West County Net Wins Best Ad Agency in Sonoma County!
West County Net is honored to receive the award for Sonoma County’s Best Ad Agency in the North Bay Bohemian “Best of North Bay 2021” Awards.
Blog Category
West County
Luck of the Irish? Or just good food meets good marketing?
In Sonoma county, the name McNears goes hand in hand with St Patrick’s day. When owner Kenneth O’Donnell came to us, his website was outdated and he needed a better way to showcase his good eats and events online. Our team pulled up a stool at the long standing Petaluma establishment, and over a delicious […]
SEO/SEM Specialist
SEO/SEM Specialist – *In House Position* Are you the one? The digital marketing team at West County Net is in search of a SEM/SEO specialist seasoned in the art of client management, and who has expertise in the planning and execution of digital marketing campaigns. What You Will Be Doing Develop and project manage digital […]
Julian Wilson Holmes is ‘One To Watch’ in 2020
West County Net CTO, Julian Wilson Holmes, was recognized as one of the North Bay Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 “Ones to Watch”.
6 Tips For Staying Productive While Working Remotely
If your team needs help staying connected, WCN is available to set up remote working stations — we even have some tips for working from home!
Best Times to Post on Social Media in 2019
What are the Best Days and Times for Social Media Posting? Social media: it is something businesses everywhere can’t ignore any longer. Did you know — it has been reported that 75% of consumers bought a product because they saw it on a social network? If you are one of the many businesses that has […]
Google Duplex is Next-Level AI: What Does it Mean for the Future of Digital Marketing?
At I/O 2018, Google CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated the newest and most futuristic capability of Google Assistant: the ability to make phone calls on your behalf. An awestruck crowd watched as Pinchai played a conversation between Google Assistant and a hair salon in which the assistant successfully schedules a 10 am appointment for its client. […]
Why Mobile Friendly Web Design is Crucial in 2018
In the past, Mobile Friendly Web Design simply meant a website should shrink down to fit the dimensions of a smaller screen, i.e. smartphones & tablets. A website would look and operate on a mobile device exactly as it would on its desktop counterpart, just not as conveniently. This lack of mobile sophistication often resulted […]
4 Digital Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business Online in 2018
1. Content Marketing & Content Development First, know that content creation isn’t going anywhere and remains among the top priorities in digital marketing. For a business or brand, content marketing’s objective is to ultimately drive interest and leads in the product or service but the focus of the content created must be of benefit to […]
WCN Helps Larry Brown Sports Blog Fix Spam Ad Redirects Issue
We all know the feeling too well- You’re browsing your favorite blog for interesting highlights or perhaps clicking on some intriguing headlines as you scroll through your Facebook feed, but instead of being directed to the article you would like to read, you are redirected to a pop-up ad informing that you are today’s lucky […]
Meltdown and Spectre: CPU Security Flaws
New Major CPU Security Flaws Earlier this week, computer security experts announced the discovery of two major security flaws found in the processors of most of the world’s computers, smartphones, and cloud servers. These flaws affect nearly every processor manufactured by Intel since 1995. These defects encompass all modern processors capable of a performance […]
Celebrating 20 Years with Web
Why am I smiling? Because today marks exactly 20 years that I have been actively working in Web Development, and that feels big. I’ve survived the .com crash, the use of tables and <blink> text. When I started designing for web in 1997, we had no idea what this thing would become. There was no […]
5 Digital Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Happy Small Business Week! West County Net is proud to be a small business dedicated to helping other businesses throughout Sonoma County find success online. In the spirit of Small Business Week, we wanted to offer some suggestions for improving your business’ online presence and ensuring your online house is strong. 1. Make Sure Your […]
Be The Change
We recently celebrated our fearless leader, Paloma Sky Patiño, earning her spot among the ranks of the North Bay Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 for 2017. You can learn more about Paloma and this honor here. At West County, we pride ourselves on being a team of dreamers, thinkers, and creatives who strive to find […]
Forty Under 40
West County Net is very proud to announce that our fearless leader, Paloma Patino, has been named one of the North Bay Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 for 2017. Every year, The North Bay Business Journal awards the best, brightest, remarkable young leaders under 40 in the North Bay area with this honor. These recipients […]
To Cloud or Not to Cloud
For the past few years, the term “The Cloud” has become a huge selling point in the IT business. Everywhere you look you will see an advertisement for going to “The Cloud”. Whether it’s simply storing data in the cloud or running your ERP software in the cloud, we here at West County Net get […]
Presenting to the Alliance
West County is super excited to be giving a talk today at the Sonoma County Alliance members meeting! The focus will be the development and design for the new website, now near completion, and also Internet Marketing. Thank you to the Alliance for allowing us to get up there! For more information about the Sonoma […]
World Password Day 2016: May 5th
More and more, accessing personal information via a website or app isn’t just becoming commonplace; it’s becoming a part of our culture.
