BeesNest Web Design

Interested in Web Design, Corporate Retreats, and WordPress? Over the next 30 days, I'll be writing 30 Atomic Essays. Follow my Social Blog on @typeshare_co: typeshare.co/beesnestwebdesi…

Ever wondered how to actually create a custom WordPress theme? Wonder no more! Here's a step by step guide for any aspiring #WordPress Developer! beesnestdesign.com/2024/05/1…

WordPress is a web devs best friend. Agree? beesnestdesign.com/2024/04/0…

3 Simple Things Small to Medium Sized Hotels and Resorts Can Make Today To 2x Revenue $305/per person, per night. That was the average a “Corporate Guest” would bring in over the span a 24-hour period. That covered 4 meals, 1 cocktail hour, and 1 bed for the night – and that $305 DID NOT include all of the – “extras”. Simply stated – hosting Corporate Meetings & Retreats is THE BEST way to increase your revenue in slow midweeks and off-seasons. I’ve already covered the biggest fears most hotels and resorts have about getting into the “Corporate Meetings & Retreats” market, so if you’d like to read that first, you can check it out here. Today I’d like to show you 3 things you can do today that can more than double your revenue in slow times of the year. Find A Way To Say Yes The most common thing I hear from our clients is – “but I don’t have a formal meeting room” or “we don’t have a full kitchen staff”. To that I say, excuses, excuses! If you have a dining room or lobby, you have a meeting room. If you have a local, dependable restaurant, you have a kitchen. Over my 17 years in the business, I’ve hosted full corporate meetings in the living rooms of houses, out in the middle of a lake on a boat, and even in the middle of the woods. Doing it in a dining room seems rather easy in comparison! You think it’s challenging to get a local restaurant to deliver food? Try booking a former American Idol singer, getting a mechanical bull to work with no access to a 220 amp electrical socket, and securing a hand-made Cuban cigar roller – just for one event. I’m not trying to “beat you up” here, I’m simply hammering home the notion that if you want to host corporate groups, you are totally capable! The secret to it all lies in clever planning and finding a way to make it happen. Offer Simple Team Building Events It’s hard to attract a group of young to middle-aged professionals to a hotel or resort if there is nothing to do. If you’re not in a position or area where you are surrounded by local vendors that do excursions or events, you can feel a little defeated or perplexed on what to do. Every hotel or resort I work with gets it in their mind that they NEED to have BIG amenities that their competitors have to procure a corporate booking. Trust me – I understand that one. The resort I worked for didn’t have roller coasters or jet skis, but what we did have was a great team building program. What if I told you with 50 cardboard tubes, 30 zip ties, 25 yards of duct tape, 30 wooden yard sticks, and 125 feet of string you could do a teambuilding event for a group of 50 people in which you could charge $20 a head? I hosted an event just like that at least 25-30 times a year. You don’t need to have a zipline or mountain biking. A great idea and well organized event is all you need and you can offer team building at pennies and make big dollars. Even though we didn’t have huge rock climbing walls and high tech video challenges we were consistently voted as one of the best resorts in America – year after year. Get The Word Out I’ve lost count on the amount of hotels, resorts, and golf courses I’ve talked to that don’t advertise that they do corporate meetings and retreats. The response when asked if they’ve been offering corporate retreats goes something like, “Yeah. I mean, we do them if someone asks us to.” That’s like struggling to pay your bills while you have buried treasure in your back yard! You need to get the word out there! I promise you, there are resorts taking business you SHOULD BE getting (and would be doing a better job with) just because they are advertising it. The demand for corporate meetings and events for small to medium sized business has been on the rise since the end of the pandemic. Now is the best time to get into this venture if you haven’t already. I have seen groups spend $60,000 in 24-hours! You are missing out on huge opportunities if you are not effectively communicating your position. Ok, we get it! We should be hosting corporate retreats… But how do we get that business? The best way for these groups to find you is through your online presence. With the introduction of TikTok a few years ago, the average amount of time you have to get a person’s attention online is 2 seconds. That’s it. It they need to think or struggle at all with your website, you’ve lost their business. The best news is, this where BeesNest comes in. It is our specialty and our passion to help small hotels, golf courses, and resorts bring in these groups and boost their revenue. We have over 17 years of experience selling, planning, and executing corporate events and retreats and want to share that knowledge with you. Let us help you get on the right path and increase your revenue today!

