http://www.blotdesign.com/articles.php Latest news from Blot Design Web Developement based in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Blot Design CMS http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=175 Chrome browser NOT SECURE warning for non-HTTPS pages An email from Google this month shows they are continuing their drive to make websites use HTTPS (encrypted) pages instead of plain old HTTP (unencrypted).  From October this year, the latest version of Google's Chrome browser will show a 'NOT SECURE' warning message in the URL bar of any webpage where users enter text on an HTTP page. For instance, this means if you have an unencrypted contact page which requests a visitor's details, it will be flagged…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=175 Fri, 18 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=174 Google Search Filters Like most web users out there, I've been using Google search for more years than I care to remember, but this month I found something incredibly useful that I didn't even know was there. Most of us have used the Google Search Filters - the list of options under the search box - to limit the results that Google returns.  Maybe we just want to see results of Images or Videos, or perhaps a News story…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=174 Mon, 10 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=161 Dealing with the GDPR regulations for email marketing Lookout! There's new email marketing legislation on the way. It's part of the EU's General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), due in May 2018. If you send out any kind of email marketing, you've got work to do. And because one of the main things you have to do to stay legal is re-permissioning, now is the time to start. Luckily, we can give you some pointers. What fresh hell is this? You may well ask. Right now, the UK's Data Protection Act governs what…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=161 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=160 Web apps catching up Recently we added a nice feature to one of our web apps.  In their Settings, users can register to receive push notifications each time one of the other members of their group adds some information.   It works whether they are logged in to the app or not.  If their browser is open on any site, on desktop, tablet or phone, a notification message pops up to say there is information waiting for them. On a desktop…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=160 Fri, 14 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=159 Google My Business and Google explained Google's local business listing system is really important if you want your business to be found on local searches and appear in the mapped listings. But understanding and keeping track of how Google manages this is hard work. They've changed it a few times and it can be (it totally is) downright confusing and frustrating. But it is worth taking the time to make sure you've set up you business correctly because of the benefits it can…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=159 Tue, 20 Sep 2016 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=158 Drayton's 7 Deadly Website Sins Here's another nugget from marketing expert Drayton Bird.  Honestly, if you haven't check out his 51 marketing ideas yet, you are missing out. This month, we've got 7 deadly website sins. If you've got a website you've almost certainly committed some of these yourself - I know I have.  The point is, they could be costing you sales and prospects. 1. No email sign-up box? Your website is not there for fun or decoration. It is there to sell. But very few…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=158 Tue, 12 Jul 2016 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=157 Drayton's 16 helpful layout tips Drayton Bird is one of the UK's most respected marketing experts.  If you are in any way interested in marketing and advertising you should get his 51 marketing ideas, read his 'Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing' book, and subscribe to his emailing service. This month, we got an email from Drayton's business partner, Gerald, who had been asked about using pictures and illustrations. Drayton's response was the 16 points (along with a bonus one) below.  His advice…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=157 Thu, 23 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=156 Mobile website access analysis 2016 It's nearly a year since Google's Mobilegeddon - where Google indicated they would look more favourably on websites they considered 'mobile-friendly'. The world's going mobile and there are plenty studies to prove it.   According to a report from Smart Insights, in 2015 mobile Internet usage finally overtook desktop usage.   Also, sites that didn't get themselves mobile friendly on average were seeing a 12% drop in traffic. This was based on US data, so we thought it might…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=156 Thu, 18 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=155 Changes afoot for web images? In web development we've been using GIF, JPEG and PNG image files for quite a while now. Behind the scenes though, things might be changing for images on websites. There are new image technologies out and about. Why would we want to change things?  Speed of loading is the main reason. On average, over 60% of webpage's content can be taken up by images.   If a page takes a long time to load, a visitor might go…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=155 Thu, 19 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=154 Piwik web analytics When it comes to web analytics we're long-time users of Google Analytics, even using it back when it used to be Urchin! It gives a huge amount of information and facilities, but the frequent criticism it gets is that it is too complicated to operate unless you're super technical.  Also many people are uncomfortable with yet more 'big data' being mined by Google. So when I heard about the (free) Piwik web analytics from Daniel Turner, of Edinburgh software…....]]> http://www.blotdesign.com/article-detail.php?page=154 Wed, 21 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT