Practical advice on web design, SEO, WordPress, and growing your business online. Written by Kim and Chuck from real project experience, not recycled content.
By Kim Hersey, Partner & UX Lead at Team 218 You opened your own website on your phone last week and watched the spinner go. You didn’t time it, but it felt long. Long enough to make you wonder what your customers think when they land on a slow WordPress...
If you watched the Super Bowl last year, you probably saw the ads. A celebrity builds a stunning website in 30 seconds using a DIY builder like Wix or Squarespace. They hit “publish,” and suddenly their business is booming. It looks easy. It looks...
The Corn-Fed Reality of Search in 2026: It’s More Than Just Keywords If you’ve been running a business here in Eastern Iowa for as long as we have, you know that things don’t stay the same forever. Remember when having a Yellow Pages ad was enough? Then we moved to...
Running a nonprofit in Iowa requires a specific kind of fortitude. It takes good old-fashioned corn-fed dedication to stretch a dollar, organize volunteers, and serve the community. Every dime raised—whether it’s a pancake breakfast or a major grant—needs to go...
Our Top 10 Tech Gifts on the 2025 Wish List Every year around this time, the office discussion shifts from WordPress updates to holiday shopping. I (Kim) am always on the hunt for gifts that are thoughtful, beautiful, or just plain fun. Meanwhile, Chuck is usually...
Stop Buying Junk: The Team 218 Tech Gift Guide (2025 Edition) My calendar might have been stuck in the past for a minute there, but let’s get this right: It is December 2025. You are panic-buying. You’re standing in the aisle of a big-box store looking at a coffee mug...
The Battle of the Palette: Balancing Form and Function Chuck: Let’s look at this practically. If I open your website and see neon green text on a white background, the first thing I notice isn’t the content—it’s the eyestrain. Color is definitely about...
Building a Digital Home for a Heartfelt Mission We often talk about "Iowa nice" around here—that genuine, neighborly spirit that makes the Hawkeye State such a special place to live. But sometimes, being nice isn't enough; sometimes, you need to roll up your sleeves...
Stop Wasting Time: How to Pick the Right Social Media Platform for Your Small Business As a small business owner or a local nonprofit in the Hawkeye State, you’ve probably heard it a thousand times: “You need to be on social media!” But the sheer number of platforms...
Is Your Website Your Hardest-Working Employee? For small businesses and nonprofits here in Eastern Iowa, a website should be more than just an electronic brochure. It should be your most reliable, 24/7 employee. It’s the one greeting potential customers at 2 AM,...
Published: November 07, 2025 | By Chuck Hersey, Owner of Team 218 Web Services Your website just got hacked because a plugin hadn’t been touched in 18 months. That’s not a scare tactic—that’s what happened to an Eastern Iowa contractor last quarter. One outdated...
We write about this stuff because we do it every day for Iowa businesses. If your website isn't ranking, isn't converting, or just needs help — start with a free audit.
