Secure your site with HTTPS

by In google, internet Tagged , ,

Google announces HTTPS deadline!

Google has announced a deadline for non-secure websites, this is when you are only using the http:// as part of your URL link instead of https://. This update is scheduled for July 2018 when Chrome will begin warning visitors that a web site is not secure.

These warnings will most likely affect users on non secure websites, potentially causing the visitor to leave a site, which will negatively impact the statistics in Google Analytics, particularly the bounce rate.

What is HTTPS?

(Excerpt from Google) Read More
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is an internet communication protocol that protects the integrity and confidentiality of data between the user’s computer and the site. Users expect a secure and private online experience when using a website. We encourage you to adopt HTTPS in order to protect your users’ connections to your website, regardless of the content on the site.

Data sent using HTTPS is secured via Transport Layer Security protocol (TLS), which provides three key layers of protection:

Encryption—encrypting the exchanged data to keep it secure from eavesdroppers. That means that while the user is browsing a website, nobody can “listen” to their conversations, track their activities across multiple pages, or steal their information.
Data integrity—data cannot be modified or corrupted during transfer, intentionally or otherwise, without being detected.
Authentication—proves that your users communicate with the intended website. It protects against man-in-the-middle attacks and builds user trust, which translates into other business benefits.

 

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non-HTTPS

by In google Tagged ,

Effective July 2018, Google’s Chrome browser will mark non-HTTPS sites as ‘not secure’

After years of pushing for ‘secure by default’ web sites, Google will identify insecure sites in the Chrome browser beginning mid-Summer.

Article from Googles webpage: https://searchengineland.com/effective-july-2018-googles-chrome-browser-will-mark-non-https-sites-as-not-secure-291623

meetings the geeks

by In facebook, geeks, social media

geeks, web design, facebook, social mediaMeet the facebook Geeks!

A few months ago I had a meeting in Cape Town to collaborate with some Geeks about using facebook for a few client promotions.

We arranged to meet at a small coffee shop in Long Street, where I drove around for some time trying to find parking, and eventually managed to squeeze into a parking bay that had just been vacated. I dashed into the bistro where we were meeting for coffee. Suddenly a guy scooted up to me on a skateboard, kicked the back end of the skate board, which flipped up into his left hand while he shook my right and said ‘Zelda right?’

I laughed,  as this was a first to be meeting with a guy in baggies, a cap turned backward, and a skateboard. During our meeting I had to admit he was fascinating, the Geek talk tumbled out of his mouth, half of it I couldn’t understand myself.

Eventually, completing our meeting, with a few explanations regarding most of the jargon that I couldn’t understand, I said I needed to mull over some of what we had discussed. We parted ways, he skated off into the blue yonder, and I was presented with a R68 parking ticket from the attendant for two hours. How times have changed!!!!!

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Where Do I Start?

by In Web Design

Web Design Choices???

Recently a prospect, now a very happy client contacted me about a website that they needed. She had spoken to a few companies, and had heard about something called ‘SEO’, and what about this ‘Hosting Thingy’ and ‘what’s a URL?’.

I can imagine how awful it must be for people stepping into a computer world, and how foreign it must seem. So I do my best to speak in terms that are easy to understand. My client had a sheaf of papers that she was expected to fill in, these had been sent to her by an ISP on email,  with the following mind boggling questions:

Do you need a MYSQL Database?
How much Traffic are you expecting to your site? 10 Gb, 20 GBs etc
How much Disk Space do you Need? 10 Gb, 20 GBs etc
Do many Emails do you need, and what size Mail Box do you require?
Do you require a .com or .co.za URL

None of these questions can possibly be answered by any Non Computer Literate person. And certainly not somebody who knows absolutely nothing about Hosting or Web Design. So I took the whole pile of papers, ticked and crossed a few boxes for her, and said, ‘If you wish to go with these people, then the paperwork is done, however, you don’t need to worry about this with me. I manage the entire process for you from beginning to end, AND, I’ll register the name of your website, you know, the URL name.

A big smile crossed her face, and she dropped the papers in the bin, and said ‘when can you start!’

 

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Beware Uncapped

by In internet

Beware Uncapped ADSL

When I decided to switch over to using Showmax and now having canned them because it was mostly repeats and very old movies, I switched to Netflix. My downloads were truly like the Mweb ad, ‘mother buffer’, very slow, and extremely frustrating. YET, I was using an UNCAPPED line! I’d even migrated with Telkom from 2mbps to 4mbps. So why was I experiencing the dreaded buffering problem. Having phoned TELKOM and a few other ISP providers I wasn’t getting much help.

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what is seo

What is SEO?
Web Design and SEO – Without it, you might as well not have a Web Site!

what is seo, seo, search engine optimisationWeb Design and SEO is crucial to a websites recognition on the internet, and without it you are simply wasting your time with a website as it’s basically invisible to browsers/search engines. Many clients ask ‘What is SEO?’  SEO is a means to be found on the internet by users and search engines, and ensuring that your content is about what it’s supposed to be.

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SEO Tips

SEO TIPS – Exercise Caution when looking for SEO & Ranking Services:

Any discussion of SEO agencies and pricing isn’t complete without a few SEO TIPS about what to look for.  To help you guard against indiscriminate SEO businesses with unethical  practices, be cautious of the following promises:

SEO TIPS

Guarantees:  SEO firms generally can’t provide guarantees due to the constantly changing nature of the industry.

Instant results: True, some SEO tactics can get “faster results” by gaming the system. However, these can damage the reputation of your website.  Instant results often involve SEO practices that are against webmaster guidelines put out by search engines. Invariably, Google seeks out these techniques and penalizes the website which results in dropped rankings that can take a long time to recover.

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Mobile Friendly Responsive

by In Featured, Mobile Friendly, Responsive, Web Info Tagged , , , , , ,

Mobile Friendly & Responsive WordPress Web Design

Mobile Friendly web design is HERE . . .

Statistics prove that mobile devices are used to search as much as desktop in some cases. With enhanced WI-FI access in most cafes, airports and hotels, it means that if your site is not mobile friendly, (Responsive,) you most likely will lose a potential client.  Users are frequently in touch through their mobile device, using Social Media, Browsing the Internet, Opening Emails and even using Google Maps to find their way.

Mobile Friendly, Web Design and SEO, Responsive Web Design

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Affordable WordPress Websites

by In Featured, Web Info Tagged , , , ,

Affordable Website Design

3 Pages R4500 and hosting  for 1 year  (includes URL (name) registration, payable annually). However, affordable website design might not attract the visitors to your website. Don’t neglect SEO as part of your Web Site requirements, or you will not get the recognition you deserve!
We design a front page, about your business, and a product/service page about what you sell, and if you have any promotions, and a contact page.  Find our more about why SEO is so important . . .

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Tripadvisor Widgets

Tripadvisor WidgetsTripadvisor Widgets

Whilst building a few websites requiring Tripadvisor Widgets, I experienced some problems, where the page load was very slow, and this of course was showing up in Google Analytics.

Having gone through the website with a fine tooth comb, I reviewed all the plugins that were being used, and checked all images, resizing where necessary to smaller images, the page load was still extremely slow, especially by GTmetrix standards, displaying that the Page Load was in the RED, as a minus 43, I was extremely concerned!

Then I noticed when the web pages were loading, that the Tripadvisor Widgets were being requested from their website.  I researched the Internet and found articles relating to the Tripadvisor Widget causing slow page loads.

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