All posts by websorceress

Website Tactics

META tags and what to include

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Meta Tags are hidden HTML tags used in the HEAD section of your web pages to provide information about your website or web page to search engines. Most major search engines index Meta Tags for use in their search results. Listed below is a definition of each Meta Tag together with an idea of what content you need to place inside.  Where possible, this information should be customised for each individual web page:

Title — Enter the Title of your web page.

Description — The description that will often appear in the search results of many search engines. Enter 2 to 3 sentences that describe your site or web page. You should limit it to 160 characters.

Keywords — Keywords or keyword phrases that apply to the subject of your web page. Keywords and keyword phrases should be listed in order of importance. Separate each keyword or keyword phrase with commas and keep the length of the entire list under 255 characters.

Robots — This meta tag tells a search engine how to index your site from a given web page. Index means that the search engine should index this page, Noindex means that it should not. Follow means that it should follow any other links to your other pages, Nofollow means it should not. Generally you would select index and follow to instruct a search engine to index that page and the rest of your site.

Copyright — Enter your copyright information.

Language — Select the language that your web page uses.

Domain Names, E-Marketing, News

Shorter .UK domain names are coming!

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Nominet, the UK domain governing body, have just announced plans to launch the new shorter “.UK” domain extension to run alongside the existing “.CO.UK” extension type.

This is a significant change within the domain industry that existing domain owners need to be aware of.

When will .UK domains launch?
Nominet have said the new domains are to launch in “summer 2014” and are due to confirm a more specific date by February next year. As soon as we know when, we’ll let you know!

How much will .UK domains cost?
The new domains will be priced very similarly to the current .CO.UK, .ORG.UK and .ME.UK domain names. So expect a price of around £6.00 plus VAT for two years.

What happens to my existing .CO.UK domain?
Any existing .CO.UK, .ORG.UK and .ME.UK domain extensions will remain unaffected and continue to operate as normal.

I already own a .CO.UK domain. Do I have first option on .UK?
Yes! Existing UK domain owners will be offered the “.UK” version of their existing domain name before anybody else. Nominet will ensure you have first option on your .UK domain for a whole 5 years!
This is an opportunity to replace your existing domain, or use the new .UK extension in addition to it.

That’s all we know for now, but stay tuned for further news on the new .UK domain extension as we get it

E-Marketing, Spam and Phishing

Fake Emails, how to spot the signs

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Its great having your email address published on your website so all of your potential customers have direct access to contact you 24/7. Unfortunately, the downside is that it is also available to less scrupulous people and can become a target for spammers and phishers.

Criminals often use fake emails and fake websites, purposefully set up with the sole intention to spread spam and to deceive people into giving away private information such as passwords, date of birth, address and bank details. The technical word for this is ‘phishing.’

For example, they might send you an email that looks official, even containing link to an official website. However, when you try to log on, they can steal your password and any other details you enter.  They may ask you to make a phone call or reply by email or ask you to open an attachment which will often contain a virus.   Criminals are good at making their emails and websites look realistic, however, you can often spot the fake ones.

Look out for:

  • Emails that don’t address you by name eg. dear customer
  • Dodgy looking email or web addresses.
  • Poor design, typos or bad spelling
  • Click through Links that don’t match up to the senders domain

 

If the email is asking you to directly click a link, you can get a good indication of whether it is dodgy simply by hovering over it (BUT DO NOT CLICK).  Your web browser will show the destination address at the bottom left corner of your screen.   If the address does not match the senders company name, you can, with almost certainty decide it is fake.

If in doubt and you are concerned if it is genuine and it is something you really should be dealing with, contact the company who it claims to be from i.e. Lloyds Bank/Paypal/British Gas etc  via their own website or by using a telephone number from any written documentation you may have.  They may tell you outright if it is fake and  may even ask you to forward it onto their fraud department where they will do their best to ensure these people are officially reported.   If it is fake, block the sender using your webmail or email client so they can’t contact you again.

 

Better to be safe than sorry!

 

 

EMail / POP3 / IMAP Help

Restore your Outlook 2010 from a Back Up File (.pst)

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To restore your mail, contacts and other data from a backup copy of an Outlook PST file:

1. Select File | Import and Export… from the menu in Outlook.
2. Select Import from another program or file.
3. Click Next.
4. Highlight Personal Folder File (PST).
5. Click Next again.
6. Now use the Browse button to select the backup copy of the PST file you want to recover from your backup location.
7. Make sure Replace duplicates with items imported is selected.
8. Click Next.
9. Finish the import process with Finish.

