This website was going to be an ongoing blog from a professional web designer and an owner of the Boise web design business White Whale Web but I’ve having to dedicate my blogging to that site. However on this site, I share some articles on how I approach web design, programming, and building online solutions that work for our clients. I also share business and personal investing tips.
Make sure you check out my resources page. Also, check out my side projects page for shirts that I’ve designed and Football Squares!
One of our clients was looking for a solution that would allow them to play video that was embedded on a scrolling page BUT only when they came into view. That way, the videos would start playing only when the site visitor could see them. After looking at a couple of different solutions, I realized that the best approach was to write some custom JavaScript that would utilize the Vimeo player API...
Infographics have been around for quite some time but they’ve been gaining a lot of popularity lately because of the boost they give for search engine traffic. A good infographic will condense down steps or ideas into one graphic that allows people to more easily process the information presented. As an infographic, that information can be more easily shared across social media platforms...
We’re still within the pandemic crisis. While it sounds like some states will be lifting the stay at home orders, many Americans won’t fully participate in the economy like they did. We can expect more lost jobs and an extended recovery, if there will be a recovery at all. So how should you invest in this market? I’m not going to tell you how to invest your money since I’m...
Especially with the current pandemic shutdown, businesses are having trouble making ends meet and you may be among them! As a web design firm owner, I’ve been looking at ways to keep our work queue full, so that we can make it through this recession without too much trouble. The answer is simple: offer what our clients need. While we always try to do exactly that, it’s especially...
Search engines are the gateway to the Internet and a very important part of our privacy and security on the Internet. Search engines are constantly being updated every day with new websites and data, and we rely on them to find the information that we need on a daily basis. Even though Google is the most used search engine with about 3 times as much monthly traffic as Bing, new search engines are...
Recently due to the coronavirus pandemic, many workers are transitioning to working from home. Many web designers have already been working remotely for years, so it’s nothing new for them. Although I prefer to work out of my office, I’ve done my fair share of telecommuting. We also have several members of our team work remotely on a regular basis. I’d like to share a few of my tools and tricks...
Comparing 16 of the most popular registrars, the 5 best values for domain name registration are: Namecheap: $8.88/year (includes domain name privacy and 1 email account) Dreamhost: $9.99/year (includes domain name privacy and 1 email account) OVH: £9.99/year (UK only, includes domain name privacy and 1 email account) Ionos (1&1): $10.33/year (includes domain name privacy, email account is...
As a recession looms near, this guide will help you weather the storm and build a better business. Focus on building a cash reserve, decreasing your expenses, strengthening your relationships, refining your business offering, and continued marketing. While these are always good rules for a thriving company, they are even more important now. How did we get here? Our economy has had tremendous...
After you sign up for a Mailgun account, you will need to add a subdomain to your domain name and configure your MX records for that subdomain. You can then create a new SMTP user account with password. With those account credentials, you can send emails through Mailgun’s SMTP server using server “smtp.mailgun.org” and ports 25, 587, or 465. What is SMTP and what is the purpose? As we use Gmail...
As a small business owner, there are many ways that you can help nonprofit organizations including offering your services, hosting a volunteer day, encouraging your employees to donate or attend events, donating equipment, increasing awareness, and direct donations. As a web designer, you have additional ways to give back that are unique to your industry. Some ideas include offering your design...
Web Design, Programming, and Business
Professionally building websites since 2002, I've worked at Microsoft, multiple agencies, and a few web design businesses of my own, including White Whale Web, a Boise-based web development agency. Previously, I was an owner of Thrive Web Designs from 2015 to 2022. I've taught classes, run design groups and even ran a benefit auction for 4 years in my free time. I love sharing and giving back to the web/creative community.
