Traverse City Web Design, LLC.

09/01/2026

After more than 20 years of building websites, there’s really only one part of web design that still makes us genuinely nervous:

Domain propagation.

Why? Because once you change nameservers or make major DNS changes, a big part of the process is suddenly out of your hands. You can do everything correctly and still have to wait while DNS servers around the world update on their own schedule.

And there are a lot of tiny things that can derail the process.

One missing MX record can knock out email. One incorrect A record can make a website disappear. A forgotten SPF, DKIM, or DMARC record can cause email delivery problems. And when something goes wrong during a DNS move, clients can suddenly lose access to both their website and their email accounts.

That’s why we’ve developed a pretty careful routine over the years: document everything, back up email, copy the entire DNS zone, take screenshots, understand your TTL settings, keep the old hosting account alive during the transition, and—sometimes hardest of all—know when to stop touching things and simply let propagation finish.

We put together a guide explaining what domain propagation actually is, why it can be so frustrating, and 13 practical ways to make the process considerably less painful.

👉 https://traversecitywebdesign.com/what-is-domain-propagation-and-how-can-you-make-it-less-frustrating/design-small-business-tips-advice/

08/31/2026

One great use of AI is to purchase a stock photo from a photographer, then use AI to manipulate it exactly as you need for your project. Here are a couple of images we bought that did not have cases in them.

They were easy to add—and now they’ll work great as vibrant images for the front page of our client’s new website.

It would have taken us HOURS to make these in Photoshop, but instead took about 15 minutes.

08/31/2026

Think AI is making business blogging obsolete? We KNOW the opposite is happening. For years, businesses wrote blog posts largely to rank individual pages in Google. But AI search is changing the game.

Today, tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, and Copilot are gathering information from across the web to understand businesses, industries, services, expertise, and locations. That means your goal isn't just to rank a single page for a single keyword anymore. You want AI to understand who you are, what you do, what you know, who you serve, and where you work. And a good business blog is one of the best ways to give it that information.

Rather than worrying that AI is "cannibalizing" your content, businesses should recognize the opportunity: you WANT AI systems reading your website, learning from it, and associating your company with the services and expertise you provide.

Don’t stop blogging because of AI.

Blog because of AI.

Read our latest article:
https://traversecitywebdesign.com/blogging-is-more-important-than-ever-in-the-age-of-ai-search/design-small-business-tips-advice/

“AI Is Cannibalizing My Content” Can Mean Something Very Different for a Business

08/31/2026

We use ChatGPT for a lot more than writing copy. Recently, we used it to help us build a system for organizing client projects, proposals, design assets, content drafts, research, and all the other files we create along the way.

The best part? We designed most of the system while lying on the couch using voice prompts. We asked questions, changed the structure, tested how it fit our actual workflow, and then started using ChatGPT to help keep everything organized.

In this article, we break down the system, how the different sections relate to one another, and how other small businesses could build something similar.

https://traversecitywebdesign.com/how-we-use-chatgpt-to-organize-our-files-assets-and-client-projects/design-small-business-tips-advice/

08/28/2026

We’re excited to announce the launch of the new website for Northern Mechanical, a Northern Michigan HVAC company serving Grayling and the surrounding region.

The new site gives Northern Mechanical a cleaner, more modern online presence while making it easier for customers to explore their heating, cooling, geothermal, ductless mini-split, sheet metal fabrication, and other mechanical services.

Take a look at the project and learn more about how we approached the redesign:

https://traversecitywebdesign.com/traverse-city-web-design-launches-new-website-for-northern-mechanical/michigan-web-design-portfolio/

Need a new website for your Northern Michigan business? We’d love to talk.

08/25/2026

What is a Schema Aggregation Endpoint, and why does it matter for your website?

As AI search continues to evolve, websites need to do more than just rank well in traditional search results. They also need to help search engines and AI systems better understand their content, services, and relationships between pages.

In our latest article, we take a look at what a Schema Aggregation Endpoint is, why it may become an important part of the future web, and how it compares with and works alongside an llms.txt file.

Read the full article here:
https://traversecitywebdesign.com/what-is-a-schema-aggregation-endpoint-preparing-your-website-for-ai-search-and-the-agentic-web/design-small-business-tips-advice/

For years, search engine optimization has largely focused on helping Google discover, understand and rank individual pages. Websites use clear navigation, XML

08/24/2026

Google Search is changing fast — and one of the newest opportunities for businesses is becoming a **Preferred Source** in Google’s AI-powered search results.

Our latest article explains what Google Preferred Sources are, how they connect with AI Overviews and AI Mode, and what business owners and web designers can do to improve the chances that their content becomes a source Google trusts and surfaces.

Read the full article:

https://traversecitywebdesign.com/how-to-make-your-business-a-preferred-source-in-google-ai-search/design-small-business-tips-advice/

Google Search is changing quickly. Traditional search results still matter, but businesses now also need to think about how their websites appear in AI

08/19/2026

We’re excited to announce that Traverse City Web Design has been chosen to design and develop a completely new website for Olympic Case Company — one of the country’s premier manufacturers of professional cases for touring productions, sports teams, major events, AV equipment and more.

We’re proud to be working with a company that builds products used behind the scenes at some of the biggest shows, events and professional organizations in the country.

Read more about the project:

https://traversecitywebdesign.com/traverse-city-web-design-chosen-to-build-a-new-website-for-olympic-case-company/news-and-updates/

08/18/2026

In between projects so we are doing a little work on Hosting North while we exhale. . . ahhhhh. . .

https://hostingnorth.com/what-is-managed-web-hosting-and-why-hosting-north-is-a-smart-choice/