EMail / POP3 / IMAP Help

How to Back Up your Outlook Email Program

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1.  Open your Outlook

2.  Choose File > Options > Advanced > Export

3.  Choose ‘Export to File’

4.  Choose ‘Outlook Data File.pst’

5. Select the Whole Mailbox which is the very top icon and click Finish.

6.  If a box appears asking for a password, just leave blank and click OK.

7.  Save the file to your computer – Call it something memorable and store in a folder you can retrieve easily if required.

 

Its a good idea to perform this routine at least once a month so you can retrieve your files should anything untoward happen.

This step by step tutorial is also featured on your YouTube channel via the link below:

 

EMail / POP3 / IMAP Help

How to Change your Outlook Settings

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1. Open up Outlook
2. Click the ‘File’ tab (top left)
3. Click ‘Account Settings’
4. Highlight your email address (centre screen) and click the ‘Change’ icon
5. Where it says ‘Server Information’ update the following:

Account Type: POP3
Incoming Mail Server: pop3.yourdomain.co.uk
Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.yourdomain.co.uk

Logon Information

Username: xxx@yourdomain.co.uk
password: xxxxxx

Make sure the Remember password box is ticked.

6. To the right, click the ‘More Settings’ tab and ‘Outgoing Server’ tab.
The authentication box needs to be ticked and the next option ‘Use same settings as incoming mail server’

7. Now click the ‘Advanced’ tab – This screen shows the server port numbers. Change where required:

Incoming Mail Server (pop3): 110

Leave the box underneath UNCHECKED

Outgoing Server (smtp): 25025

You should not need to amend anything else so click OK. This will bring you back to the Email settings screen.

8. You can choose the ‘Test Account Settings’ button if you wish and the system will send and receive to check everything is operational.

9. Finish. Your Outlook is now configured.

 

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), Social Media

Thinking of buying social media ‘likes’/’followers’ – Read this first…

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If you’re tempted to buying follows, views and likes on social networks, you should think very carefully.

You wouldn’t dream of going to a dodgy looking tattoo parlour or a seedy looking hotel because you wouldn’t want to put yourself at risk.  The same goes for online services.

Whilst suddenly gaining a torrent of ‘likes’ overnight looks great from the outside looking in,  you must remember you are purchasing  ‘fake’ likes and these will not contribute in any way to your business.

I’m not saying all paid like services are bad but please consider the following very carefully if you plan on purchasing these sort of packages:

Keep a careful eye on spam posts that may suddenly start to appear which often contain links to viruses, malmare and ad sites. Delete these immediately. Facebook, Twitter etc don’t like this kind of thing for 3 main reasons:

1. They already have their own advertising system to score ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ so it interferes with their revenue

2. It opens the gateway for spammers that post their unwanted nonesense (at best) on your page

3. It makes a mockery of the ‘like’ ‘follow’ popularity system making it a waste of time. Similar to Googles search engine ranking, social networking sites will heavily penalise anyone trying to circumvent their system – all social networking sites are following suit.

You can never be too cautious with regards to companies offering ‘black-hat’ services.  Just remember, the fall out lies with you, not them.

eCommerce

Debit cards ‘first choice for online shopping’

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Debit card spending by internet shoppers overtook the use of credit cards online for the first time last year, industry figures show.Debit Cards first choice for online shoppers

Online spending using a debit card hit £35bn compared with £34bn on credit cards, the UK Cards Association said.

Shoppers are also using debit cards more frequently in stores.

Each debit card holder made an average of 205 transactions with their cards last year, the data shows, an increase of 10 on the previous year.

Some 91% of the UK adult population have a debit card and 61% have a credit card.

Use of these cards has increased as more shops have accepted them, and as more stores use devices such as chip-and-pin machines.

The association predicts that spending on cards in the next 10 years will nearly double from £477bn to £840bn.

 

source BBC News

Legal

Regulations Governing The Use of Cookies

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New regulations governing the use of cookies came into force in the UK on 26th May 2012

By law, operators of a website in the UK must now gain users’ consent to place cookies on their machine or face a fine of up to £500,000.

