Moondog Web Design News

Holiday Hours

2023-12-18T16:25:00.001-06:00

Keep your site's COVID-19 information up to date

2020-03-24T10:04:00.000-05:00

Many businesses have added COVID-19 related information to their websites (open/closed, temporary hours, "use side entrance only"). No one knows when businesses will be allowed to resume normal operations, but we know it will happen. And when it does, things are likely to move quickly. Don't forget to update the COVID-19 information on your website(s) when the status of your business changes. You don't want your customers to think you are still closed or on a limited schedule if you are not.

The time has come to secure your website

2019-08-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

Do you know why some website addresses begin with "http" while others start with "https"? That "s" stands for secure, and it means the site you’re visiting is using a protected, encrypted connection. That security is provided by a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. Websites that accept credit card payments and other secure information have been required to have SSLs for a long time, and recently there has been a push to make the entire World Wide Web adopt this level of security.

I don't accept credit cards online. Why do I need SSL?

If your website does not have an SSL certificate, and it contains any kind of text input, even a basic contact form or newsletter sign-up script, Google Chrome now warns visitors with a notice that reads:

Your connection to this site is not secure. You should not enter any sensitive information on this site (for example, passwords or credit cards), because it could be stolen by attackers.

You may not be collecting passwords or credit card information, but that notice will be enough to scare away a sizable chunk of your site's visitors. Also, Google ranks sites with SSL higher than those those without it.

Where can I get an SSL to secure my website?

Most domain name registrars and hosting companies sell SSLs, and generally speaking it is easier to install an SSL if you purchase it from the same company where you purchased your domain name. Moondog Web Hosting is currently selling our Standard SSL certificate for $49.99/year, and we offer free 24/7 US based telephone support to help you install it.

Google Calendar Gets a Makeover

2017-10-23T13:43:00.001-05:00

Last week Google began rolling out a major update to Google Calendar. The update includes a new look, and a number of new event, calendar view, and settings features to help you manage your time.

Try the new Google Calendar

On your computer, open Google Calendar.
On the top right of your screen click Use new Calendar.
To go back to the old Calendar at any time, click Settings Back to classic Calendar.

Note: If you cannot see "Use new Calendar", the new Calendar isn’t available for your account yet.

Price Increases For Web Hosting and SSL

2017-08-10T15:39:00.000-05:00

Moondog Web Hosting has been able to stay competitive with the big players in the Web Hosting industry since 2004 by selling at razor thin margins in order to keep our prices as low as possible. In fact, the prices for our hosting accounts and SSL certificates have not gone up one penny in 13 years! Today our overlords at GoDaddy / Wild West Domains surprised us with news that our "buy rates" for web hosting and SSL certificates are going up between 30-50% effective August 15th, 2017.

Moondog Web Hosting absorbed the cost of the last three "buy rate" increases, but this time we are going to have to pass along a portion of the increase to our customers to avoid selling at a loss. We don't like it any more than you do, but it cannot be helped.

How Much More Will I Have To Pay?

Most customers who have a website(s) hosted with us are on the Economy Plan and pay annually. Your cost will rise from $6.99/month to $8.99/month ($83.88/year to $107.88). Other plans can expect to see a similar increase of roughly 25%.

Is There Any Good News?

Yes. At this time, we are not aware of any planned increases to the pricing of domain names or email accounts. Also, if you want to add an additional year or years to your hosting account(s) before August 15th, you can do so at the current rates.

Or call the office at (615) 673-4292 M-F 8:00AM - 5:00PM CDT, and we can help you.

Today is the last day to get the free Windows 10 upgrade

2016-07-29T10:49:00.000-05:00

If you’ve been planning to upgrade your Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 operating system to Windows 10, but it somehow slipped your mind, in spite of all the nagging, prompting, and pestering from Microsoft, today is the day to pull the trigger because tomorrow you will have to pay $119.00 (or $200.00 for the Pro version) for something you can get free today.

For most people, the decision to upgrade is a no-brainer. Windows 7 has already passed the end of mainstream support and Windows 8’s support is set to end in January 2018. Plus, you'll see faster boot times and lower memory usage upgrading to Windows 10.

