I help make website owners happier by helping make their websites better. Level up to experienced pro-grade design, development, and content.https://kirkroberts.com/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/10-business-tips-from-designer-bill-drenttel-20140304/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/10-business-tips-from-designer-bill-drenttel-20140304/Esteemed designer Bill Drenttel recently passed away, and Michael Beirut shared this text from a 1991 presentation in a post on Design Observer (now defunct).…Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/a-new-battery-20230119/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/a-new-battery-20230119/Years ago I joined a Voluntary Simplicity class and it was a transformative experience. One of my lasting feelings is that I don’t have to live in a cave with…Thu, 19 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/add-markup-to-squarespaces-order-status-page-only-if-it-is-the-first-view-20230314/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/add-markup-to-squarespaces-order-status-page-only-if-it-is-the-first-view-20230314/Squarespace killed the Order Confirmation page (RIP) and replaced it with the Order Status page. So now the customer immediately sees the Order Status page…Tue, 14 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/attention-is-love-is-happiness-the-three-questions-20161018/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/attention-is-love-is-happiness-the-three-questions-20161018/There’s that moment when I leave a conversation and realize I did all the talking, or I was just waiting for my turn and not really paying attention to what…Tue, 18 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/auto-forwarding-carousels-and-accordions-annoy-users-and-reduce-visibility-20141106/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/auto-forwarding-carousels-and-accordions-annoy-users-and-reduce-visibility-20141106/​If you have a website — and especially if you design websites for others — it’s worth paying attention to the Nielson Norman Group’s opinions on website…Thu, 06 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/automatically-add-view-event-buttons-to-a-squarespace-7-1-events-page-20220518/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/automatically-add-view-event-buttons-to-a-squarespace-7-1-events-page-20220518/Inexplicably, Squarespace 7.1 does not enable View Event buttons on Events index pages. Here is a way to add them automatically with a bit of custom scripting.…Wed, 18 May 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/beginners-mind-shoshin-20161012/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/beginners-mind-shoshin-20161012/A friend I hadn’t seen in a quite some time came over for dinner recently. He saw my new table and the conversation went like this: Friend : “Wow, nice table!…Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/challenging-the-auto-no-20161104/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/challenging-the-auto-no-20161104/Look. Someone is offering us something of value. It might be to pay for the meal you just shared. It might be to bring in your trash while you’re away next…Fri, 04 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/conspiracy-santa-the-anti-grinch-20181207/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/conspiracy-santa-the-anti-grinch-20181207/I admit it: I am a Grinch. Or rather, I \ was\ until the concept of Conspiracy Santa saved Christmas for me. How Conspiracy Santa Works 1. get a group of…Fri, 07 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/die-procrastination-die-20110222/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/die-procrastination-die-20110222/I was going to put off creating this newsletter about procrastination... but then I didn’t. Here’s how. 1 Short blocks of focus, followed by a break I set a…Tue, 22 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/domain-based-email-for-gmail-addicts-20190116/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/domain-based-email-for-gmail-addicts-20190116/Shocking but true: there are business people who still use a free email address\ for their business email. \ You know, @gmail.com, @outlook.com, @hotmail.com,…Wed, 16 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/easing-into-a-responsive-design-workflow-20130402/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/easing-into-a-responsive-design-workflow-20130402/You’ve probably heard about Responsive Design\ , but maybe you don’t know how to start designing for it, or maybe it seems like too much work. I recently came…Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/email-tips-and-tricks-20110511/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/email-tips-and-tricks-20110511/Here are some email tips I’ve picked up that you may find helpful. Use a domain based email address (eg you@yourwebsite.com) for your business messages. If you…Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/engaged-feedback-checklist-20130430/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/engaged-feedback-checklist-20130430/I’m all about collaboration, and a big part of collaboration is giving good feedback. Whether in your business life, personal life, or that gray area in…Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/essential-website-project-starter-questions-20171205/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/essential-website-project-starter-questions-20171205/Let’s say someone asks you to build them a website (or you want to build one yourself). Here are some questions that can help you figure out what they (or you)…Tue, 05 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/flashback-evergreen-advice-from-cfc-2013-20180201/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/flashback-evergreen-advice-from-cfc-2013-20180201/For my own reference and yours, here are my notes from the short talk I gave on the “How to Grow Your Business (With or Without Employees)” panel at