Early in this article we established that every minute of every day there are hackers out on the internet modifying code in websites that are not theirs. Some do it to be malicious, some do it just to be able to say that they did. No matter their motive, your website needs to be secure just as you need to lock the front door of your home to discourage hackers to take their mischief to a less secure target. This brings me to my next point in this article.
#5: Security
It important to use good secure passwords when setting up your websites. I once made a website for a colleague and used a very easy password for him because he would be changing it to something he could remember as soon as he logged in. I believed it would be 10 minutes at the most before he changed the password. His cat threw up on the carpet as some cats will do and he took 30 minutes to clean the carpet. When he tried to log in, he was unable to get into the website. He called me and I was also unable to log in! When I looked at the front end of the website, I knew immediately what had happened. It looked completely different than when I had set it up! Not only that, but there was a nice ransom note on the front of the website! We were able to recover the website but it required setting it up again from scratch and backup media and a MUCH more secure password.
What makes a secure password? It depends on who you’re securing your website from and what is being secured. To just keep the honest folks honest, I suggest most passwords be at least 8 characters long, using both upper case and lower case characters and at least one symbol. Make it something you can remember. Change the password about every 6 months.
You will also want to use a form of security software to discourage attacks like automated logins, SQL injection strings and other fairly easy ways of breaking into your site. Different platforms have different ways of dealing with this and is outside the scope of this article.
#6: Resources and Tools
The resources and tools of the website designer can run thousands of dollars. Starting with the operating software of their own computer, to the graphics packages, to media rights, to security packages, to constant training, it all costs money and time to stay up to date on the craft. Sure there’s lots of free software out there but it still takes time to master it. Just as the mechanic needs the proper tools and replacement parts to work on your car, the website designer needs the proper hardware and software to be able to build your best website. If he or she needs to hire the skills to ensure your timeline can be met, that is another cost.
The resources and tools that you have could mean that you need to restore your website from your backup copy. Let’s say you actually have a backup. Now what? What do you do with it? If you are able to get to the restore facility to do the website restore, what do you do if you don’t get a message of “restore successful” at the end of the restore wizard process? The answer is, it depends on what went wrong. An experienced professional will know what to do and where to look for the answer. Generally a website designer who has already worked with you, will be much more eager to jump on board during your time of need because they are already familiar with your set up rather than trying to hire someone to figure out your crisis during your crisis.
#7: Search Engine Optimization
This is the long heralded holy grail of the website designer. It is important to know what you’re doing when you’re setting up search engine optimization. Having said that, it is important to have keywords used in your website so that your ideal customer can find you when they are doing a local search. If your website is not found on the internet, there is no way that your ideal customer will see your website. They would need to know your exact website address or business name before they were able to find you. They would need to already know your business before finding your website. If you’re going to have a website on the internet, wouldn’t it make sense for you to have key words on the website so that your website would be displayed when your ideal customer types in the exact product category that you business specializes in? For instance, if you have a newcomer to your area moving to your town and they are looking for your specialty, let’s say your specialty is diamond necklaces. If they type diamond necklaces and your town name into the Google search bar, would they find your business or your competitor? If they find your competitor first and they also give great service, you may have lost a customer for life! This is why search engine optimization is SO important.
When you’re building your own website, you may not even know about these secrets much less be able to implement them in a timely efficient manner so that you can begin to make the money that you need. When you do decide to have someone else create your website for you, use this list and ask questions so that you can understand just what it is that you are paying for. This is an investment of your hard earned money that will pay you for many years down the road. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or use the Ask SoftwareGirl area to contact me directly.