Before you upgrade, be sure to read Update to Windows 10 Headache Free With A Pre-Upgrade Checklist from the folks at How-To Geek.

Saying Goodbye to Internet Explorer

2016-01-18T18:36:00.000-06:00

Earlier this month Microsoft officially dropped support for Internet Explorer 8, 9, and 10. The ghost of IE (in the form Internet Explorer 11) will live on quietly in the background for enterprise compatibility, but Microsoft's default browser going forward is Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer has been around for more than 20 years now, and even though most web surfers will shrug and most web developers will cheer its demise, for hundreds of millions of Internet users, Internet Explorer was the browser that provided that first taste of the World Wide Web.

Is your website mobile-friendly?

2015-02-26T20:06:00.003-06:00

Google began highlighting search results for websites that meet certain criteria with a "mobile-friendly" designation last November. To be eligible for this new tag, a website must follow certain rules:

Avoids software that is not common on mobile devices, like Flash
Uses text that is readable without zooming
Sizes content to the screen so users don't have to scroll horizontally or zoom
Places links far enough apart so that the correct one can be easily tapped

Today Google announced that beginning April 21st, they will be "expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal".

Translation: if your website is not mobile-friendly, be prepared to watch it get leapfrogged in the rankings by other websites that are.

Want to find out if your website is ready for Google's new "Mobile First" ranking methodology? Take the Google Developers Mobile-Friendly Test. If your site passes the test, that is great. Google will boost its ranking when the new algorithm kicks in. If your site fails the test, do not be discouraged. Moondog Web Design has years of experience designing responsive websites and updating existing websites with the latest technologies. Let us make your website mobile-friendly.

Call us at (615) 673-4292 today for a FREE consultation

New Logo, New Layout, and Responsive Design

2015-02-13T16:56:00.000-06:00

For the past year and a half, I've been telling anyone who would listen about the importance of responsive design. Google defines responsive design as "an approach to web page creation that makes use of flexible layouts, flexible images and cascading style sheet media queries. The goal of responsive design is to build web pages that detect the visitor's screen size and orientation and change the layout accordingly." With 60 percent of all Internet access now coming from tablets and smart phones (source), the importance of a website that performs well on these devices cannot be overstated.

Now I have finally taken my own advice and completely redesigned the Moondog Web Design website. In addition to having a new logo, layout, and color scheme, the updated design is now responsive and passes the Google Developers Mobile-Friendly Test. Not only is the new design easy to browse on just about any device you can imagine, but thanks to the new “mobile-friendly” designation that Google is rolling out for responsive websites, I can expect a to see a boost in my search engine rankings as well.

If you are interested in a new responsive website for your business, or if you have a website in need of a responsive conversion, give me a call at (615) 673-4292, and I will be happy to discuss your options.

Hassle-Free Managed WordPress Hosting Plans

2015-01-08T21:09:00.000-06:00

You have better things to do than manage your web hosting

Maintaining a website shouldn't mean spending hours optimizing your server and patching security threats. With Moondog Web Hosting's Managed WordPress Hosting Plans, we handle the technical stuff for you – server setup, security, backups, performance optimization, and so on – so you can spend your time creating the content of your site and doing what's important to you.

Built for Speed and Reliability

Our Managed WordPress Hosting Plans are designed for maximum performance with dedicated, load-balanced servers. So when your latest blog post goes viral, your site stays up and running at top speed. And with Google® using site speed as a criteria for search ranking, it can help drive even more traffic to your site.

All Managed WordPress Hosting Plans Include:

1000s of themes and plugins
One-click migration tool
sFTP access to WordPress files
Nightly backups
Redundant firewalls, malware scanning and DDoS protection
Automatic WordPress core updates
Temporary website address
Multi-language dashboard: English, Spanish or Portuguese
Premium WordPress Hosting Platform
Award-winning 24/7 support

Photo by shopware AG [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Support for Windows XP is ending soon. Run for your life!

