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Website Development Small Business

Build a Small Business Website That Exceeds Expectations

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The right web development partner can help bring your vision to life and show you ways to make it better.

A company website is an important representation of your business and a mark of credibility. It’s a resource for potential clients who want to learn more about your offerings and a way to generate new leads and sales, thanks to the power of search engine optimization (SEO).

But creating a small business website is not without challenges. It can be time-consuming, costly, and frustrating. If you do not properly optimize your web design and backend configurations, you could create an exasperating experience for your users and limit your organic traffic.

With the right partner and strong communication, you can build a digital presence that does your small business justice and even have a little fun along the way. Just ask Bruce Honts, division manager at Missouri Valley Environmental of Texas, a full-service industrial water treatment company.

Web Development That Is “Almost Too Much Fun”

When Honts and his team connect with potential clients, they want those prospects to be able to go online to learn more. He knew his business needed help developing a “robust” website that could confirm its legitimacy and create a digital footprint. “Our goals were to show the professional nature of our business and to explain our capabilities,” he said.

Honts was referred to Anderson Technologies, a St. Louis IT consulting company that provides full-service web design and web development, as well as other services. Honts came to the table prepared with a clear idea of what he wanted but also with an openness to expert insight and an eagerness to learn about web development best practices.

Farica Chang, Director at Anderson Technologies, explained that Anderson Technologies is more collaborative and hands-on than many website development companies. “We’ll execute the client’s vision in a way that is well-designed and considers the user experience while keeping business goals in mind,” she said. “We strive to do the best possible job, even if it takes a little longer, so our clients enjoy the collaboration and ultimately take pride in the end result.”

Honts described the web development process as easy and almost too much fun. “It was hard to go back to my regular work when the project was over,” he joked.

Advice for Small Business Owners Outsourcing Web Design

To make sure your small business website development process goes smoothly, Honts recommends providing details on what you want, including screenshots and images to illustrate your intent, but also trusting the expert’s input.

“I was pleasantly surprised and pleased each time I saw how my ideas became reality,” said Honts. “Every step of the way, I went, ‘Whoa—that is better than I imagined.’ [Anderson Technologies] took my ideas and magnified them. The end result was even better than what I was envisioning.”

Strong communication is also critical to an effective partnership. Just as you should strive to clearly articulate goals and preferences, your web development partner should be prepared to share constructive feedback on an ongoing basis. This open dialog will help ensure you produce the best small business website possible.

For the development team, one of the greatest testaments to a job well done is a referral. Missouri Valley Environmental of Texas is a division of AECSI Corporation, and after seeing the new website, AECSI Corporation reached out to Anderson Technologies to discuss a partnership.

Anderson Technologies is a St. Louis IT consulting company that offers a breadth of services, from managed IT to web development, web hosting, and ongoing web support. If you are looking for a professional (and fun!) small business web development partner, call Anderson Technologies at 314.394.3001 today.

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St. Louis IT Consulting New York Nonprofit

An IT Tale of Two Cities: Why a New York Nonprofit Chose a St. Louis IT Consulting Company for Its Outsourced IT Services

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For a provider of Christian Science nursing care based in the Bronx, New York, keeping up with technology changes and evolving health care legislation issues had become challenging to handle alone. It didn’t make sense to hire a full-time information technology (IT) expert, as the organization has fewer than 50 employees on staff. For this reason, the nonprofit organization decided to outsource its IT needs to Anderson Technologies, a St. Louis IT consulting company.

The partnership exemplifies two growing trends: the rise in outsourced IT services for small businesses as opposed to hiring a firm to “put out fires” as needed, and the use of remote technology to make long-distance work relationships possible.

Taking an ongoing, active approach to information technology, including IT security, allows small businesses “to get out ahead of issues rather than just react to them when problems occur and to have a plan in place to solve them quickly should they arise,” explained V.H., Assistant Administrator.

Taking a complete, long-term view of IT allows it to run its business reliably and securely, stay Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant, unlock cost-savings, and improve its guests’ ability to communicate with loved ones.

No Longer “Pennywise, Pound Foolish”

Before choosing a partner, the nonprofit organization’s team met with three qualified outsourced IT services companies, including a local firm. Anderson Technologies made this short list because V.H. previously worked for one of its clients in St. Louis who was pleased with the collaboration.

V.H. admitted they had some initial concerns about a remote relationship, “but because I work from home in Boston half-time, I have already seen the tools that allow people to work remotely, and I have confidence in them,” she said. The team also felt confident in Mark Anderson, principal of Anderson Technologies, who flew to New York to present the firm’s outsourced IT services.

