Thoughts +
Work

Austin Phillips   |   02.28.26   |  

Marketing Materials That Make an Impact: A Guide for Bentonville Startups

If you're launching a startup in Bentonville, you're in good company.Northwest Arkansas is buzzing with entrepreneurs, small businesses, and big ideas. From tech startups to loc... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.09.26   |  

Dangers of Using AI to Generate Your Logo and Branding

It's cool that AI tools can create logos and build websites, right?Well, it's cool until you actually try them. We think AI tools can save time when it comes to remedial or supp... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.29.25   |  

Packaging Design that Sells: Tips for NWA Product-Based Businesses

If you're running a product-based business in Northwest Arkansas, you already know how competitive the shelves are, whether that's at Walmart or local boutiques in Bentonville, ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   11.18.25   |  

From Print to Digital: How Our Graphic Design Helps NWA Businesses Grow

Northwest Arkansas is booming — and that means more competition for attention. Whether you're launching a startup in Bentonville, refreshing a storefront in Fayetteville, or sca... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   10.27.25   |  

The Power of Branding: How We Help NWA Businesses Stand Out

Why Branding Matters in Northwest ArkansasIf you run a business in Northwest Arkansas, you already know competition is fierce and attention is short. Branding isn't just a logo;... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   09.29.25   |  

What Can Google Advertising Really Do for Your Business?

If you've been running your business for a while, you already know the importance of word-of-mouth, repeat customers, and a solid reputation. But what happens when you're ready ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.21.25   |  

Logo Design Mistakes to Avoid: Tips for Small Businesses in Bentonville, Arkansas

Let's be real—your logo is often the first impression people have of your business. In a place like Bentonville, where new businesses are popping up all the time and first impre... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.21.25   |  

Affordable Website Packages for Small Businesses in East Texas

Running a small business in East Texas comes with plenty of responsibilities, and building a professional website shouldn't be one of the stressful ones. Whether you're in Tyler... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.30.25   |  

Why Every Small Business in Fayetteville Needs a Professional Website

If you're a small business owner in Fayetteville, Arkansas, you already know how important it is to stand out in a growing, competitive market. From boutique retail shops to loc... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.12.24   |  

Matchstick Jobs: Graphic Designer

Matchstick Studio is a mid-level Graphic Designers to create engaging and on-brand design in a variety of media for our clients. This is a full time, in office position. We... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   11.01.23   |   4 min

Holiday Survival Guide for Small Businesses

As the festive season swiftly approaches, small businesses like yours are gearing up to make the most of the holiday rush. Along with planning the decorations, promotions, and h... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.27.23   |   4 min

Modular Orange Websites: Meeting You in the Middle

Are you thinking about a new website for your business but don't know where to start? Or maybe you've started the search but don't know where to turn. Many small to medium-sized... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.06.23   |   5 min

Got an Email From Google About Your Website? When Not to Worry.

If you've ever received an email from Google about an issue with your website, it's normal to feel concerned. Google dominates when it comes to ranking sites in an online search... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.24.23   |   2 min

Always Our Best Work

Every year, I like to outline a theme for our business. Looking back over the last seven years, we've done a lot of great work with and for a lot of great people. In that time, ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.05.23   |   3 min.

Get a New Look for Your Business this New Year!

Happy 2023! Are you feeling ready to revamp your business and kick off the year with a fresh look? One way to do that is with an updated logo. Your logo is often the first thing... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   11.30.22   |   5 min

How to Cut Marketing Costs in 2023

With inflation at its highest in four decades, and a recession seeming more inevitable by the minute, it's safe to assume most businesses are looking for ways to reduce expenses... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   10.26.22   |   6 min read

What's a Website Domain & How to Protect Yours?

