We just noticed (a little late) that effective October, 2017 Google has taken action to build a more secure web by using their 50% share of the browser market to warn their Chrome customers whenever they visit a site that doesn’t have an SSL certificate.Fortunately, it didn’t impact us because we have had an SSL certificate for tears, but you might not be so lucky.Most people get worried when their browser warns them about a site they are visiting. They may choose to go elsewhere for their purchases. The warning only is shown on pages where the visitor can enter information, so squeeze... [...]

It’s been happening for nearly 25 years; sales online are growing much faster than offline sales. Indeed, many offline merchants are finding it hard to continue operations as a result of their declining dales.The explosion in online sales began when Amazon.com started selling online in the mid-1990s. Since then, many major offline sellers have seen the inevitability of online sales becoming the dominant marketing platform. Even the largest and oldest offline merchants have seen the importance of online sales. Sears, Kmart and Walmart, for example, are putting major emphasis on their online... [...]

For many years WordPress has been the premiere blogging platform. Now this is changing.Beginning in 2013, the team developing the core of WordPress has been working on a revolutionary new vision of what WordPress aims to be. No longer content to be the world’s favorite blogging platform, WordPress is intent on becoming the world’s favorite site building platform.There have been many services in the last 5-10 years that have aimed to make it easy for non-specialists to create a website. Wix, Weebly and SquareSpace come to mind. The new goal for WordPress is to become a better site... [...]

Patric Chan, a long-time internet marketer lives in Penang state in Malaysia. His country was hit with major flooding.Patric and his family are safe, but majny of his neighbors are not. Here is how he describes the situation:We have a shelter above our head, we have electricity, we are driving our cars… our lives are as normal as it is.But at the same time, there are many others who are not as fortunate as us because of a recent flood…They have lost so much. Some are now having shelters in schools, mosques, temples, churches, public halls and so on. The number of flood victims... [...]

In the last day or two, there has been an announcement by security boffins that the implementation of Wi-Fi security protections in many devices has been not quite as secure as it needs to be. As one reviewer puts it, it has been discovered that there is ” a fundamental flaw in the way Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2) operates.”In the online article Everything With Wi-Fi Has a Newly Discovered Security Flaw. Here’s How to Protect Yourself, Time magazine describes the problem, “In some cases, a hacker could exploit KRACK to inject malware such as ransomware into websites,... [...]

Getting traffic to your site is not only good; it’s necessary if you are going to make any sales. But traffic alone isn’t enough. Visitors have to convert into buyers.We just came across a useful (and free) 22-point checklist on improving your site’s conversions. It was on a Shopify merchant’s site.The checklist mentions apps that run in the Shopify system as methods for implementing the suggestions. But, if you aren’t using Shopify in your business, you can use the suggestions by using other apps or doing the work manually. The point is the concept; you can work... [...]

I was just reading one of Richard Branson’s recent posts on his blog. In his post he claims that his own productivity is enhanced because he doesn’t work all the time. Every day he invests time in exercise (in his case, it’s time before his work day), in family activities and other outside activities. Only then does he feel ready to put in a good day’s work.How about you? are you working all the time? It’s easy to get in that trap. According to Branson, this kind of work schedule can kill your productivity.Maybe it’s time for all of us to reevaluate how we... [...]

There are many factors that influence the success of a site. The most important is the content. Top quality content can me even poorly designed sites beloved by visitors.Beyond that, though, there are technical issues that can influence search engine ratings of a site, things like security, speed performance, mobile friendliness and SEO.We just came across a website the offers a free evaluation of these four factors that affect both search engine ratings and the perception of individual visitors to the site.It’s called Website Grader and it’s a service provided by Hubsite.We tested... [...]

Our friends over at WebsiteBuilder.org sent us a cool and informative infographic to share with you. The information here can improve your email marketing success tremendously. With 119 facts, you’re sure to find something you don’t already know that will bump up your results. Click on the graphic to read their article and see their infographic. [...]

ComScore has just released its latest statistics on top websites, based on number of monthly visits.The results are generally in line with our intuitive expectations, but there are a few surprises.The top 5 are:1. Google sites, including YouTube, etc. (with nearly a quarter billion visits per month)2, Facebook3. Yahoo4. Microsoft5. AmazonAOL comes in at number 8, not as prominent a position as in its heyday, but still quite strong.LinkedIn (16) beats Twitter (18), which beats SnapChat (21), which beats Pinterest (23).You will recognize most of the other top 50 site found in this list.You... [...]