by Aurelien Parment | Apr 2, 2015 | Web Hosting
If you have been watching the news lately, then you undoubtedly know about the importance of cybersecurity and the recent data breaches inflicted on everyone from small websites to large corporations in every vertical. Everyone from healthcare providers to retail stores to credit card companies are experiencing the brunt of hackers as they try to – and succeed at – stealing customer information. In fact, 43% of companies reported data breaches in the past year.
As you read this blog, you might wonder if cybersecurity is something that affects you. After all, if hackers are attacking the brand names, why would they go after the smaller sites, right? Wrong. It turns out that sites built on popular blogging platforms can be penetrated – 162,000 sites were hijacked just last year.
Let’s explore three reasons why you should seriously consider cybersecurity for your website:
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by Aurelien Parment | Mar 31, 2015 | Small Business, Tips
Web development and the Internet have come an extremely long way. 20 years ago, a domain name went for 50 dollars a year. Since then, prices have fallen substantially – and in many cases, a domain name can be had for cents or for free.
While having a domain name is now easily obtainable, creating the website to go along with it is still a challenge. Features are more important than ever to create an all-encompassing website experience that will keep an audience coming back for more. Here’s what we think are the top 10 features of a successful modern website:
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by Aurelien Parment | Mar 26, 2015 | Small Business, Tips
If you run a website, then you’ve likely heard the news that, starting on April 21, Google will start using mobile effectiveness as a ranking signal. For Internet users who search for content using their smartphones, this means that websites optimized for mobile will rise to the top. If you have been running a website that does not have a mobile equivalent, then now is the time to look into adding a version that conforms to Google’s new algorithms. Otherwise, your site may be penalized with a lower ranking on SERPs.
Why Does Mobile Matter?
The story of mobile is one that keeps getting told over and over again, and each time it only becomes more amazing. Since the introduction of the Blackberry and iPhone which ushered us into the modern era of mobile phones, usage has been skyrocketing. In fact, global users of mobile devices, such as tablets, surpassed smartphones in 2014, which means the further into the future we go, the higher odds that someone visiting your website is on a mobile device.
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by Aurelien Parment | Mar 19, 2015 | Small Business, Web Hosting
As the pace of small business picks up, so does the adoption of technology. In past years, the operative words that got many small business owners excited for the upcoming year included terms like mobile or social media, or, if you go way back, web. Each of these phrases generated enough buzz to take an entire industry from anonymity to mainstream. Now most small businesses have a social media presence and a website, with many following up soon with a mobile responsive website or application.
In 2015, the operative term that will motivate everyone is Cloud. As businesses become more mobile, agile, and lean, moving to Cloud becomes a wise choice for business leaders who want to stay relevant – and the numbers prove it: In a late 2014 Rackspace survey, 68% of companies with a staff size under 20 have adopted at least one Cloud solution, and 20% of SMBs are developing Cloud strategies, compared to 16% of companies in the Enterprise.
If you’re running an SMB and haven’t considered Cloud, then know that the benefits of adopting cloud solutions are many. Check out some of the reasons why we think Cloud is an asset that should be a part of your next technology audit:
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by Aurelien Parment | Feb 26, 2015 | Small Business, Tips
The McKinsey Global Institute has revealed an alarming statistic: The average employee spends 474 hours per year sorting through and reading unnecessary emails! Yikes! Not only is that extremely unproductive (and somewhat annoying), but it can also result in many overlooked communications due to accidental use of the delete key. Please take the short quiz below to determine whether this post could prevent you from wasting nearly 20 days of your life each year.
Have you ever found yourself in these situations before?
- Realized that you just CC’d your entire team unintentionally.
- Found an important email in trash days later.
- Wondered, “Why am I included in this email?”
- Felt that the idea of cleaning up your inbox is about as easy as catching a greased pig.
If you answered yes to any part of the quiz, then the below guidelines can assist you in perfecting your email etiquette:
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