In our last blog post, we talked about how to prepare for a new website. We mentioned a critical item you need is domain access, which allows you to transfer your site over to a... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   09.27.22   |   4.5 min read

How to Prepare for A New Website

Are you considering revamping your current website or creating a new site for your business? First of all, congrats! That's an exciting decision to make. Secondly, it's time to ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.31.22   |   9 min read

The Truth About SEO for Small Businesses

As a small business owner, you know how important it is to generate traffic through your website. Your online presence can play a significant role in making the phone ring and y... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.27.22   |   5 min read

One Reason Your Website Isn’t Working Well

Does your company have a website, but it's out of date, sluggish, expensive to keep up, hard to manage, not working on mobile, or not ranking in Google searches? If you said "ye... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.28.22   |   5 min read

Introducing The Orchard: A Spot Where Creative Professionals Can Grow

Are you a designer, copywriter, or creative professional who'd love to find a website creation tool that's fast, affordable, and super simple to use? And while you're at it, joi... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   05.24.22   |   5 min read

PSA: Don’t Fall for Deceptive Business Practices

Nobody likes to feel manipulated or deceived in any way. That includes us. We recently started receiving mail that looked like invoices for a domain listing service, which was o... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.28.22   |   5 min read

How Smaller Companies Are Crushing it with Customer Service

If you've ever been on the dialing end of an automated answering service, you know how frustrating it is to have to "push 8 for product B." It's such a common complaint that SNL... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.22.22   |   5 min read

Should You Still Be Blogging?

Let's start with some fun facts: 1998 marks the first known instance of a blog on a traditional news site. A year later, "weblog" was shortened to "blog," and the platform Blogg... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.25.22   |   5 min read

Is Your Business Still Trying to Make it on Social Media?

Having social media accounts on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok can offer a decent amount of credibility for a company. Once a person hears you... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.24.22   |   5 min read

Can A Custom Website Be Built in a Day?

If you're a client of Matchstick Studio, the answer is yes. More than likely, we can build a custom website for you in a single workday. In fact, we've done it for several busin... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.19.22   |   5 min read

Get Your Website in Better Shape for 2022

Whether you consider yourself a resolution person or not, pausing to ‘check yourself before you wreck yourself' has become a classic exercise at the drop of each New Year ball. ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.21.21   |   5 min read

How Modular Orange Is Boosting Business for a Commercial Real Estate Firm

McAlpine Interests is a full-service commercial real estate firm serving the Greater Houston area. For nearly 15 years, their firm has focused on office, land, investment, retai... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   11.22.21   |   5 min read

How to Create Powerful Landing Pages this Holiday Season

The holidays are upon us! If you're a business owner, you may be looking for creative ways to capture more sales this year. Hopefully, online marketing tops your list. With 60% ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   10.18.21   |   5 MIN READ

How to Get Your Side Hustle to Bustle

Let's talk about the side hustle. That thing you do alongside your current job to make a little extra cash, whether it's selling products online, freelancing, teaching music, wa... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   09.13.21   |   5 MIN READ

10 Ways to Improve Your Small Business Website Right Now

Happy Small Business Week! At Matchstick Studio, we have a big heart for small businesses. We love empowering entrepreneurs, makers, and service providers with high-performing w... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.25.21   |   5 MIN READ

Put Your Website to Work for Your Nonprofit

If the past year has taught us anything, it's that the typical way of doing things no longer works. This is especially true in the nonprofit sector. Many of the processes and pr... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.21.21   |   4 min read

Is Print Making a Comeback?

In the race to have the best, most advanced digital marketing, it can be easy to toss aside the tried-and-true medium of print. But take note. Print is like the tortoise to the ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.23.21   |   4 min read

Simplicity Equals Catchiness

At the beginning of 2021, I recorded a podcast discussing our theme for the year. Simplicity. All too often, especially in our business, processes, communications, products, and... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   05.04.21   |   6 MIN READ

Check Your Core Web Vitals Before Google Does

There's a huge update coming from Google that could significantly impact traffic to your website. Spoiler alert: it's all about UX (user experience). According to Google, t... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.18.21   |   4 min read

The Best Website Advice for Realtors

The first day of spring is upon us, which signals a hot season for the already booming real estate market. Last year was challenging for many industries, but real estate has bee... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.16.21   |   4 min read

What to Do If Your Agency Becomes Unresponsive

We're assuming you're reading this article because you've run into a snag with your current agency. That's never good, and we're bummed to know you're in this situation. Last ye... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.22.21   |   3 min read

How to Generate Business Without Facebook

As a follow up to our last blog post on why Facebook isn't your best marketing solution, we wanted to offer a few effective and affordable ideas beyond social media. Here are fo... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.20.21   |   4 min read

