Part of being a true-blue Geek is our incurable thirst for knowledge. From entertainment to space exploration to motorcycle design, our team of monkeys loves to learn. And that includes all things tech.
We know it’s tough to keep up with the latest in web development, so we’ve pulled together the must-reads from our 2019 monthly newsletters into one handy-dandy blog post. From plugin parties to security updates to custom customer experiences, there’s a little somethin’ somethin’ for everyone.
So give these articles a read, and if you have any questions, the Geeks are here for you.
It’s A Plugin Party And You’re Invited 🎉
Okay, so there isn’t actually a party. But if we were to have one, you’d totally be on the list. We do, however, invite you to think through this question with us: How many plugins are too many?
The answer isn’t as straightforward as one might think because it really comes down to two things:
- quality vs. quantity
- your site goals
This article by WPBeginner is a great place to start when answering this question for yourself. It’s written for the everyday Joe or Joanne, beginning with an intro to WordPress plugins and ending with advice on picking the best ones for your site.
Read the article by WPBeginner. >>
Boo! Who’s At Your Backdoor?
One of the best things you can do to keep your website safe and sound is to minimize vulnerability.
As with any stronghold, there’s still a backdoor, and those can be exploited. Fortunately, making sure your backdoor is secure can be an offensive—not a defensive—approach.
Some of those website vulnerabilities (a.k.a. backdoors) include:
- old versions of WordPress
- outdated themes and plugins
- unvetted third-party anything
At CodeGeek, we offer maintenance plans for our clients, and we make sure their sites are in tip-top condition every month. But taking the offensive isn’t just for seasoned developers.
There are plenty of great things anyone can do to ward off hackers, and this article by Sucuri explains them in detail.
Read the article by Sucuri. >>
Browser Update: Microsoft Edge
Have you been on edge about the future of Microsoft Edge? Well, you can take a deep breath because it seems that its future is secure (at least for now).
This year, Edge was rebuilt as a Chromium-based browser using the Blink and V8 engines. As part of this change (codenamed: Anaheim), Microsoft intends to add support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 as well as macOS. There will also be new privacy controls and other features. (We see your happy dance.)
Can’t wait to test drive the Edge preview? Then you’re in luck: a downloadable preview of Edge for Mac is available at a handful of online locations.
Read the article by The Verge. >>
Hype About Stripe: SCA Regulations
If your website uses Stripe to collect payments, then there are some important changes that have come your way—all in the name of privacy, authentication and GDPR.
On September 14, 2019, Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) regulation started requiring two-factor authentication on many payments in Europe. Fortunately, Stripe is providing the set of APIs you’ll need to update your integration to be SCA ready.
Read the update from Stripe. >>
Google Search Console Errors — True Or False?
Google has been actively developing and enhancing features of Google Search Console, which is a good thing. But there’s been a spike in error notifications showing up for site admins everywhere.
With all these new errors, how does a dutiful website admin know which ones to fix—and which ones to ignore?
Web Hosting Scams Are On The Rise
In the last few months, we’ve had a number of clients ask us about some sketchy invoices they’ve received for web hosting.
Some of these invoices come from “Web Host Agents,” while others are from “Domain Listings”—and they look totally legit. You can read more about the Domain Listings scam in this post by Erik Pelton.
If you’re one of our clients, these invoices are not from us, and you should not engage with these companies. If you do receive something—anything—from a web service provider and you aren’t sure if it’s on the up and up, contact us right away. We’ll be happy to look over things with you.
Read the article by Erik Pelton. >>
How To Delight Your Customers With Custom Experiences
At CodeGeek, our #1 goal is to build long-term relationships with each of our clients.
And so over the past few years, we’ve been working hard to infuse more delight into our clients’ lives. And as the Hungarian saying goes, it’s made us as happy as a monkey about his tail.
Are You Itchin’ For A Website Refresh?
Scratch, scratch, scratch. You feel that? It might be your website making you itch.
At some point during the life of your website, you’ll start itching for a change. We typically see this happen anywhere between a site’s 3rd and 5th birthdays, and it’s very common to wonder if it’s time to spruce things up.
Perhaps you want a new look (yay, design!), or to start selling things (yay, e-commerce!), or new functionality to make your life easier (yay, you!).
Read the article by SmartBug. >>
6 Things You Should Include In Your Annual Website Budget
A strong, annual website budget will keep your site purring like a kitten. Our post from early 2019 talks about six things to keep in mind as you crunch those numbers.
Cat gifs included. 🐈
Totally Stoked About 2019
Back in January, we were still wide-eyed and bushy tailed as we looked toward the rest of 2019.
Perhaps it was because we still had 11 months to fulfill our New Year’s resolutions, or maybe it’s because we’re uber nerds who were excited by the awesome tech possibilities predicted for 2020 (now just around the corner!).
Read the article by Popsci.com via NBC News. >>
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Thank you for reading, and we look forward to more tech fun in 2020!