3 Things Every Website Needs for a Better SEO Ranking

3 Things Every Website Needs for a Better SEO Ranking by Black Enterprise.  Available from <http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/technology-tips/3-things-website-better-seo-ranking/> [Posted: 

Some people understand SEO as managing a relationship with Google through Adwords, Search Console, and Analytics. Some understand it as the content you produce, as well as your ability to get other sites to link to that content. Others think SEO is some kind of black magic that only “SEO experts” can do.

In reality, SEO is a combination of content, technical fundamentals, user experience, and helping Google help you. When we help businesses and organizations with their SEO, we take a technical approach, helping them better implement fundamentals that Google and other major search engines recommend for a great user experience.

Consider these three technical fundamentals that your website needs for better search engine optimization:

Responsive Design

Every website we build now is responsive, meaning that the design and experience respond to the size of the user’s device. This provides an optimal layout for websites on mobile and tablet devices that may have otherwise shown up as the desktop version of a site.

In 2015, Google announced that it would use mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal in search results, making it “easier to get relevant, high-quality search results that are optimized for [users’] devices.”

Responsive design is the preferred way to develop a mobile website compared to a separate mobile site, as responsive design keeps your content at one URL, as opposed to mobile site URLs like “m.site.com.” If you’re building a new website, it needs to be responsive. If your current site is not mobile-friendly, you can retrofit responsiveness or install a mobile-friendly plugin. And, if you’re not sure your site is mobile-friendly, you can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to find out.

Security

Earlier this year, we added an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate to our site, making it completely secure. We don’t process transactions on our site or collect private user information, but switching to HTTPS still made a lot of sense. HTTPS, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, uses SSL to encrypt information being sent and ensures that information travels securely.

Not only does having an SSL certificate bring more security to our users while they’re on our site, it actually helps with SEO. In 2014, Google announced that they would begin using HTTPS as a ranking signal when displaying search results.

It’s not a big factor, but it does act as a sort of tie-breaker when there’s a lot of competition for placement. If two sites are otherwise similar and one of them is secure, it’s more likely to come out on top in search results than the non-secure site. We didn’t switch to HTTPS just for the SEO boost, but it’s definitely a bonus, in addition to all of the other benefits the security provides.

3 Things Every Website Needs for a Better SEO Ranking by Black Enterprise.  Available from <http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/technology-tips/3-things-website-better-seo-ranking/> [Posted: 

Advanced Facebook privacy and security tips

Advanced Facebook privacy and security tips by Matt Hanson, Nate Drake. Available from <http://www.in.techradar.com/how-to/internet/Advanced-Facebook-privacy-and-security-tips/articleshow/55706742.cms> [Nov 30, 2016, 05.25 PM IST] 

Facebook mines your personal data. Huge amounts of it. This is easy to do as people are now spending an average of an hour on day on the site sharing personal photos, having private conversations and playing popular games such as Candy Crush Saga.

However, Facebook contains powerful tools to prevent your data being mined by third parties or from unauthorised people seeing your photos and private messages, however most people do not make use of the built-in privacy tools.

We will show you how to secure your Facebook account as well as some best practices to prevent any breach of your privacy.

When you log in to your Facebook account from a shared or public PC, don’t tick ‘Keep me logged in’.

You’re also asked if you want to save the browser – click ‘Yes’ if you use the PC often, or ‘No’ if not – so you’re alerted if someone uses the PC to log into your account.

Facebook has made a number of recent changes to make its privacy settings easy to access. To view them, click the padlock on the top-right and a drop-down list of the most popular privacy settings is displayed.

You can also click ‘See More Settings’ for more privacy tools.

Go to Settings > Privacy on the desktop version of Facebook or choose “Privacy Shortcuts” from your mobile Facebook app.

Under “Who can see my stuff” you can change the audience for future posts e.g Friends Only. You can also limit the visibility of past posts to make sure only your confirmed friends can see them.

Under “Who can look me up?” change the settings for your e-mail and address and phone number to “Friends” to make sure only people you know can find your Facebook account by searching your e-mail address or phone number.

