Growing Your Online Presence More Important Than Ever

Growing Your Online Presence More Important Than Ever - WeGo.ca Website Developers

We are amidst uncertain and unprecedented times. There is one thing that is sure however: the need for your online presence. With the government expanding the constraint to limit face to face interactions, shoppers are rushing to the web for their everyday purchases. Buyers have not vanished; they are essentially in a different place. The organizations that win are the organizations that make sense of their online presence.

Ask yourself some questions.  Is your online presence ready so that your business can make it through this tough time?  Here are a few strategies of your online business you need to think about:

  • Website – is your website user friendly?  Is it easy to navigate?
  • Website Optimization – is your website SEO friendly?
  • Local Search Engine Optimization – can people near you find your products and services?
  • Social Media – do you have accounts on the major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter? Are you posting weekly?
  • Blogging – are you constantly updating your content so consumers can find you?
  • Pay Per Click (PPC) – have you considered paying for visitor traffic?  Note: Google Ads produce, on average, $2.00 for every $1.00 spent.

It’s not necessary for you to employ all of these strategies.  However, WeGo.ca Website Developers’ specializes in all of these and is prepared to help you apply them to improve your online business.  We can also help you craft specific COVID-19 messaging and updates at it applies to your industry in Ontario, Canada.  Please contact us for a free consultation.

Instagram Stories Trending

Instagram Stories Trending

Stories have without a doubt become the biggest trend in social media. Influencers committed to not long after the feature was introduced in 2016. Presently, large brands and average consumers are making up for lost time. More than 500 million use Instagram Stories every day. Clearly this is the beginning of a social media movement.

The popularity of Instagram Stories means an adjustment in consumer attitudes.  Social media marketing has shifted towards humanization. Rather than professionally produced videos, people currently prefer amateur content creation. As opposed to making your image appear to be untouchable, individuals need to see the unpolished, unedited side of your business. Users expect content to be relatable and casual, and these videos match up with their needs.

Effective July 2018, the Google Chrome browser will mark non-HTTPS sites as ‘not secure’

Google Chrome SSL in July 2018

Google will identify insecure sites in the Chrome browser beginning mid-Summer.

Google Chrome SSL in July 2018
Google Chrome SSL in July 2018

Earlier this year, the company announced its Speed Update set to roll out in July, and recently has also announced it will then also mark all sites that have not migrated to HTTPS as “not secure.”

Google has confirmed a date of “early July 2018” as the start date. They have also disclosed how they will alert web surfers of the non-HTTPS status, or not secure.

Sites that remain on the HTTP non-secure protocol will be flagged with a warning in the URL bar of the surfer’s browser.

The non-secure flag will be built into the release of Chrome 68, which will be ready for download in early July.

You and your customers will be able to see the “not secure” text in the address bar of the Chrome browser.  Mobile browsers may display the message differently.  In either case, the results might cause your site visitors some concern.

There are some additional benefits to securing your site as Google is providing some small rankings boosts.

Depending upon the size of a site and scope of the project, a migration from HTTP to HTTPS can be quite an undertaking.  Rest assured there are processes on making this change on your site(s), along with resources for validation and dealing with mixed content issues.

 

What Is An SSL Certificate?

An SSL certificate is a security certificate that once installed on a web server activates a secure connection between the browser the surfer is viewing the content on and the web server that the content is derived from initially.

The website’s URL protocol will change from HTTP to HTTPS. Currently, a security padlock will also be present in the URL as a way to further signal the status of the website’s Google SSL certificate.

SSL certificates help the web cut down on instances of cybercrime that are often performed through security loopholes in web browsers.

If the connection between the surfer’s web browser and web server are not secure through an SSL connection, a moderately skilled hacker could seize information, such as credit card numbers, as it is being typed into a form on an unsecured website.

Why are Google SSL Requirements Important?

  • Establishes Trust and Builds Brand Power
  • Provides Encryption of Sensitive Information
  • Provides Authentication

Amazon Web Services now offers local Canadian region availability

Cloud Services

Great news for Canadian businesses looking for reliable and fast cloud services in Canada.

