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How to Help Increase Ecommerce Sales Using Google Images
Did you know that approximately 75% of internet users in the United States regularly search for visual content before they…
How to Improve User Experience Using Path to Purchase
Each consumer has their own unique customer journey when they buy from your online catalog. Similarly, there are paths of…
Tips and Benefits of Hand-drawn Wireframes
The rapid advancements in technology bring so many benefits to the world of website design and creation. It’s fairly easy to…
What the Dominos ADA Court Ruling Means for Website Owners
For anyone not familiar with the ruling made by the Ninth District Court of Appeals on Tuesday, they found that Domino’s…
What can Marie Kondo and Tidying Up Teach Us About Marketing
If you’re not familiar with Marie Kondo, she is a recently famous organizing consultant, best-selling author and star of the…
What is Google Signals and What Does It Do?
Another new analytical feature from Google? That’s right! Google has really been working hard in 2018, releasing a bunch of…
Can You Afford to Have Your Content Go Unnoticed?
We’ve all heard it a million times - content is king. We get it. Content you post online needs to be relevant, useful,…
A Brief Overview of Google’s New Data Retention Controls
If you’re currently using Google Analytics to track your website’s activity, events and goals, then you should have recently…
Pros & Cons of Craft CMS Security
Website security is one of the most common concerns we hear from our customers. This is particularly true when they are…
It’s All Teamwork
When you’re part of a company that deals in client services, you’re part of a team. It’s important to remember, though,…
GDPR - Are you ready?
GDPR is a new law which replaces the existing EU Data Protection Law, created to strengthen the protection of personal data…
#SPACEDchallenge
Design is in our DNA. We live it and breath it. It inspires our creativity and sparks conversations. Below are some of our…
A Great Alternative to WordPress for Developers & Users
Most people with any sort of digital experience or knowledge have heard of WordPress, the open-source blogging platform.…
A Basic Guide to Featured Snippets
You’ve probably seen and even interacted with a featured snippet even if you don’t know what it is. Have you ever asked…
Oh The HUMANITY!
System Integration: We're working to create a more intuitive world and that doesn't happen without robust integrations.…
5 Tips For Using UX to Ensure Development Success
Your stakeholders are on board. You have your development team scheduled and ready to go. You’ve drafted requirements based…
How To Pick A Topic For Your Blog Post
Many organizations have the best intentions in mind when it comes to the company blog. They research how often to post, the…
What I Learned from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program
Last October, I received an invitation to apply for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. They describe the…
What is opinionated software?
When considering buying vs. building software, there’s one crucial factor to keep in mind: How closely will the software…
What's the Difference Between a Storyboard, Sitemap and a Wireframe?
Do you know the difference between a sitemap and a wireframe? What about a storyboard? All three are very useful tools that…
Lifespan of Social Media Posts in 2021: How Long Do They Last?
Knowing the lifespan of your social posts can help you better plan your marketing strategy. We explore what those lifespans…
The Refinery Takes 1st Place in Case Weatherhead 100
Each year The Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management recognizes the fastest growing customers in…
The Refinery Recognized with Case Weatherhead Upstart Award
We're proud to be included in a list of so many great entrepreneurial companies in Cleveland, and we look forward to…
Pure CSS3 Accordion UX & Semantics
There are many examples online of pure CSS3 accordions. Many of these accordions use a combination of anchor elements with…
Ruby on Rails Sparkpost RubyGem
If you have a Ruby on Rails app sending email through Mandrill, you may be feeling a bit squeezed right now. Mandrill’s…
How to Manage Budget and Deadlines on Agile Projects
Software projects are notorious for taking longer than expected to deliver. As a result, those projects cost more than…
Refinery and flourish win 2015 Addy Awards
We're proud to announce that The Refinery, in conjunction with our fantastic partners at flourish agency, brought home two…
The Dangers, and Benefits, of Software Fidelity
Cost is a fundamental constraint of all software projects. Engineering software is a complex practice, full of rabbit trails…
Introducing The Refinery
The last 10 years have been an amazing start to our company. Dave and I have grown this little startup from a few pennies in…
Five Things Every Executive Needs to Know about Ideation
All successful people are big dreamers - creative in every aspect of managing their career. However, when in a position of…
Five Things Every CEO Needs to Know about Software Design
There is an old adage, “Design is thinking made visible.” This is an absolute truth in the digital age. As a CEO it is…
Our new office in Colorado Springs
D-I is deeply invested in Cleveland, OH. Our team is all from here and for the last 10 years we’ve been located in the same…
Debunking the Parable of the Product Roadmap
Last year I went on a speaking tour across the United States. During that time, I attended many Agile conferences, meetup…
Build a better product by spending less time planning.