Finally choose “No” for the search engines option.

Now it’s time to check how much information you’re sharing – and with whom. Click the down arrow next to ‘Who can see my stuff ?’ and where it says ‘What do other people see on my Timeline?’ click ‘View As’.

Initially you’ll see what your profile looks like to people you don’t know. Scroll through your timeline and hide life events/photos if necessary by clicking on the edit tab at the top right.

By default information like your friends list is publicly available. On the desktop version of your website, go to your profile and click the edit tab at the top right to change privacy settings.

Change your friends list visibility to “Only Me” or “Friends only”. Do the same for other information like books, movies and so on.

Following on from the previous step, click “Edit” next to the “Who can add things to my Timeline?” to review what friends post on your timeline before it appears.

In the “Who can see things on my Timeline?” section you can control who sees posts you’ve been tagged in on your timeline. By default this is “Friends of Friends” but you can change this to “Friends Only”.

Finally in “How can I manage tags people add and tagging suggestions?” change the first setting to “On” to approve tags made by others to posts on your own timeline.

You don’t want strangers seeing all of your information. From the privacy menu, expand ‘Who can contact me?’ then under ‘Who can send me friend requests?’ you can choose only ‘Friends of Friends’ – people your friends know – to be able to send you a friend request.

From the privacy menu click ‘More Settings’, and next to where it says ‘Who can look you up using the email address you provided’ and ‘Who can look you up using the phone number you provided’ click ‘Edit’ and select ‘Friends’ or ‘Friends of Friends’ for both.

These settings won’t do much if people can type your name into Google and find your profile. From the same screen in step 7, where it says ‘Do you want other search engines to link to your Timeline’, click ‘Edit’ and uncheck ‘Let other search engines link to your Timeline’.

Facebook allows you to block other users as well as messages. People who are blocked cannot interact with you in any way, they will not see your timeline, cannot invite you to events, or message you.

Be warned this will not block them interacting with you if you both have the same game installed e.g Farmville.

The easiest way to block someone is to visit their profile, click the … button and choose “Block”. You can review who you have blocked and unblock them if you want by going to Settings > Blocking. If you unblock someone you cannot re-block them for 48 hours.

When on Facebook, look at the address bar of your web browser. If it says ‘https://’ you’re secure, but if it says ‘http://’, go to the ‘More Settings’ screen, click ‘Security’ on the left and next to ‘Secure browsing’ click ‘Edit’, then check the box to enable secure browsing.

Go to Account Settings > Security on either the mobile or desktop version of Facebook. Click “Login Alerts” and tick to choose whether to receive a Facebook notification or e-mail to your registered address. You will now receive an alert whenever someone logs into your account from a new location.

You can increase your security even further by also enabling “Login Approvals”. All first time logins from new locations or devices will now need to be confirmed with a code from your mobile version of Facebook or via SMS. Click “Code Generator” from within the mobile app for new codes.

You can get Facebook to send a login approval to your phone. When you approve it, you can use Facebook.

This can help prevent people using your Facebook account. Enable this by clicking ‘Edit’ next to ‘Use your phone as an extra layer of security’ in the Settings page.

If you’re worried you’re logged in somewhere you don’t want to be, such as a public PC, or are concerned someone else is logging in as you, click ‘Edit’ next to ‘Where you’re logged in’.

You’ll see where you’re logged in, and you can remotely log out by clicking ‘End activity’.

Lots of websites and apps let you sign up using your Facebook account. This often means the makers of these apps have access to your friends’ details, your details and can post things on Facebook as you, unless you don’t let them.

Always check what access they want.

If you play games like Farmville or Candy Crush Saga on the desktop version of Facebook, choose Settings > Apps.

Click the edit button next to each app to see what information you provide. Uncheck the blue tick next to each piece of information to remove it e.g your e-mail address.

Try to avoid adding friends on Facebook just for the sake of playing games with them. Although it’s technically a breach of Facebook Terms and Conditions, some users have a separate account just for playing games, so no personal information is shared with their real account.

There’s a number of scams on Facebook. A popular one presents itself as a shocking video that one of your friends has posted about.

