At BitWise, we pride ourselves in being the premier web development firm in Indiana.  We don't build all of our Websites with a Content Management System, but only when the client's needs require one. 

Last year we began developing Websites, when necessary, with a content management system platform built by internationally recognizable Kentico CMS for ASP.NET. We have tried many different content management systems over the years and this one has proven in a short amount of time to be one of the best out there.  It's very easy to use for the end-user, our clients, and is relatively painless to work with for our Web developers from a coding standpoint.

We recently launched a new Website for The Farmers Bank using the Kentico CMS platform and the Website ranked in the Top 10 Kentico Websites developed in February!  This is a great honor to receive for only having been developing Websites with the Kentico CMS for less than a year. 

We are proud to receive this status for our Web development efforts here in Indianapolis and it just goes to show that Indiana is producing more than just corn and soybeans.  There are numerous companies based in Central Indiana that are receiving awards left and right for technological advancements and forward thinking. 

Even if our "Top 10" award seems like no big deal, it is a big deal to those of us around the BitWise offices...it reaffirms to us that the work product we are delivering is still top quality and it gives us the satisfaction of knowing that our client is going to benefit greatly from the Website or application we developed for them. 

Of course we like to think our deliverables are quality but it's always better to know that other people think it's good too - other people's opinions matter way more than our own.  Thank you Kentico and thank you Farmers Bank!

There is nothing as intimidating for most of us as staring at a blank piece of paper (or Word document) and knowing that it needs to be filled with luscious prose painting a compelling picture of who you are and why your potential customers should work with you. Creating Web site content for a Web site re-design seems to be a nerve-wracking task for many clients and can even bring a project to a screeching halt on some occasions. This doesn’t need to be the case. 

A few tips for writing Web content:

1. Let your site map be your guide. Your site map is the outline of all pages on your Web site. With it, you know exactly what content you need to pull together.
2. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Look to existing marketing and product collateral as sources of content. This will also ensure consistency of message throughout all of your mediums and save you a ton of work in the end.
3. Remember: Visitors don’t read. They skim until they find what they are looking for. Front load your content (most important information first), use chunking (short paragraphs), bullets and imagery as they make sense.
4. Write content for the Web that is rich with your keywords.  This is the best way to be found on search engines, so make sure to optimize your Web site for search engine rankings.
5. Know your visitors. Know who your primary audience is and why they are coming to the site. Speak to them.
6. Be concise. Enough said.

May 30^th – a special day all around for me.  Annual significant vacation and my anniversary!  Every year at this time, we are deliberate about experiencing God’s creation – first hand.  Cindy and I educate our two boys (Tanner  - 13 and Hudson – 11) at home.  We seize nearly every opportunity to “teach” them every step of the way.  As we are currently touring the west (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota / Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Yellowstone, Black Hills, Badlands, etc.), you can imagine the endless opportunities for learning.  I am abundantly confident our boys are learning each and every hour of every day we are on our vacation.  Even with our intentionality for learning, we are cautious as to never declare “A Learning Moment”.  In doing so, we would rapidly diminish the depth and breadth of the opportunity to learn.  We call this experiential learning.  It is quite powerful.  The scary thing is, I get to learn the most!  Very exciting. 

So goes our upcoming Web Camp.  We have reformatted Web Camp and are calling it: “Get Your Hands Dirty”.  This new approach is not unlike our approach to education for our boys.  Okay, as much as we would like to, we cannot take all Web Campers to the Grand Canyon to get their hands dirty (although I could be persuaded to consider such if we have enough clients interested in doing so…?); however, we can most definitely provide a learning experience for our clients in a much more experiential fashion.  Listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher drone “wah wah wah” for hours on end just isn’t cutting it in today’s multi-media, multi-input, hyper-absorption culture.  Our minds simply wander too far afield within minutes of the traditional lecture-based education model. 

As I write this, we are on day 8 of our 19-day vacation.  I’ll admit, yes, I do have to work daily while traveling.  It’s just not an option; however, we have assembled the most talented staff imaginable and I can rest on vacation knowing our firm’s business is in great hands.  Day 8 is a “turn” in our vacation as we now leave northern Arizona / southern Utah and head north.  Our next stop is Bryce Canyon (www.nps.gov/brca).  We *will* be getting our hands dirty here – guaranteed!  The exploration is as much for me as it is for my boys and I would challenge you to, within your daily routine, find your own Bryce Canyon for exploration.  There truly are “learning opportunities” at every turn if we keep our eyes open

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