Why Facebook Isn't Your Best Marketing Solution (or Friend)

In this new year, we'd like to offer a new perspective on something we've talked about since the day we started our studio five years ago. That's the topic of owning your own sp... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.12.21   |  

Episode 31 - Facebook Likes

We want to talk about the BIGGEST news that came out of last week. Facebook is taking away all of your page likes! This is something we've felt for years but you have to stop ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.05.21   |  

Episode 30 - Simplicity

Matchstick Studio's first episode of 2021 is over our theme for the year. SIMPLICITY! Where we live in the web space people try to over complicate everything. We need to keep ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.28.20   |   4 min read

Flash Is Finally Ending, and It's Bittersweet

As we reach the end of the year, we're also coming to the end of life (EOL) for Flash Players everywhere, and it's a little bittersweet if we're being honest. Adobe, the company... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.22.20   |  

Episode 29 - Buzzwords 2.0

Buzzwords are back with a vengeance! Jordan's got a new list of buzzwords that should NEVER be used in conversation.If you hear someone mention one of these buzzwords send them ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.15.20   |  

Episode 28 - Agency Reporting

Are you receiving reports on website analytics, SEO, or ad campaigns from an agency? Normally it's an extremely well designed, branded report showing a bunch of information that... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.08.20   |  

Episode 27 - Complacency

Complacency is a challenge in all areas of life. It's easy to fall into its traps with the way this year has been. This should be something that you as a human, partner, emplo... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   11.30.20   |   5 min read

How Secure Is Your Website?

Today is National Computer Security Day, originally created to bring awareness to consumer security and remind you to protect your personal information online. This "holiday," s... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   11.02.20   |   3 min read

Matchstick Jobs: Senior Software Engineer

Matchstick Studio is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to help guide our continued mission of creating the best and easiest to use CMS available, the Matchstick Framework. This... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   10.29.20   |   7 min read

The 5 Best Website Tips for Lawyers

To kick things off, our best piece of marketing advice for every attorney is to have a website. This might sound obvious, but we were surprised to find that 43% of solo fir... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   10.05.20   |   4.5 min read

Have Website Builders and CMS Platforms Met Their Match?

As a business owner, you know that having a solid online presence is key. Sure, you have a Facebook page and Instagram account, but more importantly, you need a website you can ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   09.28.20   |  

Episode 26 - HTML Tags

Want to know what HTML Tags are used for? Are they important? Here are 5 HTML tags that you should make sure you have on your website! If you're a Matchstick Framework user... Read More

Jordan Carmon   |   09.21.20   |  

Episode 25 - Social Media

As a business it's almost impossible to stand out on social media platforms. It costs a ton of money and doesn't seem to have much of a return. Listen in to hear Jordan's though... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   09.02.20   |  

5 Years In Business

Listen in to celebrate our 5 year anniversary of being in business! Our Co-Founder and CEO, Jordan, sat down to help answer some of the common questions we've received over our ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   09.01.20   |  

Episode 24 - 5 Years In Business: Answering Questions

Listen in to celebrate our 5 year anniversary of being in business!  Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.18.20   |  

Episode 23 - Buzzwords

We've all sat in on a meeting where someone will throw out a few buzzwords that mean nothing. Do buzzwords actually add value to the conversation? Does it mean anything? Or is i... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.06.20   |   8 min read

15 Pro Tips for Your Website

If you run a business that's looking to increase your online traffic and sell more products or services, you've landed in the perfect spot. We're about to unleash 15 of our best... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.05.20   |  

Episode 22 - What is the difference between logos and brands?

Jordan sits down to help explain the differences between a logo and a brand. What goes into building a brand versus a logo? As well as providing further explanation to a brands ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.29.20   |  

Episode 21 - Paid Advertising

Let's talk about PAID DIGITAL ADVERTISING! We haven't covered this much just yet but creating a strategy around this can help generate traffic instantly. How much does it cost? ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.16.20   |   5 min read

Finding the Sweet Spot Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence

Without a doubt, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made an impressive impact on marketing, and it will only continue to grow from here. Forrester Research predicted that "by 2020... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.14.20   |  

Episode 20 - Backlinks

What are backlinks? Are all backlinks good? How do I get backlinks? Jordan sits down to tell us about all things backlinks! Find out how backlinks can help boost your SEO rank... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.01.20   |  

Episode 19 - 15 Pro Tips for Your Website

Are you unsure of the steps you need to take to help improve your website? Listen in as Jordan, Digital Director & Co-Founder of Matchstick Studio, gives 15 tips that you ca... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.23.20   |  

Episode 18 - Internet Scams

Jordan discusses one of the most common practices in our industry. We aren't talking about the Nigerian Prince internet scams but the more predatory scams that REAL BUSINESSES a... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.11.20   |   3 min read

How Often Should You Redesign Your Website?

