Small Business Software Blog
Accessibility Standards: Is Your Site Compliant?
Recently, businesses and organizations in the Phoenix area were subjected to a series of frivolous lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These were frivolous in the sense that it someone simply drove around measuring signs or browsed the Internet looking for any minor item they could. No formal complaints were ever filed and no one was given the opportunity to remedy the situation, they were just given a dollar figure to settle with and they'd be left alone. Unfortunately, many businesses paid up. Thankfully, the Arizona Legislature stepped in and put a stop to this.
Cyber-Security for Small Business Owners (Part 3)
In the last of our three-part series on cyber-security, we're going to talk about how you can create a culture of security to prepare your employees to avoid the single biggest threat: human error.
Cyber-Security for Small Business Owners (Part 2)
Last week, we outlined some of the reasons cyber-security matters for small business. This week, we're going to provide you with some basic tools to help secure your Web site.
Cyber-Security for Small Business Owners (Part 1)
Recently, I attended a Cyber-Security Summit organized by the Arizona Technology Council. After attending many of these events in the past few years and through conversations at the many events I’ve attended, it’s clear this is still an important topic of education for small businesses. I’ll try to cover, not just the reasons for concern (hopefully without scaring anyone into giving up their smart phone entirely), but also some tips on how to prepare your small business for the ever-changing cyber-security threats.
AZ Ecommerce: The Tax Man Cometh
When building an ecommerce site, there's a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account, from what to charge for shipping (and how to determine the fees you pass on to the customer) to charging for sales tax. Collection of sales tax is one item that can't be ignored - unless you're happy to pay large sums in monetary penalties because you didn't collect and/or pay enough. This week, we'll cover a bit about sales tax considerations when launching an Arizona-based ecommerce business.
Development Diary 5: Plan to Pivot
In this installment, I’m going to talk about something that comes up on many projects: the pivot. Every project starts out with one idea that is believed to be set in stone, but what inevitably happens is a customer starts asking for something no one ever conceived (or that was downplayed for one reason or another). For Compliance Clinic, that was data storage.
3 Ways to Secure Your Online Transactions
Security was a hot topic in 2016 (and 2015 and, to some extent, 2014), but it seems that we see news of a data breach almost daily. Consumers are often more savvy (or at least more paranoid) when it comes to online purchases. Attacks on small businesses are increasing because hackers know these are the weakest links. Here are a few tips to make sure you aren't their next victim.
Building an Ecommerce Site for 2017
Ecommerce was big this year, with sales reach $3.45 billion dollars (Fortune). If you’re planning to sell online and get a piece of the pie for next year, you should start your planning now. Keep reading for some more information about what your site needs to have to survive in 2017.
How to Know When You Need a Developer Instead of a Designer
When it comes to a digital presence, you want to look good and your first instinct is to find a great Web designer. After all, you're not writing software, so why would you want a developer? As I network with other businesses, I find they tend to fall into two camps: they either believe Web designers are the same as Web developers or they think a Web developer can only write code and can't create a Web site. Well, I'm here to set the record straight.
Development Diary 4: What Do You Mean, "Infrastructure"?
By far the most common oversight by clients (and often by inexperienced developers) is the long-term solution. We start projects so they can be finished, so that means that the project has to “live” somewhere for the foreseeable future, right? Most clients gloss over this need assuming the developer will take care of it. Other times, they wait until the day before the launch to find out the Developer didn’t plan. In the worst cases, the client has no idea where their digital product lives and the developer goes AWOL. It’s important to be a part of this planning from the beginning.
Leverage Your Network for Pitch Practice
As you’ve already seen, I’m building more than just a consulting business and I’ve mentioned a few times that marketing a product is very different from marketing services. Since July, I’ve been working on creating a new digital product and there’s been a lot of lessons along the way. Here’s a few tips about leveraging the network you’ve built for more than just referrals.
3 Tips to Dominating the Local Market as a Small Business
As a small business, it can seem like a monumental task to get noticed on the Web. You're competing against huge, multi-national companies with marketing budgets that dwarf your gross revenue. There are options, though, and it's important to find ways to get noticed locally. Market smarter, not harder.