I’m a morning person. I enjoy rising early to plan my day and anticipate what I’ll accomplish. This routine provides clarity…
Why your developers should think more like a designer
Software exists to create an experience for a user, be it solving a problem or some other business value. Any development…
How we designed our Codemash t-shirts
We presented an idea to the Codemash Conference for a new t-shirt design this year. They decided not to print t-shirts this…
Safari to Limit SSL/TLS Certificate Validity to One Year
On February 19th of this year, Apple made a fairly big announcement during a face-to-face meeting of the CA/Browser Forum…
7 Ways to Optimize Your Ecommerce Product Pages
Our Path to Purchase Map provides key metrics, benchmarks and best practices when evaluating the overall effectiveness of…
Use Brand Story to Build Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is earned by telling a brand story that emotionally resonates with your customers. We all have our favorite…
Supporting Your Team When They’re Working Remotely
The status of the Coronavirus has now reached the level of a pandemic. Major sports leagues, concerts, schools and…
How to Increase Your E-commerce Conversions & Sales
As any business owner or marketing manager who deals with e-commerce knows, increasing website conversions and sales is…
COVID-19: Free E-commerce Support for Retailers in Need.
The Refinery has felt our share of economic struggle over the last 19 years. I started the company in 2001 during the…
Should You Refine or Redesign?
For any regional or national brand, a website redesign is a substantial project on many fronts. It can take months, even…
A Culture of Caring Part 1: Managing Your Team in a Work from Home World
Not too long ago, the concept of “working from home” was out of reach for the majority of Americans. Resources didn’t allow…
A Culture of Caring Part 2: Managing Your Newly Remote Team in Unprecedented Times
Many of us had no idea that our work worlds would be turned upside down when we first heard “Covid-19” on the news. Yet here…
E-commerce SEO & How to Increase Organic Traffic
Building a strong SEO foundation will give search engines the information they need to determine how relevant your content…
How to Increase Website Traffic & Sales with Videos
A well thought out and professionally executed video strategy can be a game changer for any company. People love to watch…
How to Effectively Communicate with Your Digital Agency
At the start of each new client relationship, we have the ability to foster effective communication, do good work and ensure…
2020 Digital Shelf Virtual Summit Session
Our CEO, Josh Walsh, was invited to take part in a conversation with Salsify as part of their Digital Shelf Institute, the…
How to Create Buyer Personas to Better Understand Your Customers
If you’re selling products or promoting services you offer online, you likely have a good idea who your customers are. This…
10 Ecommerce Holiday Planning Tips for 2020
The year 2020 has been a crazy one to say the least. Covid-19, masks, social distancing, businesses closing, and the list…
5 Unique Holiday Marketing Ideas: Grow Your Fanbase Before Black Friday
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner. Here are 5 unique holiday marketing ideas for 2020 that can help…
How to Improve Search Engine Ranking in 2021 Using Google Lighthouse
Google continuously makes changes to its algorithm throughout the year, but the first quarter of 2021 should bring some…
Walkthrough of a Google Lighthouse Report
In our recent post, How to Improve Search Engine Ranking in 2021 Using Google Lighthouse, I reviewed Google Lighthouse, how…
What is Customer-Centric Web Design & Why Is It So Important?