2014-03-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

The world is probably not going to end on April 8, 2014, but support for Microsoft's enduring Windows XP operating system definitely is. If you continue to use Windows XP after that date your computer is not going to burst into flames or eat your cat, but even with updated antivirus software installed, it will become five times more vulnerable to security risks. In fact, cyber-criminals have probably been holding back certain exploits, just waiting for Microsoft to depart the scene. Given the fact that 25%-30% of the worlds computers are still running Windows XP, that is an enormous base of soon-to-be vulnerable machines for the bad guys to exploit.

But I'm happy with my old XP computer, can't I just keep using it?

You can, but I wouldn't. Most of my friends who are still running XP tell me the same thing: XP is good enough for what I use my computer for. It may have been good enough in the past, but unless that computer is never connected to the Internet, that is no longer the case. Some computers running XP can be upgraded to Windows 7 or 8, but for most folks it is probably best to just bite the bullet and purchase a new machine with a modern operating system. New PCs running Windows 7 or 8 are 1/3 less expensive than Windows XP computers were in 2002, and if you are tired of Windows, Google has Chromebooks starting at just $249. Right now my alpha geek friends are screaming, "just install Linux!" and the Steve Jobs disciples are screaming, "just get a Mac!" Those are also viable options, but honestly most folks who are still using a 13 year old PC aren't likely to take either of those routes.

Like it or not, it is time to take action.

One thing is certain. The ostrich method will not work. It is time to let go of Windows XP and move on with your computing life . There won’t be another grace period. April 8 marks the beginning of ever increasing security risks for Windows XP, and it is only going to get worse.

Holiday Hours

2013-12-22T14:55:00.000-06:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a belated Happy Hanukkah, a Cool Kwanzaa, a Joyous Yule, and a Funky Festivus.

Christmas Eve: 8 AM to Noon
Christmas Day: CLOSED
New Year's Eve: 8 AM to 5 PM
New Year's Day: CLOSED

Watch out for the latest domain name renewal scam

2013-10-04T09:19:00.002-05:00

Domain Registry of America and similar companies have been mailing letters to domain name owners attempting to trick them into switching from their existing registrar to theirs, under the pretense that the customer is simply renewing their subscription to their current registrar in a scheme known as domain name slamming. They have been doing this for several years, and by now most of us have learned to toss those letters in the trash immediately.

Now there is an e-mail scam making the rounds that attempts to separate you from $75 of you hard earned money by wrapping a worthless "search engine submission service" inside what looks like an expiration notice for your domain name.

If you are not sure about any communication you receive regarding your domain name, forward the information to me or give me a call, and I will help you determine if it is legitimate.

Be Descriptive with Your E-mail's Subject Line

2013-09-04T16:46:00.002-05:00

On an average day, I receive 30-60 e-mails from clients. About 90% of those e-mails contain one of the following "Terrible 10" unhelpful subject lines:

Website
Web Page
Question
Quick Question
Photo
Update
Web update
New Page
FYI
Help! Urgent!

The problem is compounded when I receive seven or eight e-mails in a row from a client with identical subject lines. Think about it. If the content you are sending someone is unique enough to warrant a separate e-mail, doesn't it deserve a separate subject line?

I try to do my part by appending relevant information to the subject in my replies:
RE: photo (new picture of the boss for "About Us" page on www.oursite.com)
I have also found that using descriptive subject lines helps me say what needs to be said in an e-mail with fewer words, saving time on both ends of the conversation.

So do yourself and those with whom you communicate via e-mail a big favor and start using descriptive subject lines in your e-mails.

Learn Mapping with Google

2013-06-13T16:20:00.000-05:00

I just completed a very informative series of online courses called Mapping with Google.
The courses are self-paced, where you can watch videos (or read text lessons) and apply the skills you learn. You can even connect with some Google Maps Alpha Geeks during the course via Google+ Hangouts.

At the end of the course you get a chance to put what you have learned into practice by completing a project and earning a certificate. You can learn more about the courses and register now on the Mapping with Google site. As an added bonus, all participants are given access to preview the new version of Google Maps.

Gone Fishin'

2013-06-13T12:52:00.001-05:00

If you happen to call Moondog Web Design later today and don't get an answer, please consult the map below to locate me.

