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At Northwest
Communications, we specialize in custom built websites that
showcase a business' style in its own unique way.
Our web designers take great pride in their work and we would like to
showcase one of the many projects they have been working on
over the past months.
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Featured Business
Northwest
Communications works with many businesses to help them achieve their
business goals. We would like to feature one of our clients and tell
their story of success.
Chantland - MHS
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Chantland is a leader in the manufacturing of material
handling systems, located in Humboldt, IA. They pride themselves in
using the latest technologies in order to stay a leader in their
field.
Those latest technologies are not only evident in their
plant, but also behind the doors of their offices. Northwest
Communications originally partnered with Chantland in 2006, when we
designed their company website. Since then, the website has gone
through new looks, but is still designed, maintained and hosted with
Northwest. Check out their website at www.chantland.com.
More recently, Chantland has also partnered with
Northwest to ensure the safety of their data. As in any industry,
Chantland is very concerned with the integrity and safety of their
information. This is why Northwest has installed two of our largest
Backup Disaster Recovery devices to backup Chantland's 17 servers and
offsite the information to a secure location.
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Contact
Us
Havelock, IA 50546 800.249.5251
sales@ncn.net
Algona Store
301 S Phillips St.
Algona, IA 50511
515.295.5900
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Dear Northwest Communications Client,
Welcome to the Northwest Communicator, our newsletter to
keep clients up to date on industry happenings and events that could
affect your business! Northwest Communications feels
that education is the best way to keep up with ever
changing technology. Here you will find information we hope can
help make your business strategic, proactive, and successful!
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Keep Your Business Up To Date
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Is your business
up to date with technology? Do you have updated computers, phone
systems, and network equipment? What has your technology investment
given back to your business?
We live in a
world where technology is constantly changing, and businesses are
struggling to keep up. Even with a difficult economy, it is important
for your business to stay up to date. Even the smallest updates can
have a dramatic effect on your business' bottom line....and couldn't
we all use a little help there?
Most business spend
countless hours developing and updating their business plan, but let
their technology plan fall by the wayside. Well, no more!
Do you realize
how much time and employee productivity is wasted by companies each
year? No, employees are not lazy, slow, or unqualified, they have
simply not been given the best tools to do their job. Do you notice
employees consistently restarting their computers because they have
frozen up, getting a cup of coffee while they wait for that slow
program to load, sharing files by emailing them back and forth, or is
your phone system falling short of your expectations? These things
can be prevented!
Updated
computers can prevent costly downtime for your business. Even if they
are not 'broken,' many outdated computers run slowly because newer
programs are taking up too much of their memory. Increasing their
capacity can allow your employees to work more efficiently. Also,
past performance of your machines is not always a good indicator of
future performance. Just because that trusty old computer has never
broken down, doesn't mean it won't have problems tomorrow. Think
about replacing out of date equipment BEFORE problems arise, and save
your company time and money.
Updating your
office phone system also has many opportunities for increased
effectiveness. If your phone system always rings to a secretary, much
of her day is spent transferring calls. This could be avoided with
pre recorded options directing them to the correct person to handle
their inquiry. If you have employees out of the office, make sure
your phone system is working for them too. Can they check their
office voicemail while on the road? Are they sent a notification thru
email letting them know they have a message waiting?
Just imagine if
simply updating your business' technology could save each employee
five hours a week. That would be five more hours of productivity!
Make technology a priority and see what moving from a reactive approach
to a proactive approach can do for your business!
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Top 10 Web Terms You Should Know
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Here is a list of Ten Web Terms you should know before
you decide to design a new website or update your current one. The
sales and web teams at Northwest are great resources for your website
questions and look forward to discussing new web ideas for your business!
1. Domain:
A domain is your web address or URL. In most cases, it
is something like:
yourcompany.com
2. Dreamweaver:
This is the most popular "pro" program for
building websites. This is the program Nothwest will use to design
your website!
3. Flash:
The premier programming language used for animation
and moving graphics.
4. Form:
An online fillable text form, the most common form is an
online inquiry form.
5. Hosting:
Every website has to be hosted somewhere, on a physical
computer/server. Hosting is a type of service that allows individuals
and organizations to "house" their website and keep it
available for people to access.
6. HTML:
An abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language; a
cross-platform text-formatting system for creating web pages,
including copy, images, sounds, animation and more. Dreamweaver is
based on HTML programming.
7. Hyperlink:
An icon, graphic, word or phrase that, when clicked with
a mouse, it automatically opens another picture, web page, or file
for viewing.
8. SEO:
Search Engine Optimization, the use of various
techniques to improve a web site's ranking in the search engines and
thus attract more visitors.
9. Shopping Cart:
Software used to create an online
"storefront," or e-commerce web site. It acts as a virtual
shopping cart, keeping track of the items visitors have ordered and
allowing them to add or remove items when placing an order.
10. Maintenance:
Every website needs to be updated on a regular basis to
keep people coming back. Some maintenance packages are built into
hosting plans at a discounted rate and others are simply a la carte
when you want changes made. Talk to our design team to decide
which maintenance method is best for your business.
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Employee Fun
Facts - Meet Andrew Carter
1. What piece of technology do you find the most
valuable?
My smart phone,
instant access to email. I could
not live without my smart phone.
2. What is your favorite leisure activity?
In the winter, movies and web
surfing. In the summer,
3. What types of movies do you watch?
Documentaries and science fiction.
4. What is your favorite part of your position at
Northwest
Presenting, I enjoy informing
people of ways technology can
5. What do you feel is the most important piece of
technology
solution you inform people
about?
BDR - Backup Disaster Recovery
is probably one of the most
imporant services we offer
businesses. We rely on our data to
run out business and if it goes
away, for some businesses, it
will be impossible to recover.
6. What websites do you visit the most?
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Thank you for your business with Northwest
Communications. We look forward to serving you today and in the
future. If you have any questions about our web design, managed
services, or would like more information about a topic
discussed in this newsletter, please contact our Havelock
office.
Your Northwest Communications Team
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