On occasion, it is necessary to check your email on a browser. Not only is your email accessible from any computer or location, but the webmail has a ton of extra information and settings that are important.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to check your email in a browser.
1. In a browser, navigate to the appropriate URL.
Navigate to the following URL, changing our “yourdomain.com” for your actual domain name.
http://yourdomain.com/webmail
2. Login
This will redirect you to a login page. Your username is your email address and your password is the password you use to login to your email account on any other platform.
What if I don’t know my password?
If you don’t know your password, you have a few options.
1. You should have received a document when your email account was setup. Look back in your records for this document. Unless, you changed your password manually, it will be the same.
2. If you own a Mac, you can find the password in Keychain. Keychain is software that is installed on your Mac computer and holds all your password. In keychain, type your email address in the search field on the top right. Click the entry that is named after your Mail Client (Ex. Outlook, Apple Mail, Airmail). You will need the password for your computer in order to see the password.
3. Lastly, if all these options fail, we can reset your password for you remotely. This would force you to change your password on all devices it is being used.
Note: For security purposes, Tandem Design Lab does not save any client passwords.
3. Choose the default application.
You are now logged in. From here, you can see all your configurations setting just below the three boxes at the top of the screen. You will also see various tutorials for setting up your email account in specific devices.
If you’d like to access your email from the browser, choose RoundCube from the top three boxes. From here you can send and receive email as normal.
Common Tasks
Change Your Password
Click on the email address in the top right corner of the page. In the dropdown list, click Password and Security. Here you may change your password. It is wise to use a strong password, with numbers, characters and no dictionary words. Please save this password in a safe place. Note: For security purposes, Tandem Design Lab does not save any client passwords.
Configuration Settings
If you are attempting to set up your email account in a mail client, you will need Configuration Settings. Click on your email address in the top right corner, and Configuration Settings is in the dropdown about half way down.
Autoresponders/Vacation Autoresponse
If you would like to set up an autoresponder, you will need Autoresponders. Click on your email address in the top right corner and Autoresponders is the fourth option.
Empty Junk or Trash Inboxes
If you are getting close to your limit, it may be necessary to empty the Junk, Trash or old emails on the server. This is particularly important if you are using POP to download your emails as no emails are deleted with this method. Click “Manage Disk Usage” in the dropdown list under your email address (top right). This will allow you to empty the various email boxes you have.
Forwarders
If you would like to forward all email or specific emails, you will find the option for Forwarders in the dropdown list, when you click on your email address in the top right corner of the page.
Twelve years ago, armed with a love of coding, a passion for design and a rebellious streak, I, Kristylee, started KL Creative Design. What followed were many, many websites and lots of personal growth. It has been an absolutely thrilling adventure. All of you were there for various parts of the journey and helped to make the dream of KL Creative Design a reality.
Often, when a dream is beginning to turn into reality, the picture is hazy. You are never quite sure into what it will grow. And in the case of KL Creative, the business grew and evolved in ways I couldn’t imagine.
About five years ago, I met a web developer named Tracy Francis, founder of Ineffable Concepts, serving the Grand County area. Despite owning competing businesses, it didn’t take long for us to realize that our journeys were meant to be traveled together. In 2015, we married.
It soon became apparent that we were better together in business as well. Tracy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table in areas such as software development, networking and systems admin, and programming. For the past two years, we have worked together to build something amazing. By adding his expertise to the mix —in vision and in the day-to-day work — the business has grown into something beyond the original vision of KL Creative Design.
In short, Tandem Design Lab was born.
Don’t worry. The heart and soul that has served the Summit and Grand County communities for these past years hasn’t been lost. We are very committed to serving local businesses, big or small. Our vision for Tandem Design Lab is greater than any individual members.
Here is what Tandem means to us:
Tandem means working together with you, the client, to bring your dream into reality.
Tandem means “A rising tide raises all boats.”
Tandem means we are all better together.
We look forward to working in tandem with you in the coming years.
Isn’t this the most beautiful time of year? I probably say that every season but this time I mean it! The bright green mountains contrasted against the stark white peaks and the vibrant skies. And if you slow down enough to look around, the wildflowers are blooming everywhere.
