Small, no-frills website for a local boat repair business. Designed to perform well for relevant searches (such as ‘fibreglass yacht repair argyll’), this modest site brings in plenty of business.
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This small yachting forum has become a local legend on the West Coast of Scotland. Created in the evergreen PHPBB forum system and lovingly kept up to date over 20+ years.
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Two sites in one for this client. They wanted the original website covering four churches in the same parish, but also a separate yet linked new site for their new St Lukes’ Centre. We achieved this with two separate WordPress installations, one on a sub-domain, giving a site that served two linked but separate organisations seamlessly.
The world’s second largest whirlpool is also a magnet for tourists. This fsacinating website was created as a ‘feeder’ site for a local boat tour business. It is a fascinating look at a unique natural phenomenon.
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For the past several years, Google has been strongly advocating that sites adopt HTTPS encryption. Within the last year, users of Googlge Chrome will have noticed that Google has been gradually marking a larger subset of HTTP pages as “not secure”.
At the moment users will only see the ‘not secure’ warning on pages where personal details are collected, such as forms, or on purchase pages. However, beginning in July 2018 with the release of Chrome 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure”.
What is SSL ? How do I know if my website has it ?
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a protocol which encrypts all data sent between a website and the viewer.
If your website has SSL installed the URL visitors see when they visit your website will begin with https:// instead of http://, and there will be a padlock symbol displayed in the address bar of the browser . (See below to see what it looks like in Chrome)
What does this mean? Why is it important?
In the past it was only considered important for a website to use SSL if data such as credit card information was transmitted. Most modern e-commerce stores get round this by using external payment gateways that take the user off-site to complete purchases (eg to the PayPal site).
However, many websites use forms which transmit personal details. This data is transmitted in unencrypted format and it is possible for hackers to intercept these details. These include contact forms or the forms that people use to sign in eg to WordPress websites. While it is unlikely, it is possible for passwords used on forms to be intercepted.
SSL is becoming the new norm
Google believes users deserve and increasingly expect a secure and private online experience when using a website. Consequently, they will in future be penalizing HTTP connections in terms of the security information they give users, and also in terms of search results priority.
At the moment, if you go to a standard http:// web page using Chrome you will see this symbol to the left of the URL:
If you click on the ‘i’ symbol you will see a moderate warning that the site is not secure. However, if you open a page with a form requiring sensitive information on it – such as the login page for a WordPress site, you will now see a clear warning that the page is not secure:
Obviously this is likely to make users feel a little bit worried – or insecure – and Google has warned that this ‘Not Secure’ warning is to be extended to any pages with forms in the next revision of the browser. In the future, it is likely that ALL http:// pages will be tagged as not secure.
In addition, Google allocates a slight ranking bonus to SSL sites in search results – not huge, but only likely to increase in future.
So should I move my site to https:// now, or can I wait ?
The use of https:// is going to rapidly become the norm so yes, probably now or in the very near future is the time to do it.
Oh no, isn’t this going to cost me a fortune?
Not necessarily. SSL certificates can be purchased from your hosting company for as little as $30 per annum including setup – though some may charge a lot more. Do make sure the fee includes setting up your certificate on the server, as it can be a b it complicated for the average website owner.
More expensive certificates may offer a warranty against the encryption being broken. For most people this isn’t necessary though as all they really need is the reassurance for their visitors that the data is encrypted – and the actual encryption is just as strong on cheap certificates as on more expensive ones.
Some hosting companies also offer free SSL via a new certificate issuing authority called ‘Lets Encrypt’.
So I’ve got an SSL certificate – now what?
Now you need to convert your website to use the https:// protocol. If you have a CMS such as WordPress this can be relatively straightforward using a plug-in.
If you do not have a CMS then you will need to convert all your links to https:// then set up 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS via an .htaccess file. If you know what this means, then you can probably do it yourself – otherwise ask your web developer.
I want to move to https:// – can you help me?
We have installed LetsEncrypt on our servers and are currently converting all existing WordPress sites hosted by us to SSL as a free upgrade.
For other sites – non-Wordpress or hosted elsewhere – please ask us to quote.
A very simple WordPress site created sonme time ago for an underwater photographer. There is an unusual music player and sound file on the home page, and lots of pictures of wrecks and fish.
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We integrate the premium plugin Backup Buddy in all our WordPress sites. WP is a complicated beast, and it is not unheard of for things to stop working after an update. Sometimes plugins don’t play nicely together when a new version is added, and on the odd occasion the whole site may stop working.
Backup Buddy allows us to:
Here’s an example . . . .a recent update to a Facebook Feed plugin one of our clients was using stopped working when used in the sidebar. Using Backup Buddy’s file restore facility it was a matter of two or three minutes to restore the previous version of the plugin and get everything working again, something that might have taken ages to do manually. This premium plugin and the convenience and safety it offers is part of every Webcraft WP package.
It’s always nice creating a new site for an old client. Over the years of updates and tweaks we become familiar with clients’ businesses, which makes it so much easier to create what they are looking for in a new site.
WordPress of course, with our Silver hosting and maintenance package.
Just taking a short break to write what I see is this year’s first blog article. Ironic when you consider how many times I tell clients there is no point in having a blog or a FB page if you don’t post regularly !
So – without further ado, here are a few sites we have completed since the beginning of the year:
West Highland Yachting Week
This is a site for Scotland’s premier sailing regatta. They are a long-established client, but they needed a site they could get more ‘hands-on’ with, keeping entry lists and results pages updated easily, so we created a shiny new WordPress site for them.
We maintain the site and provide support free of charge as sponsors for this event.
Paradise Found
Paul Booth is a landscape gardener based in Aberdeenshire. We actually started Paul’s site last year, but he got too busy to send us the material needed to complete it.
Fortunately we were able to pick the project up where we left off and it is now a thing of beauty. Needless to say the client is delighted.
Craignish Cruises
This local boat trip company takes customers into the infamous Corryvreckan whirlpool and on wildlife and whale watching trips.Argyll coast.
A new boat this season meant it was time for a dynamic new website as well. The Trip calendar allows holidaymakers to see exactly what trips are available when, and it is planned to add online booking in the near future.
Retreat 2 Crete
We’ve done a lot of holiday cottage sites for local businesses on the West coast of Scotland, but this is the first one for a villa in Crete.
The owner wanted something atmospheric, that would lure potential customers in.
This is the result. See what you think.
Etive Boat Trips
It’s been a very boaty year so far, which suits us as we are sailors ourselves.
This is a site for a new boat trip company who will be taking holidaymakers up remote and dramatic Loch Etive this season.