the…Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/from-the-jumping-pillow-adults-dont-have-much-fun-20161026/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/from-the-jumping-pillow-adults-dont-have-much-fun-20161026/Recently I went to one of those Fall farm places that has a corn maze, hay rides, and lots of fried food (and I was compelled to try Fried Oreos for the first…Wed, 26 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/good-news-bad-news-who-knows-20171101/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/good-news-bad-news-who-knows-20171101/This parable helps keep me from overreacting — negatively or positively — when “big” news happens. Of course, it also applies to news of all sizes. I shared it…Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-do-i-make-one-product-go-directly-to-checkout-in-squarespace-20220420/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-do-i-make-one-product-go-directly-to-checkout-in-squarespace-20220420/Note: this is an older post and this technique does not appear to work anymore. I'm leaving it here for posterity and maybe it will help inspire a solution…Wed, 20 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-not-doing-nanowrimo-changed-my-life-20241204/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-not-doing-nanowrimo-changed-my-life-20241204/November is “National Novel Writing Month”, a.k.a. “NaNoWriMo”. Essentially it is a challenge to write a 50,000 word complete draft of a novel within the month…Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-easily-create-in-device-screenshots-20171011/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-easily-create-in-device-screenshots-20171011/Here’s an easy way to get a screenshot of a website so it looks like it’s in a mobile device. Perfect for creating your portfolio images, or updating your old…Wed, 11 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-playfully-open-gifts-20161222/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-playfully-open-gifts-20161222/“It’s the thought that counts.” Ugh. When you hear, think, or say that, it’s probably to help someone feel better about a misguided gift. And yet, it’s always…Thu, 22 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-take-your-own-professional-portrait-20210708/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-take-your-own-professional-portrait-20210708/a.k.a. Selfies for fun and profit a.k.a. Train to be a model, or just look like one Every marketing website should have quality photographs of the people…Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-use-your-site-video-edition-20110401/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/how-to-use-your-site-video-edition-20110401/More and more the sites I create are integrated with a content management system (CMS). I have a few favorite CMSs, and I believe they are all easy for the…Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/i-buy-therefore-i-am-20210317/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/i-buy-therefore-i-am-20210317/Disclaimers: at the time of sharing this we are still in the midst of a global pandemic. Nothing here is meant to minimize the serious situation our species…Wed, 17 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/i-can-leave-linkedin/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/i-can-leave-linkedin/Earlier this year I received one of those “your connections” update emails from LinkedIn. I sighed to myself… “I wish I could leave LinkedIn”. And then a…Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/i-will-be-a-hummingbird-20200702/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/i-will-be-a-hummingbird-20200702/Years ago my kids starting watching videos through the website The Kid Should See This (aka TKSST, highly recommended for everyone, not just kids). Aside: I…Thu, 02 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/in-it-to-grin-it-20230925/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/in-it-to-grin-it-20230925/A few months ago I decided to train for a half marathon. This past weekend I ran the race. Here are some things that came out of the experience that I hope…Mon, 25 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/launch-it-before-youre-totally-ready-20240919/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/launch-it-before-youre-totally-ready-20240919/I often prompt client collaborators to launch before they feel totally ready. Why? Well... MAGIC!!! 🪄✨✨ That's why. If that isn't persuasive enough, here are…Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/make-your-phone-or-tablet-screen-better-for-reading-in-the-dark-20170410/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/make-your-phone-or-tablet-screen-better-for-reading-in-the-dark-20170410/Let’s say you want to read on your gadget in a dark space (maybe next to a person who wants to sleep). You’ve turned the brightness all the way down and it’s…Mon, 10 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/making-new-year-resolutions-stick-20180103/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/making-new-year-resolutions-stick-20180103/I love the new year. It’s a great time to take stock of what’s important and set intentions. There’s nothing like the symbolism of the annual calendar flip to…Wed, 03 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/moana-lisa-simpson-and-me-20191015/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/moana-lisa-simpson-and-me-20191015/Here’s a tiny thing to try right now. Take your name and insert it into this sentence: I am \[your name\]. Say it out loud (or just think it with clarity).…Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/new-website-studio-update-20170921/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/new-website-studio-update-20170921/First, the big news: I have a new website. I knew my site needed to be more logically segmented, more clear, more concise, more revealing... just more better…Thu, 21 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/omg-i-have-a-theme-song-20110712/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/omg-i-have-a-theme-song-20110712/Thanks to my talented, hard working, amiable, and fun brother (and his cohorts) I now have my own theme song. Or at least my business does. If you have a spare…Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/one-perfect-pot-vs-many-pots-20161208/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/one-perfect-pot-vs-many-pots-20161208/At the beginning of the semester a ceramics class is split into two groups. Each one is told they will be graded differently at the end of the term. One group…Thu, 08 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/padlock-your-website-why-and-how-to-do-it-20180330/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/padlock-your-website-why-and-how-to-do-it-20180330/If your site is already using https:// and showing a padlock then good job, see you next time. If not, time to wrap your site up in a security blanket. Why The…Fri, 30 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/procrastination-hacks-for-a-better-today-and-tomorrow-20170706/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/procrastination-hacks-for-a-better-today-and-tomorrow-20170706/What do we want?!? … TO STOP PROCRASTINATING! When do we want it?!? … ummmm… not right now, maybe later? Procrastination makes the whole world dimmer. Sure, I…Wed, 05 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/random-fiction-20250422/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/random-fiction-20250422/My groove had turned into a rut, and I was deep in it. Slow. Gray. Blah. For whatever reason, I decided I needed some fiction in my life. A novel. More so, a…Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/responsive-design-stop-designing-print-for-the-web-20120418/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/responsive-design-stop-designing-print-for-the-web-20120418/You know the print design drill cold: do sketches, show the client mockups, refine, refine, refine, get approval, send it to production. It worked for print,…Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/reverse-gifting-the-playfully-connected-alternative-20161122/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/reverse-gifting-the-playfully-connected-alternative-20161122/The best gifts have a lot of personal meaning, have a strong element of surprise, and celebrate and enhance the connection between giver and receiver. But how…Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/rock-balancing-and-the-art-of-presentation-20201110/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/rock-balancing-and-the-art-of-presentation-20201110/Years ago I became interested in stacking rocks (more about this below). You know, the kind of thing that you’ve seen in a million stock photos and…Tue, 10 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/secret-joy-agent-sneaky-cards-20161215/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/secret-joy-agent-sneaky-cards-20161215/I felt a rush of excitement when I opened a pack of Sneaky Cards and started reading them. Each of the 55 cards has a mini mission of joy, kindness,…Thu, 15 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/show-all-posts-from-all-blogs-in-chronological-order-in-a-shopify-liquid-template-20230327/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/show-all-posts-from-all-blogs-in-chronological-order-in-a-shopify-liquid-template-20230327/According to my research Shopify’s suggestion for implementing categories is to create a separate blog for each Category. Then, if you want to show all posts…Mon, 27 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/taming-the-email-beast-20150203/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/taming-the-email-beast-20150203/I am a longtime fan of Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero and still practice the general concepts. If you want to make email your servant I highly recommend taking the…Tue, 03 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/thank-you-notes-20170104/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/thank-you-notes-20170104/Thank you notes can sometimes feel like a chore but they are essential tokens of appreciation. Here are a few ways to spice it up a bit. Regular Mail include…Wed, 04 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-hourly-billing-renaissance-20180827/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-hourly-billing-renaissance-20180827/Maybe hourly billing isn’t the bugaboo I’ve been led to believe. In fact, maybe it’s EXACTLY what I need to have my dream professional life, and maybe it’s…Mon, 27 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-morning-habit-part-1-20170329/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-morning-habit-part-1-20170329/Every day, the alarm goes off at 6:30am. Sometimes I am already awake with a headful of hamster wheels. I drink some water, use the bathroom, and go to my…Tue, 28 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-new-and-relieving-rules-for-secure-internet-passwords-20170809/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-new-and-relieving-rules-for-secure-internet-passwords-20170809/A recent Wall Street Journal article starts “The man who wrote the book on password management has a confession to make: He blew it.” That article is behind a…Wed, 09 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-parable-of-the-mexican-fisherman-20120306/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-parable-of-the-mexican-fisherman-20120306/This is a favorite “teaching story.” I hope it resonates with you as well. \[Editor note: I’ve only heard the story with these nationalities, but they are…Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-relationship-between-a-website-an-email-address-and-a-domain-20180620/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-relationship-between-a-website-an-email-address-and-a-domain-20180620/Say you enter a web address\ into your browser or send an email. What happens next? \ a.k.a. a URL: Uniform Resource Locator What is the domain? A domain is…Wed, 20 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-right-speech-challenge-20161129/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-right-speech-challenge-20161129/We all talk (and email, post, etc) every day. But are we doing it Right? Make your world a better place to live in: join me in taking the Right Speech…Tue, 29 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-war-of-art-beat-resistance-and-be-a-pro-20110824/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-war-of-art-beat-resistance-and-be-a-pro-20110824/As a creative professional and liver of life, absorbing The War of Art was a transformative experience for me. I highly recommend you check it out. The book is…Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-wonderful-stupidity-of-mini-habits-20220418/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/the-wonderful-stupidity-of-mini-habits-20220418/I have debated about how to talk about Mini Habits. I don’t want to sound like a conversion minded zealot, in the vein of proselytizing for veganism or…Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/time-for-some-innuendo-filled-climate-tech-jams-20240925/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/time-for-some-innuendo-filled-climate-tech-jams-20240925/You may know about my theme song . If you don’t, please take one minute to check it out (I am so proud, I linked it twice... and it really is exactly one…Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/top-5-regrets-of-the-dying-20121212/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/top-5-regrets-of-the-dying-20121212/What better time than the holiday season to ponder your own inevitable demise? Ho ho ho! You might think it’s morbid, but it’s really just a thought experiment…Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/two-important-questions-about-good-news-bad-news-who-knows-03-20171103/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/two-important-questions-about-good-news-bad-news-who-knows-03-20171103/A rare immediate follow up I don’t usually post more than once a month or so, but here is a hopefully worthy exception. The previous post “Good news, bad news,…Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/updating-squarespace-react-form-values-via-javascript-20260124/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/updating-squarespace-react-form-values-via-javascript-20260124/The Problem Over several years I helped a client add extensive JavaScript to manipulate the values of various products’ “add to cart” form value inputs. The…Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/use-icon-fonts-in-your-next-design-20150108/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/use-icon-fonts-in-your-next-design-20150108/​The benefits are numerous. Time to start a new habit. \[editor’s note, 2018: times change, and SVG graphics are widely considered to be superior to icon fonts…Thu, 08 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/web-process-rapid-launch-and-iteration-20170614/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/web-process-rapid-launch-and-iteration-20170614/The Take away Website projects of many different shapes and sizes can often benefit greatly from a “ready, fire, aim” approach of rapid launch and iteration…Wed, 14 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/website-creation-process-atomic-design-20170310/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/website-creation-process-atomic-design-20170310/Do you like saving time and money? Yes or no? Everyone who works on custom website projects should read Brad Frost’s book Atomic Design. You can read it for…Thu, 09 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/website-design-mindset-art-directing-responsive-images-20170425/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/website-design-mindset-art-directing-responsive-images-20170425/As a person interested in website design you’re probably familiar with the concept of responsive images. As the website gets narrower the images eventually get…Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/why-everyone-who-takes-appointments-should-have-an-online-scheduler-20190516/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/why-everyone-who-takes-appointments-should-have-an-online-scheduler-20190516/The reasons can be summed up in two words: FRICTION and TIME . Friction Believe it or not, there are people who don’t want to have to call you, or email or…Thu, 16 May 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/why-testimonials-are-so-important-and-how-to-ask-for-them-20210705/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/why-testimonials-are-so-important-and-how-to-ask-for-them-20210705/What are the absolute minimum content needs for a service based business’s marketing website? I suggest they are only three things: 1. a compelling and short…Mon, 05 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/you-are-what-you-do-20190813/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/you-are-what-you-do-20190813/Professionally at least, here is what I’ve been (doing) lately. Subcontractor with design companies, using Squarespace Yes, Squarespace. I take design…Tue, 13 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/you-have-rhythm-20250709/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/you-have-rhythm-20250709/I was invited to give a 5 minute "soapbox" talk on a subject I am passionate about. This is what I came up with. There is a video below and the text that I…Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://kirkroberts.com/blog/you-me-and-data-backup-20130703/https://kirkroberts.com/blog/you-me-and-data-backup-20130703/One day I innocently started my computer and got a gray screen. No icons, nothing but gray. In the end it turned out my hard drive had completely fried (not…Wed, 03 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT