Technical - Website Design For Small Business

Your Essential Small Business Website Maintenance Checklist

So you've got a website up and running—that's awesome! But here's the thing: building a site is just the beginning. Nearly 24% of small businesses still don't have websites (according to Digital.com), which means having one already puts you ahead of the game. But if you want your site to actually work for your business, you can't just set it and forget it. Your website needs regular care, just like your car or your storefront. Skip the maintenance, and you'll end up with a slow, outdated, or insecure site that turns people away instead of bringing them in. If handling all this technical stuff sounds like a headache, The Affordable Web Guy can take care of it for you. We specialize in keeping small business websites running smoothly so you can focus on what you do best. Why Website Maintenance Actually Matters Your website works around the clock—from Grand Junction to Greeley and everywhere in between. But without regular [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Internet Marketing, Need for Digital Marketing, online reputation, Technical|0 Comments

How To Improve Website Loading Speed

Why Website Speed Matters When a page takes longer than three seconds to load, many visitors leave before it even finishes. Research shows the chance of someone leaving jumps by 32% when load time goes from one to three seconds (Think with Google). More than half of mobile users abandon pages that take longer than three seconds (Google/SOASTA). A faster site keeps visitors engaged, helps search rankings, and builds trust. If you’d like help with SEO, see our Affordable Search Engine Optimization page. How Fast Your Site Should Be Google’s Core Web Vitals suggest targets that keep pages feeling quick and stable: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): under 2.5 seconds Interaction to Next Paint (INP): under 200 ms Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): under 0.1 See details on web.dev — Core Web Vitals. Find What’s Slowing You Down Start with a speed test: Google PageSpeed Insights shows real-world data and clear suggestions. WebPageTest lets you see filmstrips and detailed waterfalls from [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Affordable Web Marketing, Digital Marketing for Startups, Technical|0 Comments

How to Change a Domain Name Without Losing Your Customers

What Is A Domain Name: It's Kinda A Big Deal Changing your website's domain name is a big deal. It’s more than a quick technical switch; it’s like moving your entire business to a new street address. You must register the new domain, but you also need to make sure all the traffic from your old address gets forwarded to the new one. Managing the details of a domain change requires a steady, experienced hand. At The Affordable Web Guy, we handle the entire process to protect your brand's online presence and make sure the change is smooth and successful. Contact us today to get started. This process takes careful planning. You’ve worked hard to build up your search engine authority, and you definitely don’t want to lose that. Most of all, you need to make sure your customers can still find you without a problem. Deciding if a New Domain Is Right for Your Business Choosing to change [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Small business marketing, Technical, Web Design Services|0 Comments

What Is an SSL Certificate? A Guide for Small Business Owners

Wondering what is SSL certificate? Discover how it secures your site, builds trust, and boosts your Google ranking. Learn more today!

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Technical|0 Comments

How to Add Keywords to a Website & Get Found Online

Learn how to add keywords to your website effectively. This guide helps small businesses improve SEO and attract more customers by adding keywords to website.

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Digital Marketing for Startups, Internet Marketing, Lead Generation Strategies, Technical|0 Comments

Don’t Let Your Website Fail: The Best Care Plan Secrets

Discover what a website care plan is and how it protects your business. Learn about the essential maintenance, security, and updates for your online presence.

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Internet Marketing, Online Marketing Strategy, Technical|0 Comments

How to Find Your Domain Name and Registrar Fast

Misplaced your website details? Learn how to find your domain name using your registrar, hosting panel, or a quick WHOIS search. Reclaim your digital address!

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Affordable Web Marketing, Online Marketing Strategy, Technical|0 Comments

Winning The Domain Lottery: Selling A Valuable Domain

When A Domain Was Caught Up In A Bidding War AKA: The Good Old Internet Gold Rush Days Back in the mid-1990’s (or more fondly, “ancient times” as we know the internet ages at the same pace of a dog), I had a fine civil servant’s job in Sonoma County, CA. And like everyone else I’d found myself quite amused by the new internet and my Mac Performa (rockin’ the 4 megs of RAM, baby!). To get perspective on just how long ago this was, my co-worker Sue did a little moonlighting as a realtor agreed with me that the internet had genuine possibilities as a tool for selling houses. This was a cutting edge idea, no doubt about it. Put up the house listing, add pictures and sales information…it was pure genius. Armed with a recent dalliance with “Photoshopping” my face into famous pictures and scenes (alas, those are long lost) and emailing them to amused friends at [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Internet Marketing, Technical|Comments Off

Why We Don’t Offer Email Accounts

Looking For A Company Email System? Run, Don't Walk From Accounts Tied To Your Hosting Small Business Insights: Email Any self-respecting website designer that includes hosting as a service likewise offers email accounts as well, right? That's just how things are done. I mean not only email accounts, but unlimited email accounts with unlimited storage. And a free dessert. And a ride home after the show. At The Affordable Web Guy, we've decided to not offer email accounts and here's why. The big boys do it better and we can't match the services, scope, and scale of major players like Google Suite (Gmail) and Microsoft's Office 365 (I just threw up in my mouth). Yes, it's true. While we appreciate your confidence in our top shelf personal service, we don't offer what some might consider a cornerstone feature. It's not a complicated explanation. The long-story-short answer is: We could offer free accounts but we've found them regularly unreliable and stripped [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Technical, Web Design Services|Comments Off

Small Business Internet in 2025: 15 Years of Lessons

Speeds, Reliability, and SEO Impact (15 Years of Lessons) Originally published in 2009, updated for 2025 to reflect the dramatic changes in how small businesses use internet connectivity Back in 2009, I was anxiously waiting for AT&T’s U-verse to reach my neighborhood in Little Rock. My DSL line was crawling at 6 Mbps, and the promise of 18 Mbps felt revolutionary. I called support weekly, tracked rollout maps, and daydreamed about how faster internet would transform my web design business. Fast-forward to 2025, and that “blazing-fast” connection seems laughably slow. Today’s small businesses rely on 100 Mbps or more just to run daily operations. The shift isn’t just about speed — it’s about reliability, cloud adoption, and how internet performance directly affects your website traffic and bottom line. 2009 Reality: When 6 Mbps Was “Enough” Fifteen years ago, the internet played a very different role in business operations. Email dominated, cloud tools were new, and video calls were rare. [...]

By Mike Ferguson|Categories: Digital Marketing for Startups, Internet Marketing, Technical|Comments Off

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