$220,000 – That was the average companies spent on corporate retreats in 2022. Securing just one of those bookings has the potential to turn your financial outlook positive for the entire year. So why do certain hotels and resorts exhibit reluctance when it comes to taking the plunge? FEAR The following are the most common reasons for hesitation and what you can do to quiet those fears and start hosting corporate events. Unfamiliar Clientele Let’s face it – you’ve been focusing on family trips or couples retreats for decades and it’s made you successful. Do you really want to put yourself out there to handle high maintenance groups, with very specific needs? Here’s the thing – the needs of corporate clientele aren’t as scary as you may think. There are several things you need to have to get their initial business, but once they are in house, they really only need you to be attentive. The great news is – they book their stays on midweeks and in the off-season, so you should have the availability to cater to them. Corporate client’s needs only your attention and your willingness to satisfy their needs quickly. If you don’t have the solution readily available – you need only the ability to swiftly obtain it. Uncertainty in attracting clients “Ok, you’ve convinced me – I should be hosting Corporate Retreats… But I don’t even know how to start getting Corporate Meeting Planners’ attention.” Lucky for us – we know how these corporate planners find retreat destinations. 72% of travelers research and book their destinations online. That means you must optimize your online presence to cater to the corporate event planner’s attention. Speaking of attention – once a potential customer hits your website, you have about 8 seconds to grab their attention. That means you need to optimize your website and make it abundantly clear that you offer corporate meetings and events. How will this affect our current business Even after it becomes clear what you need to do, the inner voice inside starts to panic about change – how is this going to affect our repeat customers? Here’s the best part – most of them aren’t even going to cross paths with your corporate business. As I mentioned earlier, these groups come during midweeks and off-seasons – allowing you to cater to them and not affecting your ability to produce the same product you’ve had for the last 15 years. If anything, they will only benefit from the corporate dollars you will soon be able to invest back into your hotel or resort. “We don’t want to scare our loyal guests away by redesigning our site to cater to corporate meetings and events.” That’s the beauty of our philosophy. All you need to do is add a little link in your current website’s navigation and we’ll build you an optimized website – just for corporate planners. Heck – you can even throw a little rebranding if you want. New program. New website. New you. Think you’re ready to move into the corporate event market? Book a free consultation with BeesNest and let us help you take your hotel or resort to the next level.

Should you learn {insert coding language here} in 2024? Short answer: Yes. We often get so caught up worrying about what is the "Best" coding language to learn, we often lose site of what's really important - learning and growing. No matter what language you'd like to try, you will be hammering home principles that are invaluable and transferrable to any other coding language. By that I mean, if you choose to learn Ruby (a language considered by many to be a waste of time considering it's decline in demand), the concepts you pick up will be useful no matter what your coding future may hold - it may even open your eyes to ways of implementing different paradigms in another stack. Now that being said, there are certainly better languages for you to choose dependent on your given situation. For example, if you are (or want to be) a web developer, learning a language like Matlab may not be the best use of your time since utilizing Matlab will be limited in it's overall application to your profession. Here's the thing though, if you are interested in something, it is certainly worth pursuing. I've found people do their best work and grow the most when they are completely engaged in what they are doing. Rather than spending your time researching other people's opinions, ask yourself the following: • What type of developer do I want to be? • What are the languages and tools I can use to accomplish that taks? • Which of those options do I like the best? Once you have your answer, move forward. Don't waffle - decide and go full steam ahead. You won't regret it.

