Mike Henry's blog

I teach a 300-level web design course at LCC International University, and so I’m always looking for good ways to explain different concepts about websites. Mostly this is so that we have a shared vocabulary beyond ‘that piece’ and ‘this thing’. This post is a short version of a talk I give during the first… Continue reading Web site vs web page vs domain vs link

Y’all know I love Seth Godin. But, I had a bit of a chuckle this week with his Akimbo podcast’s episode titled Meta. In it, he’s talking about podcasts. Among the broader topics, there’s a discussion of advertising on podcasts, and the differences between brand and direct advertising. Seth suggests that brand advertising is something… Continue reading On brand vs direct podcast ads

I was watching an episode of a food show on YouTube – I think it was something from Bon Appetit – and there was an offhand comment about the possibility of a show called “shut up and eat”. It didn’t have any context or followup, but I thought it was interesting. Specifically, it’d be a… Continue reading Idea: “Shut up and eat” food show

As I was thinking about the example from last week’s post, I wanted to clarify something. The impact of SaaS apps, broadly, is the ease of outsourcing parts of your company’s value chain. What used to require custom software development or a complex outsourcing process with long-term contracts now only requires an online signup and… Continue reading On the impact of SaaS apps, part 2

I was talking with a student about a year ago. She was considering starting her own tutoring businesses, teaching English to students online, and wanted some advice on how to approach that technically. Her requirements were somewhat straightforward: A website to provide information about the kinds of tutoring she offered, fees, contact info, etc A… Continue reading On the impact of SaaS apps

Recently, I was listening to a Wix ad during a podcast, and it was emphasizing the customization available on Wix. It heavily implied that the customization was always, in-all-cases, was a good thing. I disagree. I’ve required my web design students at LCC to build a website with HTML/CSS and with WordPress.com since the beginning.… Continue reading On website visual expectations

I have an HP 14″ Chromebook, which I purchased about a year ago. It’s lovely – light, great battery life, and it has both USB-A and USB-C ports. It has a few limitations, though, as it only runs ChromeOS – the Chrome web browser, basically. So, I still have a desktop computer for things that… Continue reading Chromebook Zotero connections

I own a Fitbit Charge 2, which I’ve used for about 2 years now. Before that, I had the original Charge 1 for about a year. I like it a lot – the Charge is a good balance between only-fitness-tracking and full-smart-watch. It syncs with my phone, has a nice app, and lets me share… Continue reading On Fitbit low battery warnings

The previous two blog posts were discussing if you still need a website at all in 2019. This one assumes that you have that need – that you need a website. I’ve helped many, many people with their websites. Some from beginning to end, others in more of an advisory role, some with troubleshooting an… Continue reading Your website is not a special snowflake

About 5 years ago, there was a fair amount of discussion about if a business needed a website at all anymore, or if social media could completely fill that role. At the time, I definitely thought you still needed a website, even if it was mostly just showing your social media feeds in a central… Continue reading On the need for a website, part 2