WordPress Database Update Required

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This first quarter of 2019 has been a busy one for WordPress developers. There has been 10 significant updates for WordPress 5, 5.1 and 5.2, not to mention some huge PHP updates this quarter as well, that has resulted in some required maintenance and updating needed on some of our websites. We have been running checks on all our client’s websites, but it’s a good reminder to take a look at your website and make sure that your site is running optimally. If you see any concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us. If you are hosting with us, most likely we can fix any issues at no cost to you. The most recent update we are getting is the database update that’s required, in which you can go ahead and click, “Update WordPress Database” in the window that pops up the next time you login. We’ll keep you updated on any other actions needed for you, but most of these updates are completed by us behind the scenes. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

Share-a-Sale / WP Engine Affiliate SCAM

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I thrive on being positive, however this last week I was seriously disappointed with two companies that I had so much respect for – until now. I feel like those in the same position should be aware that some affiliate companies can be a scam and should stay away. As professional digital marketer, trying to make some extra cash on the side by way of online affiliate programs is not a stretch. I’ve recently been able to throw my skills into an affiliate program for a company that I use everyday, our WordPress hosting company, WP Engine. As a hosting provider, they are the best I’ve ever worked with – their security, backups, intuitive technology and their intelligent and extremely accessible tech team make choosing this company for our hosting a no brainer. Another company I’ve been anxiously waiting to work with is Share-a-Sale, a very well known, reputable affiliate company locally owned in Chicago. You can imagine my excitement when I learned that WP Engine actually listed as a merchant to sell for inside Share-a-Sale … perfect! I love that I would be able to market for a company I already know! Furthermore, they come with a healthy payout of $200 per sale. Awesome! This is an affiliate merchant I can really get behind. So after a few late nights, I had created a successful Google PPC click campaign and within one week I so excited to see I successfully gained WP Engine 6 new clients, earning a commission of $1200 in one week. I was so excited! After the week ended, and Monday came around I logged in my account to see my final payout for the week of work – but then felt my whole body deflated when I saw the screen. WP Engine had taken the sales but declined and voided all the commission payments before they could be paid out. I was shocked and so disappointed by these two companies that I always had high respects for, just completely dumbfounded. Lesson learned. I love the idea of an affiliate program, but when they don’t follow through, it’s no longer a win-win and also against all my morals to be a scam and cheat. Next time … well there will not be a next time with any other affiliate program again. But it did strike an idea. I’ve always wanted to be able to have no-risk solution to digital marketing, affiliate programs are supposed to be kind of that way, however what if I could offer a program where clients only pay us when we get a customer? Pay for sale? How would that work? I’m open to any thoughts and suggestions, let me know!

Next Year’s Marketing

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Have you planned next year’s marketing? What did you do last year for marketing? Did it work?

Starting and running a business can be stressful – even more so when sales aren’t where they should be. It can be downright scary. However, there is good news! When you have a marketing plan in place, it can eliminate that stress. The sooner you start, the better. If you’re anything like me, I like to start fresh at the beginning of the new year. So now is the time to get that plan in place. There are unlimited opportunities – including social media, email, optimization, pay-per-click, press releases and more! Our marketing packages start at $1000/mo and can include ALL of that. After a free consultation, we can come up with the perfectly crafted marketing package that fits your needs – and your budget. Contact me today for a free consult to learn more.

– Christy

Website Design Agency Now in Minneapolis

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We’re excited to announce as of October we now have an office space for our website design company in Minneapolis, MN! It’s a shared space with other creatives, named “Fueled Collective”. It’s located in Minneapolis right in the heart of “Nordeast,” the city’s vibrant arts district nestled within a historic, century-old restored building. This sunlit, productive shared workspace offers both private suites and semi-private campsites perfect for meeting with potentially new and existing clients, as well as dedicated desks for for us to work at during the day. There is WordPress Wednesday to share knowledge among experts plus other creative marketing events for all of us to learn, share and grow. Additionally, there are microbreweries, art galleries and ethnic restaurants abound in this part of town, making it a solid social destination as well.

