May 16th, 2013
We’re pleased to announce the launch of a new app for the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center.
The app includes events, area activities, and a directory of all chamber members by category.
It’s a free download available on Apple’s App Store.
December 27th, 2012
With the proliferation, propagation, and pervasiveness of social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, along with hundreds of other smaller sites vying for a piece of the virtual pie, businesses and other organizations find an increasing need to stake their claim in cyberspace.
Technically, it’s all easy enough. Create an account, confirm your email address, fill in information, and upload a photo or image, and you’ve got a presence.
But then what?
A quote that’s stuck with me since the infancy of the web is “a website without promotion is like a billboard in a basement.” It’s never enough to merely create a presence; after you create your presence you need to give people a map. You need to tell the people who might be interested in your products or services (or ideas or art or cause or whatever) how to find you.
There are literally hundreds of tools out there which can theoretically help. Lots of them are well constructed and work as designed. But, in my opinion, most of them have very little value, especially when beginning your foray into social networking.
How valuable is a tool that, for example, can post a tweet to Twitter and a post to Facebook every hour on the hour? Even if the tool works perfectly, never missing an hour, is this really what your Facebook friends and fans and Twitter followers want to see from you? An advertisement or a “great” and “inspirational” quote every hour?
We’ve already got far too much of this clogging up our feeds on social networking sites. Think of your own experience. How excited are you to see hourly irrelevant posts from people to whom you’re connected?
To create value is the aim. And value requires your posts and tweets to be unique. To be relevant. And to be tasteful. An occasional ad is perfectly fine if your Twitter account represents your business. But too many ads and your feed becomes noise. And people will, at best, tune you out, and at worst, disconnect from you or block your account.
The other big reason automation isn’t effective is that it’s not authentic. And people can sense and feel authentic and real. If you’re offering something unique, valuable, and tasteful, people will enjoy reading your tweets and posts, and will even sometimes share (or retweet) them with their friends, fans, and followers.
To be successful in social networking requires much the same as is required “in real life.” In short, hard work. To build a network of people that care enough to give you their time and attention (and money) requires focus, time, authenticity, integrity, and plain old hard work.
The same traits that have made you successful in business or any other endeavors are those you need to bring to social networking. Engage your followers and they’ll care about what you have to offer, some of them, enough to pay for it.
August 29th, 2012
With their grand opening scheduled for the weekend of September 1st and 2nd, 2012, Precision Paintball of Georgetown, Delaware, is Sussex County’s only field and the premiere field on the Delmarva Peninsula. Red Sky is pleased to have produced their website, on a foundation of WordPress, including an event calendar, Google map based driving directions, lots of search engine optimization, and a photo gallery. Visit their site today, or better yet, come play paintball!
February 2nd, 2012
So, you’ve got a website. Now what?
Like anything else in life, we get out of our websites what we put into them. When the Internet was young, websites were relatively static and simple. Glorified yellow page ads. A billboard in cyberspace. But this is no longer the norm.
Most new sites nowadays are developed using some sort of content management system. Could be Drupal, Joomla, Concrete, WordPress, or one of many others. We at Red Sky love WordPress for most sites. It’s got lots of built in capabilities, great SEO, an abundance of free plugins, and a decent (though simple) security system. So, unless you need lots of users with lots of different levels of security, or unless you need something really custom and special or ecommerce, WordPress is often more than capable. And it’s relatively simple, which means it takes less time to build a site with WordPress, which means it costs less money. If you need more power or features than WordPress offers, we’re well versed in Drupal, Joomla, and Concrete. And if you need even more power, we’ve developed a custom in-house CMS framework, dubbed Red Sky CMS.
But, I think I strayed from the point. The point is that regardless of the platform, websites need to consistently managed.
Some companies and organizations are doing a pretty good job at this. They’ve got staff dedicated to the regular tasks of adding and updating content, monitoring search engine placement, managing ad campaigns, etc. But most companies aren’t doing a good job at this yet. In most cases, it’s not because they don’t want to, it’s more that they’re simply not equipped. And this is where we at Red Sky excel.
We love managing websites. We love doing SEO and watching the search engine placement rise. But mostly we love it when websites are effective, effective in terms of attracting and engaging clients and potential clients and effective in terms of returning money. Let’s face it. That’s a primary reason any business is in business. To make money. To earn a return on investment, both capital investments and human investments.
Does your company earn a reasonable return on your website investment? If not, give us call. Perhaps we can help.
Thanks for reading,
Steve
steve@redskywebsites.com
January 6th, 2012
Sometimes it’s fun to experiment and play. So today I played with QR Codes. 
I wasn’t entirely sure even what they were, so off to Google I went. Wikipedia had a nice article that explained.
In essence, it’s just a new technology for visually encoding text. Much like barcodes.
Someone figured out not too long ago that website addresses could be encoded. And then these funny little images can be placed on advertising. And anyone with a smartphone and a QR Reader app can scan the QR Code image and be magically transported to the address hidden in the patterns of the image.
Fun stuff.
So, having learned what they are I looked for some software to create some myself. I didn’t find any Windows software (though I’m sure some exist) but found a PHP library on SourceForge.
It felt like a good day to play so I built a QR Code creator page over on Rehoboth Night Life. Maybe someone will find it useful. Or maybe someone will just play around with it like I’ve been doing. 
Drop me a quick line if you find it useful. I’d love to hear from you.
Steve
December 19th, 2011
Red Sky is pleased to announce the launch of a new website, rehobothnightlife.com. The new website includes categorized business listings relevant to enjoying the night in the Rehoboth Beach area, including restaurants, hotels and lodging, entertainment, and bars.
