serving as a subcontractor for Accenture, Lockheed Martin and KPMG Consulting.  Although these relationships certainly lend credibility, we elected not to highlight these because we no longer focus on federal government projects.

I particularly like how our web design team integrated social media into the new site.  Our blog is very active with regular, diverse posts from our staff.  Our video really shows the personality of our team.  And of course, we connect to the world through Facebook and Twitter as well.  On the lower tier pages, you will see some of our clients highlighted in each section and, if you mouseover any of their logos, you will get a few details of what we do for them.  We also included a section for links to pertinent content related to each section, which we initially connected to many of our blog posts.

Our website is a sales and marketing tool.  When prospective clients come to our website, I want them to know that we’ve been doing this for a long time, we are good at it, we don’t outsource, we have a good track record, we are a long-term web technology partner and we have many credible, recognizable clients that can attest to this.

We launched a really cool new eCommerce site for BMI Surplus!  BMI Surplus is located in Hanover MA and is a supplier resource center of equipment for premier colleges and universities, research facilities, individuals and manufacturing businesses worldwide.  Their website uses the newest version of AspDotNetStorefront with several purchased add-ons and custom apps built by Beacon. The purpose of this project is to redesign the BMIus.com web site and replace the existing shopping cart with AspDotNetStorefront. The primary audience for the new website will be universities and other research centers, but also individuals looking for specific parts/equipment by searching via part number and/or SKU in search engines.

Here are the project highlights: • Custom Logo Design • Custom site design • AspDotNetStorefront Version 9.1 • Rotating banner on home page pulling from Featured Products category • Paginated, sortable and filterable category landing pages • Custom fields pulled from backoffice system for product detail page (condition, tested, location, etc.) • Share this button on product detail page • Customized ‘Email a friend’ form that sends questions to customer service • Customized shipping functionality (allow warehouse pickup, self-shipping) • Wire transfer as a payment option • Integration with back-office inventory system (Fishbowl) • Web marketing analysis and recommendations • eNewsletter signup integrated with Constant Contact • Enhanced basic and advanced site search

HUGE thanks goes to John and Tiffany who really made it all work. There were lots of new and fun challenges with a new version of AspDotNetStorefront and the Beacon team met each challenge admirably.  Other big contributors: Wendy provided a lovely custom design, Thomas assisted with setting up the informational pages and Jeff provided essential WMS feedback and analysis.  Finally, BIG thanks to William and Wayne for their launch assistance.

I have been in the information technology world since 1981 when I wrote my first programs as a student at Wake Forest, then later as an intern at the NC Dept of Agriculture and throughout my career with RJ Reynolds, AT&T, as a student at Kansas State and now with Beacon.  In 1998 when we started Beacon, there were a few web development companies out there, but now they are EVERYWHERE!  All of them claim to be the best.  I know, I know.  That’s just business.  I have talked with hundreds of business leaders with respect to web initiatives over the years.  To no one’s surprise, the four main factors that drive the decision to select a web development/consulting firm are (1) Price, (2) Experience/Capability, (3) Delivery Time, and (4) Relationship / Support.  I believe we are very good at what we do, but by no means are we perfect as there is always room for improvement.  But having been in this profession for over half my life, I thought it might be worthwhile to share some of my experience-based thoughts on what good web development entails.  Of course, this isn’t all inclusive, but a solid foundation.

Website Development Facts:

1. For business purposes, it is NOT so simple that “a caveman can do it”.
2. Every website is a custom website.  Cost increases with the level of customization and volume of content/products.
3. You get what you pay for.  Cutting corners, having your nephew build the site, trying to build it yourself when you have time usually produces poor results.  Take the time to do it right.  Prioritize all your requirements and desired features.  Establish a realistic budget and share it with your vendor.  Ask them to provide as much as they can with that budget without sacrificing quality.  Push lower priority requirements to a future release.
4. Every website has a “Blueprint” Phase and a “Construction” Phase (most expensive of the two).  A good blueprint keeps the construction costs down and prevents re-work, so take the time to do it right.  Breaking these two phases into separate projects (contracts) works best.
5. Web development, hosting and marketing depend on each other.  It is a BIG advantage to have a single vendor that is strong in all 3 areas with good customer support.  One number to call for any web-related issues.

