Web Design Blog

Frequently Asked:

We were on the phone with godaddy this week for support, and the tech recommended we implement their website security/protection service (see below). Wanted to get your thoughts on this? What are the chances of someone injecting malicious code into our site, and or redirecting url's, etc? And-perhaps you already have some sort of protection in place?

I received this message through my PayPal account and almost fell for it, figured I'd share and warn others. 

Below is the full message they sent - their strategy is to use the "money request" feature in PayPal to trick you into calling a fraudulant 888 toll free number so they can try to gain access to your PayPal account. 

When comparing transactional email providers, it's important to confirm whether or not the plan includes "activity history" so you can use that provider's dashboard to see each individual e-mail that your website sent.  This lets you determine if that lost password email, or the contact form notification email, was delivered properly. 

Having problems with receiving email from your website?  You most likely have a misconfigured web server.

I recently received this scammy email from Linda Alvardo regarding loc8nearme.com and wanted to share some findings.  This is a "link building" attempt where they are asking me to change a local business listing where they found a missing website address.

CiviCRM is a perfect fit for any organization that collects membership dues, such as a chamber of commerce.

Beware! Fake emails being sent to InMotion customers - one of my other clients forwarded me the same thing last night - it looks like some bad actor has received a copy of InMotion's customer database.  Do not click on the "Verify Email Address" link in these emails!  

cpanel.net is a legitimate site but this emails are spoofed / fake!  

From: 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Subject:
example.com | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.: AutoSSL reduced SSL coverage

Avoid being locked into one system without a choice:

• Secure (End-to-end encrypted) chat on your own server.
• Audio / Video calls (no need for Zoom)
• Compliant with EU, HIPAA, and other privacy regulations
• Build chatbots, extend into 3^rd party systems, etc.
• Fully Free and Open Source

I recommend using this tool to confirm your site is accessible: 
accessibilitychecker.org

1. Find out if your website is Accessible and Compliant
2. Scan your website for free, identify accessibility issues, and get exact instructions on how to fix them.
3. "Export" the results and email them to me if you need help making the necessary changes.  
   
   

Alternatives:

AccessiBe - I tested the AccessiBe platform and their accessibility widget is blocked by uBlock and other popular ad blocking scripts.  My suggestion is to fix the underlying issues by making the adjustments in your CMS, or at the server level, rather than relying on a third party 'band aid widget' 

See Also:
Are you using an accessibility overlay to help disabled users? Don’t!

Google is finally making it easier for you to make sure your personal information doesn’t show up in online search results – and all it took was hundreds of thousands of requests over nearly a decade.

(via CNBC)

Directly from Google:

• New options for removing your personally identifiable information from Search
• A new Search tool to help control your online presence

Update 3/27/23:
Countdown to GA4: 100 days to make the switch

Update 2/7/23
Google will soon configure Google Analytics 4 for you (automatically)

Hello.

Universal Analytics standard properties will stop processing data on July 1, 2023. To maximize historical data and to ensure that Google Analytics 4 (GA4) meets your specific needs, we recommend you make the switch to Google Analytics 4 now. This will give you the opportunity to customize the setup including using the latest site tag.

For any customer who does not set up a GA4 property with basic settings, starting in March, we will configure one with a few basic settings consistent with the existing Universal Analytics property; this includes certain conversion events, Google Ads links, and existing website tags.

For Universal Analytics customers whose websites are tagged with gtag.js or analytics.js (including through tag management systems like Google Tag Manager), we will create a connected site tag that will reuse existing tags when possible to send traffic to the new GA4 property. If you do not wish to have a GA4 property created and configured based on your Universal Analytics property and existing tags, you may opt-out.

Sincerely,
The Google Analytics Team

Not sure what to do about this alert regarding Google Analytics? 
Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties starting in 2023.  Prepare now by setting up and switching over to a Google Analytivs 4 property. 

- Or this email? -

We'll soon sunset Universal Analytics
On July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics will stop processing new hits. If you still rely on Universal Analytics, we urge you to prepare for the future by moving over to Google Analytics 4, our next-generation measurement solution.

Google has recently announced some changes coming to their Analytics platform. 

If your website was created before October 14, 2020, most likely changes will be required in order to continue using Google Analytics.