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eXcelisys' Blog

A blog by eXcelisys in Affiliate Blogs

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Entries in this blog

America at 250 and eXcelisys at 25

eXcelisys at 25. America at 250. Two Milestones. One Spirit of Innovation.  Every revolution starts with someone asking, “What if we did things differently?” That question gave birth to a nation 250 years ago. It’s also the question that launched eXcelisys 25 years ago, and it’s the one that still drives us today. This summer, as America celebrates its 250th birthday, we’re celebrating a milestone of our own: 25 years of eXcelisys. While one anniversary marks a nation built on bold ideas, ou

Beyond the Code: Why You Don’t Just Hire eXcelisys Developers—You Gain Technical Partners

Beyond the Code: Why You Don’t Just Hire eXcelisys Developers—You Gain Technical Partners When you look for a software development company, you are usually looking for someone who can write clean code, hit a deadline, and launch a working application. But if you’ve been in business long enough, you know a hard truth: Great code alone doesn’t guarantee business success. You can have the most beautiful syntax in the world, but if the team building it doesn’t understand your business goals, your

Technical SEO Meets AI: How LLMs Read (and Cite) Your Website

Technical SEO Meets AI: How LLMs Read (and Cite) Your Website Why does the same technical foundation that wins Google rankings now decide whether ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity cite your business at all. The digital landscape has shifted from a library of links to an engine of answers. As large language models (LLMs) like GPT-5, Claude, and Gemini (and many others) become the primary way people consume information, the goal of SEO has changed with them. It’s no longer just about ranking #1 on

WordPress eXplained

WordPress eXplained: Why Millions Still Build on the Platform Everything Small- and Medium-sized Businesses Need to Know About WordPress in 2026 (Without the Tech-Speak) Search “best website builder” and you’ll find yourself standing smack in the middle of a digital carnival with one booth shouting about drag-and-drop simplicity, while another promises jaw-dropping templates, and yet another claims it can launch your site lickety-split, before your coffee goes lukewarm. In the midst of all

Technical SEO in Plain English

The Plain-English Guide to Technical SEO The term “SEO” gets tossed around a lot. Maybe a vendor has pitched it to you. Maybe a competitor mentioned they were “doing SEO.” Maybe your nephew told you at Thanksgiving that your website “needs better SEO.” Everyone agrees you need SEO but few can actually eXplain what it is, especially the technical SEO, or behind-the-scenes work that helps search engines understand your website.  Let’s fix that. SEO 101 (In Case you Need a Refresher) SEO stan

Custom Software Development Explained

Behind the Curtain: What It’s Really Like to Build Custom Software (Without the Hidden Traps) By Rick Middleton, eXcelisys Solutions Consultant If you’ve ever hired a software development firm—or even just thought about it—you probably have some scar tissue. Maybe you’ve dealt with an aggressive sales rep who promised the moon, a developer who spoke entirely in tech-jargon riddles, or a project that stalled moments before the promised launch. We get it.  Custom software can feel like a high

FileMaker Pro Support

Your FileMaker Solution Has Been Running for Years. Time for a Check-Up! How to Protect, Maintain and Future-Proof Your Database Investment We launch custom Claris FileMaker solutions all the time and enjoy watching our clients go from glum to giddy once their manual processes are automated, their data is organized into slick layouts, and the whole operation runs smoother thanks to workflows built around the way they actually work.   Then something interesting happens. The FileMaker solution

Shopify vs. WordPress for Your Webstore

Shopify vs. WordPress: Which is Best for Your Online Storefront? By Michael Suhrbier, eXcelisys Web App Developer Ever ask a developer this prickly question – Shopify or WordPress? In answering, most will discuss these online storefront platforms as if they’re standing in the power tools aisle comparing battery-powered drills vs. corded drills, arguing over performance, convenience and cost.  But our developers ask a different question – sure, we will discuss features with you but we will a

Is WordPress 7.0 Worth the Upgrade?

