There are lots of Shop Local sites around, but the online store we recently launched for Virginia's Growth Alliance is a bit different.

This groundbreaking project, funded by Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, provides a free platform for businesses in Virginia's Growth Alliance economic development region to sell physical and digital products online, bringing support to local businesses on a world-wide scale.

• Buyers can purchase from several vendors in one transaction.
• PayPal distributes proceeds directly to each vendor.
• Vendors have full control of all of their products, including pricing and shipping.
• Vendors can create discount codes for use exclusively in buying their products.
• VGA is providing all setup, training, and presence on the website free of charge to vendors.
• A directory of currently 1200+ businesses is included, as not only retail sales are "shopping.”

With over 100 entrées on the menu and delicious house specialties, these restaurants will make your tummy happy!

The Mi Carreta family of Mexican restaurants was founded in South Boston, Virginia in 2003 and has grown to 8 locations in Virginia, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.

Note: This post is not meant to take a position on either side of the Affordable Care Act debate, and is strictly about the website and its many problems.

I've been developing websites for 17 years and have learned over the years that when there are major problems with a site it usually comes down to 2 types of problems:

• those caused by a designer/developer (individual or company) who was being relied upon for professional advice and service and either couldn't or didn't deliver, and
• those caused by the client by demanding that the designer/developer do something that goes against their advice.

Healthcare.gov is the perfect storm of both of these types of problems.

I'm not referring to everyday problems common in site development, things like cross-browser compatibility, but fundamental problems in architecture and usability.

The day healthcare.gov launched I visited the site to see if a family member could save money on their policy. Within 5 seconds of being on the site I learned that all of my relative's personal data had to be submitted before I could get any idea of the price range. My reaction? Leave the site.

Or in this case, the keyword star.

As the web matures and becomes more entwined with our lives, sometimes words aren't enough to attract search engines.  The latest buzz is that having videos on your site will not only give you more interesting content, but may also help with your search engine placement.  Search engines are trying to give more variety in their results, and the word is that the algorithms are stacked to give preference to pages including video.