How does this affect me?
According to the About Cookies website:

The UK Regulations carry a maximum fine of £500,000 for serious breaches. It is anticipated that this power will only be used in limited circumstances. Before this the fine was £5,000 and companies may have been willing to run the risk but with these increased powers the result of enforcement action is potentially more severe.

Source: http://www.aboutcookies.org/default.aspx?page=3

What are cookies?
A cookie is a small text file that a website places on a user’s machine. Typically, cookies are used to store information about a user’s session, such as the contents of a shopping cart, or to retain information across sessions, such as user preferences.

Cookies can be created by the site itself and by third parties. One primary example of a third-party cookie would be Google Analytics which might create cookies to help it track users’ activity.

Sites which use advertising networks such as Google Ads would also set third party cookies on users’ machines.

How are cookies used in a WordPress site?
In its core functionality, WordPress uses cookies for logged-in users and for commenters. However, non-core plug-ins may also set their own cookies.

Interpretations of the regulations
The UK Information Commissioner has issued a set of guidelines for website owners on how to interpret the regulations.

They summarise the steps you might need to take to ensure you comply as follows:

Implied consent is a valid form of consent and can be used in the context of compliance with the revised rules on cookies.
If you are relying on implied consent you need to be satisfied that your users understand that their actions will result in cookies being set. Without this understanding you do not have their informed consent.
You should not rely on the fact that users might have read a privacy policy that is perhaps hard to find or difficult to understand.
In some circumstances, for example where you are collecting sensitive personal data such as health information, you might feel that explicit consent is more appropriate.
Source: http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/privacy_and_electronic_communications/the_guide/cookies.aspx

Implied consent
At the very least, it seems that you should provide some information on your site with regard to the use of cookies though the ICO has indicated that simply having a page about cookies that may be hard to find is not be sufficient to comply with the regulations. Interestingly, at the time of writing, this is the approach taken by the BBC who have provided detailed information on their usage of cookies (http://www.bbc.co.uk/privacy/cookies/) but no further notification to the user.

Solutions
There are already a number of solutions available. It may be that you wish to force users to accept cookies on the site. The main drawback of this is that you risk deterring users from your site. Our reading of the regulations suggests that unless you are collecting sensitive personal information, then implied consent is sufficient to comply.

Our approach
It is vital to maintain a balance between the legal requirements and the requirements of your business. Obtrusive notices in the form of pop-ups are more likely to deter visitors from your site than inform them of their options with regard to cookies. Likewise the use of opt-in forms where the user must actively agree for cookies to be used.

We believe that if a user does not wish to accept cookies on your site, it’s likely that they don’t wish to accept cookies on other sites. For this reason, the most practical solution for the user is to disable cookies in their browser rather than on every site they visit. It’s also likely that yours will not be the first site they visit since the directive was introduced – so they will already have made a decision as to whether they wish to accept cookies in general.

The guidance recommends a “clear and unavoidable notice that cookies will be used”. We suggest prominent links on your site to notify cookies are being used on your site with a link to read further information about what cookies are used on your website, why they are used and how to disable them. This information will also provide a notice of implied consent that if the user continues to browse the site they are happy with the cookies set. If they are not happy they can choose to make the changes as described or dismiss browsing your site altogether.

All Websorceress website maintenance subscribers websites and sites built by Websorceress after the law was introduced have been updated with a relevant ‘informed consent’ cookie policy which we feel covers the requirements of the law. However, we are not lawyers and if you are in any doubt about how best to comply, we recommend you consult a legal expert.

E-Marketing, eCommerce, Website Tactics

Back-to-School Shopping – Online v Traditional

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According to a recent infographic from AdRoll, 44 percent of parents start their ‘back-to-school’ shopping in August with many of these parents looking toward online shopping. The infographic also reveals that online school shopping is expected to increase by 10 percent this year – meaning that 79 percent of ‘back-to-school’ shoppers are buying supplies online.

The most popular reasons why parents are turning to the Web is because it offers an easier way to shop, avoiding all the queues, the stress and the added expense of hauling their children around town – after all, theres the parking fees, the lunch, the snacks and drinks, the impulse buying and the boredom not to mention a whole day taken up running around (if not more). Parents shopping online avoid all this hassel and save money too. They are able to find discounts by quickly shopping around as well as researching products and pricing.

In order to grab some of the ‘back-to-school’ traffic, merchants must be prepared to entice customers to not only visit their online shopping destinations, but also provide them with incentives to make purchases.

So get your thinking caps on and entice those shoppers in!