At Paper Tiger, we work because we love design and we enjoy working with good people. In today’s tech driven economy, it is incredibly important to have the best technology for their business. Over the past 11 years, we have created a great process that has not only allowed our own business to succeed, but more importantly, our clients to also have success.

Recently, Clutch has released their rankings of the best B2B Service Providers across all 50 states, segmenting the companies based on location and services provided. We are proud to announce that we are included in these rankings as one of the top companies in New Jersey in the Creative and Design segment!

“We get so caught up in our work that sometimes we’re surprised by how well our company is doing. Being recognized as a Clutch leader reminds us of our hard work is paying off.” — President and Co-Founder, Marc Debiak

Clutch is an established B2B ratings and reviews headquartered in Washington D.C. Clutch separates itself from its competition by having an incredibly in-depth review process before they rate the company. The process starts with market research and analysis, and most importantly, the analysts conducts interviews with the clients of the company. The end result of this process is an incredibly unbiased review and rating of the company. This is exactly what sets Clutch apart from its competitors, and is an inherent reason as to why we are so happy to have been reviewed by Clutch. Our profile currently has 4.9 stars out of 5.0 stars, and we would love to share some of our thoughts from client reviews with you below!

“Their ability to deliver on deadline — even when our side had delays at various points — went above and beyond.” — Digital Sales and Marketing Manager, T. Edward Wines

“Paper Tiger was well-informed, skilled, able to meet our tight deadlines, and very easy to work with.” — Director, Marketing Communications and Creative Services

We would also like to take this time to recognize our position on Clutch’s two sister sites, The Manifest and Visual Objects.

The Manifest is similar to Clutch, offering clients a quick view of a company’s information by giving a businesses’ size, location, and service focus. Additionally, The Manifest offers a How-To Guide for buying the services of a third party business by showing the client the steps needed to hire out a 3rd party business. We are honored to be listed among reputable firms in the New York metro area on The Manifest!

Visual Objects is Clutch’s newest sister site and offers clients a more visually oriented look at a company. This is accomplished by Visual Objects creating a visual portfolio for each creative design and advertising company on their site, which shows the potential client the past works of the company. Visual Objects have listed us as one of the top digital designers on their site!

Paper Tiger is extremely honored and humbled by the recognition we have received from Clutch. We appreciate our clients taking their time to be interviewed by Clutch, and we understand we would not have these recognitions without them. Paper Tiger looks forward to working with Clutch again soon and we can’t wait to see more client reviews!

Paper Tiger Heads to the Top of Clutch’s Rankings of The Best Creative and Design Firms in New… was originally published in Paper Tiger Insights on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

If you’ve been tasked with finding a web designer for your project then you already understand it’s a daunting process. There is often a lot of money at stake and even more to be made if the project is successful. The pressure is on.

Full disclosure, I co-own a web design agency called Paper Tiger. One of my many responsibilities at the agency is to handle incoming new business inquiries. Over the past 11 years, I have spoken with hundreds of prospective clients in that capacity. Every so often I get a really GOOD question that carries more weight and understanding of the process than the usual ones. I’d like to share five of them with you below.

Ask about a project that didn’t go well… and why

An agency that tells you they’ve never had a project go south is probably lying. It happens to the best of us. What matters is what we learn from it and the steps we take to prevent it from happening again.

The answer to these questions can be very revealing. Do they blame the client? The contract? The process?

What did they learn from their mistakes and how well can they articulate it?

Ask to meet your Project Manager before signing a contract

When you first contact an agency, you are likely directed to an owner or Business Development/Salesperson. This is someone who is experienced and trained in saying all of the right things to get you in the door.

However, once the project starts, you may be handed off to a Project Manager as your day-to-day contact. The person you established a rapport with during the sales process is now watching from the sidelines and you’re on the field with a stranger.

Speaking to the Project Manager in advance will give you a sense of how tightly integrated the sales and project teams are. Remember, the Project Manager will be the person responsible for executing everything you agreed to in advance. Make sure you know who they are!

