Tag Archives: wordpress site

New Site Release: Toppy America

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toppy-blogThis week, we were able to launch another unique new website design, this time for Toppy America, based in Canton, CT.  Toppy supplies Italian-built large-scale machinery for the printing, pharmaceutical, and food industries, increasing these companies efficiency and profitability with automation.  Their machines are very cool!  Be sure to check out the video page to see them in action.

Toppy already had an older WordPress site, so we were able to create a new theme (or “skin”) for their old site, and keep all of their content and photos intact.  It was a new challenge for us, working with code originally written by others, but the result is, as you can see, a very attractive new site.  Check them out at www.toppyamerica.com!

New Site Release: Brain, Child Magazine

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bc-portThis week we had the privilege of releasing a new site for Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers. In addition to having a unique, custom design, this site utilizes the WordPress blog functionality in an unusual and effective way to display web-only content from this excellent magazine. Other features include a fully-functional product store and online subscription purchase and management.  The owners of the magazine are able to click a button in our interface to generate an accurate mailing list when it comes time to send out the next issue.

From the Editor, Marcelle Soviero: “At Brain, Child we strive to bring the voices of women of different backgrounds and circumstances together on the page and on our website. Through essays, fiction and feature stories our writers provide their unique perspectives on being mothers and women while addressing readers as thinking individuals, not just medicine-dispensing, food-fixing, boo-boo-kissing mommies.”

The website for Brain, Child presented new and different challenges for us, and we’re excited to help the magazine reach more and more people online.

Visit www.brainchildmag.com and give it a try!

WordPress 3.5 Released

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Recently, the gurus at WordPress released a new version of WordPress, version 3.5. This is a significant update. If we host your site, we will be rolling this update out wordpress-logo-stacked-rgbto you soon. Many of you have already been updated.

What’s new in this version? Well, this is a significant upgrade, and you may notice some changes when you log in next time. The biggest change is in how WordPress handles your media, images and videos. The new media manager is designed to be easier to use and offers a few handy features drag-and-drop configuring of galleries and the ability to insert multiple images into a post at one time. If you use images in your blog post, these changes should be helpful.

Of course, there are also a host of security and bug fixes. The administration area has been upgraded for “retina” displays, if you happen to be lucky enough to have such a display. And many of the software libraries that WordPress uses have been updated to the latest versions.

All in all, with version 3.5, you should have a smoother experience with images and other media files and a sharper looking administration area. You can read more about the release here and you can always contact us if you have any questions.

A New Year Approaches

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We might be inclined to take a moment and look back on 2012 and remember all that was accomplished. At NFR, that would be quite a list as many things have changed in our business over the past 12 months.

Ppbc_icon_checklistBut looking back isn’t really our style. Instead, we are looking at 2013 and planning the new year.  I hope you are thinking about the opportunities for your business in 2013, and ways you can position your business for success.

Of course, we stand ready to help with your website. As you think about your online presence for 2013, ask yourself:

  • Are your images current? (Still using that headshot from 2003?)
  • Does the design of your site reflect the quality of your business?
  • How current is your site text? (Still advertising a sale from last Spring?)
  • Does your site look good on modern computers and mobile devices/phones?
  • Does your website and print material match so that you are easily identified? (business cards, letterhead, mailings, etc.)
  • Are there website features you’ve always wanted? (e-store, video, forms, photo gallery, events calendar etc.)
  • How does your site do in a Google search?
  • Is your website connected with your LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook accounts?

It may be time to consider a new site design or a refresh. Need help? I invite you to be in touch for advice on how to make your site come alive, so that you can start 2013 with your best foot forward!

Changes at Google (and North Forty Road)

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For years we have recommended Google Apps for Business as a great way for small businesses to get high-quality email services with enterprise features. Google Apps allows you to use your own domain name for email, yet also take advantage of all the great online services Google offers, such as Google Drive and Google Calendar. Until recently, Google offered these services for free to organizations that used fewer than 10 accounts.

Now, however, Google has changed their policy. If you already are a Google Apps for Business user, your free account will continue to be honored. However, new users will have to pay $5/per user/per month or $50/per user/per year. That’s still a great value for any business, considering the services Google bundles together, but it is most definitely not free! To learn more about these changes, visit Google’s Enterprise Blog.

It is fair to say that we would still recommend Google Apps for Business. Think about it: there is no software for you to install, upgrade or maintain.There are no mail servers to worry about. There is not a calendar server or a file server that needs to be maintained. You get a virtual office with file storage, best-in-class email services, and innovative collaborative tools all with 24 hour support. That’s worth the money in our book.

Our business is changing too. We are focusing more and more on making great websites for innovative and expanding businesses. We remain focused on great value, but we are also doing more with websites than in the past. The websites we are now building leverage the latest technologies on the web. We are investing our time and energy in bringing very capable websites to our clients. This means we are not as focused as we have been on other aspects of our business, such as hosting and tech support.