WordPress 7.0 Didn’t Break the Internet — And That’s the Real Story By Shane Glover, eXcelisys WordPress Guru When WordPress 5.0 launched in 2018, it felt less like an update and more like a forced migration. The Gutenberg editor completely changed how content was created inside WordPress. For developers, agencies and anyone maintaining production sites, it was chaos for a while. Themes broke. Plugins conflicted. Custom workflows stopped working overnight. Countless site owners delayed updat

Shopify or WooCommerce

Two Platforms, One Decision: Shopify vs. WooCommerce Comparison  How to Pick the Platform that Fits Your Future, Not Just Your Launch So you want to sell products through an eCommerce store? Before you ship your first order, there’s one decision you must make that will shape everything that follows: Shopify or WooCommerce? As we look at the eCommerce landscape of 2026, the two platforms have grown increasingly capable, blurring the lines that once separated them. Today, choosing between Shop

WordPress 7.0 Release Brings New Features

WordPress 7.0 (Codename: Armstrong) Strikes a New Chord Some 23 years ago, WordPress arrived on the scene as a scrappy newcomer with its debut of WordPress 0.7. Now, WordPress powers a huge chunk of the web and WordPress 7.0 (released in May 2026) marks one of the biggest leaps forward since the Block Editor (aka Gutenberg) rewrote the rules in 2018. So what’s new?  One highlight includes native AI integration, making it easier to connect your site with AI tools for quicker content creation a

FileMaker Explained in Plain English

Claris FileMaker Pro Explained for People Who’d Rather Be Doing Anything Else Than Learning About Software by Kurt Knippel, Project Manager / VP of Production FileMaker eXplained for Non-tech Users To get organized, some businesses turn to what is known as an “off-the-shelf” software solution. You’ve probably seen promos for this type of pre-built software, often with names like InventoryPal Pro, BizFlow Central, BookingBoss Max and Rental Genius Platinum Edition.  As you can guess, “Inv

Airtable for SMBs

Airtable 2026: All Grown Up with Everywhere to Go The Case for Airtable as the Business Backbone for Modern SMBs Whether you’re a solo founder juggling 12 tabs or a manager leading a 50-person team with opinions about everything, Airtable is well-suited to meet your business needs.  Airtable’s flexible work platform means: You get the simplicity of a spreadsheet (rows and columns) The power of a database (connected, structured data) Plus the ability to build custom interfaces, workflows

How eXcelisys leverages FileMaker Pro for your SMB

How eXcelisys Leverages FileMaker Pro Databases to Help You Achieve Your Business Goals The Duo That Makes Your Business Click – FileMaker Pro and eXcelisys Working with eXcelisys isn’t a one-and-done software buy. It’s a partnership—built to align your tech with your goals. Whether you’re starting from scratch, giving an old system a glow-up, or eXtending a FileMaker solution you already have, eXcelisys brings the know-how, structure and eXpertise to make it happen. Custom Application De

FileMaker Pro: The Tool Your Business Has Been Waiting For

Stop Adapting. Start Building. FileMaker Pro. What Is FileMaker Pro? by Kurt Knippel, Project Manager / VP of Production In a world crowded with business apps, few platforms have achieved the longevity, adaptability and loyal following of Claris FileMaker Pro, which has been solving real business problems for more than 40 years.  Developed and maintained by Claris International, an Apple subsidiary, FileMaker Pro is a low-code, custom application development platform. Yes, it’s a powerful

Are you too hot for your web developer?

Are You ‘Too Hot’ for Your Web Developer? By Kurt Knippel, Project Manager / VP of Production Ever get the cold shoulder from a web developer who thinks your brand, identity or messaging is too polarizing? In today’s highly splintered and politicized world, we’ve heard about web developers “playing it safe” and refusing work out of concern they might alienate future clients or harm their reputation by virtue of association.  At eXcelisys, the only reputation we care about is our reputation f

