I can’t believe we’re already well into 2025!
Which means that my quarterly newsletter is now just-shy of 7 quarters late, beating out my previous record of 24 quarters. I’m both an optimist and a fan of metrics, so I would just call this a 70% improvement.
The last year-and-a-half have been quite exciting for me both personally and professionally.
Personally, while I am currently at home in Minnesota doing my best to enjoy this relatively snowless winter, I have had a handful of wonderful opportunities to travel since the last newsletter. Most of you know that I enjoy working remotely and spending extended periods of time in foreign cities while I do so.
I got to cross off a bucket list item and explore Peru, from the hot and humid Amazon Rainforest and Amazon River, to the surprisingly cool, desert coast, and even to the semi-tropical highlands of Machu Picchu and higher into the Andean slopes.
I’m a bit of a photography enthusiast and thought I’d share a few of my photos. Skip to the end for website stuff!
The Amazon Rainforest in Peru
Huacachina Oasis, Peru
Paracas, Peru
Machu Picchu, Peru (I was very excited that this llama decided to cooperate for a brief moment)
Rainbow Mountain (Vinicunca), Peru
I also got to travel a bit throughout Europe and within the US. Here are some highlights!
Inside Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain (Pictures do not do it justice; the inside is breathtaking)
I was lucky enough to get a great look at the total Solar Eclipse, as seen from Indiana. If you’ve never seen one: I highly recommend it.
One of my siblings on a paddleboard, Minnesota. Which sibling? Who can remember!
Wild alligator near New Orleans, LA
I was lucky enough to catch the Aurora three separate times! All in Minnesota
Salzburg, Austria
Undredal, Norway
Other than the travel, I have really enjoyed my time in Minnesota as always, and love being on the water or engaging in any number of my diverse hobbies. I even started getting into pickleball, as it would seem everyone has.
Okay, time to get to the important stuff!
As part of our commitment to make it as easy as possible for you to own a WordPress website, we have introduced our new Total WordPress Maintenance Package.
We want it to be as easy as possible for our clients to run their business. We don’t want you to have to worry about running regular updates or security or any of the little details that go along with having a website.
That’s why we have officially launched this package for all of our clients. Included is everything needed to keep your site running smoothly so you can focus on your business.
The main services included are:
- Premium, Managed WordPress Hosting
- Changes & Updates (up to 30 minutes included every month)
- Monthly WordPress, Theme, and Plugin Updates
- Active Security Scanning, Monitoring, & Alerts
- Hack Fixes & Malware Removal
- Uptime Monitoring
This is everything a small business needs, for just $99/month. The full list of what is included is quite long so I’m not sharing it here, but full details about this service are available right here on our website.
New Websites We launched
We designed or redesigned quite a few websites since the last newsletter, but here are a couple highlights.
Homes by Tradition – Lakeville, MN
From the Blog
Ode to Network Solutions: The Oldest and Worst Registrar on the Web
Biggest Web Design Trends of the Past Year
Finally, I wanted to share with you guys some broader trends in the website design world over the last year. These are some of the things that defined what changed since years past, and may be helpful if you’re considering a redesign.
Here are some of the most notable trends:
- Minimalist, High-Performance Design – Websites are getting cleaner and faster. More businesses are opting for lightweight designs that prioritize speed and usability, reducing unnecessary animations and clutter.
- AI-Enhanced User Experiences – AI-powered chatbots, search functionalities, and personalization tools have become more common, helping businesses create more dynamic and interactive websites.
- Bold Typography & Vibrant Colors – Large, eye-catching fonts paired with high-contrast color schemes have gained popularity, making websites stand out while improving readability.
- Dark Mode & Low-Light UI – More sites now offer dark mode options to improve accessibility and user comfort, especially for mobile users.
- Video & Microinteractions – Small animations and subtle hover effects are making websites feel more interactive without sacrificing speed.
I know that some of those might seem contradictory – and they are – but they seem to be parallel paths for website design that aren’t usually taken together.
WordPress Updates & Trends
WordPress has had another big year with updates that impact performance, security, and design flexibility. Here’s what’s new:
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- WordPress 6.x Releases – The latest updates have improved site performance, enhanced block-based editing, and introduced more intuitive tools for managing content.
- Full Site Editing (FSE) Expansion – The block editor now allows for even greater customization of headers, footers, and layouts, reducing reliance on page builders.
- AI-Powered Plugins & Features – AI-driven content suggestions, image generation, and automated SEO enhancements have started making their way into WordPress tools.
- Improved Speed & Core Web Vitals – Optimizations in caching, lazy loading, and asset management help sites run faster and perform better in search rankings.
- Stronger Security Measures – With increased threats, WordPress has introduced more built-in security features and better integrations with two-factor authentication plugins.
That’s all I’ve got for you! I’m hoping to send these out more regularly and then they should be much shorter. Thanks for reading to the end.
As always, feel free to respond to me directly if there’s anything I can do to help you with your website. Whether that’s discussing signing up for our new WordPress package, adding new functionality, planning a redesign, or anything else; I’m happy to chat with you.