Clicking the video allows the makers to post the ‘video’ on your behalf without your permission, compromising your account’s security.

If your account is ever hacked and the password changed, you can regain access by setting up 3-5 trusted contacts. These are people on your Facebook friends list who will each receive a security code. You can enter these codes to regain access to your account.

To set up Trusted Contacts on Facebook mobile go to Privacy Shortcuts > More Settings > Security < Trusted Contacts. On the desktop version choose Settings > Security > Your Trusted Contacts > Edit > Choose Trusted Contacts.

Enter the names of your trusted friends. They will receive a notification stating that you have added them as a Trusted Contact.

You may want to share some content with Facebook friends and not with others e.g your colleagues. To change what individual friends can see click the “Friends” icon on Facebook Mobile, or the “Friends” icon on the “Friends” tab on Facebook desktop, then “Add to Another List”.

Acquaintances by default can see everything you post but moving forward you can change the visibility for individual posts to “Friends except Acquaintances.” The “Restricted” setting is also extremely useful. Anyone in our “Restricted” list will remain Facebook friends with you but will only see posts you choose to make public.

Choose “New List” for specific groups e.g your swim team.

By default new posts on Facebook Mobile, your current location will be displayed. Disable this by clicking Privacy Shortcuts > More Settings > Location > Turn off Location Settings.

Mobile devices can usually also disable Location Services for the Facebook app from within the device settings, check with your manufacturer for more information.

If you don’t want anyone to know where you are including Facebook, consider using Facebook’s anonymous address. To use this you will need a tor-enabled browser.

Android users can use OrFox while desktop users can use the Tor Browser Bundle.

Now you’ve followed these steps, you can breathe a sigh of relief – your Facebook account is as secure as possible.

Make sure you pay attention to any notices telling you someone has logged in to your account – if you don’t recognise the device, change your password!

Advanced Facebook privacy and security tips by Matt Hanson, Nate Drake. Available from <http://www.in.techradar.com/how-to/internet/Advanced-Facebook-privacy-and-security-tips/articleshow/55706742.cms> [Nov 30, 2016, 05.25 PM IST] 

FBI Tells Users to Change Passwords Frequently, Experts Say This Is Bad Advice

FBI Tells Users to Change Passwords Frequently, Experts Say This Is Bad Advice by Bogdan Popa.  Available from <http://news.softpedia.com/news/fbi-tell-users-to-change-passwords-frequently-experts-say-this-is-bad-advice-510528.shtml> [Nov 27, 2016 07:16 GMT]

You’d normally expect the FBI to provide us with the most efficient security tips, but a tweet published recently by the Bureau made many security experts raise their eyebrows and wonder who is actually behind these posts.

Specifically, the FBI tweeted on November 25 a piece of advice that’s supposed to help people stay secure during the holiday shopping season when cybercriminals are also very busy trying to steal our information.

“Shopping online this holiday season? Keep your accounts secure, use strong passwords & change them frequently,” the FBI posted.

And while keeping accounts secure and using strong passwords are indeed good recommendations, it’s the last part that caused controversy. Changing passwords frequently has been often described as bad practice, especially because doing this repeatedly can eventually lead to users turning to easy-to-remember passwords that can be quickly compromised by hackers.

Furthermore, it’s been proved that corporations forcing their employees to change their passwords on a frequent basis are actually more exposed because of the same reasons: workers end up using simpler passwords that are easier to remember, and this can’t lead to anything good.

Security experts: Nope

Security experts have questioned FBI’s tweets, and one of those who recommended exactly the opposite is Per Thorsheim, who founded his own password conference to discuss the importance of passwords.

In a statement for Motherboard, Thorsheim explained that changing passwords frequently is a thing that you shouldn’t do and there are other ways to remain secure online.

“I am surprised and sad to see that the FBI continues to give out bad advice when solid academic research, numerous organisations, corporations and the US government themselves have said for at least half a year now that frequently changing your passwords is a bad idea,” he said.