AI business use

More Businesses are Turning to AI … But for What? By Kurt Knippel, Production VP / Project Manager Everyone’s talkin’ about AI – and it’s true – AI is not just for the tech hotshots anymore. The National Small Business Association reports that 1 in 4 small businesses uses AI for day-to-day operations.  That stat got me thinking and eXploring AI to look for ways businesses might use it to unlock new levels of productivity and efficiency – because productivity and efficiency are at the core o

[FMP Tip-n-Trick] Integrating A.I. with FileMaker for Marketing Research

FMP TnT – AI Research Assistant By Doug West Have you considered using an AI service for some market research? What began as a relatively simple concept turned into a frustrating cycle of trial and error with various input prompts and widely varied results. The goal was to fully automate a data collection workflow with real-world data found on the web. The ChatGPT API was quickly ruled out because it didn’t support real-time web browsing without a cumbersome integration with a separate web se

Speed Up WordPress With 3 Easy Tricks

Speed Up WordPress With 3 Easy Tricks … that aren’t really tricks, just smart site management by Shane Glover, eXcelisys WordPress developer If your WordPress site feels “off”—pages load slow, bounce rates go up, conversions stall—it’s probably not your imagination. Slowdowns happen. Luckily, there are plenty of tools that speed up WordPress, but it can be tricky to find the right combination. Recently, a client reached out with a hunch that something was wrong with his site. He was right.

FileMaker Quick Quote System Speeds Quotes, Orders

FileMaker Takes Heat Off Thermocouple Manufacturer’s Day-to-Day Operations Quick-Quote System Gets Custom Quotes Out, Orders In Lickety-Split In an industry where every product is a custom order, quick quoting is essential; the quicker a quote goes out, the quicker an order comes in – See how FileMaker is helping one manufacturer speed up the quoting process. Thermocouples make the world go ’round. From hot water heaters and pizza ovens to cars and spacecraft, thermocouples are everywhere. T

[FMP Tip-n-Trick] FileMaker Pro Audit Trail “Refined”

FileMaker Pro Audit Trail “Revisited” By Doug West Nearly ten years have passed since our Easy-Bake Audit Trail made its Internet debut! The same principles are still going strong, and now we’ve refined the approach based on user feedback. The steps to implement this revised technique in your solution are as easy as: Copy the one custom function from this demo file and paste it into each file of your app. Copy the _audit field and paste it into each table of your app. (Optional) Add exclu

Yes, You Need a Website (A Modern, Responsive Website)

Yes, You Need a Website (A Modern, Responsive Website) By Kurt Knippel, eXcelisys Project Manager / VP of Production It’s 2025 and the times, they are a-changin’. If you’re one of those holdouts still relying on word-of-mouth referrals and a Facebook business page, it’s time to act. Sure, social media platforms are great for establishing a digital presence and providing potential customers with your contact information, but building a modern, responsive website will serve you better over the

HOA Website Help

A Tale of Two Property Owner Association Websites See how one landowners association in Colorado turned to eXcelisys for help when its website got hacked and how one Florida association is leaning on eXcelisys to make updates to its website to comply with new state laws. Tale #1 – Sheep Creek Landowners Association – A Mountain Community in Southern Colorado In 2014, the Sheep Creek Landowners Association found itself up a sheep creek without a developer to paddle its troubled website to safe

Florida HOA Website

Update Your HOA Website to Comply with Florida’s New HOA Laws Is your HOA website ready for the new legal requirements? We can help you avoid fines for non-compliance. Ensure Compliance, Enhance Transparency and Improve Communication Florida’s new regulations (passed in 2024) mandate that all homeowners’ associations (HOAs) with 100 parcels or more and all condo associations with 25 units or more must maintain a secure and compliant website that provides easy access to essential documents

HOA Websites for Homeowner & Condo Associations

An eXcelisys eXpertise: HOA Websites For Homeowner & Condo Associations Just as you’d hire a professional contractor to pour your home’s foundation, you should hire a professional web developer to build your HOA website to ensure you get a concrete footing that will hold for years to come. As with a home, website architecture matters. Sure, you can hire a web designer to craft a sleek and stylish-looking site, or you can download a DIY HOA web template. However — as with any home purcha

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