Umbraco freelancer developer, Umbraco websites, Umbraco Freelance by Simon Antony https://www.simonantony.net/ Mon, 26 Feb 2024 17:31:11 GMT Simon Antony Limited A certified Umbraco developer and Umbraco freelance website agency based in North Wales, specialising in website design using the Umbraco CMS and offering SEO & Support / Maintenance services en-GB Buy cheap, buy twice and why this applies to Umbraco development https://www.simonantony.net/blog/buy-cheap-buy-twice-and-why-this-applies-to-umbraco-development/ Simon Antony Limited Wed, 18 May 2022 12:28:46 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/buy-cheap-buy-twice-and-why-this-applies-to-umbraco-development/ It's often tempting for a customer looking for an Umbraco developer to choose the cheapest they can find, however they often pay heavily for it in the long term As a company that offers white labelled and freelance / contract Umbraco developer services to our clients, we often pick up work that has been started by another contractor or agency after they have either left the project or the client suddenly realised something was not quite right with the remit of “help us sort it out!”.

But they were an 'expert'

Again, last week proved the point. I popped out a tweet recently offering my services and was contacted promptly by a new lead asking for help.

They had engaged the services of a freelance developer that on the face of it seemed really skilled. They offered Umbraco, Sitecore, .Net architecture, dev ops - the full monty (in other words a self proclaimed expert!) and as a result, they got the work. 

The site was really simple, basically a brochure site, a few templates using a custom CSS framework the client had developed in house over a number of years. The freelancers task was to take these templates and build an Umbraco site, hand over to the client and provide a skills transfer so the client could maintain it and learn going forwards.

I'll call the client Fred for arguments sake. Fred called me on a skype conversation and showed me what the freelancer (lets call him Bob) had built and a few core issues they had with it. Simple things like sitemaps not working properly, hostnames not doing what they should do - you know the basics.

I provided some consultancy over a couple of days to help them get to grips with the basics and highlight any issues. Fred then called me back and said Bob had gone AWOL, not completed basic tasks after a few days and were basically left in the lurch with an angry website client as a result - can I help they asked? Absolutely. We put some time in the diary and I got into the code. I was shocked to see even the basics of an Umbraco build had not been setup, surely someone calling themselves an Umbraco Developer would not build in such a way?

As an example, they created a generic content template and used it for pretty much every single page across the site, yes homepage, blog listing, blog item, content - you name it.

Then couple that with what I can only say is the strangest top-level navigation code I've come across yet - needless to say it was a mess.

I spent 4 hours in the end sorting out the basics, rewriting the nav logic, sorting out some other issues and as a result at the end of that time, Fred was over the moon - he had a site that did exactly what he needed and more importantly, understood what I changed and why so his team could support it ongoing.

Problem solved, Bob is out!

His reasoning for using Bob was simple. Bob said he was an Umbraco dev, had built many sites and knew dotnet as well. The problem was that none of this was qualified (how exactly do you know someone has the skills you need?), Bob was useless at communication, so Fred was really left in the lurch!

Moral here is that unless you do your research and check the freelancer you are employing has the right skills, you will be paying far more than you need to compared to coming to someone like me in the first place and getting it done right first time.

Book someone that knows what they are doing, i.e. me!

In the world of web development, it is often said that you get what you pay for. This applies to Umbraco development as well. Cheap development can lead to security vulnerabilities and other problems that can end up costing more in the long run.

Good security practices are essential for any website, and they cost money to implement properly. Cheap Umbraco development may seem like a good deal at first, but it can end up costing you more in the long run. Poorly coded websites are more vulnerable to attack, and they can also be difficult and expensive to fix.

Hiring a professional Umbraco developer is always the best option. They will ensure that your website is properly coded and secure, and they will also be able to help you with future updates and changes.

If this resonates with you and you have a project where you get a feel it's just not quite right but don't know why, get in touch with me today, book a day’s consultancy and lets dig under the hood to see exactly what is going on - it could be the best days money you have spent in a long time.

For the record, I’m a certified Umbraco Master, you can check my credentials on this link and I can provide references from many satisfied clients I’ve dealt with over the years. Yes that says 'years', i've been working with Umbraco for over twelve years now  and during that time, i've gotten more experience that most in the industry, especially those that have only worked on a few sites in the last couple of years! Get in touch and see if I can help you with your project, old or new.

 

 

 

 

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How To Choose The Best Umbraco Hosting Service https://www.simonantony.net/blog/how-to-choose-the-best-umbraco-hosting/ Simon Antony Limited Tue, 2 Jan 2024 15:49:34 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/how-to-choose-the-best-umbraco-hosting/ Choosing the best Umbraco hosting for your website can prove a challenging task, especially if you’re not a web developer and have a business to run.

Choosing the best Umbraco hosting for your website can prove a challenging task, especially if you’re not a web developer and have a business to run. Finding the time to understand much of the technical jargon many Umbraco hosting companies will use can make it hard to decide which options are best. What exactly is ‘managed hosting’?’ What is uptime and what is meant by reliability? Here, we give you the information you need in plain English so you have the tools to make sense of it all.

What is hosting?

If you have a website, it needs to be ‘hosted’, meaning a copy of your site is available on a server when someone accesses it through the web. It’s probably easiest to consider your hosting like renting a business premises or retail shop. There will be good and bad locations to run your business from and you are free to move anytime once your lease is up. You can see how choosing an office or shop might make or break a business depending on location, accessibility, and other factors. We encourage you to think about your website hosting in the same way.

Often price will be one of the main factors (if not the only factor) many companies will use when choosing an Umbraco hosting company. But you will find here how this can be a false economy and how to choose the best Umbraco hosting (i.e. us!) for your website

What is managed Umbraco hosting, how does it differ from regular hosting?

