YIKES, Inc. web design and development

YIKES, Inc. Becomes One of Pennsylvania’s First Benefit Corporations

YIKES Becomes One of the First PA Benefit Corporations

Philadelphia, PA, January 22, 2013 – Award-winning web designer YIKES, Inc. is among the first companies in Pennsylvania to become a benefit corporation. The company filed its amended articles of incorporation at a ceremony held Tuesday January 22, 2013 at the Independence Visitor Center in Philadelphia. Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele was on hand to accept YIKES’ registration as a benefit corporation.

“At YIKES, Inc. we believe that business can change the world for the better. We are dedicated to building a more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable local economy. Becoming a benefit corporation allows us to show our commitment to our values and beliefs as a business,” says Mia Levesque co‐founder of YIKES, Inc.

YIKES, Inc. is a Philadelphia-based, full-service, web design and development company. YIKES builds smart, effective, creative web solutions for businesses and non-profit organizations. As a company, YIKES has been dedicated to sustainable business practices since 1996. The company is committed to building a more socially, environmentally and financially sustainable local economy, YIKES is a socially responsible business observing the triple bottom line: people, planet, profit. YIKES is proud to have earned B Corporation Certification and is a member and sponsor of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. YIKES received the 2011 B Corporation Award “Most Inspirational Project,” and the Triple Bottom Line Award at the 2005 Social Venture Institute. The YIKES office is located in a LEED Platinum certified building and is powered by 100% Renewable electricity. Additionally, YIKES is a certified Woman Owned Business by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bureau of Minority and Women Business Opportunities and City of Philadelphia Office of Economic Opportunity.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Carol Aichele stamps YIKES papers.

Pennsylvania is one of 12 states that have passed legislation creating benefit corporations, which allows sustainably minded companies to adopt a corporate structure that frees them of the traditional corporation’s requirement to maximize profit and shareholder returns. A benefit corporation allows – and requires – its directors to take into account “public benefits” that include the environment, the community and other constituents, some of whom may have no direct connection to the entity. Under the new Pennsylvania law, any corporation that elects benefit corporation status must, in addition to its stated business purpose, also adopt a purpose of creating a “public benefit,” and must also file an annual benefit report and fulfill other requirements of the law in order to maintain benefit corporation status.

“Governor Corbett’s number one priority is having a job available for every Pennsylvanian that wants one,” said Aichele. “The governor is working hard to make Pennsylvania attractive for businesses to locate and expand, and providing companies the option of registering as benefit corporations is one more way of doing that.”

To learn more about YIKES, Inc., visit www.yikesinc.com, email info@yikesinc.com, or call 215-238-8801.

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Contact: Jodie E. Saueraker
Sales and Marketing Director
YIKES, Inc.
215.238.8801
jodie@yikesinc.com

Have you made your web New Year’s resolutions?

Posted in YIKES News

1. Create a Website Inventory

Domain Name(s) (eg, yikesinc.com)

Who is your domain name registrar? This is the company that registers your domain name(s) (eg, Network Solutions, Register.com, GoDaddy).
When does it expire?
Do you have the account login information?
Who controls it? Check to see who is listed as the owner, administrative and technical contacts.

You can find helpful information at http://whois.domaintools.com/.

Hosting

Who hosts your website? (eg, what company stores and serves you website, such as Rackspace, inMotion, CanvasDreams)
Do you have all login/account information?
What hosting package are you using?
When is your hosting renewal date?

List of Technologies

For example, does your site use WordPress? Custom PHP? ColdFusion?
Are you using Paypal, Salesforce, an eCommerce solution?
Do you send out an enewsletter (Mailchimp, Vertical Response, Constant Contact)?

2. Review Site Security and Design

Are you using old technology? For example, is your WordPress up-to-date?
Is your site secure by today’s web standards? Do you use any security features or plugins?
Does your site look contemporary? Do you need a redesign or a site make-over?

3. Maintenance

When was the last time you backed-up your databases and content?
Have you updated you sitemap recently?
Have you reviewed your site for SEO purposes?
Is your site viewable on mobile and tablet devices?

4. Make a Social Media Plan for 2013

What Social Media do you currently use? (eg, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest)
Do you think you are using Social Media in the best ways for your company or organization?
Do you have a schedule for updating your Social Media?
Is your branding consistent across you Social Media profiles?

5. Secure Your Password(s)

When was the last time you changed any of your passwords? Currently guidelines suggest a password of at least 10 characters with a combination of the following:

Lower case letters
Upper case letters
Numbers
Special Characters

Hello Kitty Learns about Custom Post Types

Posted in YIKES News

Tracy at WordCamp Philly speaking on Custom Post Types for Right-Brained Folks

Custom Post Types For Designers from YIKES, Inc.

YIKES awarded Green with Envy award

Posted in YIKES News

The YIKES building on Girard Avenue

YIKES was proud to recently accept the “Green with Envy” award in the 2012 Citywide Storefront Challenge hosted by the Philadelphia Commerce Department and the Community Design Collaborative as part of Design Philadelphia.

Here is a list of all the winners:
Storefront Challenge winners

Check out some of the recent press from this awesome event.

The first LEED Platinum mixed-use rehab project in Pennsylvania

Posted in YIKES News

Official hanging ceremony on September 21, 2012

On September 21, 2012, our LEED Platinum Plaque was finally hung. 204-206 East Girard Ave has been certified LEED Platinum, the highest level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This makes the pair of buildings the first LEED Platinum mixed-use rehab in Pennsylvania. The 5,720-squarefoot project includes two ground-floor storefronts – one of which serves as the office for web design and development company, YIKES, Inc – and four apartments on the second and third floors.

We were so fortunate to have such a great team helping us to meet this goal. Stop by and check out the shining new plaque.

Check out some of the recent press from this awesome event.

Chris Blumberg, Karen Stabenow, Mia Levesque, Tracy Levesque, Josephine Levesque, Dave Wing, Tim McDonald, Ted Singer, Tad Radzinski, Niko Dyshniku

WordCamp Montreal 2012

Posted in YIKES News

Tracy Levesque presented on Creating Custom Child Themes for WordPress at this year’s WordCamp Montreal. Attendees learned how to safely change the look-and-feel of WordPress sites using Child Themes, without modifying the core code of your theme. Tracy walked through the steps of creating a child theme via slides and a live demo. CSS modification, template modification, include tags, conditional tags, creating your own page templates and modifying functions.php were all covered.

You can view slides on Slideshare »

Creating WordPress ChildThemes – WordCamp Montreal 2012 from YIKES, Inc.

Help Us Help Others

Posted in YIKES News

Help YIKES, Inc. receive 250 votes on the Mission: Small Business℠ page to get closer to qualifying for a $250,000 Grant. If awarded, the funds will help us launch the YIKES Grants program to provide 10 struggling organizations with a professional web presence.

1. Go to missionsmallbusiness.com

2. Scroll down and click on “LOG IN & SUPPORT“