Ask what they can do with your budget

The assumption here is that you can (and should) share your budget in advance with the agencies you’re interviewing. Agencies know that clients who set and stick to budgets have already thought through the risks and rewards associated with the project. They have the money set aside and know exactly what they are looking to accomplish with it.

If you ask “How much will it cost?” an agency will likely provide an estimate of time and materials that are either much higher or lower than what you’re expecting. Budget transparency forces agencies to think more about value for the money and less about labor.

Ask how they will learn about you and your industry

You may be tempted to ask if an agency has experience with your industry but I can tell you first-hand, this is not a super important question.

There are thousands of different types of businesses and narrowing your search to agencies that have experience with your specific type can be limiting. You may miss out on an otherwise successful partnership if you dismiss an agency based on granular work experiences.

Instead, ask how the agency approaches the discovery process. What steps do they take to educate themselves on your business, competitors, and industry before starting? Keep in mind that a “fresh set of eyes” from outside your industry may actually yield more innovative results!

Ask what they find most attractive about your project

The agency (hopefully) knows your budget by now and if it’s an attractive one, they may be trying to win your business for financial reasons.

Designers and developers do the type of work we do because we love it. We are always looking for new challenges and experiences that make our jobs fun and rewarding.

At Paper Tiger, we always look for the “hook” in a project that draws us in. Give the agency an opportunity to tell you where, specifically, they will draw inspiration from. After all, you want them to be as excited as you are.

The 5 Real Questions to Ask Your Potential Web Design Agency was originally published in Paper Tiger Insights on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A conversation with your web designer can be a dizzying experience if you aren’t familiar with some of the terminology. As developers, we often request things from our clients while assuming, often incorrectly, that they know what we’re talking about.

This article aims to clear up some of the most common areas of confusion. In particular, some of the technical aspects that you should familiarize yourself with before undertaking a new website project.

For the visual folks out there, let’s start with a diagram.

Domain Registrar

At some point, you registered your domain name. This is often the first step taken for a new website or a step taken many years ago when you started you endeavor. If you registered your domain name, then you have a Domain Registrar.

Technically, the Domain Registrar is just the place that keeps track of who owns the domain name. They handle the registration, renewals, and record keeping. Who a domain name is registered to can be public or private. If you’re not sure where a domain name was registered, you can paste it into https://whois.icann.org/en and find out.

In addition, the Domain Registrar is where you specify Nameservers. Nameservers are basically files that tell web browsers and email clients where to go when they use your domain name. A web professional may ask you where the “nameservers are pointed”. This can be the same place where the domain was registered, or it may be another place entirely.

If you don’t have a domain name yet, we recommend the following place to get one.

DNSimple — This service is a bit more expensive than the more popular options, because you pay to register the domain and to host your Nameserver (see below). What you’re really paying for, however, is the amazing user interface for working with your domain. If you are new to domains and want a flexible, easy system to manage yours, this is the best.

Friends don't let friends use bad domain tools.

Here are a few other popular options:

• Google Domains | Register Your Domain Name - Google Domains
• Make Your Own Way | GoDaddy
• Buy a domain name - Register cheap domain names from $0.99 - Namecheap

Nameserver (DNS)

How does the internet know where to go when your domain name is used?

By default, your new domain name will come with a Nameserver hosted in the same place where you registered it. Sometimes, this Nameserver has been changed to point somewhere else.

Your Nameserver hosts a file called a Zone File which contains your DNS Records. A DNS Record is basically an address book that tells web browsers and email clients where to go when they use your domain.

While there are many types of DNS Records, here are a couple of the ones you need to know to get by.

A Record — This is typically an IP address for your web host. It tells the web browser the IP address of your web server, which then serves the website to visitors. It is basically routing the browser to the right location on the internet like a supercharged telephone operator.

MX Record — This record tells the internet where your email is hosted. A great example is that email hosted by GSuite needs to have MX Records that point to the Google servers.

CNAME — A canonical name (CNAME) is used when you want to mask a domain with your own. CNAMEs are popularly used to setup “vanity urls” Here is an example of a CNAME being used to setup a vanity email URL for browser-based GMail access:

Knowing where your Nameservers point is critically important to the management of your domain, email, and website. When switching hosts, email providers, etc. your IT person or web developer will need to know where your Zone File is hosted in order to redirect your domain. To recap, you can find out where your Nameservers point by logging in to your Domain Registrar.