The past few years, I’ve made it my mission to learn about the wildflowers that grow in our backyards. The season goes fast, so you have to pay attention and take the time out of your day to enjoy it. Here are a few early season flowers that you are blooming right now in Summit County.
Fairy Trumpets.
These flowers are easily recognizable by their bright orange-red coloring and distinctive shape. They look exactly like the name suggests- a trumpet small enough for a fairy. The red flowers are splayed out towards the sun and often have white markings on the inside.
Phlox.
The Alpine Phlox creates beds of white or blue tinted flowers of 5 petals. They tend to grow low to the ground in large groups and give the appearance of mini meadows. The Silverthorne Bike Path has patches of the dotting the sides of the trail.
Early Larkspur
The Early Larkspur has 5 points and is deep blue, almost purple petals. The unique coloring and shape make it easily recognizable although it grows low to the ground and can be easily missed or mistaken for its more aggressive growing friend, the Silvery Penstemon.
Wild Iris
Wild Irises grow in a few spots in Summit County. They tend to prefer wet and marshy open meadows. They don’t last long so you have to look now! In past years, they were spotted on Aspen Meadow Trail or behind Breckenridge’s Highline Railroad Park, adjacent to the Ice Rink.
Mountain Marsh Marigold
These flowers are 1-2 inches in size, with many white petals with pale gray striations, and bright yellow centers. The leaves are dark green and lettuce-like. Look for them growing prolifically along the sides of streams. Some say they have a distinct “stinky” odor.
Shooting Star
This flower is a little more rare and easily missed, despite its bright coloring. The magenta flower has yellow and white along the bottom and looks like it has been turned inside out. The petals face upward and the bottom comes to a darkly painted point. While a little harder to find, this exotic beauty is worth the effort.
Ok, there were actually 6 in this list. I couldn’t choose between them! If you are interested to learn more, or have a flower you’d like identified, take a look at our database of local wildflowers. To see more Colorado wildflowers, follow us on Instagram at @coloradowildflowers or like our Facebook Page. You can also follow us at @coloradowebdesign for highlights. And we always love hearing about your adventures. Send us photos of your own adventures or flowers you find along the way!
By now you should be used to Google changing the rules for SEO. Well, it seems they are preparing to do so again. They are now pushing all websites to use an encryption layer called SSL.
What is SSL?
SSL.com defines it as such:
“SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser.”
An SSL certificate encrypts the data being passed between you and the website’s hosting server. This data is passed over your internet signal. If this data is intercepted, passwords, credit cards and other identifying information may be stolen. An SSL encrypts this data. It also verifies that you have visited the correct website with proper identification credentials.
An SSL protected website will have two indicators. There will be a small ‘lock’ icon next to the URL in the address bar. The URL will also contain an extra ‘s’ in its name. Instead of http://yourdomain.com, the URL will be https://yourdomain.com.
So What is Changing?
Google will now be marking all websites as either encrypted or not encrypted. Unprotected websites will be labeled as “insecure”.
Right now, these markers are only in Google Chrome. Encrypted sites get a small green lock icon and the word “Secure”. Non-encrypted sites get an ‘i’ icon. If your site has the ability to login or accept credit cards, you will also get the word “Not Secure” next to the icon.
Eventually, this unencrypted site warning will become more harsh and will show a red warning triangle instead of the ‘i’ icon.
On top of the negative markings, encrypted sites will receive a ranking boost and will rank higher than a comparative non-encrypted site.
What the Future Holds
As the most popular browser with around 40% of web traffic happening on Google Chrome, this is an influential move. It is likely just the beginning. Google has been pushing encryption (for good reason) and will continue to penalize non-encrypted sites. Other browsers will likely follow suit and begin marking unencrypted sites. In short, this isn’t going away.
What to Do
The only solution is to get an SSL certificate. Your web developer will need to install your SSL certificate but once installed, it only needs to be renewed once a year. Your URL structure will change and will need to be changed in any website links across the web. Other than that, you will have no changes to your site, in aesthetic or functionality.
You’ll also want to change any links to your website to reflect the new URL. This includes Facebook, Twitter and any directory listings or backlinks you might have.
Because this will effect any and all websites, we’ve created 2 packages for installing an SSL to your website. See here for our plans.