Most programmers have commitment issues. And no - I don't mean in their personal lives - but certainly in their professional ones. It's not all their fault though! Developers of all different experience levels and backgrounds are constantly bombarded with new technologies every day. Sometimes, it's not even by choice. Many times, a client comes your way with a project written in a language you've never used or framework that's unfamiliar. Your company may not be able to pass up the work - so your tasked with being able to adapt. Sometimes, it's completely by choice. This is where I really see the commitment problem. Techies catch wind of a great new library or technology that supposedly solves all of the shortcomings of whatever it is you've worked with in the past. I've also seen programmers just get bored of what they're working in and want to embark on a new coding adventure to try something different. Although, working in new languages and different technologies is a good thing - I think sometimes it can be detrimental to your growth as a programmer. Too often I've been tempted to switch a language because I feel stagnant, frustrated, or because the next step I need to take will most likely put me in that "specialized" category where I become "just a PHP developer" or "just a Java Developer". Can I tell you a secret? Having a specialty is actually a great thing and where you will find you can present the most value to clients. Think about it as if you were a musician. You can read music and you love a bunch of different instruments. You've even taught yourself how to play a few of them. Here's the thing though - if a band is in need of a drummer, are they going to want a guy that's been drumming for the last 15 years and has dedicated his life to his craft - or do they want the guy that has 2 years of trombone, 5 years of piano, 4 years of saxophone and 2 years of drumming? Given the choice, I'd go with the former every time - and I think the same goes for clients and employers looking for developers. So that all being said, this is my public accountability statement. No longer will I try to be a jack of all trades, master of none. It's time for me to dedicate my learning to one stack and commit to one language. When a new tech is needed for a project, I will learn it well enough to use it - and then apply the lessons learned to my specialty. This way, I get to continue learning and bring new ideas from different point of views to my specialized stack. Commitment is the only way we can achieve mastery - and that's where I want to be.

Before I became a developer, I never realized how similar programming is to building a house. You hear it all the time when talking about web development: HTML is the frame, CSS does the paint colors and carpets, and JavaScript allows you to turn the lights on and flush the toilets. Programming also shares similarities with construction when it comes to fixing bugs or implementing new features. When a house needs a new carpet - no problem! As long as you have the funds, go to the carpet store, pick out new carpet, have it delivered and installed, all within a few days. This is similar to changing colors or fonts on a website (it's even easier if you used SCSS). Jump into the code, switch a few CSS features and the website has a new look and feel. Here's the thing though, when something goes REALLY wrong with a house, it typically isn't something you can see. A good example of this would be a foundation issue or a busted furnace. The same can be said for code. Many times, the issue lies somewhere deep in the backend where some junior programmer used the "var" keyword 10 years ago. I've found over the last 3 years that what clients seem to think is an easy fix or feature, is actually extremely difficult and what's really hard to fix or implement is very easy. A good example would be, wanting to add an input box and collect a new piece of data from the user. The client seems to think all you need to do is add the box and voila, everything works. This is certainly not true. Not only do you need to manipulate the front end, but the ripple effect that "little request" may have on the back end could be massive. Who knows how many tables may be linked to the user table and what legacy code you can break when you implement the new feature. Suffice all of this to say, things in programming are not always as they appear. As a client, I think it is always good practice to ask your programmers about how best to achieve the desired outcome, rather than approaching them with the solution. And programmers, you're not off the hook - it's up to you to raise those concerns often and early so that your client is aware of the undertaking. In the long run, this is going to save both the client and the programmer a lot of time, money, and frustration.

You don't need to be a genius to solve Data Structure and Algorithm problems. Heck, you don't even really need to be all that smart. You see, up until a few days ago, every time I signed into LeetCode to sharpen my skills, I'd end up frustrated and feeling like a failure. Here's the thing - Just because you struggle with DSA (Data Structure and Algorithms), certainly doesn't mean you're a bad programmer. You simply need to change your perspective to understand why struggling with DSA is actually pretty normal. I used to love tinkering with a Rubiks cube when I was a kid. I spent hours of my life just trying to get one side filled in with the same color. I could never do it - but it wasn't because I wasn't smart enough - it was because I didn't understand how to do it. When solving a Rubiks cube, there are a very specific set of steps you must take. Without getting in to too much detail, your hands need to be in a particular spot on the cube, you need to face the cube from a particular vantage point, and you need to repeat the same motions, over and over again. When you get one layer solved, the movements change slightly, but again, repeat the new movements over and over until you solve the next layer. Eventually, the cube is completely solved - just from following a set of instructions. DSAs work very similarly. The key to using them is being able to catch when you have "one layer" solved and knowing when it's time to "switch the repeatable moves". So to wrap it all with a bow here - you're not stupid. You simply don't know the moves and what you are looking for. The next time you want to get better at DSA, go out and buy a Rubiks cube and solve it using the instructions provided. If you can do that, you can solve pretty much any LeetCode problem - just make sure you've got a good set of instructions!

