The DesignApps blog has been moved to http://blog.designapps.com
TurnKey Solutions
Posted June 16th, 2009 by John McBreen
Today we released what we call TurnKey Solutions. They are a nice and simple way to purchase website services for a fixed price and deliverable. Perfect for the small and busy business who needs to get things done but do not have the time to deal with custom proposals and project management. You will find everything from a Graphic Design Facelift to a Website Audit to Google Analytics Integration. All solutions can be purchased online. We will be adding or adjusting them in the coming months so check back often. www.designapps.com/solutions.htm.
Reggy Goes Public Beta
Posted June 16th, 2009 by John McBreen
Today we are moving Reggy.biz to a public beta .8. An official press release will be sent out shortly. Reggy is an easy and flexible way of generating online web forms for your website or emails. It has been in a private beta for about 2 months now. The feedback so far has been excellent with a lot of great ideas. We have a little bit of work to do to bring it to release 1.0 and we plan to do this in July 2009. If you haven't signed up yet you can do it now at: http://www.reggy.biz. Keep the feedback coming.
DesignApps.com - New Web Site Released
Posted June 1st, 2009 by John McBreen
We recently updated the DesignApps.com website. If I guess, I've probably done about 7-10 versions of this site since the company was started in earley 2001. Each time, getting gradually better and better I believe. And ironically, each time taking less and less time. This time around it is very simple and to the point (I hope). Too much content, although it can help with search engines, is also very time consuming to write and maintain. And I would argue that a majority of our visitors don't have the time or inclination to read through it all anyway. If I'm wrong, let me know and let me know what you think about the site and the content.
What is Managed Hosting?
Posted June 1st, 2009 by John McBreen
With the new release of DesignApps.com and a few key services - Reggy, WebProActive 4.0 and ServicePlus Hosting we also changed our managed hosting provider. What is a managed hosting provider? Well, it's a company that leases you server hardware and a network (it's in the cloud) so that we can concentrate on what we do best, which are value add Apps and services. When I first got into the hosting business, I actually bought my own server and put it in a friend of mine's basement (who later started New England Web). I then moved to to San Diego. I only had a couple of customers and my own sites, and everything was fine until the ethernet card blew up one day. I was in San Diego and the support technician was a few hours away. The server was down for a few hours as the part was replaced by my friend Brian Stephens. Although, I lived to tell the story (no customers killed me) that was the last time we owned and supported our own server.We recently selected Rackspace as our managed hosting partner. They will watch the hardware and network 24 X 7 X 365, so I can in turn provide a very reliable service to our customers. In the event of a hardware failure they will fix any issues immediately. I would strongly suggest that anyone who needs a dedicated server environment put Rackspace on their list of vendors to evaluate. Their sales process was helpful and painless (I worked with Ryan) and their service level this far has been tremendous. Their pricing is excellent and lastly they provide a customer portal for tickets and support that far exceeded most of the competition. I'll keep you posted on them as we continue to use their service and as always don't hesitate with any questions.
Design for Education Institutions
Posted May 29th, 2009 by John McBreen
I recently had the opportunity and pleasure to meet Liz Rotter, founder and creative director of Studio-e Design. Per their website: "At studio-e, everything we do is intentional. From our designs to our messages to our relationships. We work exclusively with educational institutions, creating marketing materials for admissions and fundraising efforts."Although, our discussion was somewhat brief, I was shown some of their very interesting work and impressive client list. If you are an educational institution in need of help with marketing and you haven't heard of Studie-e, you should look them up.