Why is Conversion-Centered Design Important?
Why does your business need to design its website around conversion? The internet provides endless options, so you better stand out—and quick.
Apple QuickTime Patching Stops
Apple will no longer be issuing security patches for QuickTime on Windows computers.
Locky Ransomware
A new variant of ransomware called Locky can encrypt your files and hold them ransom until payment is delivered. Learn more from IT experts West County Net!
What’s Your 2016 Business Resolution?
With Google’s mobile-focused algorithm change and mobile searches increasing, mobile responsive website design can’t be ignored in 2016.
TeslaCrypt Ransomware Removal
This past year, a particularly nasty malware infection known as TeslaCrypt has come into the spotlight. If you’re infected, there are steps to take before paying the ransom!
Microsoft Patch KB 3114409 Issues
Microsoft issued an update for Outlook 2010 on Tuesday, December, 8, which was supposed to fix a set of issues, including preventing the program from mistakenly entering safe mode on startup.
Flash Vulnerability
Adobe Flash is once again broken and vulnerable to virus attacks. PROTECT YOUR FILES Mozilla is temporarily blocking Adobe Flash from their web browser, Firefox. Any content that requires Flash to work will be disabled by default. You might see warnings that flash is out of date or blocked. Currently, no fix is available from […]
CryptoWall Removal & Prevention Guide
Getting infected with CryptoWall can be a very scary, damaging, and even costly experience. If you’re infected, West County can help.
The Windows 10 Upgrade Complete Guide
When does Windows 10 come out? Windows 10 launches on July 29th, 2015 and will remain a free upgrade until July 29th, 2016. If you’re already running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you may have noticed the notifications prompting you to reserve your copy of Windows 10. Once you reserve, Microsoft will download the necessary […]
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is the end result of years of optimization and integration in online business listings by Google over the lifetime of several of their products, namely Google Places and Google+ Pages.
New Location!
We are proud to announce that we have moved our business to a new location: 1053 College Avenue, Santa Rosa, California 95404 We hope you come visit soon!
#WestCounty on a photo adventure
The fellas on a photographic adventure on a fine Friday!
Google to Change Ranking Algorithm to Favor Mobile-Friendly Sites
Sites that are designed with mobile users in mind are about to find themselves ahead of the curve.
Why not to have your Website built by a Directory Publisher
You don’t have to look very hard to find horror stories about Yellow Pages / Yellow Book / Hibu.
One Firm or Two for IT and Web Dev/Design?
It’s not often that you find a web development company that’s also an IT support company or vice versa. West County Net happens to be both, and many of our clients take advantage of that fact.
Holiday E-Commerce & Online Marketing
More and more people buy goods and services online every year. With the holiday shopping season here once again, your business should be ready for e-commerce!
Net Neutrality Update – President Obama Lends Support
Whether or not you agree with the President’s political views, policies, or the decisions he’s made in office, it’s pretty easy to get behind him in the case of net neutrality.