"C and C++ are just so much faster than {insert programming language here}!" Every developer has heard this at one point or another. If you are a junior level developer, you probably are blissfully unaware of what that actually means. You've probably heard words like "compiled" and "interpreter" but those they went right over your head. Let me paint a clearer picture for you so you can understand the difference. Interpreter Languages like JavaScript and PHP are interpreted programming languages - but what does that actually mean? To clarify, imagine you have one of your best clients visiting you from Spain, but they don't speak a word of English. Being the savvy person you are, you arrange to have an interpreter with you for when your client arrives. As you speak, the interpreter translates what your English to Spanish, and vice versa. This is great - until you you throw a German word or two into your conversation and your interpreter doesn't speak German. So what happens? The interpreter does one of two things - they make something up and continue the conversation (JavaScript's approach) or they look at you and say they have no idea what you just said (PHP's approach) and stop translating. Compiler Languages like C and C++ (and to a certain extent Java and C#) are compiled languages. That means they are translated to machine code (1's and 0's) for the computer to understand. Let's take our translator example above only this time, let's do it with a compiler. On this visit, you call the translator a week ahead of time and have them come to your office. You deliver a welcome speech for your guest to the translator who then writes out your speech in perfect Spanish. This time, when you speak your German word, the translator stops you and says, "I don't understand that word. Please use English only," allowing you to rethink what you wanted to say. When you are finished, the translator hands you a copy of your speech in Spanish, which you can now practice over and over again in preparation for your guest's arrival. So why are C and C++ "faster'? Well you see you always have that written copy of your speech to refer to right? You know what English words you used to generate that speech in Spanish correct? You can use those words and phrases over and over again without the need to reach out to a translator every time - you simply can now speak them. In a very "bird's eye view" that's what happens with your code. Since you always have compiled code, you can refer back to it much faster than the interpreter can interpret it. Best of all, you won't get any errors along the way.

When I decided to commit my professional life to Web Development, I had to put together a game plan. A quick Google search revealed that the majority of "nerd gurus" insisted that new web developers MUST learn React. After 3 years in the game (and a certification in the MERN stack), I am here to share with you 3 reasons you DON'T NEED to learn React. Low Use Volume There are only so many "React Only" jobs out there. The exact number varies depending on your source, but from what I could find it seems that somewhere between 3.4-5% of all websites use React. Compare that to an older library like JQuery (which comes in at a measly 78% **sarcasm intended**), the chances you land a job in React only are pretty slim. Best Used For Complex Applications Don't get me wrong, I like React - but sometimes it's just overkill for what you need to accomplish. To set up a React application, deal with ongoing dependency issues (Docker fans, don't even get me started), and then host it is exhaustive - especially if you only need to do very basic DOM manipulation. Most of the time (emphasis on MOST) you are better off using PHP or WordPress for simple websites and writing Vanilla JavaScript where you need it. Fundamentals Are Way More Important React simply shouldn't be learned until you have a solid foundation in JavaScript fundamentals. When new programmers board the "React Train", they have a tendency to completely bypass Vanilla JavaScript fundamentals (which are general programming fundamentals). Yes - React makes certain things easier like keeping track of state on really complex applications - but at the end of the day - Babel compiles your code down to plain old JavaScript. Focusing on JavaScript fundamentals will make you a better React programmer and will also allow you to easily transition to other coding languages as you grow in your programming career.

