Comment archive

Listed below you will find an archive of the comments that we have previously made on the home page of the website. We hope you find them useful: if a topic affects you then feel free to contact us to discuss it in more depth.
 

April 2008

Backup or go bust!

We never cease to be amazed by the number of businesses that we work with who don't backup their data. Are you happy to risk your entire business on factors beyond your control? Imagine coming into work tomorrow morning and finding that everything has gone: could you continue running your business, or would you simply have to start from scratch, or - worse - call it a day? Hard disks use incredible technology to store billions of bits of data in a space smaller than a paperback book, but they aren't infallible - especially if they are stolen, reformatted by a disgruntled employee or destroyed in a fire!

We recommend that all our customers take half an hour to review their backup strategy. Data can be easily backed up on a daily or weekly basis to CD/DVD and taken offsite for extra security; online backup services are available; and cheap network hard disks can make the whole process fast and pain free.
 
 

Check your website meets web standards

As a quality web site developer we are amazed at the number of web sites that we see that don't meet basic web standards. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are a body who define the standards for the technology used on the internet; and they provide validators to help developers ensure that their sites DO meet these standards. So why don't some web site developers use them? Because they're lazy: they develop a site and if works in the latest version of Internet Explorer 7 they think they're finished. Sites that don't meet these standards are less likely to work across all internet browsers, and risk putting off search engines - such as Google - from indexing their sites, leading to a poor position in search engine results.

So, if you're looking for a web developer, make sure they validate their web site pages using the W3C validators. There are some circumstances (in advanced development) where you need to go beyond these standards, but at Web Sanity this is just one of many basic checks we perform on our web sites to ensure they deliver the best possible results for you.

March 2008

Take control of your hosting

Many web developers like to recommend that you host your website with them. There are good reasons for this, not least that it makes website development easier. It is also a valuable source of income.
 
However, we recommend that you consider who you host your site with more carefully. Allowing your developer to host your website gives them total control over it. If - as happens too frequently - they stop giving you the attention that you feel you deserve and you want to swap to another developer, they can suddenly become very protective of their server and are unlikely to give them access. The only way practical to resolve this? Redevelop the website - a costly exercise.
 
At WebSanity we'd never recommend that you host with us: we are happy to work with your host of choice, or - better - recommend an independent website hosting company, giving you complete control of your website AND at a lower cost than hosting with a developer.
 
 

February 2008

Protect your content!

Many companies seem to be unaware of the importance of protecting their website content; it is easy to overlook its value. The starting point is simply to put a copyright statement on each page of your website in the form: 'Copyright © WebSanity 2004-2008'. State the the year that you first created the basic content, followed by a dash and the year in which is was last updated (normally the current year); you are laying claim to copyright for this material over the longest period of time possible. Of equal importance is ensuring that you have robust terms and conditions published on your website stating what people can and can't do with your content.
 
Of course, if you have content of greater value, e.g. photos, data, research, market information etc. - and don't forget the value of your product images and/or descriptions (for an e-commerce site) - you need to take even greater care over its protection. At WebSanity we give careful consideration to these kinds of issues when working on your behalf; it is part of delivering a high quality service than many developers overlook...
 
 

Love what your website can do for you

Many businesses have a love/hate relationship with their websites: it delivers them customers, but is it delivering enough? It is important to look beyond the aesthetics of the website to ensure it is marketed effectively to the search engines (search engine optimisation), check that the marketing message given out by the site is persuasive and that the user experience makes customers want to buy your products or services.
 
So, if you feel like giving your website a treat for Valentine, why not buy it a web site review from WebSanity? We'll help ensure that it is delivering the best it can for your business, helping to build a better relationship between you and your website in the future.
 
 

January 2008

Protect your customers' data

There have been plenty of news headlines recently about instances of the government losing our personal data; but you can be sure that the same pattern is repeated in the private sector. Take due care of any data you gather from your website; ensuring that it is securely stored, both on your web server and in any copies of that data that you have downloaded to your own machine/network.
 
Not only does this make good business sense it is also a legal requirement under the terms of the Data Protection Act. Full details of the act can be found at www.ico.gov.uk. In most cases you won't need to register with the Information Commissioner's Office, but you should familiarise yourself with the requirements it imposes on you.
 
Ensure that you have a terms & conditions page clearly accessible on your website that defines what you will do with all data gathered. Finally, never share any data unless you have customers' approval to use it in this manner.
 
 

New year's resolutions for your web site

Many people start the new year with resolutions to improve themselves - we feel the same should apply to web sites. Before jumping in and planning to make improvements, take some time out to do some analysis: review the goals of your web site and how it is performing against them. Then, and only then, plan how you are going to update your web site to better meet those goals.
 
Perhaps this will mean a whole new website (in which case you need to spend a lot more time analysing and planning before taking any further steps); just a bit of a makeover to round off the edges and bring it up to date; or - as in many cases - some much needed attention to marketing it online effectively (search engine marketing/optimisation), SEM/SEO.
 
Remember: Here at WebSanity we can help you with your analysis work, as well as planning and implementing any subsequent web site design updates.