American Museum of Natural History

A great deal is only “great” if it ends up paying off in the long run.

This truth is perhaps best expressed by author Terry Pratchett in his “Boots theory” of economic value, as laid out in his iconic Discworld novel series:

The Toxics Use Research Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell wanted to add memos to records in its Pollution Prevention Options Analysis System (P2OASys), a database for evaluating and comparing the safety of chemistries. TURI could have elected to simply add a field to its database structure, but it saw a bigger opportunity to reinvent a key system that had not been updated for more than five years.

Business data is inevitably distributed across multiple systems. However, we know that customers are not prepared to deal with that kind of complexity, especially when they see little relevance or value to the task at hand. A typical location for this kind of friction is in the integration of the Content Management System (CMS) and the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM). Integrating the two can help provide a seamless experience for the customer and increase the overall usability of your website.

Websites are not static things; they are a dynamic part of your company and the actual storefront for all of your online customers. Most companies acknowledge the importance of upkeep on their brick and mortar branches, websites often aren’t given the same consideration. Your website should constantly evolve to keep up with current standards, trends, and the functionality your clients deserve. We often don’t realize what opportunities we are missing and what we are leaving on the table by relegating website maintenance to the bottom of the list.

Promoting events and managing attendee registrations is one of the key ways a modern website supports a public library's educational mission. Here at Mugo Web, we’ve developed a comprehensive Custom Event Registration System that lets library staff schedule recurring event series, create waiting lists for popular programs, and even manage sign-ups for multiple children from one family.

A major website project requires a lot of planning. You need to evaluate the tactics and resources needed to meet your launch date, but you also should be planning on how to select the right development partner to ensure that your initial investment in a site launch continues to pay dividends as your business evolves.

Virtually every company, from mid-sized businesses to large-scale enterprises, can benefit from working with a professional web development partner. Professional web developers understand how new features and workflows can elevate your business and can add valuable insight as well as reliable execution to your website projects.

But before you choose a web development partner, you have some homework to do. You not only need to clearly define the strategic goals and success metrics for your site project, but you also need to honestly evaluate how much of the project you can tackle internally – both in terms of bandwidth and expertise.

As the publisher of a successful online magazine, Carol Ott is always looking for ways to diversify her publication’s revenue streams. In fact, building and executing on multi-channel digital strategies has been the focus of the partnership of Ott’s Habitat Magazine and Mugo Web for the better part of a decade.