October 1st. The start of the 4th quarter of 2019. And a new beginning for this business. Hello and welcome. My name is Jeff Mackey, and I’ve been running SIX15 Solutions, LLC as a “side business” to my day job since 1999. That all changed on Friday, September 13th (no coincidence there I assure you!) […]
A New Journey Begins Continue Reading »
It’s 2017, so I’m assuming your business has a website in some form or another. But is that website helping your business or hurting it? Do you know? Well, if your website has images that won’t load, or take a long time to load, you’re frustrating your visitors. It’s been said that close to 40%
Do These Things If You Want Your Visitors To Leave Continue Reading »
Websites should work and be frustration-free. SIX15 challenges the typical web design experience by having a proven process. One that results in a website for your business that is easy to use, functional, and effective. Remember the three R’s from your childhood? “Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic”: Well, in my world, here’s what it means for
Let’s Work Together Continue Reading »
Say you love working with WordPress, or love working with Squarespace, or love working with Shopify. Pick a technology platform; it doesn’t really matter. Being an expert in your craft does not make you an entrepreneur. As a kid I loved playing with Lego bricks. The bigger the Lego set, the better. I’d make entire
Here’s the Part of Being an Entrepreneur That No One Tells You About Continue Reading »
A few years ago, when my WordPress-based website firm was ramping up business I found myself recreating the same template files over and over. Starting with the same base and customizing as needed for the specific client need. After a short while, I discovered Foundation by Zurb, a mobile-first HTML framework that is easily modified
Creating and Using My Own Baseline Theme? Not Anymore Continue Reading »
When I first starting making websites for clients, I would take on almost any type of project. And like most web designers, I was under charging and not realizing it. People in our industry tend to be tech focused first and not business focused. We don’t fully understand the proper way to run businesses, to
I Don’t Offer Discount Codes or Promotional Pricing. On Purpose. Continue Reading »
I’d like to think that with each new successful website project, whether it’s for an existing client or a new client, I learned something new. The key of course is to take that new knowledge and merge it into my process, and better yet form new habits for continual improvement. One lesson I am always
A Few Quick Lessons Learned From You, The Customer Continue Reading »
Every WordPress developer has their go-to list of favorite plugins they install on each site they develop. Each has a (and should!) have a singular purpose to solve a specific problem or handle functionality specific to the client’s business need. No plugin should be installed “just because other sites are using it and I want
WordPress Plugins I Install on Every Business Website I Create Continue Reading »
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. If you as my client have to ask me for a status report or an update in the project, then I have failed you. When I start a new client project, I have a list of tasks already defined — based on project type — in a template that I kick off
How I Think About Project Management Continue Reading »
So if you didn’t already know, I volunteer some time and advice to the local Oxford School District’s Information Technology Advisory Board. It is a collection of local business owners in the IT related industry that meet semi-annually with faculty and students from Oxford High School. The district is looking to us for guidance in
Wix Being Taught in High School Web Design Classes? Dear God, No Continue Reading »
If I am redesigning my site, setting up a new site for a client, or inheriting a site from a new client for ongoing management, there are a select few WordPress Plugins that are my go-to for performance, security and functionality. No matter the size of website, if you have multiple pages and multiple menus,
The WordPress PlugIns I Recommend Continue Reading »
In my humble opinion, the WP Rocket WordPress caching plugin is the best on the market, beating out all others on performance and ease of use. Secondly, again in my humble opinion, the iThemes Security plugin is the best on the market for WordPress security. That said, when you have both installed with the recommended
Caching Plugins and Security Plugins, Oh My! Continue Reading »
Often times when I am talking with a prospect about a new project, I come across the same questions. I thought I’d share a list of the ones I hear the most. If you have additional questions for me regarding working together, I would love to hear from you. Feel free to comment on this
Questions and Answers Continue Reading »