The facility had gone years without upgrading systems, which in hindsight, was “pennywise and pound foolish,” explained V.H. “Mark was good at weighing our short-term and long-term needs, as well as the economics of the decision. We are nonprofit, and we have to be careful about how we spend our money, but technology is also an important part of our ability to do our work. Anderson Technologies has a great sense of how to balance the possibilities with the economics.”

V.H. and her team also valued Mark’s ability to explain complicated IT issues simply. He identified IT security and compliance issues that needed immediate attention and devised a plan for tackling them as cost-effectively as possible.

Not Sleeping in the City that Never Sleeps

Mark and Senior Systems Administrator Luke Bragg spent a week in New York, armed with an impressive to-do list. They installed a new server, new workstations, new Wi-Fi infrastructure, new copies of Microsoft Office, custom third-party applications, anti-malware software, upgraded the firewall’s firmware, and more. They did everything necessary to get the office running smoothly, securely, and in compliance with HIPAA, often working until 2 a.m. to make it happen.

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Luke and Mark of Anderson Technologies after each putting in over 70 hours in 4 days

“They were awesome!” V.H. enthused. “They had a plan, but they understood that any time you are working on a project that is this large and complicated, surprises will come up. They always stayed calm, optimistic, and cheerful. It was just a joy to work with them.”

The nonprofit’s guests reaped the benefits straightaway. “Previously, the Wi-Fi signal wasn’t strong in a number of rooms. Sorting that out made an immediate difference to the patients, who could then FaceTime or Skype with family and friends,” said V.H., adding that it also improved the quality of life for the nursing staff, many of whom have family abroad.

The Long-Term Goals of Outsourced IT Services

With the initial legwork behind them, Mark and his team now support the nonprofit from their office in St. Louis, although they will visit New York for check-ins. The organization’s goal is to stay abreast of relevant technology and HIPAA regulation developments affordably and to plan ahead so it can avoid another massive update. Most importantly, it wants to ensure technology supports its chief mission.

Anderson Technologies is thrilled to help support that plan. “Mark and his team aren’t just passionate about technology, they are into the relationships as well,” said V.H. “That makes this all more rewarding for us, and for them.”

Anderson Technologies is a St. Louis IT consulting company that partners with local and national clients to improve the efficiency and reliability of IT functions, enhance IT security and compliance, and take a proactive approach to maintenance with a focus on cost-savings. For information about outsourced IT services, including IT security, cloud services, hardware and software acquisition, and more, call Anderson Technologies at 314.394.3001 today.

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St Louis IT Experts Assist Financial Services

St. Louis IT Experts Assist Financial Firm for Over 15 Years

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For a deep-value investment firm, it pays to have St. Louis IT experts advising them on the computer systems running their business. This investment firm has worked with Anderson Technologies for over 15 years, seeking advice whenever technology changes or industry requirements demand it. When you pay for professionals to plan your entire network, you can be confident your systems are properly configured.

J.B. explains, “In IT, you’re totally exposed to whoever comes in, so trust is paramount. Anderson Technologies is a trusted resource — we can trust them completely.”

A few years ago, Anderson Technologies helped this investment firm move their file and application servers to an industry-specific cloud-based solution. Regulatory requirements were changing, and cloud-based systems offered improved reliability and redundancy. They wanted to maintain client data security while ensuring regulatory compliance and turned to the St. Louis IT experts at Anderson Technologies to help investigate options that best supported these needs.

After a successful cloud migration, this financial firm still had local computing infrastructure to maintain, and Anderson Technologies configured it for maximum long-term performance. While a server typically lasts between three and five years prior to being upgraded, many small businesses look to stretch their investments by extending the service life of their equipment. Anderson Technologies understands this fiscally prudent approach and helps its clients take full advantage of equipment investments while guarding against potential complications that might arise from such a strategy.

Last year, the investment firm experienced a hard drive failure on a seven-year-old server. Anderson Technologies had architected the server with a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) subsystem. As a result, they did not suffer a second of downtime — or lose a single file. The system continued to operate properly until the issue could be permanently addressed.

The investment firm chose to invest in Concierge Services for this new installation. Thus, after turning up the replacement server, the St. Louis IT experts at Anderson Technologies reconfigured every workstation so staff wouldn’t experience any difference in their workflows. They preserved all users’ local desktop customization, maintained internet favorites for each browser, and mapped printers correctly. There was no interruption to employee work.