Corporate Events and Retreats are the most lucrative venture, your hotel or resort is currently NOT offering. You can try to Google the average cost most corporate groups spend per retreat - but you won't find any solid numbers. As a former 17 year Corporate Social Director, I can tell you what these groups typically spend - usually in your slow times (Spring and Fall - Monday through Friday). When I was booking Corporate Events, the typical nightly rate for a Corporate guest (we called it our "Corporate Rate") was about $150 a night. That doesn't sound like much, but you need to remember, the corporate guests still need: • Meetings (they are here to work after all) • Food - Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner • Fun - Team Building activities (possibly late night with an open bar?) Ok, so now what's the new total? Let's say we have a relatively small corporate group, say 15 guests, staying only one night. Here's where the money is made: • Private Meeting Room Fee - $1,000 (could be waived, but we couldn't guarantee that meetings wouldn't have to be moved). • Arrival Lunch: $35 per person • Afternoon team building: $30 per person • Cocktail hour w/ hors d'oeuvres: $15 per person (cash bar) • Dinner : $45 per person • Late Night Karaoke Party w/ cash bar: $300 • Late night Campfire w/ S'mores : $15 per person • Checkout Breakfast: $15 per person Now the fun part... the math! Based on the above cost in less than 24 hours your hotel brought in: $5,875. That's doesn't even include the money the bar made or that the guests spent in incidentals. Not bad for a Monday night into Tuesday. If you want to increase your revenue during the "slow" times of year, there is no better way than by hosting Corporate Meetings and Retreats. BeesNest Web Design offers several ways to get you started by sharing our industry expertise along with digital marketing and website design. Check us out at beesnestdesign.com/

57.8% of internet traffic in the united states comes from mobile devices. Throw tablets into the mix - 3 out of 5 visitors to your website will not be viewing on a computer screen. Even if a visitor is using a computer, laptops vary in size and desktop monitors can even be curved now. Flexbox is a Web Developers best friend and it is fairly easy to learn. Here are the 5 most important Flexbox properties you need for a great responsive design. justify-content: center; There was a very dark time in Web Development where centering elements in the middle of the screen was quite difficult. Devs would most of the time set the margin to auto, then use pseudo elements and floats to achieve the look they wanted. Now all you need to do is set up Flexbox on your container holding all elements and use the justify-content: center; property. The HTML elements will magically center themselves on your screen or within your respective container. flex-direction: column; Flexbox's default behavior is to put all elements in a row. To change that behavior, flex-direction: column; alters the default so that all elements stack on top of one another. This is especially useful when accounting for mobile screen sizes. When the screen size gets to the point where your Flexbox runs out of room, change it so the length extends vertically instead of horizontally. Since the scroll on a mobile device is infinite, you will be able to keep elements aligned without horizontal spillover. align-items: center; This property basically works the same as justify-content, only it works in the opposite direction. If you use this property when flex-direction is set to row, it centers the items vertically (ex. every item has 10px above and below). Using this property when flex-direction is column, it behaves exactly like justify-content, centering elements horizontally. By using the right combination of flex-direction, align-items, and justify-content, you will be able to keep your design aligned on any screen size. gap: {insert px, rem, em, %}; Now, we can center all of our items, great - but why are they all so close together? They are close together because we told Flexbox to center everything. It doesn't account for any space in between items - it simply gives the exact amount of space the element needs. By using the gap property, you can easily keep your elements spaced out, without that "squeezed together" look. flex-wrap: wrap; There is a slight problem with that whole justify-content situation - what happens when you want the items to stay within the current screen size and not spill over horizontally? Flex-wrap fixes this issue with ease. You simply add this property and when Flexbox runs out of space and it will extend the height of your container by adding a row right below your first row. The best part is, all other flex properties like gap are still displayed and if you have justified your elements center, the wrap knows to center the elements on the newly created row. By using the combination of these 5 Flexbox properties (and a few media queries) you can quickly put together a great responsive layout for any device.