People that are unable to identify what a company actually does, or if they grow frustrated while trying to find out more…
Designing a Website Around Customer Intention
Before we dive into the topic above, I want you to think of some recent purchases you made, whether they were online or in a…
The Trouble with Bugs
The debate on bugs and who’s responsible for them within a software or web development project is one that comes up in just…
HIPAA Compliance Considerations in the Work From Home Era
Working remotely from home isn’t new, but now it’s much more common compared to the past. When the Covid pandemic hit the…
What is the Difference Between HIPAA Compliance & PCI Compliance?
PCI and HIPAA standards both have high requirements to meet, but what is the difference between the two, and why are these…
9 Types of Web Applications & What They’re Used For
When most people hear the term “web application”, they think of applications made for mobile devices. Did you know that web…
Am I Responsible for HIPAA Compliance Even if I Don’t Store PHI?
If you’ve recently been to a doctor's office or hospital, you’ve signed a piece of paper regarding HIPAA (The Health…
5 Rules You Need to Know About HIPAA Compliance for Web Apps
Keeping medical data safe and secure is more crucial than ever these days, and this is why HIPAA compliance continues to…
What is Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)?
Technology has progressed faster over the past two decades compared to any other span of time in history. Today, even…
The Big Stick - Thoughts from Our CEO
After reading this article titled Big Sticks, some key points really stuck with me because of my own experiences owning a…
What are the 4 Risk Categories of SaMDs?
There are many variables that go into identifying and classifying software as a medical device. It’s important to remember…
What are the 4 Types of System Integration
Many companies use multiple systems in their everyday business operations. One system might act as a CMS for ecommerce…
Designing HIPAA Compliant Websites
A well-designed and user-friendly website is a necessity for any business or organization today. This includes hospitals,…
AI in Medical Devices May Transform Healthcare
The article When We Put AI in Medical Devices, Magic Starts to Happen recently came across my news feed. It’s hard not to…
Why We Love Building SaMD: BloodHub
At The Refinery, we have designed and built a huge variety of software, applications, portals, websites, etc. for multiple…
Prepare Your Manufacturing Business for a Recession
Although not officially announced yet, it seems likely that our economy will be going into a recession (2 consecutive…
7 Examples of Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)
Software as a medical device is a relatively new and revolutionary tool in healthcare. It can collect massive amounts of…
7 Steps in the System Integration Process
Companies in the advanced manufacturing space commonly use multiple systems in their daily operations. One system may…
What are Progressive Web Applications (PWAs)?
Progressive web apps are defined as “web apps that use service workers, manifests, and other web-platform features in…
How SaMD is Regulated in the US
There are many different medical markets around the world, with the largest two being the US and the EU. In this article, we…
What’s the Difference between ERP and CRM Systems?
You’ve likely heard the terms CRM (customer relationship management) system and ERP (enterprise resource planning) system…
The 10 Most Common HIPAA Violations
All HIPAA violations could be considered potential threats to your medical-related organization, but there are some that are…
Categorizing & Comparing Examples of SaMD
In the recent past, we reviewed examples of software as a medical device (SaMD) as well as how SaMD is categorized in two…
What to Consider When Creating a Portal for Healthcare
There are plenty of reasons for a healthcare organization to create a portal, whether it’s for patients, employees or both.…
The Risk of Using Legacy Medical Devices with Outdated Software
The healthcare industry is a prime target for cyberattacks and has been for years. The main reason being that personal…
What is Data Encryption and Why Is It Important?
A majority of businesses today have quite a lot of private information and data stored digitally, whether it’s in the cloud…
The Pros and Cons of Custom Software Devices in Healthcare
The healthcare industry is quite unique when it comes to technology. One of the main reasons for this is that industry…
5 of the Top Medical Technologies in 2022
Technology has been a main factor in the advancement of healthcare for many years. These advancements in the medical field…
The 5 Elements of a HIPAA Compliance Checklist
When working with people’s personal health information, whether you’re a healthcare company or not, it’s essential to be…
The Cart Before the Horse: How System Integration Needs an Overhaul
What do you think when you hear this analogy? Probably you’re doing something out of order. How do we determine order? I…