Tag: Weston MA Web Design

3 things I’d like to see WordPress implementSeptember 17th, 2013

Those of you who are regular readers of my blog know how big a fan I am of WordPress. That being said, I have a few things I’d like WordPress to implement.
 

1. Revisions: The ability to see and revert to previous revisions for posts and pages is spectacular. It allows you to fix errors and go back. This happens quite often, as WordPress is so user friendly, non-technical users can make their own changes and add content. But people make mistakes and you need to be able to fix them. But under Appearance > Editor you can make changes that can do irreparable harm to your site. This forces you to either revert to a full backup (if you have one), and that is not always ideal. So if WordPress could make it so you can see revisions of all files, that would make life easier.
2. Plugins: Another thing I would love to see is a little bit more testing of plugins. Part of the problem is that some plugins have updates that can really screw up your site. For instance, one of my very favorite plugins has always been the NexGEN gallery. However, lately it has had severe problems and people have been left with broken galleries and/or missing functionality such as lightbox effects. It would be great to be able to roll this back to a previous working version. Perhaps even a reporting system for WordPress so when a bad plugin update is is out there, people can report it and WordPress can temporarily disable the update until the bugs are addressed.
3. Security:  As WordPress is so popular, people are constantly trying to hack your site. WordPress should take steps to harden the software. First off, forbid the username “admin”. Some of the software installation programs install with the default username of admin.  (I will go into client sites and change this in the database, but non technical users can’t do that). WordPress should just ban the username admin and make secure passwords mandatory. I also think some of the security plugins are excellent. I think WordPress should consider purchasing one of the excellent ones like Wordfence and make it part of the core offering.

 
I would love to know what you would like to see WordPress implement. Please leave me your opinions below.

 

Web Advice: If it sounds too good to be true…July 23rd, 2013

Business owners are swarmed with offers from SEO companies that can make them number 1 in Google. They also hear from companies that can build them the greatest site ever made for short money and really quick. But the truth of matter is: They can’t in either case.

The SEO companies that send out millions of spam emails promising the moon, are 99.9% bogus. They haven’t even reviewed your site, yet promise number one in days. Google uses an algorithm that no one can reverse engineer. Plus, Google is always updating their algorithm to get around the SEO tricks. Have you ever wondered (and you’ve heard me say this before) why emails from these SEO companies come from some nondescript GMail account? Simple, because if it came from their domain you would quickly do a search and find out they are not in the top 100 for SEO. If they can’t help themselves, they can’t help you. Look, we tell people all the time, we can improve your search rankings by old-fashioned work and quality content. Nothing beats quality content, period.

As for the companies who promised to build you the greatest website ever, and get it done really quickly and really cheaply. Well, you get what you pay for. You get a crappy template that they have used hundreds, and in some cases thousands of times. They plug in text, and your site is done. But it’s not original, doesn’t look good, and it’s not quality technology. Chances are you will be looking for new site within a year.

For example: I just had a client that we’ve done a lot of work for contact me. We have maintained a great relationship, but when time came to do over one of their sites, they chose a company promising speed, price and that the owner wouldn’t have to raise a finger. They sent me a link to look at the new site in development. I could not believe my eyes. They were using technology, that not only is outdated, the company that owns it is actually about to retire it and has been dead for years. I won’t mention the technology I’m talking about, I don’t want to embarrass the person, although you would get a good laugh out of it. This development firm has their own niche within a given industry. They do hundreds of these types of sites, very cookie cutter and nothing special from a UI standpoint. Unknowing site owners typically won’t look and see the technology, so it sounds good. Quick, cheap, and little effort. Again, within a year they will be looking for a new solution.

While it is an old expression, the title of this post holds true today. In fact, it is probably truer today then the day it was first uttered. Nothing beats hard work. Companies may make crazy promises, but use your common sense when entering into a new project. And be careful of any email from companies out of the blue, chances are they are spammers, or fly by night outfits.

If you need help with Web Development, or SEO, contact us today, we are glad to help.