Actually, I'll be in the office all day. The map was an assignment I had to complete as part of an Advanced Mapping With Google course. Their new Maps Engine Lite program for creating powerful custom maps is quite an upgrade, but I am hopeful later versions will provide tighter integration with Google Drive and allow data updates directly from Google Sheets.

GoDaddy Makes the DMV Look Like a Model of Efficiency

2013-03-27T18:55:00.001-05:00

The Problem

Recently, I needed to transfer a client's domain name from GoDaddy to Moondog Web Hosting. In order to transfer a domain name, you need access to the administrative e-mail address listed in the WHOIS record. The administrative e-mail address for this particular domain name was no longer valid, so I logged in to the GoDaddy account to change it, but GoDaddy's information change form wouldn't process the update.

The Call

I called GoDaddy customer service, and they said the update could not be processed because some information was missing in the registrant portion of the WHOIS record. I explained that I left those missing fields alone on purpose because I knew any changes to the registrant information would engage GoDaddy’s 60-day transfer lock. I was in a Catch 22 situation.

The customer services representative I spoke to understood my predicament, and he checked with his supervisor for a workaround to the problem. When he came back on the line, he said the only option was for me to go ahead update all of the missing WHOIS fields (triggering the 60-day transfer lock), and then send an e-mail to review60@godaddy.com explaining the situation and requesting removal of the 60-day transfer lock. That seemed overly complicated to me, and since it was GoDaddy's inability to override an error in their update procedure that created the lock, I asked him to call the Review Department directly and expedite removal of that lock. He replied, "They are in another building, and they don't have a phone number, just the e-mail address." Really? I hung up the phone because anything I would have said at that point would have been cruel.

It Gets Worse

I sent the e-mail to review60@godaddy.com detailing the situation, but they would not take action because the e-mail did not come from the e-mail address on file with account, so I had my client copy and paste my e-mail and send it from the account on file. About 24 hours later, she received a reply saying they needed a copy of her driver's license and a copy of the business license in order for them to "evaluate removing the lock as requested." I don't know if she is going to fill out the paperwork, or if she will just wait the 60 days. I do know she does not have a very high opinion of GoDaddy right now.

Conclusion

GoDaddy may be the world's largest domain name registrar, but as long as they continue to spend their profits on race car drivers and bad Super Bowl commercials instead of improving the customer experience, I will continue to nominate them for Worst Company in America.

Goodbye Google Reader

2013-03-14T12:02:00.001-05:00

This week Google announced that it will retire Google Reader as of July 1, 2013. Reader was Google’s web-based program that let people subscribe to news feeds from their favorite sites. According to the Official Google Blog, the reason for shuttering the service is declining usage. I foresaw the demise of Reader back in 2011, when Google dropped Reader's ability to natively share and moved that feature to Google+.

As recently as 2011, Google Reader was always open on my desktop, and I checked it several times a day. Now most of my "breaking news" comes from Twitter, so I am not freaking out over the shutdown like some people who have started a petition to keep Google Reader running. If the petition fails, there are several alternative RSS readers out there, and I think I am going to give The Old Reader a try.

Internet Explorer 10 released for Windows 7

2013-02-26T10:55:00.003-06:00

I own a Windows 8 PC that came pre-loaded with Internet Explorer 10. My feelings about Windows 8 are mixed, but there is no doubt that IE 10 is faster and more stable than IE 9. It is also much more standards-compliant than previous versions, and modern HTML5 websites that formerly only worked on the latest releases from Chrome and Firefox will now work properly in IE 10 on Windows 7.

After nearly two years of tinkering and testing, Microsoft has officially released Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7.

Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 requires you to have at least Service Pack 1 installed. Microsoft offers direct downloads of the browser in 95 languages, though the company will automatically upgrade Windows 7 users to the new browser in the coming weeks via Windows Update.

Read the entire article at the PCWorld.com website

How To Delete Your Instagram Account

2012-12-18T19:07:00.000-06:00

Instagram is in business to make money. I understand that, and I accept that sometimes I must give up a certain amount of control or privacy in exchange for useful goods or services. But the pending changes to Instagram's Terms of Service (TOS), which are scheduled to go into effect in January 2013, allow the company to profit from users' photos without notifying, compensating or allowing them to opt out.