This was a weekend long event for girls, grades 3-12, aimed to teach them the basics of web development. Many of you may not know, but before I (Kristylee) started KL Creative Design, I was a mentor for at risk youth. This weekend felt like a combining of two of my favorite things: programming and working with teens!
The end goal of the weekend was to produce a working website about a subject of their choice and present it at the Breckenridge Film Fest. With a looming deadline and real people checking their work, the girls were motivated to work hard. They learned how to wire frame their idea, research and write their own content and design their logo. After that they got into the nitty gritty of HTML and CSS coding and created some fantastic projects. This is the stuff that really stretches the brain and forces it to learn new patterns. This weekend was far from easy or relaxing!
This site was a lot of fun to build! We started from the ground up, building out a new logo. Right from the start, we knew we were going to want some bells and whistles in the form of some custom animations. Our custom animation on the logo, built in mobile friendly languages, loads fast and clean and gives just a little bit of extra style.
You can also check the weather with this website! It is connected to the weather forecast and when snow is expected that day, there is a second animation that will load that day: snowflakes!
More than just a pretty face, this site is built in WordPress to make content edits quick and easy. With the ability to add new events, timely photos or update the menus, this website is created to be a powerful tool for the business.
Branding is the visual representation of your business. Your branding or any graphic design work you have, is reflected in the colors you use, your logo, the fonts you choose, the appearance of your social media sites, clothing attire of employees, flyers or any other marketing collateral you might use for your business.
Branding is often the first impression someone might have of your business. They see a sign out in front of your brick and mortar. They see your logo on a flyer or Facebook page. These images are imprinted in our brains and are used to recall your business at a later date.
One of the biggest mistakes I see from small businesses is lack of brand consistency.
What Message Does Inconsistency Send?
Inconsistent branding presents its own message. It clouds the waters of your branding message with a message of instability and unprofessionalism. It shows lack of attention to detail and lack of focus. When you interact with a business, you want to know that the business is capable to handle whatever task they advertise. An inconsistent message makes for a shaky foundation of trust.
Imagine going to an interview in ripped or stained clothing. You wouldn’t do that. You would take care to present the right message through your appearance. The same must be done for your business.
What does Brand Consistency Look Like?
Here’s some common mistakes.
1. Mismatched colors.
Perhaps the colors or fonts don’t match on flyers or the website. You might use different shades of the same color, or even different color sets depending on who made what flyer. Often times I see business owners changing the colors and fonts to match the personal styles of the designer. While it might make the designer happy, this is inconsistent branding. (More later about why your branding is not for you.
2. Social Media Imagery.
The images on social media sites do not reflect any of the branding or improperly uploaded. I’ve even seen companies that have separate branding for separate mediums! It can be difficult to get proper photos for all your social media sites. Each one has different sizes and shapes. These graphics look best when they are properly cropped or positioned to the specific dimensions of that medium.
3. Outdated Logos. It’s not uncommon for a logo to be modernized or freshened up. That will likely happen on a regular basis. When rebranding, the utmost care should be taken to make sure the brand message is retained.
Secondly, have all instances of the old logo been removed?
4. Inconsistent Listings on Web Directory Sites.
This one can actually have a negative effect on your SEO. Make sure your Google My Business listings, Yelp, website any other web directory has accurate and consistently formatted information. Make sure the hours, the address, the photos and all information on each and every directory is accurate and up to date.
5. Outdated information
While this isn’t exactly in the category of branding, I think it is worth mentioning. Outdated information on a website is a glaring eyesore.
Recently, I had an unfortunate experience with a local business. After checking its hours online, I visited the business, only to find they were not open when advertised. This instantly makes me think that the business is in trouble – likely having staffing issues, not making enough money to stay open or something of the like. Not only is it unprofessional, it’s frustrating for the client!
If you have events or specials that expired weeks ago, if you’ve changed your hours and haven’t updated this website – all these are things will frustrate a user. Their experience is doomed from the start with misrepresented and mismanaged expectations. It is better to have less info on your website, than to have inaccurate information. Here at KL Creative, we know and understand how time consuming managing your online presence can be. Nonetheless, it is absolutely crucial to stay on top of it.
