Tech Tips

Google and the rest of the major search engines are taking more steps to “encourage” the use of server secure certificates (https / SSL). By year’s end, sites which are not served via https will prompt a browser warning, and make no mistake – many visitors to those unsecured web sites will just stop there.

SSL protected sites just make it easier and safer for your visitors, and, if you are hosting your website with Sirius Web Solutions, at just $45.00 it’s literally the cheapest step you can take to ensure more visits to your site. Protect yourself today for just $45.00 per year. (NOTE: For Sirius Web Solutions hosting customers that registered for the Professional Hosting Package, the SSL certificate is included at no additional cost).

If you are not hosting your website with Sirus Web Solutions, please contact your hosting provider for the cost, terms and conditions to acquire your SSL certificate.

To learn more about SSL Certificates, we would like to share an article from ServerBuy.com titled “Why Google is Forcing You To Have SSL Certificates on Your Websites”.

For more information or if you have questions about SSL certificates contact Sirius Web Solutions.

Lately we have all received or soon will receive multiple e-mails in regards to GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and changes in privacy policies for websites for which we have provide personal information. To help you understand GDPR and how if affects you, we would like to share the following article. [ CLICK HERE ]

Image: Pixabay

With the increase in the purchase and use of mobile devices (i.e. smart phones, tablet PCs, etc.), people are accessing the Internet and web sites more through these devices than through desktop and laptop computers.  This fact emphasizes the importance of making sure your web site has responsive design. Responsive design makes your web site adjust to the screen size of the device used to access it. It also ensures that your web site layout and graphics look good on all devices and a lot of horizontal scrolling would not be necessary to view the content.

Currently there is a slight push from some search engine companies to encourage responsive web site design. This encouragement is coming in the form of a change in their search algorithms to give higher placement in search engine results pages to web sites that are mobile friendly.

One way to find out if your web site is responsive or mobile friendly is to enter your domain name into a responsive design testing tool such as the Responsinator. There are various testing tools available that will provide a good approximation of how your web site will appear on various devices. Of course using the actual mobile(s) is more accurate.

Now you might ask “do I have to completely re-build my web site to make it more accessible to mobile device users?” Well, there are a few factors that will determine the answer to that question such as:

• the purpose of your current web site (i.e. e-commerce, informational, portfolio, etc.)
• is it in your budget to re-build your web site
• will a mobile web site suffice as a supplement to your current web site

The most cost effective, temporary solution is to have a mobile web site built that provides basic information via hyperlinked icons. The content on a mobile web site can be static or in real-time. Some examples are:

• Hours of operation
• Contact information
• Online forms to submit feedback, questions or comments
• GPS (global positioning system) navigation to give you turn-by-turn directions to a specific location
• Offer coupons or promote sales/discount
• Restaurant menus
• List services provided by your business or organization
• Provide a link to the desktop version of your web site for detailed information

Having a mobile web site is a temporary solution for providing mobile friendly access to your online content until you are ready to re-build the desktop version of your web site with responsive design.  As mobile device users continue to increase, it is essential to ensure that your web site is easily accessible across various platforms.

Contact us for more information about mobile web sites or responsive design.

E-Newsletters (electronic/digital newsletters) are a good way to get noticed and regularly keep in touch with your customers or web site visitors.  You can use your e-newsletter to:

• Announce sales or discounts
• Post upcoming events
• Announce updates to your web site or business offerings
• List articles relevant to your business, organization, or industry
• Feature products or services

Through this regular correspondence, you can potentially gain new and repeat customers as well as build an extensive e-mail list.

E-newsletters can also be a good way to generate targeted advertising dollars. If you have a large number of subscribers, this can be used as leverage to gain advertisers who want to reach or market to your audience.

There are a number of e-newsletter/e-marketing tools available at various prices and each of them offers pre-designed templates for use.  Using pre-design templates are a good way to get started, but customizing the e-newsletter with your brand or logo will make you stand out from the others using the same template.

» CLICK HERE for a FREE Subscription to Sirius News.

To learn more about how to effectively incorporate e-newsletters into your marketing strategies, Get Your Copy of E-Business Success today!
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E-Business Success: Using Technology to Take Your Business to the Next Level, written by K. L. Graham the owner of Sirius Web Solutions, is a useful resource guide to help the owners and decision makers of small and medium sized businesses utilize technology more effectively to enhance or improve their businesses.  CLICK HERE to learn more.