Peaks Media Inc.

Turn your website into an eCommerce site

2011-07-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

Often when we think about websites being eCommerce we picture large sites offering several products whereby customers add items to a shopping cart.

Your website doesn't have to have a shopping cart to make it an eCommerce site, the act of accepting credit cards online is a step towards having an eCommerce website.

If you want to simply accept credit number numbers online via an order form, you don't need a shopping cart but you will need a secure website.

How do you make your site secure? Firstly, you need to add an SSL certificate to your website hosting package. Usually in the form of a lock symbol located on the browser, an SSL will show online customers that it's safe to enter their credit card details into your website.

If your website features an online order form and you'd like the add a credit card option to the form, or you've been wondering how to upgrade your existing website into an eCommerce site contact Peaks Media Inc. and ask about our eCommerce solutions.

Below are some examples of secure order forms:

Sun Peaks News: Classified Order Form
Sun Peaks News: Subscription Order Form
Peaks Media Inc: Rack Space Order Form

View our eCommerce Web Hosting Packages.

Peaks Media Inc. specializes in Web Design, Development and Hosting in Sun Peaks and Kamloops. We offer a full range of web solutions: Content Management Systems (CMS), eCommerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Our sites are interconnected using a variety of Social Networking Platforms.

WordPress for iPhone

2011-06-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Having a website that runs on the WordPress platform means you can easily access and update your website from anywhere. All that's needed is an internet connection and your username and password and you're good to go.

Another great advantage of these sites, if you're an iPhone or iTouch user, is that you can also update your site with one of these devices.

You can download this Free App from iTunes just search forWordPress.

Below is a video showing how to add your website to the app and the available features.

Peaks Media Inc. specializes in Web Design, Development and Hosting in Sun Peaks and Kamloops. We offer a full range of web solutions: Content Management Systems (CMS), eCommerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Our sites are interconnected using a variety of Social Networking Platforms.

Password Security

2011-06-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

As a web host and developer for several sites I'm accustomed to setting up passwords for clients and working with passwords they've created for themselves. I'm always amazed when they tell me their password is something like their name, their dogs name, or their company name. Occasionally numbers are at the end of the dog's name or company name.

So now we have a password such as peaksmedia123 and on top of that this password is used not only for email accounts but also to access domain names, paypal account and all the corresponding social networking accounts.

When I say, "No, no, no," to a client wanting a nice simple password for all their accounts they usually respond with statements like; "It's so hard for me to remember them all, why do I have so many different passwords? Why do they have to be complicated? Who would want to hack me anyway?"

My answer: "Hackers don't care who you are, they aren't hacking you because they necessarily want your information, they just do it because they can." Now in the case of some, if you have a PayPal account that's the same password as your email account then the hackers will most likely want to hack you because they like money!

Below is a great video on how you can create a strong passwords.

The above video came from this post below which I also encourage all my clients to read.

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2010/12/15/the-top-50-passwords-you-should-never-use/

Domain Names: More than just an address

2011-06-30T15:36:00.001-07:00

You’ve come into the office early, turned on the computer ready to read your e-mails and get a head start on the busy day ahead.

Your e-mails aren’t coming through, so you go and check your website to see if it’s running. It’s down too, but the Internet works. So you figure it’s probably a web hosting issue. You call your host to find out everything is working on their end. What could it be?

This is usually around the time I get a frantic phone call from an upset client who needs their site back up and running and more often than not there’s not a lot I can do, apart from offer some advice on who to contact.

The problem? The domain name has expired, shutting down the website and e-mail. Why weren’t they notified about the upcoming expiry? The domain name registration was set-up with an ex-employee’s e-mail address that was no longer active so notifications were ending up in cyberspace.

Your domain name is the major controller of your website. It’s very important that you have full access to your own domain name. If a web company, employee or agency has purchased this name on your behalf, you should ensure you’re listed as a contact. It’s also a good idea to have a secondary contact person listed. If for some reason one e-mail address isn’t receiving notifications you have a backup e-mail address.

If you’re not listed as a contact with your domain name company (also known as domain registrars) you’ll have a very hard time trying to gain access to it. Often you’ll be required to prove you’re the owner of the domain (in the form of passport ID, driver’s license, company pay slips – a lot of information that you may not want to send via fax to who knows who).

As it’s becoming more and more difficult to obtain lost user names and passwords and secret questions from registrars, it’s crucial to store these details somewhere secure.

A few important things to note:

Domain names are often purchased for a duration of one year, after that time you’ll need to renew your domain.
You need access to your domain name if you want to:
• Switch hosting companies or move your site to another web server.
• Purchase a Security Certificate (SSL) for your domain (although you can purchase an SSL from a different registrar than your domain, it’s often easier to use the same company).
• Forward your domain name to another web address.
• Renew your domain.
• Transfer your domain to another registrar.

How will domain name companies contact me?Most domain registrars will only contact you by e-mail, however after recent dealings with a popular registrar, it seems they now won’t send password reset information to email addresses due to security issues. Which means you’re waiting on snail mail to receive your password information. If your mailing address doesn’t match the address on file, they won’t be able to send the documentation to you. Pretty backwards for a web based company!

Also be aware of companies contacting you by regular mail. The Domain Registry of Canada is one that prompts calls from clients stating, “I just received this registration information in the post, should I renew it?”

In the case of the majority of my clients, who are registered with DirectNic.com, these messages are solicitation; and the domain is due to expire for another 6 months.

How do I check that my domain registrar has my correct contact details?Firstly make sure you know who your domain registrar company is; if you don’t know then start by running a Whois on your domain name: http://www.whois.net/

If you know your registrar, go to their website and log in. Don’t know your username and password? Now’s a good time to obtain that information. Ask whoever registered your domain if they still have the information. If they don’t, then you’ll need to request the password be reset.

Once you have access to your domain, check that that mailing address, associated e-mail addresses and people registered to act on behalf of your domain is correct.

What should you do if your domain name expires?The answer to this question will relate to how long your domain name has been expired for and who your domain registrar is. Most registrars give you a grace period to renew your domain. If you don’t renew your name within that timeframe, the domain will go into redemption and you’ll be required to pay somewhere around $200 and file a bunch of paper work to get your domain name back.

Not a situation you want to be in, all the while your website and e-mail addresses will be inactive.

Make it a yearly practice to ensure your domain name information is up-to-date so you’re not frantically trying to get your website and e-mail back up and running again, especially on a busy day.