Really, Google. Must you make it SO HARD for all of us small businesses?

I have been managing Google Business (business.google.com) for a number of clients for 15 – 20 years. From that sub-site of the Google empire, a developer or business owner can manage their listing and be found in Google maps (maps.google.com). Quite sufficient for a good long time. Now you’re offering us to add products, yet there is a whole new spinoff, Google Merchant Center which does same. [Read more…]

Family businesses, micro businesses, buy-local businesses are often on a small budget and seeking an inexpensive way to sell products online. To implement an eCommerce solution, I recommend that a business have a reasonable budget for technical web development assistance. The focus of this post is selling from your own website, not from Facebook or online portals such as Etsy, Shopify, or Amazon. [Read more…]

Mad River Web provides some clients with the minimal services of “DNS only” or “DNS and domain email” without website hosting or development. DNS (domain name service/server) is the mapping that leads people to the email and website locations. Support for small dollar items can consume a significant amount of time and is more easily absorbed when we have the website business as well. That is why our pricing may be more than you would pay elsewhere and/or for the first email account.

Alternatively, you could take over your own domain registration/mapping and save $50. Coaching or instruction on how to change services is not included, but we do provide the industry-standard courtesy of assisting a transfer.

What is the best way to collect information?

Simple, least costly

Create a form to be printed and filled out. Use a program such as Word, and save as a PDF so that it cannot be altered. [Read more…]

What do I get charged for? How much does consulting cost? Do I pay for email correspondence?

In a nutshell, all time is billable except for hosting and email support requests. This is also clearly stated in our terms and website pricing, where many answers can be found. If you read our mission and philosophy, you will understand that we put our “client” hat on before spending your money. [Read more…]