Email Server

If you’re using your domain name for your email (ie; you@yourdomain.com) then you have an email server.

An email server is basically an intricately configured web host that allows for the sending, receiving, and storage of email. When you write and send an email, it goes first to your email server and is then routed to the person you sent it to. When you check your email, you are viewing messages stored on your email server.

The MX Records (on your Nameserver) tell your domain name where to look for your email. Sometimes this is the email account that came with your domain or web host when you signed up. Often, it’s an external email server like Outlook or GSuite.

💡 Pro Tip: At Paper Tiger, we highly recommend keeping your email server separate from your Domain Registrar or Web Host. Using a third party email provider like GSuite or Outlook keeps your email separate from your website and makes redesigns and migrations much simpler and more reliable.

Email Client

How are you checking your email?

An Email Server stores thousands of files that represent your email, but you need a way to interact with them. This is where an Email Client comes in. There are two distinct ways in which people typically work with email.

WebMail — You go to a page in your browser (like Gmail) and work with email there.

Mail Application — This is a program on your computer, smartphone, tablet, etc. that allows you to work outside of a web browser. On a Mac, this is usually Mail or Spark. On a PC, Outlook is the most popular.

Believe it or not, there is more than one way for your Mail Application to access your email. POP and IMAP. This can get a bit technical, so if you’re interested in learning more about the difference, you can visit this website: http://www.pop2imap.com/

Web Host

A website is (basically) a stack of files, often utilizing a database to store information. Those files and the database need to be stored, accessed, and served to users who are viewing your website. They also need to be backed up and secured to prevent hacking. So, a Web Host is basically a high-end computer that is connected to the internet 24/7 where your website is stored.

Where people seem to get confused is that the Web Host is typically not the place where you login to update your website content. That is a CMS (see below). However, some CMS platforms (Squarespace, Shopify, etc) include hosting as part of their offering, which only adds to the confusion.

Web Hosting can range from cheap and simple to very expensive and complicated. Choosing the right host can have a big impact on the uptime, reliability, and speed of your website. In addition, the technology used to configure a Web Host can vary dramatically and it’s important to choose a host that supports the website you are building.

If you are working with a Web Developer, it’s important to listen to their recommendations when choosing a Web Host. Developers often have preferences based on past experiences and can point you in the right direction. However, if you’re shopping on your own, here are some questions to ask yourself when shopping for a Web Host.

1. Does the Web Host support and prominently reference the software my website is (or will be) running?
2. Does the Web Hosting company manage the Web Host for you or are you expected to manage it yourself?
3. Are frequent backups included?
4. Does the Web Host make it easy to increase the resources (speed, memory, storage, etc.) whenever needed?

To get you started, Paper Tiger has compiled a list of preferred hosts that we can confidently recommend.

Best for WordPress

Flywheel | Managed WordPress Hosting for Designers and Agencies

Best for Craft CMS

Craft CMS Hosting VPS Overview - Official Hosting Partner - Arcustech

Best E-Commerce

Ecommerce Software - Best Ecommerce Platform Made for You - Free Trial

Best if You Have A Developer

DigitalOcean: Cloud Computing, Simplicity at Scale

Content Management System (CMS)

Content Management Systems (CMS) are often confused with web hosts. Put simply, a CMS is a bit of software you can login to in order to manage your website content (tex, images), products, and more. The CMS actually needs a Web Host in order to run. Just like Photoshop needs Windows or OSX.

A modern CMS should be customizable, easy-to-use, and well-supported. Most importantly, they should be chosen BEFORE you choose a Web Host in order to ensure compatibility and support.

As mentioned above, some CMS platforms actually include hosting. This can make design and customization more challenging, but takes the headache out of managing a Web Host.