“While I don’t know who at the FBI is in control of their Twitter account, the people behind it do not seem to be in control of current best practices. I do expect better than that from the FBI.”

So how exactly can you protect yourself online without actually changing passwords frequently? The easiest way to do this is to use a password manager that can help generate complex passwords that are difficult to compromise. Furthermore, make sure you enable two-factor authentication whenever it’s possible, and avoid using the same password for more than a service.

FBI Tells Users to Change Passwords Frequently, Experts Say This Is Bad Advice by Bogdan Popa.  Available from <http://news.softpedia.com/news/fbi-tell-users-to-change-passwords-frequently-experts-say-this-is-bad-advice-510528.shtml> [Nov 27, 2016 07:16 GMT]

6 Common Front-End Web Development Mistakes to Avoid

6 Common Front-End Web Development Mistakes to Avoid by Jennifer Marsh.  Available from <http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/upwork/6-common-front-end-web-development-mistakes-avoid-01717769#YMrkXBlRp8vGI6k4.97> [Nov 30, 2016]

Front-end designers and programmers are responsible for developing everything that users of a site or app see and interact with. This includes coding and bringing interfaces to life that are engaging and aesthetically pleasing to viewers. Just because a customer-facing interface functions well doesn’t mean it will be a success. The wrong design can destroy a site’s user base and cause a dramatic drop in revenue, and getting that design right is the role of a front-end developer.

In front-end development, it’s very important to understand users and their behaviors to build a beautifully functioning front end, but there are also a few common coding mistakes to avoid. Here are a few to keep an eye out for when developing a site or application as well as some tips and best practices that can help you keep your projects on track:

1. Using Tables Instead of Div Containers

Tables were the de facto way of HTML element placement years ago. They almost seem easier to work with than using div containers and CSS when you’re starting a front-end design career. However, tables can be pretty messy and can cause design flaws and misplacements in different browsers.

Table designs have been replaced more and more by CSS and div containers as a more optimal way to place elements and create a layout. Tables are still useful when displaying charts of information, but they’re rarely used to create layouts. Try to opt for “table-less” layouts when designing your front-end HTML code.

2. Coding with Old HTML Elements

HTML5 is the newest form of the HTML coding language, and it’s provided a lot of changes to standard page design. HTML5 replaces elements such as Adobe Flash with the <canvas> tag. The new standards also deprecated some tags such as <frames> and <center> for CSS design.

It’s usually best to avoid coding with older HTML standards. Front-end design depends heavily on browser support. Older HTML support is not always available in some browsers, and it’s bad practice that can put your site at a disadvantage in the long run. (Not to mention, HTML5 has many awesome advantages that will make a site more modern and secure.) The code can be harder to support and in some cases, it can leave your site more vulnerable to security attacks.

3. Forgetting to Test for Each Major Browser

Front-end design relies heavily on JavaScript and client-side scripting. This is why the best practices is to test your code in all the major browsers. At a minimum, most people expect you will test your code in Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer (now Edge). You can determine what browsers you’d like to support by looking at your site’s browsing analytics data or using an external source to determine common browsers.

You should also determine the oldest browser version you’ll support. Many users stick with the same older browsers as their computer ages, so you should weigh the pros and cons of possibly alienating these users with the effort it takes to maintain code for both older and newer browsers. Decide the oldest browser version you’ll support and then test on these older versions.

4. Forgetting Responsive Mobile Design

Mobile is the new generation web browsing. Tablets and smartphones are the most popular ways for browsing the web, increasingly replacing desktop browsing. Your front-end design should always be responsive and support mobile devices, or you’ll risk penalties in search results. You can also create a separate site for mobile (also called “m sites”) on a subdomain, but responsive design should be the default in modern front-end coding.

After you make your design responsive, you’ll want to test it as well—with all browsers and browser versions. Remember that mobile devices have several different screen sizes, so ensure that your code supports all possible breakpoints. You can use emulators that help you test so that you don’t need to have several devices on-hand to test.

5. Not Prioritizing Site Speed

Servers and bandwidth are important for site speed, but it’s possible that your front-end can be too bloated even for the fastest server. Image size is a major factor, as is bloated JavaScript code that could be too slow. Always reduce image size and use a format that can be resized without losing much quality such as PNG.