If you're asking this question, chances are, it's already time to redesign your website. It's common for companies to let their site go for quite some time after it has "expired... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.10.20   |  

Episode 17 - Client Transparency

Is honesty and integrity at the center of your core values? How do you feel when businesses give themselves self-proclaimed "world's best" titles with nothing to back that up? ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   05.20.20   |  

Episode 15 - The Great Re-Opening

The Matchstick Studio Crew sit down to give their thoughts and opinions on re-opening given the current situation. Should business owners be arrested or fined for re-opening or ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   05.12.20   |  

Episode 14 - Fun with Pet Peeves

Is there something that people do that rub you the wrong way? These things happen in both our personal lives and in business. We talk about a few of our own pet peeves and also ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   05.05.20   |  

Episode 13 - The truth about SEO

Have you or someone you known ever asked how to get their website higher on Google? Well this podcast is for you! Jordan and Chris sit down to discuss the truth about SEO and th... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.29.20   |  

Episode 12 - Matchstick Framework

The episode everyone has been waiting for! We've hinted at it and given a few sneak peeks in our previous episodes but a full episode on the Matchstick Framework is finally here... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.27.20   |   3 min read

It's Time to Imagine A New Normal

We don't have an exact date when we'll be on the other side of this pandemic. No one does. This is new territory for everyone across the globe. But as doctors and scientists tel... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.22.20   |  

Episode 11 - Modular Websites: Cost Effective Custom Web Solution

Jordan and Chris discuss Matchstick Studio's in house solution for cost effective custom websites. MODULAR! Listen in to find out the entire process of our Modular websites and ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.08.20   |  

Episode 09 - Live Marketing Q&A

The Matchstick Studio crew sit down for a Livestream Q&A with local business owners to help answer the questions and concerns during this crazy time.  Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.31.20   |  

Episode 08 - Marketing During Social Distancing

The Matchstick Studio Crew discuss their thoughts on the how to utilize your digital marketing during this time of social distancing and quarantine. Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.24.20   |  

Episode 07 - Special Guest: Leisurlist

The Matchstick Studio crew sit down with the ladies at Leisurlist to discuss how current events are impacting the local scene of everything to Eat, See, and Do in Northwest, AR. Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.17.20   |  

Episode 06 - The secret weapon to your website... Web Development!

We've talked about the importance of user experience and design, and today we're talking about the importance of what's under the hood! Tom, Jordan, and Chris discuss how web de... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.13.20   |   3 min read

Is Your Website Ready for the Impact of Coronavirus?

If you know our team, you'd probably describe us as calm, cool, and collected. We don't subscribe to the notion of "when in doubt, freak out." We prefer a more level-headed appr... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.04.20   |  

Episode 05 - Matchstick Studio Q&A

The entire Matchstick Studio team sits down to answer all the questions we've recently received. In this episode you will hear about the Matchstick Origin story, why Jordan desp... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.27.20   |   4 min read

[Insert witty 2020 pun here.]

It's a new year, a new decade, and I've already blinked twice to find myself a sixth of the way through this 2020 calendar. This year will mark a big anniversary for Matchstick ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.25.20   |  

Episode 04 - What your website design says about you!

Jordan, Tom, Chris, and Austin discuss EVERYTHING web design! Austin, the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Matchstick Studio, gives his insight into the importance of design ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.11.20   |  

Episode 02 - Truth In Advertising? Corporate Messaging During Football's Biggest Game.

Jordan, Chris, and Tom cover what everyone really watches the Superbowl for... the ads! They go over their favorites, which ads fell short, and what messaging to look out for on... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.04.20   |  

Episode 01 - HAS WORDPRESS GONE TOO FAR?

