WebmasterDragon.com

Timeless Lessons For People Who Run Websites

An Easy Way to Check Your Website Security

By

It seems the experts are telling everyone that we need to look harder at website security. Well, that’s all fine and good, but how do you actually know that your site is secure? That was a question I needed to answer.

Fortunately, some quick answers come from a free tool that the fine folks at the Mozilla Foundation created. What’s nice is it gives you a simple grade, just like school. And just like school, I never thought I would still be getting F’s.
[Read more…] about An Easy Way to Check Your Website Security

Where Else Has That Image Been Used

By

This tutorial relates to a previous article where I questioned if stock photos were the best. I’m not against stock photos, but I think people should consider the context and frequency of use. Below are two reverse image search engines that you can use to see where an image has been used on the web. This is useful in evaluating if a photo has been overexposed or if someone else is using your images without permission.

[Read more…] about Where Else Has That Image Been Used

How to Track Projects with G Suite and Asana

By

I really should read Google’s blog more as they have some nice articles. Although I use G-Suite, I don’t use Asana for task or project management. However, I know this service is widely popular so I suspect there are folks that can benefit from this integration. The article also includes a 3-minute video that shows integration examples.

Businesses are using Asana and G Suite to collaborate and manage projects from start to finish. Asana is a project management tool that helps teams plan, manage and track work, and is a part of the Recommended for G Suite program. With these two tools, your organization can:

  • Create tasks in Asana directly from Gmail
  • Add files directly from Google Drive to tasks in Asana
  • Keep track of deadlines by syncing your tasks in Asana with Google Calendar
  • Build custom reports in Google Sheets to analyze project data in Asana

Source: Track projects with G Suite and Asana

Careful When Choosing Your Ad Partners

By

For many of us who have been using Google AdSense to monetize our sites, we’ve seen steep declines in revenues. Of course, this varies based on your settings. The decline is mostly due to people using ad blockers. On the flip side, I get several advertising inquiries per week from unknown ad companies. Usually, the pitch tells me I can get a much better ROI using their system because of some new technology. [Read more…] about Careful When Choosing Your Ad Partners

Quick Finds and the Value of Good Headlines

By

I haven’t been as disciplined in my writing as I’d like. My articles have been few and far between, which is not what I intended. Part of this is because of other time commitments, priorities and partly the inertia of doing the longer story. To get back into the swing and get my “writing muscle” going again, I thought I would try referencing good content I see from around the web that would benefit you. While I might not be able to write as often, there’s a lot of good content out there. There are three tools I’ll use for this content curation process you might consider for everyday use.
[Read more…] about Quick Finds and the Value of Good Headlines

What’s the Meaning of the Google Chrome “Not Secure” Label

By

Despite Google giving web developers advance notice, I think a lot of people are going to be caught off guard by the upcoming “Not Secure” connection security label that will start showing in the Google Chrome.

As a result, your viewers and users might be confused and start asking questions. This is particularly true for content management sites (CMS) that have a login link.
[Read more…] about What’s the Meaning of the Google Chrome “Not Secure” Label

Balancing Expectations and Email Permissions

By

For many webmasters, a key goal is building a list of emails. This makes sense when you have a newsletter or want to communicate to your audience outside of the site.

In the case of eCommerce sites, the email can be crucial as you may need it to communicate about order progress or problems. In setting up for emails, you need to balance expectations as there is always a tipping point where the prospect or client won’t proceed.
[Read more…] about Balancing Expectations and Email Permissions

Simple Errors that Scare Buyers

By

Maintaining a website takes effort. This is especially true if you use SSL because it can scare people if not configured correctly. However, I was a bit surprised to see a certificate error this morning from BestBuy.com. My initial thought was they are a well known retailer so maybe this was an outlier case. Even so, no prospect likes to see the words “your connection is not private” or “unsafe”.
[Read more…] about Simple Errors that Scare Buyers

No Tears EU Cookie Banners

By

I don’t want to debate the issue of the EU’s cookie law, especially for webmasters outside the area. The bottom line is that some 3rd party services, like Google AdSense, want you to comply. The good news is there are many solutions. One of these is also a great example of how one company took a growing problem and created a free and useful tool that builds loyalty. The product is called Cookie Consent by Silktide.

[Read more…] about No Tears EU Cookie Banners

Mass Mobile Madness

By

This week, I got one of those warning messages from Google Webmaster Tools for one of my domains. These emails are a great service, but they can also raise your blood pressure. The gist of the warning was one of my websites wasn’t mobile-friendly. My heart sank as I read the details and saw the words “critical” and “rankings” in the same paragraph. [Read more…] about Mass Mobile Madness

Look Both Ways When Researching WordPress PlugIns

By

Recently, I was doing a search for plug-ins to fix a specific problem. It was easy to find and install using Plugins and Add New from within WordPress. However, the info that displayed was a subset of what was available. In hindsight, I wish I had done the same search against https://wordpress.org/plugins/ because it would’ve saved me some heartache.  [Read more…] about Look Both Ways When Researching WordPress PlugIns