Practical advice on web design, SEO, WordPress, and growing your business online. Written by Kim and Chuck from real project experience, not recycled content.
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 site. So why is your WordPress site so slow? In almost...
Last reviewed: August 2026. Google changes its ranking systems thousands of times a year. Most of those changes are invisible. A handful, the confirmed core updates, are large enough to move rankings noticeably, and those are the ones worth understanding. This page is...
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,...
Local SEO Tips for Small Businesses in Iowa: Dominate Your Local Market Small businesses in Iowa face a unique challenge—standing out in a digital world saturated with competitors. Whether you run a cozy coffee shop in Cedar Rapids, a boutique in Iowa City, or a...
Best Website Builders for Nonprofits: An Honest 2026 Comparison If you run a nonprofit and you are trying to pick the best website builder for nonprofits, you have probably noticed that most “top 10” lists read like they were written by the sales team of...
AI Language Models and Web Content: A Straight-Talk Guide for Iowa Small Businesses & Nonprofits Artificial intelligence language models (LLMs) went from novelty to daily toolkit in no time. If you run a coffee roastery in Kalona or helm a 501(c)(3) in Burlington,...
Yes, there are specialized GEO and SEO agencies in Iowa, and if you're asking that question, you've probably noticed the same thing we have: your customers are asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews for recommendations instead of scrolling through ten...
By Chuck Hersey, Owner & Technical Lead at Team 218 A business spends $5,000 building a WordPress site. It launches well. Six months later, it's still fast and looking good. Nobody budgets for year-two plugin conflicts when they're excited about launch day. But...
By Kim Hersey, Partner & UX Lead at Team 218 Shopping for a WordPress care plan feels a lot like buying insurance. You're comparing things you hope you never need, using terms you're not sure mean what you think they mean, from companies whose prices range from...
By Chuck Hersey, Owner & Technical Lead at Team 218 Your site is showing a Google warning. Or your host suspended the account. Or a client texted you asking why your website is redirecting to a pharmacy. If your WordPress site was hacked, you're in the right...
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.