From security issues to bloating your website with plugins has Wordpress gone too far? Jordan and Chris dive into why one of the largest web building platforms is a poor choice ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.28.20   |  

Episode 00 - Another Podcast?

Another podcast to listen to? Matchstick Studio co-founder, Jordan, explains what to expect from the upcoming Matchstick Studio Podcast. No topic is off-limits with this podcast... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.13.19   |   3 min read

Matchstick Jobs: Project Manager

Matchstick Studio is seeking a Project Manager to be responsible for handling ongoing projects and willing to work in a laidback, fun, and fast paced environment. This position ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.14.19   |   2.5 min read

How the 24-hour Facebook and Instagram Crash Affected Businesses

If you've ever wondered if social media was the best platform to run your business online, yesterday's Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp crash should have given you an answer. S... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   01.15.19   |   5 min read

What Makes Matchstick Studio Different

Corporate identity, packaging, web, apps, print, photography, etc, etc. Our list of services is long, and we work each one with a high level of professionalism and pay attention... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.19.18   |   1.5 min read

New Launch: Advanced Orthopaedic Specialists

Advanced Orthopaedic Specialists are the premier sports medicine providers in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas. They are also the official orthopaedic and sports medicine pro... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   12.06.18   |   3 min read

Are You Marketing to Machines or Humans?

If the need to increase the number of social impressions, trick search engines, and constantly improve KPIs becomes the sole focus of your marketing efforts, it's probably time ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   11.12.18   |   2 min read

How often should you freshen up your website?

The short answer is "very." While it would be awesome, your website isn't like a crockpot where you can set it and forget it and have something magical happen over time. For you... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   10.01.18   |   4 min read

The 6 Most Helpful Tools for Small Businesses

There's no such thing as running a small business. It's more like sprinting. There are so many tasks, deadlines, and decisions. Sometimes it's hard to know what's what as you ma... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.23.18   |   2.5 min read

Does Your Business Need a Mobile App or Website? How to Decide.

Without question, mobile use continues to skyrocket. One statistic suggests that by 2019 the number of mobile phone users worldwide is expected to reach the five billion mark. T... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   08.09.18   |   1 min read

New Launch: Inc. CEO Project

The Inc. CEO Project is a coaching and peer advisory group that is affiliated with the Inc. organization that publishes Inc. Magazine. They equip qualified CEOs with training an... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   07.25.18   |   3 min read

How Mobile-First Indexing Will Impact Your Business

You may be hearing a lot of buzz about "mobile-first" indexing, which officially started rolling out a few months ago. It's one of the latest developments in Google's ongoing ef... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   06.26.18   |   2.5 min read

New Launch: Bikes Blues & BBQ

Every fall, thousands of people from all over the country travel to Northwest Arkansas for incredible views of the Ozarks, award-winning food, and the world's largest charity mo... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   05.21.18   |   1.5 min read

New Launch: Acorn Influence

Acorn Influence is an innovative company that works closely with influencers, such as bloggers and social media rock stars, and pairs them up with brands to help communicate the... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.30.18   |   2 min read

Custom Websites Aren't Always Costly

There's a common misperception, especially among small businesses, that hiring someone to develop a website will cost crazy amounts of money. While there are some high dollar we... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   04.06.18   |   3 min read

The Trick to SEO Is Not to Rely on Tricks

As a studio that specializes in digital design and development, clients often ask if we have SEO tips and tricks to help get their site or product ranked higher in Google. The i... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   03.14.18   |   1.5 min read

New Launch: Tony Pasquale - National Voice Talent

"Hey, I know that guy!" That's what people say when they hear Tony Pasquale's work. Tony is a national voice talent that has worked with all the top brands and agencies, and we ... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.22.18   |   3 min read

Know What You're Really Getting with a WordPress 'Specialist'

It's like the Wild West with agencies throwing around terms like "specialist" and "expert," which may or may not mean they actually know what they're doing. This is especially t... Read More

Austin Phillips   |   02.12.18   |   1.5 min read

New Launch: Leisurlist

Leisurlist is a new website and app that tracks absolutely everything there is to eat, see, and do in Northwest Arkansas. We were excited to be given the opportunity to design e... Read More