To avoid the potential headaches that come from server failures, the safest and most cost-effective solution is to invest in managed tech services to monitor systems. It’s easy to ignore maintenance issues, but this approach results in more frequent equipment malfunctions. All small businesses should regularly audit current systems to ensure proper security measures are in place, review performance, and establish an appropriate data backup strategy.

If you are currently struggling with a computer challenge, we’d love to help! Please either call us at 314.394.3001 or complete our Contact Us form online.

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A St. Louis Disaster Recovery Story: Saving a Client’s Computer Systems during a Potential Flood

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“They tell me our building is going to flood! We need to get all the computers up off the floor!”

That’s what we heard at the end of December when one of our clients called in a panic. A St. Louis County Building Inspector cancelled the inspection of a neighboring property because “that area will soon be under two feet of water.” This dental office needed help immediately! Municipal officials and news agencies warned of historic flood levels for the Mississippi and Meramec rivers.

Long before this incident, the Army Corps of Engineers advised the dental office that their offices weren’t in a flood plain, but in late December 2015, Mother Nature decided differently. Fortunately, they had ignored the advice and purchased flood insurance anyway.

Though safeguarded with insurance, every wise business person knows time is money, and downtime without properly functioning computer systems leads to lost revenue.

This dental office is a Citadel-level Managed Tech Services client who found Anderson Technologies a calm and helpful presence in the midst of a holiday emergency. With the warning of possible flood waters, the client madly scrambled to elevate equipment off the floor – every server, workstation, uninterruptable power supply, network cable, etc. They called and Anderson Technologies answered immediately. “I’ll be there right away,” Principal Mark Anderson said and dropped what he was doing to arrive onsite as quickly as possible.

All of Anderson Technologies’ St. Louis-based Systems Administrators are calm under pressure, and while the situation was chaotic, Mark remained unruffled and methodical. “He quickly and competently jumped right in and helped us get all the computer equipment up as high as we could. We weren’t worried about functionality; we just wanted to save everything,” explained J.E., one of the principals. Mark made sure everything was shut down, disconnected properly, moved to “higher ground,” and could be easily re-installed after the danger passed.

Once the client’s equipment was secured, Mark assisted a neighbor in the same predicament. He found an orthodontics office doing all they could to protect against the threat of rising waters. They didn’t have flood insurance, and their IT support firm wasn’t local so they had no one to call for onsite assistance. Owner S.D. explained, “I’m completely paperless so everything in my business is on computers. That is how I survive. I never thought in a million years that this would be an issue; Mark was absolutely my knight in shining armor.”

Our team went right to work. Office Manager L.H. said, “You’re like a tech angel!” As this was the first time visiting the office, Mark took photos of all critical components and corresponding wiring before disconnecting them, documenting how everything was connected, and noting any customized wiring. “A little bit of foresight up front can save hours of frustration down the line,” Mark advised. Armed with these photos everything could be confidently and reliably re-installed without confusion.

As it turned out, the building was fortunately spared any flooding. S.D. talked about the process of putting everything back in place after the danger had passed and what it was like to work with Anderson Technologies throughout the whole ordeal. “Just by working with Mark on this one issue, it was clear to see that we have the same high standard of business ethics. We are so grateful to have found them!”

As a St. Louis-based computer expert, Anderson Technologies knows a thing or two about flooding. Computers and water don’t mix well together, and when flooding is predicted, business owners need to be aware of potential damage to their critical computer systems. If there is any chance you may find your business in this situation, here are a few tips to consider:

  1. Establish a well-thought-out and documented Disaster Recovery Plan
  2. In addition to local backups, backup your data to a remote, offsite location and thoroughly test restoring from it at least once per year
  3. Document your network and computer infrastructure configuration as completely as possible, including the names and emergency contact information for all critical vendors and business partners
  4. After safeguarding your equipment but prior to the flood, shut off power to the office to minimize damage due to power shorts
  5. Re-evaluate your needs and your plan once the danger has passed

If you have disaster recovery planning needs, please call us at 314.394.3001 to discuss this topic.

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Managed Tech Services and Dog Hair

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Dogs haven’t changed in the last 20 years… But technology has.

Pet resort owner G. T. has a complex business with simple computing needs.

“Our … resort and grooming facilities are spread out over three buildings with network cables running underground. Our server and computer workstations experience the normal wear and tear of small business life,” he explains. Plus, he says, “There’s lots of hair in this environment!”