Several site speed testers are available to help you identify what elements of your site design are slowing down your application. “Spaghetti” JavaScript code can slow down the client-side, and large images can slow page load performance. As with responsive design, search engines even take site speed into consideration for ranking, because slow sites frustrate users. A best practice is to always test your site and ensure its performance is fine tuned.

6. Using Outdated or Abandoned JavaScript Libraries

Expert tip: Stick to JavaScript libraries that have active support, documentation, and consistent updates by their developers. You don’t have to only stick with worldwide famous libraries, but you should ensure that the one you do choose will be maintained down the line. If the library is not supported or maintained years later, you might find yourself in a sticky situation with a dependency that is no longer functional if a developer abandons his or her project.

It’s difficult to predict what a developer will do with a project years from now, but you can view its popularity by searching the number of support communities online. For instance, you can’t go wrong with AngularJS or KnockoutJs libraries—they’re popular and supported by big brands.

These mistakes are common, but very easy to avoid. As a front-end developer, your goal should be to create applications that are easy to use for your viewers and support site functionality and speed. JavaScript is probably the most difficult front-end technology to streamline, but by using good libraries and supported code, you can design a front end that doesn’t slow your site down and is highly responsive to mobile devices.

6 Common Front-End Web Development Mistakes to Avoid by Jennifer Marsh.  Available from <http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/upwork/6-common-front-end-web-development-mistakes-avoid-01717769#YMrkXBlRp8vGI6k4.97> [Nov 30, 2016]

Tips To Improve Your Website

Tips To Improve Your Website by Martinsville SCORE.  Available from <http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/opinion/ask-score-tips-to-improve-your-website/article_acdbd624-1689-550b-8763-be0e4778e440.html> [

After working hard to make your website easier to find in online searches, the last thing you want is to drive visitors away because of a poor user experience after they’ve arrived.

“Good design, usability, and user experience are more important than ever in website development,” shares SCORE mentor and technology professional, Matthew Krieger. “It’s a constant fight for visitors’ attention—any delay, complexity, or friction whatsoever could prompt users to leave your site. I often see companies put too many barriers in front of customers—overly complex signup processes, excessively strict forms, surveys with too many questions, etc. These things hurt the engagement process and can result in a lost sale.”

Here are two basic things you can do to help give your website visitors a positive experience:

Pay attention to the loading speed of your pages.

Findings released by Akamai Technologies, Inc. revealed that nearly half of Internet users expect website pages to load in less than two seconds and 40 percent are likely to abandon a page if it doesn’t load within 3 seconds. If your website pages load slowly, your business could be missing out on potential sales—and that could hurt your business’s bottom line.

According to Krieger, “Page load time and, perhaps more importantly, page responsiveness are very important to visitor perception and can ultimately impact engagement. Additionally, Google considers page performance in their ranking algorithm. There’s a balance to be struck between the desire to include advertisements, analytics mechanisms, and other page widgets (all of which can benefit the business) and the necessity of creating a fast site and a good experience for the user.”

Be direct and clear with your content.

According to Nielsen Norman Group, “On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28 percent of the words during an average visit; 20 percent is more likely.”

To help make sure your readers are taking away what you want them to know about your company, products, and services, you need to get to the point. They don’t have time to sift through endless blocks of text or waste time on irrelevant content. Make it easy for readers to find what they want by breaking text into sections with clearly defined headings and subheadings. Also, give your web page text some white space to make it less cluttered and easier for visitors to read.

“A website’s information architecture—the art and science of structuring and presenting digital information to achieve good usability—is important to consider when developing your content. Furthermore, the need for a clear and focused message is greater than ever,” explains Krieger. “Given the overwhelming amount of digital content competing for people’s time, delivering value quickly should be a focus.”

Tips To Improve Your Website by Martinsville SCORE.  Available from <http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/opinion/ask-score-tips-to-improve-your-website/article_acdbd624-1689-550b-8763-be0e4778e440.html> [