Info + Tips

In September, Google is making a significant change to how it notifies users about the security of the sites they are visiting in its Chrome browser.

So what’s the current situation?

• Sites which are correctly using an SSL cert (these sites are displayed using HTTPS rather than HTTP) get a green lock and a “Secure” notice in the address bar
• Sites which are not set up with an SSL cert do not have any notice in this space
• Sites which have an SSL cert which is incorrectly configured will be displayed with a warning

Next month, Google will flip all of this on its head (as they like to do!). Once their change is in place, users are going to potentially become more aware of whether your site is seen as secure by Google or not.

• Sites which are still using http, or sites using https which is not correctly set up, will display a red warning with an exclamation mark
• Sites which are securely set up with https will initially display a grey lock icon and eventually no icon at all

What is the reason for the change?

Google claims that users should be able to assume that the web is safe, by default, and that their attention should be drawn to sites where there is a doubt about how secure it is.

The reaction to the change has been mixed, with many feeling that a green icon showing when a site is secure is a nice reassurance for users, but Google seems set on making the change to its browser so users will have little choice but to adjust to the new setup.

What does this mean for my website?

Well, the obvious thing is that you must make sure that your website has an SSL cert, is set to load as https by default and is correctly set up so the browser is showing no errors in terms of security.

Coppertops managed sites are set up with an SSL cert on https by default and have been checked to ensure that there will be no errors displayed in the browser.

Have you heard of Google Safe Browsing? Do you know what it is, and how it can help you both as a web user and a website owner?

Google Safe Browsing checks websites and issues warnings to visitors if it has detected anything dangerous on the site or in downloadable files on the site.

Google Safe Browsing will also alert website owners if their site has been compromised, giving them an opportunity to resolve any issues and keep both their website and their visitors safe.

If you don’t set up Google Safe Browsing on your website then you may not be aware that your visitors are being given a warning that your site is unsafe for them to visit. A warning on your site will also affect your ranking in search results.

So it is very much worth your while taking the time to set this up, as it can affect your reputation, your visitors and your SEO ranking.

We at Coppertops have enabled Google Safe Browsing on all of the websites which we manage. We will monitor your website for any issues and fix if necessary.

If you would like to take care of this for you, as well as other site management like backups, updates and general monitoring, contact us to discuss your options. We’d love to hear from you.

Squarespace has been gaining popularity as a quick and easy way to get your website online, taking over the spot between Wix/Weebly and a full on self hosted WordPress site.

So let’s boil it down to basics and compare your options, shall we?

Squarespace

Squarespace provides a pretty, well designed and easy tool to set up your website and to use it post setup. If you select the option which includes G Suite setup the cost is around €20 per month (don’t forget to add VAT to the prices quoted on the website).

WordPress

WordPress provides a more flexible option, with more functionality and ability to grow with your business. The downside is that it can be a little more complicated to setup and manage for anyone who is not used to doing this kind of thing.

We have had clients come to us in the past after paying Wix, Weebly, Vistaprint or Squarespace to set up their website using a site builder – only to discover within the first year that they had already outgrown its limitations and realised they needed something more powerful, like WordPress, in order to continue to grow their website in line with their business.
So what if I said that you could have the best of both worlds?

What if you could have a WordPress site set up and managed for you, leaving you to customise it and to write your own text? What if you had a WordPress site and all the flexibility that comes with it along with the ease of use that comes with a Squarespace site?

And what if you could have this managed WordPress site for the same price?

Well, with Coppertops you can.

So why not save yourself the hassle and jump straight to WordPress, with our assistance to ensure that it is easy and quick to get started?
Why not start off with a site that is built for your future and will continue to work for you as your business grows?

Click here to find out more and get started.

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I have lost count of the number of times I’ve heard it. I’ve lost all my phone numbers or contacts because I lost my phone or broke my phone or dropped it in the sink.

This is inconvenient if your phone is for personal use, but it is more than that if we are talking about your business phone. Losing all of your contact details for your suppliers, customers and business contacts is a major setback and a massive headache.

The thing is that this is completely unnecessary in this era of smartphones. If you set your phone up correctly then all of your contacts should be safely backed up and recoverable if you lose your phone.

For example, if you use a google account, make sure that your contacts are set to save to your google account by default. This has a number of benefits, not least of which is the fact that if you lose or change your phone you simply have to log in to your google account on your new device to restore all of your contacts. Another massive benefit for me is the ability to add, delete and amend contacts on my laptop and have those changes sync to my phone. I’m old school, I prefer to type on a real keyboard, so this makes it much easier and faster for me to manage my contacts.

So, please make sure you are setting up your phone to back up contacts to an online account so that if your phone lets you down it is a minor inconvenience and not a major catastrophe!