Inbound Marketing & Small Business
Depending on how deep you’ve delved into the rabbit hole that is online marketing strategy, “inbound marketing” may be an unfamiliar term. Rest assured, inbound marketing isn’t false hype for “the next big thing,” nor is it some snake oil cure-all. The term was coined in 2005 to describe a set of practices that focus […]
West County: E-Commerce in Santa Rosa
West County Net is a web development, online marketing, and IT support company that’s been helping businesses build and launch e-commerce websites for years.
End of Support for Windows Server 2003
In less than a year, Microsoft will end support for the popular Windows Server 2003. Hailed by many as the most stable, reliable Windows-based server OS, many are not looking forward to leaving Win2k3. However, compromised security is forcing the issue.
Why is Broadband Internet Important?
Net neutrality, ISP monopolies, and “fast lanes” aside, why is broadband internet so important anyway? Why is it important that people have access to high-speed internet? What does fast internet service do for society?
Broadband ISP Monopoly Isn’t “Natural”
There’s this little clawing, nagging thought in the back of my mind: I’m paying this business whose practices I hate and whose customer service is consistently rated the worst in the country, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Sonoma County Golf’s 1st Annual Chip In for Charity Tournament
West County is proud to be a sponsor of Sonoma County Golf’s 1st Annual Chip In for Charity Tournament. Proceeds from the event are benefiting the Polly Klaas Foundation, a charity organization based in Petaluma whose mission is to keep children safe and aid in the recovery of missing children. Since 1993, the foundation has […]
Why is Responsive Design Important?
Responsive Design: an approach to designing and programming a website wherein, depending on the size of the screen on which it is being displayed, content on the site is scaled, rearranged, and/or transformed in the interest of making it as easily viewable and accessible as possible. In other words, your website works good on phones […]
Why is Net Neutrality Important?
If you work in the tech or web industries, you’re probably already entrenched in the debate raging on right now over net neutrality. Recently, there’s been a huge public outcry against FCC chairman Tom Wheeler’s so-called “open internet proposal.” The fight for net neutrality has been going on for a long time now. There have […]
Implementing a Cloud Service
Cloud computing is quickly becoming the standard for cost-effective web hosting, data backup, and information technology services. Businesses of all sizes (including giants like Netflix) use some form of cloud service for their integral day-to-day operations. When you consider the money that businesses can save by avoiding purchasing their own servers, it’s no wonder there […]
New Internet Explorer Vulnerability Discovered
A security flaw has been discovered for the hugely popular web browser, Internet Explorer. The vulnerability affects all versions of IE, from version 6 through the most recent release, IE 11. Though the number of reported attacks has been few so far, the shear potential for serious breaches in security is staggering. Over 50% of […]
The Demise of Windows XP
Time to say goodbye Microsoft has finally ended its support for the Windows XP operating system. Sustaining 13 years on the market, the extremely popular operating system was used the world over. In the end, XP weighed in at just under 28% of the global OS market share. To be so popular even at the […]
The Heartbleed Bug: What is it, what did it do, and what does it mean for you?
Recently, news of a major security issue known as the Heartbleed Bug has been circulating around the internet. The security flaw affects all systems that use OpenSSL, a security protocol that is utilized by a large portion of websites on the internet. In the most basic terms, the Heartbleed Bug may have exposed a bunch […]
SEO History 101
Search engine optimization has been a violently shifting landscape since its inception in the mid 90s. On the one hand, you have SEO companies and their clients, who want to rank as high as possible so more people see their websites in search results. On the other hand, you have search engines (like the giant, […]
Websites Designed for Success
WordPress was originally developed as a platform for bloggers to self-publish their blogs. Because its goal was to be accessible for as many people as possible, it is exceedingly easy to use. There’s no need to contact your webmaster if you want to update content on your site—your website is yours to change whenever you want. With WordPress’ simple and intuitive interface, it’s as easy as logging into the site’s backend and making the change.
Password Security & Best Password Practices
The recent credit card information breach at Target has a lot of people thinking about big business security issues again. What kind of information do the businesses we trust so much have and how easy is it exactly to access by some anonymous hacker? The problem that the Target credit card breach highlights is that—no […]