Consequently, we plan in the next year to partner with great service providers who can meet the support and server needs of our clients. We anticipate migrating many of our hosting clients to new hosting providers who will also provide tech support. For our customers, this should be a seamless process. The only thing you’ll probably notice is a new name and address on the billing invoice for your hosting. Rest assured that we will inform you of any changes to your account before it happens.

Also rest assured that we will continue to work to create great websites for our clients. The web continues to provide a fertile foundation for innovation and expansion and we intend to help you utilize the web for your business to the fullest extent possible.

Two New Sites Released

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http://maison4.comMaison4 is an interior design company that specializes in all areas of interior design, including space planning, lighting design, furniture selection and window treatments with locations in Boston and Phoenix. Their web site includes information about their services, as well as a storefront with hand-selected items for home decorating. Congratulations to Maison4 for launching their new site.

vecofcanton.comAlso this week, we launched the new site for Veterinary Emergency Center of Canton, CT. VEC of Canton offers a 24 hour emergency clinic for household pets. No matter the time, they can care for your pet, complementing the services of your regular veterinarian. Their site includes a visual design with detailed information about their services. We are proud to have worked with this new small business as they launch both their site and their services.

Contact us today to start work on your new web site!

New Site Launched: the Carter Notch Inn

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http://carternotchinn.comThis week we are excited to announce the launch of a new website for Carter Notch Inn. The Carter Notch Inn is an award winning bed and breakfast located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The Carter Notch Inn provides an elegant location for your next fall foliage adventure, cross country ski trip or summer escape. Their new website showcases their various bedrooms and amenities, as well as introduces you to the attractions in Jackson, NH. In addition, to previewing the rooms available, links on the site allow you to reserve a room for your next trip.

Congratulations to the Carter Notch Inn on the successful launch of their new site. Contact us if you are ready to launch your new web project.

New Site Release: Brick and Stone Expressions

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We are excited to announce the launch of the new website for Brick and Stone Expressions. Brick and Stone Expressions creates original and unique stone products for fundraising projects, memorials for pets, monuments for significant moments and events, decorative stones for gardens, and even drink coasters and other specialty products. Brick and Stone Expressions is able to offer custom designs that express your personal sentiment or capture your corporate identity. Their website needed to showcase the wide variety of stone products and designs they offer and communicate to potential customers the various options available. Congratulations to Brick and Stone for launching a new web site with North Forty Road.

You can visit the new site at http://brickandstoneexpressions.com/.

Two New Sites Released!

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Today we are happy to announce the release of two great new sites:

LaFrance Medical Aesthetics: A Bristol, CT – based company that provides high-quality cosmetic treatments that generate natural, subtle yet amazing results. LaFrance clients enjoy an upscale, comfortable environment and access to top treatments for a wide range of conditions. Their website reflects their culture of quality and their simple aesthetic of beauty. Plus it provides valuable information to potential clients and useful tools for scheduling appointments.

Rosie’s Laundromat: Rosie’s is a fresh take on an old idea – the laundromat reinvented for the modern world. Offering a full-service laundromat, with state-of-the-art washers and dryers, Rosie’s goes above and beyond other laundromats by also providing a great atmosphere and a concierge service for all your laundry needs. Rosie’s website reflects their spirit of fun, while also inviting customers to come check out their reinvention of the laundromat.

Congratulations to LaFrance and Rosie’s Laundry for launching their sites with North Forty Road!

NFR’s Communication Plan

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One of our primary goals at North Forty Road Web Studio is to be your trusted web advisors. To that end, we strive to provide a high quality web product that meets your needs. But we also strive to provide customer service and support so you never feel left out in the cold when you need help. Today, web sites are mission critical tools, essential to your business plan and success. We want to do our part to ensure your success.

In the weeks ahead, we also hope to improve our communications with you. We want to provide you with useful information and helpful tips to keep your business running well and to allow you to utilize the latest tools on the internet. At the same time, we don’t want to inundate our clients with needless email or anything that might be perceived as “spam.” We want to increase the value of your relationship with us, not detract from it.

So, here is our strategy for communicating with you:

  • We will continue to send out a monthly e-mail newsletter. This newsletter will be the only regular email we send out (excepting our billing emails, sent by our billing system based on your billing schedule) and we sometimes even take a month off. This means, the most email you will get from us is once a month. Sometimes, of course, there are special announcements that require us to send out an email to all our clients, usually regarding server status or a security concern. That is a rare exception to our once-a-month email rule.
  • We will publish a weekly blog newsletter, that will contain helpful tips and hints. This blog will be posted on our website for anyone to read. Our monthly newsletter will be composed largely of these blog posts.
  • Usually, our blog posts will be brief, one-item stories that are focused on something useful for your business. But occasionally we will write a more in-depth article to help you reflect more deeply on how you are using the internet to further your business goals.
  • Since we are increasing our blogging content while keeping our email newsletters low, we will post the blog updates through our LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. If you follow us on Twitter, you will always know when there is some fresh content on our blog.

We want to be your trusted web advisors. Please let us know if our communication is useful to you, or if you have other ideas on how we can more effectively fulfill our mission of meeting the internet needs of business.