We’ve always marketed as a website design agency in Minneapolis – so we love this opportunity to be able to play … ahem I mean work … with others in the industry in such a creative and inspiring work environment right downtown. This also offers convenience to meet with clients located closer to downtown and the southern suburbs.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Original website designer of Clark, SD – Showcasing new office at Potato Days!

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Since May, 2018 Downtown Design, LLC has quietly created a second home next to Backroads Floral in the heart of the small town of Clark, SD where I grew up and also where our new amazing and talented administrative executive, Nichole DeLauriers lives with her husband and children. Not only does this allow for me to work during extended visits back to my hometown and allows for our admin to have a basecamp for working and to host meetings, but also I am hoping to bring affordable, technical and professional marketing options to the local businesses in the area. I’m not sure how well it will go over, but if we can help the businesses here to grow, I would love to continue to pop-up in more rural areas in the midwest.

The particular building surely feels like a home, as it once was … but has been used as an office for the Clark Abstract & Title Company location for the last couple decades. Reidburns, owner of Backroads Floral has purchased the building upon moving on the block, as it is nestled between their beautiful store and their newly built quaint little greenhouse. We have been working on giving it a facelift, painting the walls and we plan on getting new flooring in a couple months. It’s really worked out to be the perfect location that we were looking for, making it a great local place to come to work everyday.

This last weekend was Clark’s famous ‘Potato Days’ event and we were fortunate enough to be included in an event that allowed many to walk through the door so they could take a look at our office and I could explain who we are and what we do, ask them to follow-us on Facebook and give us any referrals for business owners in the area. The event had a great outcome, I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout!

I’m just so glad I have spent as much as the summer as I can here in Clark, but this fall I will be going back to stay in the cities with my husband, coming here for smaller periods of time including weekends. Thankfully technology allows Nichole and I to work just as effectively using chat and video throughout the day.

Now that the Clark, SD office is up and running, it’s time to go back and finish getting my new Anoka, MN office up to speed. The Anoka office is our main office so I have big plans for that location that include collaborating with other creative professionals, hosting training events for local business owners, growing our personal team and finally changing our huge sign from “Sign Station” to “Downtown Design” – the future is exciting!

– Christy Huisenga, Owner
Downtown Design, LLC

We’ve Moved!

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It’s official! We’ve moved just down the road on the west side across of 169 on Hwy 10 and Greenhaven, where Barbara and Maris Schilling’s Sign Station was for so many years before. Sign Station has purposely downsized and is now being mostly ran out of their home so the Schillings could enjoy spending valuable time with their grandkids. This great space has been empty for about a year when our lease was up in January, in the busy downtown location on the east side. We were looking to make a location change and after talking with Barb about the space — it just made sense! It was like it was meant to be!

“We love the stand alone building! It has artistic loft features that makes it unique and fun – much like a college art classroom! It’s also much quieter, yet has much more exposure and it’s so much easier to get to. The best part is saving all the money I was spending on parking tickets! (kidding, not kidding)”
– Christy, Owner

We have enjoyed having the Schillings as clients for years – and now we can enjoy having them as landlords too!

The new location address is 560 West Main St, Anoka MN 55303. Please update your records!

Christy stays owner of Downtown Design, LLC

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Looking back at 2017, the business kept up well this year despite the family emergency that took Christy away at the end of August. Her father struck ill suddenly, suffering multiple strokes and heart attacks. With her family residing in eastern South Dakota, it made it very difficult for Christy to tend to her clients and her family at the same time. It was important to her to be with him to care for him during this difficult time in his life. He has spent the last three months in a variety of rehabilitation facilities and is now expected to return home in February. During her absence to avoid taking funds needed for her staff that were still running the business in Anoka, she started what was supposed to be a temporary freelance agency, Wonder Woman Marketing. This would allow Christy to start working with friends and relatives in South Dakota to earn a income for mortgage and daycare.

Before her return, Christy was working on a deal with her long-time employee/office manager, Jennifer “Rocky” Borchardt. Jennifer was to continue the success of Downtown Design, LLC while Christy continued her spin-off business. However, there was a quick turn in events that made the deal fall through during the final stages. Upon Christy’s return, it was very apparent that making this deal was not the right decision for the company.

“My clients are the most important aspect of my business… if it wasn’t for them there would be no business.” says Christy. “I need to do what is best for my clients.”