Great Content Management Systems That Include Web Hosting

• Ecommerce Software - Best Ecommerce Platform Made for You - Free Trial
• Website Builder - Easily Create Your Own Website - Squarespace

Great Content Management Systems That Require Web Hosting

• Craft CMS
• Blog Tool, Publishing Platform, and CMS - WordPress.org

Bonus Round: E-Commerce

There are additional considerations when planning and developing an E-Commerce website.

Payment Processing

Your visitors will need to pay for what they buy on your new E-Commerce site and this requires a Payment Processor. This is an often overlooked detail that has a huge impact on your business. We suggest starting the process of setting up a Payment Processor at the earliest possible stage of your E-Commerce project.

As developers, we recommend Stripe above all others. If using Shopify, their Payments are a fantastic option that works out-of-the-box. Authorize.net and Paypal Website Payments Pro are also popular and well-supported options.

Taxes

You may be required to collect sales tax on purchases. With such a wide range of location-based tax rates, it can be difficult to stay in compliance with the government. Thankfully, there is a service that makes this easier.

TaxJar: Automated Sales Tax Reporting & Filing

Shipping

Will you be selling physical products that need to be shipped out? If so, keeping track of rates, transit status, and returns adds a level of complexity to running your business. We recommend fully mapping out your strategy and pricing for order fulfillment before starting your e-commerce project.

One great way to simplify this process is use a shipping platform like ShipStation.

Shipping Software for Ecommerce Fulfillment | ShipStation

For Beginners: Web Hosts, Domains, CMS Platforms, and the Differences Between Them was originally published in Paper Tiger Insights on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

It seems like the web is constantly changing and throwing new technologies and requirements at us. As users upgrade their computers, phones, and tablets, companies like Google and Apple are increasing their security and compliance requirements.

Here are some key items you should be aware of as 2018 gets underway.

ADA Compliance

In 2010 the Department of Justice revised the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design. Noticeably absent in the 279 page document were clear guidelines for making websites accessible. In the past, most websites only loosely followed the WC3 initiatives to standardize web accessibility, but with increased pressure due to private lawsuits in the US, many businesses are scrambling to update their code for adherence. It’s also the right thing to do!

Unfortunately, even the WC3 guidelines for accessibility can be mind-bending at first glance. https://www.w3.org/WAI/ Over the past year, we have put together a checklist that addresses common accessibility issues and are available to assist website owners looking to update their code accordingly.

HTTPS Security

Back in October of 2017, Google began displaying warnings when visitors using the Chrome browser reach sites (primarily those with forms) that are not loaded over HTTPS secure protocol. The warning is certainly spooky for the average user and can have a very negative impact on SEO.

In order to load a website over HTTPS, you’ll need to configure your host accordingly and obtain an SSL certificate. In addition, any third party script URLs will need to be updated to secure links. As a best practice, we have been deploying all new websites over HTTPS since 2017 and have consulted with many of our clients on securing their existing projects.

Page Speed Insights

Did you know Google has a tool for measuring the speed of your website based on a number of best practices they recommend?

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

Even if a site feels fast, Google may tax your website placement in search results if its algorithm determines the site to be slow.

There are a slew of recommended fixes ranging from environmental work like host upgrades and CDN to implementation to code level adjustments like Javascript loading deferment and CSS file minification.

Need help with anything listed above? Don’t hesitate to reach out and we’ll work through it with you!

New Requirements for 2018: Is Your Website Ready? was originally published in Paper Tiger Insights on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’m a hopeless Twitter addict. I like to check out my feed, read a few comments, and get blindingly angry. It isn’t Twitter that makes me angry though. It’s the users.

Lately, you may have noticed that a certain “element” has come out of the woodwork on Twitter.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what a user profile might look like.

• Avatar is a graphic, movie star, or historical figure.
• Username is not a person’s name.
• Background image is a bomb going off or something.
• Bio has a bunch of #hashtags in it.
• Following 800 people and has 5 followers.
• Openly expresses racist beliefs.

That’s right, Ma’am. Sir. The “element” I’m talking about are TROLLS.

I believe that a person should have the courage to put their name and face behind their opinions. Hiding behind a fake profile has contributed to a rapid degradation in the quality of discourse in the world.

