When we say mockups, we’re talking about an outline of a screen’s layout. Various containers and elements are drawn up with enough detail that all stakeholders can imagine the end result. This can be as simple as a wireframe drawing of the spatial relationship of elements, or it can include details like colors, fonts, and images. It also provides a reference so that we can tie these visual elements to aspects of functionality. For instance, the mockup might have a button that says “Log In.” We can point to these elements inside the descriptions of their intended functionality (aka user stories).

That brings us to the next main component of planning. User stories are simple descriptions of functionality at the most granular possible level. By breaking things down into bite-sized chunks, we can effectively focus on one feature at a time. An example of a user story would be, “User can click Log In to be taken to a login form.” This is a good level of granularity, and it accomplishes two things at once. It tells us what action is tied to that particular button, and it tells us how we get from one screen to another. It ties the app together.

These planning elements take a lot of the guesswork out of app development. Is it possible to build an app without them? Sure. But the end result might be drastically different from the original idea. And that either means many hours of changes, or failing to meet expectations. Either of those scenarios is unacceptable to us. That said, we’re always happy to make changes if that’s what the client wants. But we’d rather it not be because we went into production without a clear road map.

The planning phase of app development sets us and our clients up for success. And it gives us the opportunity to get on the same page and fully understand expectations. If you’d like to know more about our app development process, feel free to drop us a line!

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Harrington Stanko Construction is a local Boulder, CO company with over 45 years experience in the Boulder area. They have built numerous projects of all types and sizes ranging from specialized commercial to high-end custom homes to remodels and commercial tenant finish projects.

Harrington Stanko Construction wanted an elegant, clean, and modern website for displaying their amazing portfolio of residential and commercial construction projects and for reaching new clients.

www.harringtonstanko.com was built by gooWee using WordPress and x-theme. Features include a project gallery, contact form, parallax scrolling effects, and more.

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We are always excited to sit down for a cup of coffee to learn more about a project and the company or organization behind it. This first meeting is discovery-light, and it gives us enough of an idea about the requirements of the project to get the ball rolling. From this meeting, we’ll know if the project is a website, a web app, or mobile app. We’ll start to get a sense of the scale and timeline of the project. And most importantly, we’ll get a sense of what a prospective client wants to get out of the project.

Since there’s no cost and no obligation in having this initial chat, we’re happy to move forward at whatever time meets a client’s needs. In the case of a website, we can submit a proposal immediately following the meeting or at a future date. If the project is an app, we can submit a rough estimate of the time and scope of the project. And after that, we move forward into a planning sprint, to thoroughly flesh out the project requirements. On completion of the planning sprint we submit a full proposal and then begin production.

Back to the initial conversation, an important thing to think about beforehand is the goal for the project’s MVP (minimum viable product), or in other words, the point when the project is ready for the real world. In the case of most websites, this is pretty straightforward—it’s done when we’ve built the desired pages and the client is happy with the result. In the case of an app, it is less so, since apps are rarely “done.” Many clients come to us with big ideas and a long list of potential features for their app, which is great! But this kind of thing can take years to build. So in exploring the idea initially, we want to find the core set of features that will make the app commercially viable and ready for users in the short term. That core becomes the MVP, and that is what we strive toward when we begin planning and building.

For more information or to schedule a conversation, please feel free to contact us!

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The two most important things to do next are 1) create backlinks to your site, and 2) generate new content for your site. These will improve your search engine optimization (SEO), and they’re also just good ways to stay engaged and make your site (and overall web presence) come to life.

To create backlinks (links on other sites that point back to yours), you can start by making sure you’ve included your site’s link on all your social media pages (yes, these count as other sites). From there, think of any websites where a link to yours might be relevant. This could include business directories (especially Google My Business), chambers of commerce, and other sites or blogs relevant to your industry. Even a shout out on your mom’s blog helps!

Next, if you have a blog, write soon and write often. Keep in mind, it helps to use keywords in your blogs that you’re using elsewhere in your site and in meta tags. If you’re unsure what’s in your meta tags, ask your developer. They should contain short descriptions that are relevant to your site, so these make sense to include in blogs as well. This ties everything together and helps Google understand what your site is all about.

Post often on your social media pages too. You can use a tool like Hootsuite to coordinate between the various platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.). You can post news about your company, relevant articles you’d like to share, and links back to your blog entries. Yes that’s right, you get to post a new backlink every time you write a blog!

Lastly, start sending out a regular email newsletter. Make sure to follow the first rule of email marketing by giving people an easy way to unsubscribe (preferably with one click). You can include clips from recent blog entries here, and provide links back to the full blog posts. A short and sweet newsletter is a great way to stay engaged with a personal touch.

When you tackle these things, you’ll be off to a great start! If you don’t yet have a website, gooWee can help!

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Longmont Startup Week is a collaborative annual gathering in Longmont, Colorado, for entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, investors and talent that invigorates and nurtures Longmont’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by leveraging Longmont’s innovative human and social capital, and infrastructure.