When you first start programming, the debate instantly begins: What is the best coding language to learn? Warning: you will be surrounded with strong opinions on this your entire career. I personally think the best way to look at the entire debate is look at coding languages as tools to solve problems. The one you should pick is the one that best solves your problem. Web Development If you dream of being a web developer, there are 2 programming languages that I think you should have in your toolbelt - JavaScript and PHP. JavaScript is the language of the web browser and is responsible for all the fancy animations and interactions on the front end of your website. It can also be used server side via Node.JS, but I think PHP is the better option for the back end. PHP is widely used in the world's most popular CMSs and is very easy and cheap to host. JavaScript on the front end, PHP on the back, and you will be able to pull off 99% of all things on the web. Enterprise Development If you want to get a job for a big enterprise or a large bank, Java is probably the language for you - although C# is beginning to steal a lot of Java's market share. Write once, run anywhere was Java's slogan and the language pioneered the idea of platform independence. It was quickly adopted by big banks and tech companies for it's strong security and versatility. It is the language of choice for companies like Amazon, Google, and LinkedIn. With a list of potential employers like that, it's not hard to see why you may want to learn Java if you want to get into Enterprise Development. Video Game Development When it comes to video game development, the most popular game engine is Unity which is written in C#. Although an honorable mention should go to C++ (via Unreal), almost 50% of the modern games are written using Microsoft's C#. The hard fact to face about video game development is that it is a highly competitive industry. The good news is that C# is used in enterprise development, mobile apps, desktop apps, and even in web development. You may have to wait for your dream Video Game Developer job, but knowing C# will certainly keep you employed while you pass the time.

There are WordPress Developers and "WordPress Developers". Confused? Let me explain. When I first got started in web development over 3 years ago, I thought the only way to develop a WordPress site was to use the WordPress editor itself. I had no idea that I could leverage the powerful backend tools that WordPress provides out of the box, all while putting together my own custom design and functionality. WordPress Developers create Custom Themes, Custom Post Types, and Custom Plugins so that "WordPress Developers" can make modern and highly functional websites. Custom Themes Have you ever wondered who's actually making the themes you see when you're searching for new themes? Those are made by WordPress Developers. By using PHP and built in WordPress functions, developers can make modular code that can be shared and customized by the end user, or the "WordPress Developer". Custom Themes can be sold or can be saved in a codebase to be easily reused and repurposed for your next client. Custom Post Types Custom Post Types may be the most powerful feature of WordPress. They tap into the way a typical blog post works, but allow you to completely customize the way the link to the post shows as well as how the post itself shows up. The WordPress framework has already set up your entire database to work this way, all you have to do is follow a few simple rules. Leveraging Custom Post Types elevates the "Wordpress Developer" experience and also allows for greater code modularity and reusability. Custom Plug-ins Plug-ins are the "WordPress Developer's" best friend. In a nutshell, Plug-ins are bits of code that can be injected into your existing WordPress project to add more functionality. Much like Custom Themes and Custom Post Types, making Custom Plug-ins gives you ultimate modularity with your code. WordPress Developers can sell their Custom Plug-ins or use them to drastically cut down their own development time.

On the U.S. News list of the 100 Best Jobs, Software Developer ranks at #3. Naturally, people see that fact and believe that Web Development may be a good career option for them. After switching my career from Hospitality to Software Development and spending 3 years in the field, here are 3 traits I think you need to have before you pursue a job in Web Development. A Love For Learning I remember about 6 months into a Full Stack Coding Bootcamp I came to a big realization about the career of a programmer: you are a forever student. As technology changes and gets better, you will naturally be exposed to new things every day. You will many times find yourself encountering older technology that isn't used anymore. A good chunk of your work week will be dedicated to reading documentation and learning how to use new and different tools. If you're the type of person that needs to "Master" a skill, programming is most likely not for you. Creative The creativity you get to use in Web Development, and programming in general, is nothing like I had ever experienced before - and it's why I was so drawn to the trade. Once you begin to program, you realize that the possibilities of what you can create are endless. Even at times when you have to maintain existing code bases, you will always need to find creative solutions to problems without breaking any of the already written code. You need a creative spark in you if you want to be a coder - it simply comes with the territory. Persistent Persistence, in my opinion, is the most important trait an aspiring Web Developer needs to possess. There will be times where you will be staring at thousands of lines of code, trying to find a small bug - hours upon hours of your life looking at the same exact file. There will be other times where the code "works fine on your computer" but is broken everywhere else and it will be up to you to figure out why. You need to realize, this job is extremely difficult -otherwise everybody would do it. Whether you are debugging or even starting your own Web Development business, persistence will be necessary on every step of your journey.