I recently inquired with Twitter about becoming Verified, even though I am not a public figure in need of validation. My reasoning was that I am frequently called a “bot” by troll accounts that disagree with me. The concept that someone can strongly disagree with your closely-held beliefs causes such incredulity that people can’t even grasp it. You MUST be a bot or a troll if you don’t agree with me!

Twitter denied my request to be Verified since I am not a noteworthy person. Womp Womp.

The Idea: Confirmed Profiles

What if there was a level between troll and Verified? Not a Verified public figure, but a Confirmed person?

Requirements to be confirmed:

• Picture
• Full, legal name
• Address with geolocation confirmation
• Phone Number with 2-Factor authentication
• $25 one-time fee, payable by Credit Card (name must match).

Twitter can work with a third party verification provider as well, if additional methods must be used.

Why the $25 fee? It has a couple of advantages. Aside from being a revenue source for Twitter, it also creates a barrier to entry for entities looking to create bulk profiles. $25 is just the right amount to discourage impersonation while still being affordable.

The key to success? A setting for Confirmed profiles that allows them to hide all non-verified and non-confirmed user posts. To get the maximum number of likes and retweets, you’ll need to pony up the $25 and get confirmed.

Twitter. Seriously. Steal this idea!

Update March 9th, 2018.

Twitter has they are doing something very similar to this idea.

Steal My Idea: Twitter “Confirmed” Profiles was originally published in Paper Tiger Insights on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In 2007 I was watching my career in the music industry come to a slow and anticlimactic end. For most of my adult life I had been putting out records, standing around at shows, and answering late-night calls about broken down tour vans. Just as I started to turn into the oldest guy in the concert, the universe gave me a sign to get out of the industry. The sign? Well, people completely stopping buying music and that’s what I was selling.

By 2008 the U.S. housing market had crashed and the economy followed shortly behind. I thought it was a pretty stupid time to start a new company, but thankfully my brother Jason Debiak didn’t agree. As the New Media Director at the same record label I worked at, he saw an area of opportunity opening up in the digital world. We had talked for years about starting our own digital agency and he finally felt the time was right. I didn’t require much convincing. After all, we were both experienced designers and hobby coders… so why not?

It’s now 10 years later and we have a great team, wonderful clients, and our choice of great lunch spots near the office. Here are a few of my favorite memories and milestones from the past decade.

• Immediately after forming our company, the iPhone was introduced and completely changed what we thought we were about to do.
• We spent 6 years negotiating for the domain papertiger.com and finally secured it with the covert help of a powerful client.
• We had a couple of babies. My son, Sam (2009), and Jason’s daughter Rosalie (2016). Babies are good luck if you didn’t already know.
• We designed a website for a private vacation rental property in St. Croix and the whole company got to stay there and try it out. One night we ALL slept through our dinner reservations because we drank “mind erasers” after snorkling all day.
• We hired two of the best developers we have ever worked with, Saad Irfan and Hidayat Sagita on the same day in 2012. Both are still with the company!
• We hosted the 2012 ExpressionEngine party at SXSW and told some folks our co-worker had taken PCP the night before and fed his own face to a dog. It wasn’t true and he was at the party with us.
• We tried having interns in the office but only ever had one, Michelle Perez. She’s now a Senior Designer here and a core part of the team.
• We moved to an office that shares an address with a drug-testing clinic a town over. To this day, we still get patients walking in and asking to submit a sample. We made a sign that said “Not A Clinic” but a local Judge defaced it with a Sharpee marker while visiting our office building.
• We found one of the greatest designers in the world, Mirko Santangelo, living in Sicily worked for a year to get him a Visa. Now he works in our office with us and we made him dress up as a wizard for Halloween.

This list could go on all day. This past year, Paper Tiger has continued to grow and expand what we are capable of. The addition of Web Engineer, Taylor Daughtry, opened up a world of technical possibilities for our projects and forced us all to become better coders. We also launched a new Portfolio site and an SEO/PPC Marketplace called Firefly.

We look forward to 2018 and the years that follow. If you’re still reading this, thanks, Mom! I swear I will try to call you more often.

Celebrating 10 Years of Paper Tiger was originally published in Paper Tiger Insights on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.