Cloud Services
Cloud Services

With Canadian organizations increasingly turning to the cloud but often insisting on using data centres here, observers have been wondering when Amazon Web Services would turn north.

The answer is, in a few months. Amazon will unveil its first Canadian data centre and regional office in Montreal at the start of 2017, the company said recently in Toronto at its first AWS Enterprise Summit in this country.

It has had a small presence here since late last year when it opened a field office in Toronto.

Stephen Orban, the company’s head of enterprise strategy told an audience of current and potential customers the cloud giant’s strategy centres around information security, back office systems and end user computing being consumed in as-a-service model.

Any business with meaning has a cloud centre of excellence that provides best practices, automation and governance, he said.

This new model tends to spur on a dev-ops culture that creates new products as app teams work closer together to take on more responsibility, he said. The build-up tends to have a similar pattern: Companies start with a desire for optimization, then migration followed by the establishment of a foundation that leads to a project.
Read more: http://www.computerdealernews.com/news/aws-canada-outlines-cloud-first-model-for-tomorrow/50854?utm_source=632458&utm_medium=CDN&utm_campaign=cdnnews%27,%27&scid=5d37cce0-608a-bda3-9b8a-4e604c15ff36#ixzz4sO32EL8U
or visit http://www.itworldcanada.com for more Canadian IT News

What is AODA and How Will it Impact My Website?

Information and Communication Standard Guide from the Ontario Government website

Information and Communication Standard Guide from the Ontario Government website
Information and Communication Standard Guide from the Ontario Government website

What is AODA?

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a provincial legislation that ensures those who suffer from any type of disability do not experience barriers, discrimination, or difficulty with their day-to-day experiences. More details about the AODA can be found at this website..

How will it impact by website?

Under the Accessibility for Ontarian with Disabilities Act, all private and non-profit organizations with 50 or more employees and all public sector organizations will need to make their websites accessible.

Beginning  January 1, 2014:

If you launch a new public website or your existing site undergoes a significant refresh, the site and any of its web content published after January 1, 2012, must conform to the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level A.

What is WCAG Level A or AA?

WCAG 2.0 is an internationally accepted standard for web accessibility developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international team of experts.

WCAG sets out guidelines for organizations to make their websites more accessible. The guidelines cover things like:

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  • writing web content in clear language
  • providing alternate text for images, or
  • making sure someone can navigate your website with just a keyboard.

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Each guideline has three levels of accessibility: A, AA and AAA. Level AAA is the highest level of accessibility.

Download the Information and Communication Standard Guide from the Ontario Government website. Making your website more accessible. (PDF)

Find out what you need to do for your business and your website.

Try the AODA Compliance Wizard. It will help you find out what you have to do to comply with Ontario’s accessibility law. It’s free and will take you less than five minutes to complete. Click Start and answer a few questions about your organization. When you are finished, the Wizard will give you a personalized summary of what you have to do.

W3C Provides a Markup Validation Service.  It’s a free service which provides basic analysis of your website.  Be aware that this validating tool will report results that are not required for AODA compliance.  This is a tool for Web Developers to help make your website WCAG compliant. Remember Validation is just one of the success criterion that is specified in the entire WCAG standard.  Your website must be manually assessed and also tested using assistive technology.

Google Experiments

Google is always experimenting with new features aimed at improving the search experience and so far, it’s been pretty obvious that they know what they’re doing. Most people in this part of Ontario use Google every day, multiple times a day.

The Search Engine of choice in fact is Google by over 85% compared to the other Search Engines. One of the reason why Google is so popular is that theyr’e always improving the user experience with enhancements or expanding on new ideas.

Join an experiments to see how it can improve your search.

  • Alternate views for search results
  • Keyword suggestions (I’ve been using this one for a while, it’s fascinating to see the suggested searches)
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Left-hand search navigation
  • Right-hand contextual search navigation

Check them out and if you’ve got the time, join one of the experiments and share your experience. You might even find it will save you time.