BustinLooseHosting is now Live!

We have now completed (all but the fine tuning and content) our Hosting website, BustinLooseHosting.com.You will notice that BustinLooseMedia, BustinLooseHosting, and this site, WildWebDesigner.com, all have the same black brick, background, this has been done for a reason, this brick signifies the barriers that can prevent some small business owners from setting up a quality, dynamic, database driven website, where they can add as many new content containing posts or pages as they desire, thus providing more opportunities for the search engines to bring them even more new customers!

Bustin’ Loose defines my philosophy on what it takes to break free from the old restrictive way of doing things, such as a business that needs to break free from the hassles that operating a website can bring.

While any website can be of some value, a properly designed WordPress based site can offer things that a plane jane, old fashioned .html site cannot. There are many services out there for these “easy” sites, and yes, they are “cheap”, but, you get what you pay for, or, at least you should. With a modern, Web 2.0, dynamic database driven site, that uses a custom .css stylesheet, that makes adding new pages easy, you no longer have to pay a web designer to add each page for you, it is as simple as sending an email, just type, add images, select a category, and hit publish and it is done. A dynamic site also allows for interaction with your sites visitors, they may leave a comment about your products or services, which will encourage later site visitors to do business with you. If you sell products, you can also add this feature to your site and have a new source of sales as well that way, and, with WordPress, you may be able to use a simple plugin, and not even need an expensive shopping cart.

I could go on and on about the benefits of using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS), but, the biggest, and best reasons are in it’s simplicity, affordability, and design, it just works better! Most plugins and themes are free, though donations are encouraged to help further development, and since WordPress is an active Open Source community, the future technologies are sure to be built in.

If you are a small business owner, you need a modern, customizable web-presence that can grow with your business, a Web Designer  and Host that is there for you, and will help you reach your goals, take a look at us, we are on your side and will help you Break Free!

What do I recommend? Anti Virus Protection, a must!

Hopefully if you are reading this, you already have some sort of Virus Protection, if you don’t, I recommend that you get protected quick! Trust me, not having a good anti-virus software, is like walking around in a bad neighborhood with cash hanging out of your pockets and a sign on your back saying “Rob Me!”

I know, you get bombarded with all sorts of ads wanting to sell you the “Best” virus protection on the market! I do too, but, what is the best? That is easy, one that works!

I know, every new computer comes with some sort of FREE antivirus program installed or available on a disk, but is it any good? What is the difference, both Norton and McCaffee, and the others, cost about the same, which is better? Well, either one is better than nothing, but there are better ones out there. I have heard so many of my “Computer Geek” buddies profess that the best is from CA or Computer Associates, however, after purchasing it, there were some sort of conflicts with my firewall, which I also recommend, and other AdWare/MalWare protection that I use, none of which would I want to do without, so, I didn’t use it!

I live in the sticks, so my choices of ISP’s, Internet Service Providers, is limited to either Dial-Up or Sattellite, so I have both! Along with my Internet Service, WildBlue gave me a FREE year of F-Secure, ok, I had a few months left on my Norton, so I waited until that ran out and then installed the F-Secure. Had I known then, what I know now, I would have done it immediately! Trust me, I got three viruses in 6 months!

After installing the F-Secure, I now know why! Just surfing the web, my f-Secure has protected me dozens of times, from real threats, not those fake ones you see!

Since I build and also host websites, I get a lot of eMail, mostly junk, and about 100 times a week, full of Viruses or Worms or some other bad thing, and F-Secure cleans it all up, before it gets to my computer! Just make sure you turn on all the features, like web scanning, it will blow your mind at what kind of stuff tries to attack you! Granted, I am online pretty much 24/7 and working a big portion of that, I love building websites so its ok.

I am sure that you have picked up on the Anti Virus Protection I believe in, F-Secure, not only does it work, it is updated every few minutes! Yeah, every few minutes it checks for updates, if available it installs them, all automatically, I am busy enough so I really like that! Yes, it costs a few bucks more, but it IS worth it! How many computers do you have? You can install F-Secure on up to three computers, that will save you some cash there! So, if you have a subscription that is about to expire, give F-Secure a shot, you will not be disappointed, I know I haven’t been!

Just in case you need business cards, a very useful tool to promote your website, I use Overnight Prints for mine, they are the best I found on the web, as far as quality and price, you can’t beat them!

High Fuel Prices: Do bad things ever cause good things?

First off, I want to tell you that the high cost of fuel, primarily gasoline, but also propane, and the natural gas used to make electricity, are putting a hurt on me!

I have a pickup that I now drive only twice a week, just to haul off the trash, and to visit a buddy down the street! Why? well, I also have a car, a little one that is good on gas! Here is the biggie, I am now spending about 75 bucks on gasoline a month, just on that truck, the car, which takes me everywhere else, I am spending about $160 a month! I have another buddy spending like $350, so yes, we all feel that, but….

Something that I have had to do a lot of in the past, just because I live in the sticks, is order what I need online! Yes, shipping has gone up, but it beats driving across the country!

If there is anything at all positive in this, it is that business owners with websites, have an advantage over those that don’t. This world wide web can offer opportunities to those that use it, and use it wisely. I’m not saying that every Mom and Pop should go crazy getting a website, but, for those that need an advantage in competitive markets, the Internet can be a major tool.

As you have seen, my nickname is CarpetGuy, why? I am a flooring consultant. As we speak, I have a couple of flooring sites that are about to be completely overhauled! These two sites are in the very first group of sites that I built, so it is just time anyway, but, I have already noticed more traffic, and contacts from the websites. This tells me that instead of driving around looking for flooring, people are shopping on the Internet! Now is the time to make these sites stand out so that when the people finish looking on the web, and get in their car to go get a closer look, I will have a better chance of getting that customer!

Now is a good time to get a Web Presence, even if it is just a basic site with your business info and phone number, if it is set up right, it can help you, especially if you are in an industry that has avoided getting a website in the past. If you need a tip or two, just keep checking out this site, or use the contact us form and drop me a note, maybe I can help?

WildWebDesigner is going for a New Look!

Ok everybody that may be interested, times change and with that, the world wide web is a leader in change, so, we have changed our format, Web 2.0, I believe it is being called, to keep up with what the web is doing. Yes, the main focus will always be the same, helping others get a qualty site at a low cost. No, we are not high priced pro’s, but a guy with a hobby, that loves what he does and works cheap!

After this site is transformed, it will be a much more useful site and easier to maintain, gradually you will find the old links and information that was here before, just with a new look!

If you need help with a website, just use the contact us form to drop me a note.