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WebWise Celebrates 30 years on the Web

Announcement / By /

WebWise 30 Years imageOn October 8, 1995, WebWise Design & Marketing made its first appearance on what everyone was calling the "World Wide Web." Since then, we’ve seen the web evolve — from the dial-up era of AOL floppy disks, bulletin boards, and spacer GIFs to today's websites with mobile-friendly design, SEO, and AI.

Through every phase, our mission has stayed the same: We design and develop professional websites that provide results for businesses, municipalities, and organizations. Southwest Wisconsin and beyond.

The saying "it takes a village" is literally true when it comes to owning and operating a small business, and our village is filled with incredible people. We are deeply grateful to our loyal clients in and around Fennimore, including the City of Fennimore, the Fennimore Area Chamber of Commerce, the Grant County Economic Development Corporation, and many more.

I will be forever grateful to a key member of our "village" in 1995. Matt Johnson. He kindly published a "Wells Bets on the Web" article "above the fold in the Fennimore Times. He not only introduced WebWise, it was the first introduction of the World Wide Web to many in our area.

I am also immensely grateful for my extremely talented, proficient, and caring WebWise team members, past and present, who made this journey possible.

Thank you all so very much, as WebWise continues doing what we’ve always done — developing client websites that look great, work as they should and get found!

 

Adam’s Garlic – Naturally Grown Wisconsin Garlic

Announcement, ecommerce, Web Design, Web Development / By /

Designing and developing a new website for a long-time WebWise client is always a privilege that we don't take lightly.

Adams Garlic header image.Recently, we had the opportunity to work with Angela Adams and develop a new WooCommerce website for Adams Garlic in Southwestern Wisconsin. Don and Angela Adams began growing garlic near Cassville, Wisconsin in 2013. Their garlic farm is truly a family farm as you may read on their About Us page.

Adams Garlic specializes in growing hardneck garlic seed and culinary garlic. Their garlic is grown using sustainable farming practices, without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers. In order to keep the weeds down and maintain moisture, they mulch with corn fodder in the fall after planting.

Want to know more about growing garlic? Read Angela's Growing Garlic Guide. Before you leave their website, order some Southwest-Wisconsin grown garlic! You will be glad you did.

 

 

 

 

Showcasing the De Soto, WI Area

Announcement, Web Design, Web Development / By /

A New Tourism Website Launch

The WebWise Design & Marketing team is proud to announce the launch of a new website for the De Soto Area Tourism Commission: desotoareatourism.com.

De Soto Area Tourism Website imageWe had the pleasure of working with Gary Mulford, President of the De Soto Area Tourism Commission, and committee member Jenn Swiggum to create a website that will serve as the cornerstone of the Commission’s tourism marketing efforts. The site is designed to attract visitors not only from the local region, but also from across the Midwest and beyond.

Nestled in the heart of the Driftless Area and bordering the majestic Mississippi River at Pool #9, the De Soto area offers unique natural beauty and a wide array of recreational opportunities. The new website highlights what makes this part of Wisconsin truly special—whether you’re into fishing, hiking, scenic drives, birdwatching, or simply enjoying the friendliness in the bars, restaurants, wineries or shopping experiences of a small river town.

We invite you to explore desotoareatourism.com and discover everything the De Soto area has to offer. From local events and lodging options to outdoor adventures and historic sites, the new site is a comprehensive guide for planning a visit to this hidden gem in southwestern Wisconsin.

Town of Clayton, Crawford County, WI

Announcement, Web Design, Web Development / By /
Town of Clayton Photos

The WebWise team recently had the privilege of working with the Town of Clayton in Crawford County, WI Chairperson Bill Olson and Harriet Behar, the Chair of the Town Plan Commission. Bill had first reached out to us about developing one our WebWise Towns & Villages Websites.

Harriet was our point of contact for the Town and did a great job of gathering information and photos and to keep the project moving.

Clayton Township is located in the southwest Wisconsin Driftless Area known for its scenic bluffs, steep hillsides, valleys, and clear trout streams. Hunting is a popular activity, with abundant whitetail deer, wild turkey, squirrels, and raccoons.

The Kickapoo River forms the township’s western boundary, and the well-known Gays Mills apple orchards are primarily located within Clayton’s borders. Each spring, visitors enjoy the blooming apple blossoms, and in the fall, farmers markets offer fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, honey, maple syrup, mushrooms, baked goods, and more. Small farms are a big deal in the Town of Clayton!

The new website is ADA compliant and provides easy access to town news, meeting notices, ordinances, and information. Whether you are a resident or planning a visit, the website is a helpful resource for staying connected with the Town of Clayton in Crawford County Wisconsin and its surrounding natural beauty.

 

Don’t bet your job that someone read your email.

Email, Tips / By /

Can you count on your email getting delivered or read? Don't bet your reputation or job on it!

Email is still one of the most widely used tools in business—but it’s not foolproof. Just because you hit “Send” doesn’t mean your message was received, opened, or even delivered. Between spam filters, full inboxes, misaddressed emails, and security systems, your message may never reach the person you intended.

If you’ve sent an important email and haven’t received a response within a reasonable amount of time, don’t just wait and hope. Take action:

  • Check your Sent folder to confirm the message actually went out.
  • Verify the recipient’s email address—a small typo can send your message to the wrong person or nowhere at all.
  • If there was an attachment, consider its size. Many email systems still have limits on incoming message sizes. Large or multiple attachments can cause your email to bounce or be rejected.
  • Review your email. If you used CAPS LIKE THIS, your email could easily have ended up in the recipients SPAM folder.
  • Follow up. A polite second email can help. If it’s time-sensitive or critical, pick up the phone. Simply ask if they received your message—no pressure, just a quick confirmation.

Email Delivery ImageToday, email deliverability is more complicated than it used to be. Filters and firewalls are stricter, and email services are cracking down on anything that seems suspicious. One major way to improve your email’s chances of making it to the inbox is to ensure your domain is properly authenticated.

This is where SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records come in.

These are DNS (Domain Name System) records that help verify you are who you say you are when sending email from your domain. Without them, your messages are more likely to be marked as spam—or blocked entirely.

  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework) tells email servers which IP addresses are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your messages that proves they haven’t been tampered with.
  • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds on SPF and DKIM, giving domain owners control over what happens to unauthenticated messages.

Together, these records protect your reputation and improve deliverability.

The takeaway?

Don’t assume your email was seen. Take the time to double-check your message, follow up when necessary, and make sure your domain is set up correctly behind the scenes.

Your reputation—and sometimes your job—depends on it!