More often than not, the website or social media page will be the first impression someone will get of your business. What does that first impression say?
Dwell Summit, property management company and realtor, came to us in need of an upgrade. Their current website wasn’t mobile responsive and while technically functional, was no longer representative of their branding message. It was merely limping along.
Here at KL Creative Design, we believe that your website should be the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.
We built Dwell a WordPress website that has a strong branding message, is easily editable while still being a heavy hitter. Complete with IDX integration, a custom Properties plugin, and custom forms, this website is equipped to attract clients and facilitate the selling process – all while looking good!
If you follow our Instagram or Twitter feed, you know that the crew here at Tandem is all about Colorado. We love the landscape, the mountains and also the flowers. We are proud to live in such a beautiful place and feel lucky to get to see these views every day. We also love design and photography as that’s a part of what we do here. Naturally, we take a lot of photos.
Recently, the obsessive photo taking has taken a more professional direction.
Throughout my hikes, I (Kristylee) have come to recognize a lot of the wildflowers of Colorado, the crowning glory of our wonderful summers. But identifying them? That can be complicated. I’ve had to resort to carrying bulky resource books around with me wherever I go or spending hours googling/guessing after the fact. I realized that there is no good online resource for identifying these flowers! Hence Colorado’s Wildflowers was born.
We built our own wildflower database. We’ve spent most of the summer building up the database, writing up descriptions and gathering photos. That’s phase 1 and it is currently operational.
We also built a registration system so that we can crowd source the data, opening it up for other wildflower aficionados to add their own entries. This helps us focus on the technical side of things, while continuing to build up the database and add flowers from other areas of the state.
Phase 2 will include a mobile app with proper searching for identification purposes. The goal is to build a tool that you can take with you on your hikes, not only for identifying the flowers, but also for sharing your photos with others.
We’ve had great feedback on the website within the wildflower communities and are excited do share it with all of you. Most of the photos on the site were taken right in Summit County! Feel free to register here or submit your own photos.
This past weekend, I (Kristy Lee) worked at the Keystone Science School for their Girls in STEM program. The Girls In STEM program’s goal is to empower girls and build leadership and collaboration skills through the STEM arts (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). We had about 30 3rd-7th grade girls for a full Saturday. What an adventure!
This weekend’s theme was Maximizing Momentum and the girls completed 3 projects that focused on that theme. Each project taught about momentum, as well as fostered engineering skills, critical thinking, problem solving, mathematics, collaboration and team building.
For the first project, we created a paint pendulum and studied how the pendulum would create different patterns in the paint. We learned how to manipulate those patterns by adjusting the pendulum’s momentum, trajectory and potential energy. I personally loved this one, as I found the mathematical patterns created by the pendulum beautiful and mesmerizing.
For the second project, the girls were put into teams and each team created a catapult. Each catapult was then tested for distance, force and accuracy using different ammunitions using a target and measuring tape. We may have also tested out who could get it up to the ceiling as well…
For the third project, the girls created a ballon powered car. Not as easy as you might think! Not all the teams were able to actually make the car move…but nonetheless super fun to make!
The Girls in STEM program was created to foster growth in the science, technology, engineering and math arenas. In a safe environment free of stereotype and cultural influence, the girls can explore these areas. Culturally, we are often taught that girls are less adept in these sciences. I personally do not believe this to be true and would love to see more female programmers, women engineers and scientists!
Your car regularly gets tune ups. Your lawn gets mowed regularly. Your computer even needs a little help once in a while. What about your website?
Just like all of these, your website needs some TLC on a regular basis.
Many people assume that once the website is built, they can check that off the list and move onto other things. Your website will just sit there and make you money. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Just like any other tool, it will rot and decay with time and disuse.
Here’s a few areas where regular maintenance is important.
Web Software
An outdated website a major security issue.
If you are using WordPress, you need to be regularly updating your software. This is crucial. WordPress is the most popular platform on the internet* (and for good reason), and this makes it a target for hackers. The crew over at WordPress are working around the clock to release patches and updates to thwart hackers but if you don’t update, you are not taking advantage of these patches and will be vulnerable. When it comes to outdated WordPress software, it’s not a question of if you are hacked, it’s a question of when you are hacked.