To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.

For me, that was going a bit too far, so I decided to delete my Instagram account. It wasn't difficult, and it did not take long. If you want to delete your Instagram account, just follow the simple steps below.

Before you delete your account, make sure have a backup of your photos. Depending on your settings, you may already have your photos saved on your phone and/or in the cloud, or you can use Instaport, a free utility that allows you to export all of your Instagram photos to other social services or your local hard drive.
Once you have backed up of all your photos, go to Instagram's I want to delete my account page, and follow the simple instructions to put Instagram and their heavy handed privacy policy in your rear view mirror.

UPDATE: 12/18/2012 @7:33 PM CST
Instagram has issued a statement acknowledging they really screwed up and promising to reword their "Privacy" policy, but I don't think I'll be signing back up.

UPDATE: 12/21/2012 @5:31 PM CST
Bowing to the avalanche of negative comments from subscribers, Instagram is reverting to their previous Terms of Service.

No More Free Google Apps for Business

2012-12-07T09:47:00.000-06:00

I've been a fan of Google Apps for Business since 2007, particularly the free version for businesses with up to 10 users. Many of my clients fall into this category, and it has been a no-brainier to set them up with this suite of tools that offers company-branded email accounts, 5gb of cloud file storage per user, calendars, document collaboration, and more.

I still believe Google Apps is an excellent software suite, but as Clay Bavor, director of product management for Google Apps, wrote in a blog post this morning, the free version is going away. The change has no impact on existing customers using the free version, but from now on only the premium (paid) version of Google Apps for Business will be offered. At $50/year per user, it is still a good deal, it just isn't the great deal it once was.

Samsung’s $249 Chromebook: thinner, lighter and about $200 cheaper!

2012-11-14T16:16:00.001-06:00

The new Samsung Chromebook offers and different approach to laptop computing (no hard drive to speak of, and all of the programs are in "the cloud"). I don't think it will ever replace the 17" HP beast I've been lugging around for the past couple of years, but the $249 price point, light weight, and long battery life have certainly made me seriously consider picking one up. I would love to hear from anybody out there who is riding the Google train on a Chromebook?

Samsung and Google recently introduced the simply named Chromebook, a $249 computer with an 11.6-inch screen and around 6.5 hours of battery life in a slim and svelte 2.5 lb, 0.8-inch-thick shell. It’s a bare-bones approach to the concept of a Chrome OS notebook, and it’s probably what Google should have done with this type of hardware from the very beginning. But does that mean it’s good?

Read the entire TechCrunch review of the new Chromebook here.

Google Support for Internet Explorer 8 ends in November

2012-09-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

The current version of Microsoft's browser is Internet Explorer 9, but Internet Explorer 10 is just around the corner. Beginning October 26, 2012, every new Windows 8 PC will come with IE 10 pre-installed.

If you're a fan of Google's services, it might be time to upgrade to a new iteration of the browser — or a different browser entirely. According to Google, the company is officially discontinuing support for Internet Explorer 8 across all of its Web services as of November 15 of this year.

Continue reading the article at PCMag.com

GoDaddy Outage Update

2012-09-10T15:20:00.003-05:00

If you have a website hosted by GoDaddy or a GoDaddy affiliate -- it's probably down
if you have an email address by GoDaddy or a GoDaddy affiliate -- it's probably down
if you have a domain at Google Apps, or GoDaddy, or WildWest Domains, or DomainsByProxy -- it will be affected (if it hasn't already)
if you will call go daddy or visit them on the web -- you will get nowhere
The number of affected sites is estimated to be in the tens of millions.

GoDaddy takedown knocks millions of websites offline

2012-09-10T14:03:00.001-05:00

If you are having trouble viewing your website or receiving e-mails right now you have a LOT of company. According to the official GoDaddy Twitter account the company is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it.

UPDATE (2:17 PM 09/10/2012):TechCrunch is confirming that customers say e-mail from GoDaddy websites are down.
Mashable is reporting that the security leader of Anonymous is taking responsibility.