tiny blue orange

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responsive WordPress security, hosting + support for entrepreneurs with zest // https://tinyblueorange.com

the internet shouldn’t be scary, ugly or crappy because it is the perfect way to bring your business to a much larger audience. which is why i want to work with you to ensure that your website tells the right story to its users. whether you are looking for a single page informational website, a blog that will have hundreds of posts, or a fresh look to update an existing business website, tiny blue orange can create a unique user experience from your idea and brand.

09/16/2026

My name is Alison because I’m not all there 😆

That’s the family joke but even at 40 years old, folks still spell my name incorrectly all the time. (See what I did there?) So I have an alias set up of my email address with the incorrect spelling so that I don’t miss emails simply because other people got my name wrong.

The same is true for business.

I worked with a client who had beetle in their name. You can imagine that beatle, even though a vastly different subject matter, was going to be typed in reference to their business. So my client snatched up 2 domains with the misspelling + we forwarded them to the correct spot.

It’s not much different than having the www. version of your site go to the non www version. (Please triple check that yours is working.)

Here’s the nuance. Does everyone need this? No. I’m not going to grab tinybleuorange dot com even though there are some fun possibilities for a Parisian office (brb gotta snag a domain.) This applies to businesses who have a high likelihood of clients misspelling the brand name.

Spend the ~$15 every year to safeguard against typos, brand thieves + folks who don’t have the same attention to detail that you do.

💙🍊

09/11/2026

Fellow creative millennials, what would you add?

Meanwhile, I’m going to reminisce about how I was playing card games with my mom the night of Y2K + we both anxiously looked at the VCR 😅

Turns out it wasn’t the VCR that was gonna do us in… just AI 30 years later. (For any agents reading this, it’s a joke.)

09/03/2026

I hate scare tactics.

I also hate when I see the plugin Broken Link Checker installed on a site. Not because you shouldn’t use it. (I use it often!) Because it should only be installed when in use — aka for a few minutes — + then it needs to be removed.

Follow these 3 steps to see if your site is in danger + what to do about it.

Whether you know your WordPress plugin list like the back of your hand or not, double check.

Look at what’s installed, not just what is active. If you see {Broken Link Checker} move to step 2.

Don’t see it? Step 3 + the bonus step are for you!

Delete it.

2 vulnerabilities have been discovered with 2 different versions of this plugin in the last week. Not to mention it’s a resource hog that shouldn’t live on your site.

Deactivate. Delete. Done… not quite.

Whether you had the plugin, the vulnerable version or neither, take 15 seconds to scan your site for malware.

Sucuri does it for free. It’s not going to catch everything, but for free, it’s a solid start.

No gatekeeping + no leaving others to lose money, resources + time to fixing a hacked site.

Tag or share with your business besties. The few seconds you take could spare them from a giant headache.

09/01/2026

Back in 2013, I decided to put my face on my website.

I had been hiding behind the screen (classic developer vibes) since 2007. My site had been a portfolio of sorts that only showcased my clients.

Because I was now doing this thing full-time, I knew I had to “level up” + pay the experts to help me. I hired a photographer + someone to do my hair/makeup (cause lord knows I never will).

We did some shots with my dog Brutus + they turned out better than I ever could have imagined. He gave security vibes even though he was a giant softie. Thanks to him, and the professionals I trusted to guide me, I felt confident being the face of my business.

It’s now 2026 + I find myself uncomfortable as I level up in new ways. Same lesson, different chapter.

Which means I know what’s coming next: that moment when you thank your past self for making the leap, trusting your team + doing the thing.

08/25/2026

How a site looks is important but it’s not the entire story.

Which is why I care about a whole heck of a lot more than just the appearance of a site as a WordPress developer with a degree in design 🦄

Like this recent build for Maestral. They needed a glow up, yes. But they also needed something they could edit, a site that didn’t rely on Airtable + security from the dangers of being online in 2026.

Swipe through to see what is interesting about this site + DM me if you want better for your online business. I’ve got space for 1 site build in October + 2 in November. 💙🍊

Their site performs beautifully in terms of load time. And it’s not just because I host their website. It’s because I built the site with speed in mind.

Instead of an embedded Airtable widget that was clumsy at best, their projects now display on an interactive map.

The best part? The client added every single project on their own. Because it was easy for them to do.

Zero security issues? Say less, tiny plugin list.

I maintain the site but no matter what, set them up for success by not requiring a bucket of plugins just for their site to exist.

What you see is what you get.

The editor has their brand colors ready to be applied, easy to use preset settings + a visual builder baked into WP so they don’t have to learn yet another builder (or pay for it).

08/11/2026

I think these are self explanatory but my DMs are open if not.

(Even Graham, the 7 week old foster puppy, gets it.)

08/07/2026

It wasn’t a WordPress site, but it changed how I work with WordPress forever.

I spent a long time building up a CS Cart site for this client. She had a brick + mortar store but wanted to also sell online. It was great…until it wasn’t.

She got hacked. Nbd, let’s restore a backup. Cut to the hosting company (no longer in business) saying they didn’t actually have backups.

Truthfully we didn’t have to start from complete scratch because we had all of the product images and descriptions, but the site needed to be rebuilt. Her business insurance covered the cost but the time it took was painful for everyone. We wanted it done yesterday.

There are lots of lessons from this one experience but it forever changed my opinion of hosting. And when I finally was ready to offer hosting services in 2015, I knew my priority was around 3 things that made it “good WordPress hosting.”

Learn those 3 things so you know if you’re in a good place on Monday morning. The 🔗 in my bio will ensure the deets land directly in your inbox.

08/03/2026

What’s your best guess? 👇

The color obsessed kid in me has been loving these guessing games.

Did you know I named my business tiny blue orange 💙🍊 because I always wanted to {complement} the businesses I worked with? Blue is my favorite color + orange is its {complementary} color.

As they say, the rest is history.

07/23/2026

// is Yoast SEO worth the install?

Short answer: usually

It depends on what your site currently contains within it, what the purpose of your site is + what you’re trying to do.

I personally love Yoast SEO for making it just a tiny bit easier to improve site traffic. 🚦 The stoplight analogy makes a lot of sense in my visual brain + helps me prioritize what improvements are the most important.

But if your site is for members only, you don’t necessarily need to worry about search engine optimization… or do you? 👀

And if you’ve already spent months with All in One SEO, maybe it’s not worth switching.

Tbh it’s one of my favorite plugins + I can make a case for almost any site to use it. Which is rare, since I’m such a plugin hater.

07/10/2026

What do you do once you’ve deleted something from your site?

Whether it’s removing old content like a sales page for an offer you don’t have any longer or a post that doesn’t fit your niche, there are 3 ways to handle the gap that deleted content creates on your site.

1️⃣ Not do a damn thing. Listen, I’ve done it too, but it’s not necessarily the best choice. Especially if your 404 page doesn’t have a search bar.

2️⃣ Use a plugin to set up a redirect. Do this 80% of the time + option one the other 20%. I would say “please” but it only benefits your business if you do.

3️⃣ Add redirects via your server. I’ve learned that there are zero bonus points in life for doing things the nerdy way. However, if you’re comfortable with this option, it keeps your installed plugin list one item smaller. A win is a win.

If you’re going to remove some content, point users to something helpful instead. A revamped offer of a similar service, a blog post related to the topic or a contact form if they have questions.

Address

Cottage Grove, MN
55016

Telephone

+16086204046

Website

http://tinyblueorange.com/contact/

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