Even if you are not using WordPress, the languages used to write websites are fluid and regularly updated. As new technologies emerge, the old ones are deprecated or unsupported. Social media sites are notorious for changing their feeds (I’m looking at you, Facebook) rendering older feeds useless.
At the very least, your website should be looked at by a professional once a year. Every 6 months would be preferred.
Content
While I prefer that all of you are writing and adding new content regularly, that isn’t always feasible. If you aren’t, you should still go over your content once a year to revise or remove outdated content. Remove products you don’t sell anymore. Get rid of old news posts or events that are past. Nothing makes a website feel more stale than outdated content.
Check your Stats
It’s wise to regularly check into your analytics for any major changes to the flow of traffic or drops in traffic. Occasionally a Google algorithm change or the like can have a direct hit on your traffic and you’d want to be on top of that before it affects your sales. If you are doing regular digital marketing (hint – you should be), you’ll be doing this anyway.
Backups
Backups are like insurance. No one wants to think about them until they need it! While I prefer the automated backups, done through a WordPress plugin or the host, this isn’t always possible. I suggest monthly backups at the very least that are not saved on the same server as the website.
WordPress has a great plugin that takes automated backups that it will save on the server as well as email a copy (when possible). This saves the backup in two separate locations for double security. (Note: If we built your site, you may even have this up and running already!)
Spam
If you have a blog, it’s wise to regularly check for spam. Spam comments that got past the filter can negatively affect your SEO rating and should be removed.
Contact Forms
Check all contact forms! Recently I visited a website that had an email form on their site. When I went to send them an email, the form gave me an error and refused to send. What did I do? I went to a competitor. The contact forms on your site, as well as other basic contact info, are the main conversion points for new clients. They should be tested regularly to make sure they are still working. If you have an email form, make sure it is not going to your spam filter and is being properly handle on the receiving end.
Link Checks
It’s a good idea to check all links once a year as well. Websites are removed or change their name. Maybe you removed a page off your site and forgot about a link. No matter the reason, Google does not like broken links as it makes your site look inactive and out of date. Use a link checker such as this free one or this one to run scans on your site.
In summary, plan for a few hours of your time every few months revisiting the overall plan of your website. Go over all the content and make sure it still aligns with your overall goals. Secondly, budget for a few hours of time with a web professional to update software and fix any outdated code at least once a year.
Building a business can be hard work, and is often thankless. As many of you have experienced, it can take years before you even see some positives in the vast sea of challenges and struggles. Most businesses don’t make a profit for the first years, and the failure rate of new businesses is staggering. When I, Kristy Lee, found out I was nominated for the Emerging Leader Award, I was super excited and honored. And to be set apart as a Distinguished Honoree? That is just amazing.
Also happy to report that not only did we meet our annual sales goal, we have doubled our sales in the last 2 years! That is just incredible. I am so grateful for all the wonderful clients I have worked with in the last few years, and the progress we have made. Here’s to hoping for another great year!
It soon became apparent that we were better together in business as well. Tracy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table in areas such as software development, networking and systems admin, and programming. For the past two years, we have worked together to build something amazing. By adding his expertise to the mix —in vision and in the day-to-day work — the business has grown into something beyond the original vision of KL Creative Design.
An SSL certificate encrypts the data being passed between you and the website’s hosting server. This data is passed over your internet signal. If this data is intercepted, passwords, credit cards and other identifying information may be stolen. An SSL encrypts this data. It also verifies that you have visited the correct website with proper identification credentials.
Inconsistent branding presents its own message. It clouds the waters of your branding message with a message of instability and unprofessionalism. It shows lack of attention to detail and lack of focus. When you interact with a business, you want to know that the business is capable to handle whatever task they advertise. An inconsistent message makes for a shaky foundation of trust.
It’s not uncommon for a logo to be modernized or freshened up. That will likely happen on a regular basis. When rebranding, the utmost care should be taken to make sure the brand message is retained.
An outdated website a major security issue.
It’s a good idea to check all links once a year as well. Websites are removed or change their name. Maybe you removed a page off your site and forgot about a link. No matter the reason, Google does not like broken links as it makes your site look inactive and out of date. Use a link checker such as