 Website Types:

1. Marketing (Informational, lead-generation)
2. Storefront (Ecommerce, online revenue generation)
3. Activity-Based (Custom Applications, Blogs)
4. Mix of the above

 Website Development Differentiators:  Good firms will not only discuss your specific needs, but will also share current trends, brainstorm new ideas and proactively cover the following (at a minimum), while constantly providing ideas and consultation.  If your web development company is sitting there waiting for you to tell them what to do, find another firm.

1. Cross Browser Compatibility:  Will your website operate in ALL the most current popular browser versions?
2. Updates to the website:  I’ve NEVER seen a website that didn’t need updates from time to time.  How will updates be handled and priced?
3. Content Management:  There are many, many content management systems on the market.  Of course, they vary in price based on features and functionality.  One size doesn’t fit all.  No reason to put a monster engine in a VW bug, nor a 4-cylinder into a Corvette. 
4. Coding for search engine visibility (SEO):  It’s one thing to create content for a web page, but a whole different thing to make the site search engine friendly, using meta tags effectively, the right keyword density, SEO landing pages, internal linking and much more.  You can’t just build a website and expect the world to find it.  You have to know how to construct it so the search engines “like” it…and I’m not talking about a Facebook “Like”!
5. Professional/Creative Web Design:  The old saying is quite true… You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Your website represents your business.  People don’t read content as much anymore.  This is why using the right imagery with easy navigation is important.
6. Calls to Action:  Ask yourself, “What do I want people to do when they come to my website?”  Is there a strong call to action that facilitates this?  And how will it be tracked?
7. Analytics:  I frequently say, “you can’t manage what can’t measure”.  MAKE SURE you have some sort of analytics tool (preferably Google Analytics) to track visitors, conversions and much more.  Your website is another Sales Rep – make sure it is performing well.
8. Site Search:  Is a site search tool included and is it appropriate for your site?  It is vitally important.
9. Hosting & support:  If your vendor also hosts your website, can they also host your email and provide spam filtering?  Are redirects being used appropriately?  What happens if a page isn’t found?  Do they check for broken links regularly?
10. Local web marketing:  Will your vendor help with optimizing your listings in Google Local, Places, Maps…and other standard local venues?
11. Integration:  Does your website need to integrate with 3^rd party or back office software?  Accounting?  Shipping?  Order Management?  CRM?  Will experienced engineers be available to discuss critical requirements.

 Choosing a Website Development Partner:  When you select a website development firm, there is always somewhat of a leap of faith.  Like any profession, there are good firms and bad firms. Minimize this leap by considering the following:

1. How many years have they been in business?  Demonstrates financial stability, success and peace of mind that they have not only been providing these services, but will be around when you need them in the future.
2. Look at their portfolio.  There are so many firms out there that showcase relatively unknown clients.  There’s a reason for this – especially if they have been around for a long time.
3. Read their blog and Facebook page.  It will tell you a lot about their breadth and depth of skills, their people and their personality.
4. Do they outsource or do everything in house?  Nothing against outsourcing, but I’m a big believer in minimizing the number of costly middle-men.
5. Ask about who’s doing the work.  Does one person handle project management, creative design, development, testing, SEO and implementation?  I have yet to meet a person who is an expert in all of these areas.
6. Ask for example deliverables.  Can they provide examples of a project plan and any other deliverables that are created prior to development?  The website is NOT the only deliverable.  Houses aren’t built without a blueprint, neither should your website.
7. Ask about communication.  Will your primary point of contact be a Project Manager or a Developer?  Can you meet this person?
8. Ask about the creative design process.  How many design-and-review iterations do they provide with respect to the website design – so that you can see the creative design(s) and request modifications?
9. Ask about the CMS and eCommerce software options.  Are they locked into only one of each or do they have more breadth of experience and alternative options to meet your price and functional requirements?
10. Ask how they test the website before it is launched.  Do they have a formal “User Acceptance Testing” process – so you can check everything out before it gets launched?
11. Is the firm a good fit for your business culture?  Does the relationship “feel” good & honest like the firm cares about the success of your website?  Or do you feel like you are just part of an assembly line.
12. Ask about post-launch support.  Who to call?  Pricing?  Expected response time?  After hours?  Ticketing system to insure your request is logged and monitored to completion?
13. Do they really provide their own hosting services or do they use a 3^rd party?  Ask this 3-part question:  Where is the web server located that houses my website?  How often is server maintenance performed and who performs it?  I’ve seen a lot of finger pointing between hosting firms and development firms over the years.

 Website Development Budget:  For us, every project is quoted separately  There’s always exceptions, but here’s a “Rule of Thumb” table that I have put together based on several hundred projects we’ve performed over the years.  I hope this helps to some degree with your approach to web development firms.

*Small:  option to pay monthly **X-Large: businesses w/ large product catalogs, universities, etc (thousands of pages) that require careful planning and coordination with internal decision-making groups. Many times these projects require integration with existing legacy systems and/or 3^rd party software. ***Duration is dependent on the availability of resources, number of resources working concurrently and the client’s availability & delivery of content.

My internet experience dates back to 1995 while I was with AT&T’s HR Information Systems Organization.  I had been handling AT&T’s medical claims information system and I proposed using a corporate intranet to deliver summary level reports to executives and decision makers.  HRISO had implemented Peoplesoft (before it had a web interface) to support its 150,000 employees (worldwide).  We had a “research group” that, in my opinion, spent more time playing with the web over 2 years versus developing practical uses.  I was 34.  I was impatient.  I wanted to do something that meant something.  I was also too direct sometimes…well, often.  I will never forget that day while sitting in yet another fantasy discussion about the internet with decision makers when these words jumped out of my mouth before my brain had a chance to block them:  “Are we just going to talk about this forever, or are we going to do it?”  Deafening  silence.  Uh-oh.

I went back to my office looking for available boxes to start packing up my stuff – certain that my AT&T days were numbered.  My boss came by my office the next day and surprisingly said, “We’re done talking about it.  You are in charge of developing a self-service model for all AT&T employees to use.”  I think this was management’s way of saying, “Put your money where your mouth is”.  They called me on it and now I had to walk the talk.  I was allowed to assemble what I still believe may have been the most awesome technical team ever (except of course, the current Beacon Team) and within 6 months we launched AT&T’s Employee Services Website.  It served ~150K employees worldwide.  It was ahead of its time.  It allowed employees to manage their own personal data, view their paystub online, access standard forms (vs printed versions that may have been in their desks for years), utilize online FAQs, contact the HR Help Desk and much more – all with a single, secure login & password (distribution of which was a very difficult component of this project).  Yeah, yeah…this is no big deal nowadays, but in the mid-90’s, it was cutting edge.   I was dubbed “Father of AT&T’s Intranet”, but it wasn’t me – it was an entire team that made this happen very quickly.  This team included John Scaramuzzo who has been my partner here at Beacon since we started over 13 years ago.  He handled the infrastructure, which in itself, required a mammoth effort.  There’s no one better than John to be at the helm of Beacon’s state-of-the-art web hosting services.  People forget that a website is worthless if its hosting infrastructure is poor and not dependable.  No news is good news for his team.  Our data center has been humming along now for 13 years.

Enough about me and John.  That’s really not the point of this post.  It’s more about my excitement about the mix of people in this terrific team we have here at Beacon as we head into 2011.  I have noticed a new energy in Beacon, one that reminds me of my days at AT&T in the mid-90’s when I “stirred the pot” or “rocked the boat” or “pushed the envelope” or whatever cliché works best for you.  Whether it’s creative social media marketing campaigns, new conversion optimization tools & techniques, unique technical solutions for content management, migration to virtual dedicated hosting solutions, utilization of cool aspdotnetstorefront plugins or the start of our new offering of IAPPS, Bridgeline Digital’s fully integrated platform for content management, ecommerce, marketing and analytics – the folks here at Beacon seem to always be thinking about how to take everything to the next level.  That’s how progress is made.