DESIGN . BUILD . MAINTAIN . ONLINE
Website + Online Development Services
Historical Organizations · Nonprofits · Artisans · Small Business
First Division Memorial / Washington, D.C.
“The material and the craftsman’s thoughts change together in a progression of smooth, even changes until the mind is at rest at the exact instant the material is right”—Robert Pirsig › Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
We begin with our initial “discovery” process by which we come to fully understand your venture, your content, and your goals. All of that background research is put to use creating the most effective user-experience (UX) for your unique audience. We design and build code-light “device agnostic” sites within an intuitive and easy to administer content-management-system (CMS). We install only what you need: function-specific modules and plugins for media / content display, data collection, membership programs, news release and event posts, etc., adding in layers of security and optimization as we go. Well also seamlessly tie-in any external third-party services your venture might require, such as video, photo, and social channels, marketing + event platforms, donations, or any other vital service required to maximize the impact of your online presence. We only start out with what you need, building in the flexibility to grow. For in the end, we are crafting an online tool designed to grow organically with your venture—and—a working relationship that allows us to support you every step of the way. Our suite of ongoing maintenance and development services is tailored to maintain peak aesthetic, performance, visibility, and content authority over the long haul. Contact InHeritage today for plans + pricing, or a specific project estimate.
We do not view the launch of a new site as an end-point, but the beginning of a long successful run. In order to maintain peak site performance, security, authority, and search visibility in a content saturated world, we conduct regular optimization sessions on all of our client sites. Most developers focus on the content and marketing side. We focus on the whole of site-health. Alongside regular audits, edits, and updates of on-site media and content, we monitor and routinely upgrade site software as the best defense against security threats. We run diagnostics and streamline database functions in order to optimize site-speeds. We conduct ongoing and incremental research that aligns search engine optimization (SEO) with insights gleaned from analytics and site-monitoring services, sculpting a strategy to cut through to those searching for your content or services. All of this is accomplished while guaranteeing an optimal experience for all viewers on all devices. Contact InHeritage about our site content + software optimization programs today.
Our origin as a small business was anchored in producing websites to showcase the authoritative content collections of historical societies and historic sites, large and small. Realizing that our approach melded with nonprofits in general, independent crafts-people, and small service-oriented businesses, we branched out to serve them all. From day one, we have placed the importance and veracity of optimal well-crafted content at the core of our efforts. We have over twenty years experience researching, writing, and editing online content for clients. From long-form articles, essays, studies, and documentary scripts, to the more targeted short-form blog, e-news campaign, and micro-targeting of on-site search engine optimization, success follows your reputation for authoritative content. InHeritage will help you build lasting connections to a dedicated audience through the creation and publication of quality content.
The InHeritage logo, based on a sidewalk brick pattern found in the historic Shenandoah town of Lexington, Virginia
OUR HISTORY ›
An Island. An Idea. An Industry.
In the summer of 1999, Kerri & I toured the rugged island of Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine. We learned all about its rich history as a granite source for the architecture boom of the early 20th century. We had been seeking out like histories for years and felt that they all deserved a wider audience. We decided then and there to start-up a “digitization service” for local / regional historical organizations. Our plan: create digital archives of local history collections and push it all online. Our goal: preservation and presentation. Kerri suggested a spot on name that would stick: “in heritage”—an inherited responsibility to preserve our past. On August 14, 1999, we purchased our domain name and InHeritage was born … We had also created a service years ahead of its time (back when hosting plans were measured in MBs) that was also beyond the financial reach of most small societies.
Luckily, our initial marketing drive uncovered an even greater need: web development geared for the historical and nonprofit communities, really any info-rich, info-driven public facing venture … From the beginning, our clients, their needs and budgets, have come in all sizes. Key to our working across such a wide spectrum has been our talented network of sole proprietor professionals and strategic small business partners. Each partner is vetted and added for specific developmental roles, each eager to supplement and round out our internal skill-set with their own creative professional ability. We have been a virtual business since day one.
We have also seen technologies deemed “revolutionary” in their day come-and-go. But it was the advent of open-source content-managed systems that redefined, and still informs our approach. In step, we invest significant resources in serving the whole of site operations: the universe of vital services + optimization tasks beyond just design and development. Having come to realize that our service model applies naturally to the needs of small- to mid-sized commercial ventures, we continue to diversify our focus to include the commercial alongside our core roster of historical societies and nonprofit sites. Redefining who and how we serve has brought us to this era of dynamic device-independent solutions. And though technology and standards will continue to evolve, along with our approach to it all, our core inspiration—custom development designed to showcase unique quality content—remains the hook on which we have proudly hung our hats since August 14, 1999.
Dave Buckhout