The theme for Longmont Startup Week 2018 is “smarter. together.” Events and content throughout the week of July 23-27 will focus on creators, commerce, capital, and community, and will highlight Longmont as an entrepreneurial ecosystem for civic innovation.

You can learn more about Longmont Startup Week 2018 at www.longmontstartupweek.com and even build your own LSW18 schedule at www.longmontstartupweek.com/schedule.

www.longmontstartupweek.com was built by gooWee using WordPress and x-theme. Features include: Multilingual toggle supporting English and Spanish, Sched App integration, contact form, and embedded video.

We are excited to join this incredible “for the community, by the community” event as a sponsor for 2018, and we hope to see you there!

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Websites:

A website is used primarily for delivering content for a user to digest. We often call these “static websites” because they have limited and usually very simple interactive features that don’t allow the user to modify content on the site. www.goowee.io is a good example of a static website. Its primary purpose is for people to learn about gooWee and it has very limited functionality. It has a blog and a contact form but no real way for a user to add or save content. It is for all intents and purposes a marketing brochure on the web.

Web Apps:

A web app is a more complex version of a website that is heavily focused on user interactivity and includes more complex features that usually require a database for saving information entered by users (e.g. user logins, user data storage, user preferences, interactive maps or calendars, etc.). It is a website with software inside.

A good example of a web app is a project that gooWee created called SynappStorm. SynappStorm is a platform for brainstorming and saving your ideas. You can create a brainstorming session, which allows you to add your thoughts to a “digital white board”. It also allows you to add, edit, and delete ideas, and assign tags to those ideas.

Another good example of a web app, created by goowee, is CoordinateIt. CoordinateIt is a team management and dispatching app built for the construction industry. When a dispatcher gets a call from a client to schedule a job, the dispatcher can quickly find the team closest to the client’s location on a map on a given day/time and assign that team to that client. It also serves as a client management system, storing all the necessary information for the company’s clients. 

If you still have questions or would like to learn more, please contact us, we’re always happy to chat!

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Let’s dive into a brief technical explanation. HTTP stands for hypertext transfer protocol. That’s not not important for the purposes of this blog, but just know that this protocol tells the internet how to run. HTTPS is the same thing with an S on the end, which stands for secure. That’s the important part. For a site to run on HTTPS, it has to be encrypted. In order to be encrypted, it has to have a SSL certificate from a certificate authority.

Google has been slowly pushing the internet toward tighter security for years. But this is their biggest push yet. Essentially, they’ve taken it upon themselves to designate every non-encrypted site as “Not Secure”. It’s a gutsy move. But hey, it’s Google. And ultimately, getting everyone on HTTPS it will make the internet a safer place.

This month, gooWee is making the change to HTTPS for all sites hosted in-house (at no extra cost). We’re installing SSL certificates using Let’s Encypt, a popular and free certificate authority. And going forward, we’re going to make this a default part of our website creation process. It’s worth a little extra legwork for a safer and more secure internet. And we say cheers to that!

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Running gooWee has been quite an adventure since we started the company in 2016. We have had the challenges of both running a business and learning to become better developers at the same time. Although we have had ups and downs, we have learned many great lessons and have grown along the way.

2018 has been a pivotal year for us in that we have taken those lessons and have solidified our workflows and tech stack. As a result, 2018 has been a very successful and busy year for gooWee. In the last few weeks we have launched four websites (Kabblah Experience, Rigid Bits, A Helping Hand, and Christo Cuisine) and we are on the verge of launching the website for Longmont Startup Week, a site that we built for the Longmont Economic Development Partnership, with the help of students from St. Vrain Valley School District’s Innovation Center. Since December, we have been working on our fifth app, a legal app that is now in beta testing. We have started two tech Meetups including the Boulder React Meetup and the React coding night in partnership with Women Who Code and the Bootcampers collective.

A big thank you to our clients and our local community for helping in our success along the way!

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Based out of Colorado, Kabbalah Experience and Dr. David Sanders’ unique teachings of Transformational Kabbalah offer their students the opportunity to experience life richly in the present moment, increase compassion and personal peace, and bring positive change to their lives in a troubled world. Kabbalah Experience welcomes students from all walks of life, all ages, all spiritual backgrounds and no spiritual background at all.

Kabbalah Experience wanted a clean, informational, elegant, and modern website for reaching new students and creating a sense of community.

www.kabbalahexperience.com was built by gooWee and Front Range Tech Solutions using WordPress and x-theme. Features include: a blog, contact form, e-commerce store front, memberships, events calendar, community forum, and donations.

Alyson, Juan, Clayton and Ian – Kabbalah Experience Website Team

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Based out of Colorado, Rigid Bits specializes in providing cybersecurity services to businesses nationwide. The Rigid Bits team has supported hundreds of clients across different industries over the last decade. Their services include penetration testing, digital forensics, vulnerability assessments, security awareness training, and HIPAA compliance.

Rigid Bits wanted a simple, clean, informational, and modern website for reaching new clients.

www.rigidbits.com was built by gooWee using WordPress and x-theme. Features include a blog, contact form, parallax scrolling effects, embedded videos and more.

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