The facility provides a loving home-away-from-home for animals every day of the year so G.T. relies on Anderson Technologies’ Managed Tech Services (Citadel) to keep his computer infrastructure running smoothly all the time. The network is kept secure by a hardware firewall, all computers patched against outside threats, critical business data backed up, and proprietary kennel software updated regularly to run the resort.

The pet resort’s experienced staff uses their computer systems to help give each pet warm, loving, and expert care on a reliable basis. If a computer was to experience a problem or to go down, it would have a direct impact on the business’ ability to provide needed services on a timely basis. G.T. counts on Anderson Technologies to foresee upcoming issues and ensure they are always up and running.

One of G.T.’s main concerns is software upgrades. “My needs don’t really change that often, but the tech world does. For example, QuickBooks™ requires that I upgrade every three years. Whenever I get a message to upgrade any of my major software resources, I call Anderson Technologies. They make sure I’m always up to date with server and workstation security patches, operating systems updates, anti-malware/spyware, and the kennel software programs critical to my business. I have trusted Anderson Technologies as my IT professional service provider for over 15 years. They are honest, highly skilled, detail oriented, and they actually care about how your system works. I trust them 100% and working with them gives me ultimate peace of mind for my technology needs.”

Learn more about Anderson Technologies’ Managed Tech Services.

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Managed Services, Specialty Projects, and Client Testimonials: Our New Website is Live!

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We hope you’ll take a few minutes to look around Anderson Technologies’ new website. For the past several years, we’ve been so focused on building and managing our clients’ technology infrastructure, we haven’t prioritized our own.

The website has undergone a fantastic transformation. As we explain to all clients interested in refreshing their web presence, the new site needed a clean, easy-to-navigate design, mobile responsiveness for maximum usability, and proper search engine optimization.

Our goals were to better articulate our new managed services offerings, branded Anderson Technologies’ Managed Tech Services, along with the other technology support we provide and explain the many ways we partner with clients in Missouri and throughout the United States. The site seeks to highlight what is unique about Anderson Technologies and express the major benefits of teaming with us.

One of the most gratifying aspects of the new website is the testimonial section. As a part of our recent branding efforts, we commissioned an outside consultant to interview current clients, find out how they describe the company, and discover what value they see in having Anderson Technologies as their IT partner. The results of these conversations have been amazing. We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve our clients and for the lovely comments they shared.

You’ll also see we’ve added a blog which will be updated on a regular basis–along with our email newsletter to highlight timely and relevant content. Please take a few minutes to look around. If you have ideas or additional information you would like to see covered in the blog, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!

Thanks to all who contributed to making this such a fantastic leap forward!

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Website design St. Louis

Tasteful Website Design, Quick Response, and Partnership-Style Customer Service

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Pleasant View Construction is a start-to-finish construction company that develops elegant craftsman-style homes in upscale West County neighborhoods. The company was looking to attract a certain type of client, one who appreciates the special touches that make a home extraordinary but may not have the time or inclination to work through all the design details themselves.

“We really didn’t have a digital presence before Anderson Technologies built our website,” explained Peter Switzer, President of Pleasant View Construction. “All of our previous work has come through word-of-mouth, but I felt we needed a way to showcase our work and give potential clients a sense of what we could do for them.”

Anderson Technologies is blessed with an unbelievable staff of professionals who truly understand what it means to take initiative. Peter experienced Anderson Technologies’ signature responsiveness and partnership-style customer service throughout the entire development process for pleasantviewconstruction.com. “They just picked up the ball and ran with it. I showed them some other websites I admired, and they just ‘got it.’ They understood what I wanted to communicate and had great ideas for different elements to add to make it even better.”

Because the work Pleasant View Construction does is very visual, it was important to develop a portfolio-focused website design. Peter continued, “they provided three robust design options to choose from, communicated clearly throughout the process and let me know what they needed from me every step of the way.” Pleasant View Construction had a huge collection of images to choose from, and Anderson Technologies methodically sorted through hundreds of photos to find the best of the best to make the most dramatic impression on the site.

The project included many other deliverables, including logo design, marketing copy for every page of the site, and social media set-up on Facebook and Houzz. As part of these overall development activities, Anderson Technologies conducted customer interviews to ensure they captured and communicated the brand properly. Portions of these conversations were also used as content for testimonials throughout the website.

Peter was also impressed by the speed of development. “These guys are extremely responsive,” Peter noted, “and my site was up really quickly. Since it went live, I’ve been able to point people to the website so they can easily see my work. That makes a BIG difference.”

Do you have a special digital project you need help with?  Feel free to give Anderson Technologies a call!

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