Each business in the selected category is displayed visually on a Google map, making it easy for visitors to the area as well as residents to find nearby night spots and happenings. Each business includes a page of information along with phone numbers and links to the business’s websites, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds, where available.
A sister site, lewesnightlife.com has also been launched, focusing on the Lewes, Delaware area.
New features are being continually added such as integration with Facebook and other social networking sites as well as the ability for visitors to the site to post comments and reviews.
Local businesses have the opportunity to advertise on the sites and to log in and manage their business’s listings.
Visit rehobothnightlife.com or lewesnightlife.com tonight!
November 17th, 2011
The following fonts are generally available on all computers and other web-connected devices. (e.g. cell phones, tablets) Red Sky strongly believes in the importance of selecting fonts from this list. If a suitable font cannot be selected, Red Sky can incorporate any of the fonts from the Google Web Fonts selection located at www.google.com/webfonts.
Georgia
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Palatino Linotype
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Times New Roman
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Arial
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Arial Black
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Comic Sans MS
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Impact
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Lucida Sans Unicode
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Tahoma
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Trebuchet MS
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Veranda
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Courier New
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
Lucida Console
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Now Is The Time For All Good People To Come To The Aid Of Their Country. Grumpy wizards make toxic brew for the evil Queen and Jack. Joy rises from the red flames, shines through the darkening sky. Invitations unexpected, chances lost, found, writhing, glowing. Dance through the storm, smile at the past, dwindling peacefully away. Red Sky Websites – Lewes / Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Website Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing.
November 3rd, 2011
Seems like a simple concept, Successful Internet Marketing. But how many of us have really experienced any substantive and sustainable success marketing on the Internet? And how do we define success? And how is marketing on the Internet different from more traditional marketing approaches and channels?
It starts, most always, with an effective website. So let’s start there. An effective website:
Your website is a direct reflection on you and your company or organization. It’s often the source of the first impression your potential customers or clients. Does your website provide a positive first impression?
Having created an effective website, the next step is to attract an audience. This is really the essence of marketing — attracting people who have a reasonable probability of becoming your customer or client.
So successful Internet Marketing begins with defining success. For most of us success involves attracting more people who want or need what we offer. Efficiently and profitably. It doesn’t have to be difficult. Define success. (In terms of your specific business). Build the foundation. (An effective website.) Identify your customer (demographics). Create a marketing plan. Execute your marketing plan. Measure the performance. Adjust as needed. Reap the rewards.
Need help? Call Red Sky Websites today. (302) 703-0700. Or email us. sales@redskywebsites.com.
October 18th, 2011
“Form follows function – that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright – Architect
The web is new and innovative and different from any past human endeavor. This is true in some respects. The Internet is bridging gaps, creating new channels, opening new opportunities. But in other respects, it’s not really true at all. It is simply a new medium. Before the Internet, television changed the world; before television, radio; before radio, the telegraph. And so on. People change, societies evolve, the world gets faster, but people, the essence of people, who we are and what we want, remains largely unchanged. Throughout history people want their needs and wants fulfilled. Styles change, preferences move, language evolves, but people remain the same.
And the Internet is simply an extension of people. A medium, a set of tools and agreements allowing people and businesses and groups to communicate, interact, learn, and transact.
So your web presence is simply an extension of who you are. Or at least, it ought be.
Blogs, social networking posts and pages, and personal websites reflect the people that create them. And business websites reflect the businesses that create or operate them.
Is your website a reflection of you and your company? Does it accurately portray your company’s products and services and market and values? If not, it simply won’t work. Visitors to your website continue to grow more savvy and discriminating. It’s very easy to click the back button and move on to the next search result on Google.
What is your company, at its essence? What need do you fulfill in the marketplace? What specific solutions can you provide to potential customers or clients? These are the core questions. Does your current website answer them accurately? This is function. This is who you are. And from function flows form. And form introduces function.
It’s difficult to explain what makes a website optimal. It’s a mix of compellingness, usefulness, attractiveness, and authenticity. We know it when we see it. It’s Google. It’s Facebook. It’s a thousand other successful websites. It’s where form and function mix in subtle harmony.
Thanks for reading,
Steve
October 11th, 2011
It started as a gentle mention of an idea. That perhaps Beth and I could create a website company together. It germinated for a few weeks. We talked about other business possibilities, a restaurant/bar, windmills, a publishing company. But in the end, building and managing great websites just sense. I’ve been a computer geek for twenty-five years. Electronics first, then computer networking, then programming.
In 1993 the Internet began to come alive with first the Mosaic browser, then Netscape Navigator. And I was hooked. I was working for CE Computers at the time, a computer networking company with offices in Georgetown and Salisbury. I’d started as sales rep. Then I moved to a more technical position and earned my CNE (Certified Novell Engineer). We grew the company from three when I started to over twenty, most of whom I managed as Vice President. We spun off a new company, CE Net, in 1996. I was President and co-founder. You can take a peek at the old website on the Wayback Machine. A few years later we sold the company to Delaware.net. I worked there for a while, then at Inclind, then was self-employed for the last couple years doing freelance projects.
Enough background. Back to the present…
So we decided, Beth and I, that this was indeed a good idea. And everything came together. We were sitting in the very cool new bar in Rehoboth, Big Chill Surf Cantina. And the sky was red, a gorgeous sunset. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight, says the old saying. And a few days later, brainstorming about a new name for a new company, Red Sky emerged as the clear winner.
We both tend to believe that there aren’t any constraints in this life. So we’re pretty confident this is all going to work out well. The Red Sky is indeed the limit.