Christy plans to make big changes to Downtown Design, LLC in 2018. Some of her new plans include a higher-trained industry specific staff, more personalized services for clients, increased administrative attention, a much larger emphases on search engine optimization and a carefully chosen advisory board of business professionals.

“It’s been a tough year, but I’ve learned so much – and that’s what I’m choosing to focus on. I’m looking forward to all the accomplishments I know we are going to make in 2018 and delivering a higher quality service to my amazing clients!”

Upcity’s Top Web Designers in Minneapolis in 2016 & 2017

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Check out who TOPPED the Top Web Designers in Minneapolis list!

Here’s a hint. It’s a Minnesota Web Design Company that offers 100% American Services. …where was your website designed?

Top Web Designers in Minneapolis

Minneapolis is one of Minnesota’s “twin cities” (along with the smaller city, Saint Paul). With over 20 lakes and wetlands, Minneapolis is a city center packed with natural beauty. Come along as we discover Minneapolis’s best web design firms!

We’ve selected these firms based on how well these companies represent themselves online; from the user experience of the company’s website, to their social media presence and prominence in organic search results. We hope you enjoy our list and reach out to one or more of these design agencies for your small business website.

http://upcity.com/local-marketing-agencies/lists/top-25-web-designers-in-minneapolis

 

Author: https://plus.google.com/+DowntownWebDesignSEOAnoka

2017 BBB Torch Awards for Ethics

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The Better Business Bureau Torch Awards for Ethics (previously known as the Integrity Awards) recognize companies who display an outstanding level of ethics and integrity in all of their business dealings. These companies generate a high level of trust among their employees, customers and their communities. This award is open to all for-profit businesses in Minnesota and North Dakota, who are in good standing with the BBB. Membership in the BBB is not required.

How does it work?
A company must first be nominated for the award.

There are four available size categories based upon number of employees:

  • Category I: 1 – 10 employees
  • Category II: 11 – 50 employees
  • Category III: 51 – 175 employees
  • Category IV: 175+ employees

After a company is nominated, they are asked to complete a formal entry. The entry guidelines ask each company to demonstrate their commitment to ethics by addressing the following six Principles of TRUST!, as established by BBB:

  • Transformation at the Top
  • Reinforce and Build
  • Unite the Team
  • Steer Performance
  • Treasure People
  • Enthusiastically Reinvest

The Judging Process
Entries are then reviewed by an independent panel of judges. The judges determine the finalists and award recipients for each category. All companies are recognized at the Torch Awards ceremony and the winners are announced live at the event. All finalists and winners also receive these benefits.

Exclusions
A company is not eligible to compete if any of the following conditions apply:

  • They have been in business less than 3 years
  • They have earned less than a “B” rating from the BBB
  • There are indications they have not met their financial obligations
  • They have won this award in the past three years

Key Dates
Nominations Due: May 9, 2017 by 5:00 PM
Workshops: June 8, 2017 (10:30-11:30 AM) and June 13, 2017 (2-3 PM)
Entry Deadline: July 24, 2017 by 4:00 PM
Award Ceremony: October 25, 2017, U.S. Bank Stadium

Questions?
Contact BBB Event Coordinator Mackenzie Kelley at 651-695-2482 or mackenzie.kelley@thefirstbbb.org.

Best Web Designers in Minneapolis

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We Looked at 98 Web Designers in Minneapolis and Picked the Top 19

Why These Web Designers?

Our goal is to connect people with the best local experts. We scored web designers on more than 25 variables across five categories, and analysed the results to give you a hand-picked list of the best web designers in Minneapolis, MN.

https://www.expertise.com/mn/minneapolis/web-design

Our Selection Criteria:

  • 1. Reputation

    A history of delighted customers and outstanding service.

  • 2. Credibility

    Building customer confidence with licensing, accreditations, and awards.

  • 3. Experience

    Masters of their craft, based on years of practical experience and education.

  • 4. Availability

    Consistently approachable and responsive, so customers never feel ignored.

  • 5. Professionalism

    Providing service with honesty, reliability, and respect.

     

Best Web Designers in Minneapolis

 

Author: https://plus.google.com/+DowntownWebDesignSEOAnoka