When people say managed Umbraco hosting they are implying the service will look after their Umbraco application as well as the hosting itself. This looking after usually involves the ‘day-to-day’ housekeeping tasks of the website itself, not just the hosting.

If a 'hotfix' for Umbraco is released, this is usually due to a new security flaw being discovered that needs patching and usually immediately! Our managed Umbraco hosting service will automatically make this update for you. Similarly, if your server starts running out of disk space they will likely clear this for you too.

These may sound like tasks that can be sorted out whenever there is time, but some of these are time critical and it's essential they are resolved.

If a security flaw is found in a plugin, it’s a bit like discovering an outsider can get in through a window in your business, not a good idea for neither you or us!

  • Security You’ve likely already read news stories about websites that have been successfully attacked by hackers and the problems this can cause. In general, ASP.NET is extremely secure, but very occasionally, holes can be discovered in some of the underlying code and web services Umbraco uses. Updates for Umbraco are occasionally released which fix these issues and applying these quickly is vital for making sure nobody has a chance to exploit this security flaw in the meantime.

    A good managed Umbraco hosting company will manage these tasks for you and, where necessary, patch and upgrade anything that is required.  Due to the level of complexity of Umbraco web applications, for most, it will be much cheaper and simple in the long run to allow people who do this every day to manage it, as this is also likely to be less risky.

  • Speed Both website speed and page load speed are likely some of the more important factors and yet it may not seem so at first. The speed your pages load will now influence where you rank in the search engines but also has a big bearing on how usable the end customers find your website.

    Umbraco websites are technically fairly complex under the hood, and depending on how your website is built, you may find some pages much faster than others. How do you speed up those pages that are slow?

    Having a more powerful computer with more resources host your website will help, but also optimising both the code and how the site works will likely offer huge benefits. Because a lot of these tasks require knowledge of Umbraco, these are further reasons why you should consider a managed Umbraco hosting service.

  • Uptime and reliability If anything happens which puts your website offline, it would be like having to shut your shop temporarily due to concerns or issues with the facilities. Not only does it mean no more business that day, but may lead people to question whether this is permanent and how safe it is to do business with you in future. This can actually harm your company’s credibility. In this same way, the search engines will begin moving any offline websites down the rankings until they disappear entirely (which can happen in extreme cases of particularly unreliable hosting).

    When hosting companies quotes ‘uptime’ figures these are usually percentages that reflect ‘the relative amount of time your website is online vs any outages based on an average of the service provided so far’. The higher this is, the better. Even more helpful that this, is if the Umbraco host has uptime monitoring. Uptime monitoring will usually test your website every minute of each day to check it’s still online and running nicely.

  • Support expertise is a bit like insurance: it’s nice to have around when things don’t go as you expect, but you also hope to never have to use it! Even with the best of hosts, a great website can experience temporary outages. When this happens, you really want to get back up and running as soon as possible. This means ensuring you have the best expertise on hand to put things right. The right Umbraco hosting expertise should also be able to advise on future decisions you may need to make regarding your Umbraco hosting as your business and website grows.

  • Scalability is often overlooked, but nonetheless is vital to allow your website room to grow with your business. As your number of visitors gradually increases, your database gets filled with more enquiries and signups you may need to revisit any (or each) of these points to consider whether your Umbraco hosting is still suitable and whether it’s time to move Umbraco hosting providers. While your website may have been fast and reliable in the early days, having more pages, and more users may mean it is now quite slow. Most good Umbraco hosting providers will have multiple tiers – the higher ones with much greater capabilities to deal with large volumes of traffic and the need for more resources for your website.

  • Price would appear to be the most important factor many companies use when deciding which Umbraco host to use. We put this one last because, while it may be tempting to use this metric the most, your hosting also has to be fit for purpose.

    If, by the time you have ticked off the other points (above) – you can find a good price, then you have probably found the best Umbraco hosting for you.

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How To Increase The Security of Your WordPress or Umbraco Content Management System (CMS) https://www.simonantony.net/blog/how-to-increase-the-security-of-your-content-management-system-cms/ Simon Antony Limited Wed, 18 May 2022 12:15:20 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/how-to-increase-the-security-of-your-content-management-system-cms/ Hackers target websites and busniesses of all sizes - and not always just for money. If you run a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress and Umbraco, how can you increase the security? Find out some useful tips in our latest post. INCREASING SECURITY OF YOUR CMS

Each week there’s a new hacking story in the news. It’s become commonplace to hear of the latest high-profile hack that has resulted in accounts of a big website being compromised, data being stolen and services being shut down due to a security flaw. If you run a content management system (CMS) with security that is not up to scratch, you are leaving your website and business wide open!

It’s easy to imagine attackers will go after the large, multi national companies, but in reality, they go after websites and businesses of all sizes. This can be for quite a range of reasons, not simply financial gain, for instance some hacks are designed to obtain more links back to to improve their search engine presence with spam. So in our post today, we will look at the types of security threats facing modern CMS and what you can do to combat them.

As a site owner, you are likely always looking for ways to improve the security of your website. One way to do this is by increasing the security of your content management system (CMS). Umbraco is a popular CMS that can be vulnerable to attacks if not properly secured. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to secure your Umbraco installation.

One way to improve security is to use a strong password. Your password should be at least 10 characters long and include a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. You should also avoid using common words or phrases.

Another way to improve security is to install a firewall. A firewall will help protect your site from unauthorized access attempts. There are many different firewall options available, so be sure to choose one that meets your needs - speak to your website host for more details on what you can do.

TYPES OF SECURITY THREATS

If, like many, you run WordPress, Drupal, Umbraco or other content management systems then in most cases you’ll be using some kind of standard login address such as www.mysite.com/wp-admin (WordPress login) or www.mysite.com/umbraco (Umbraco login).

Having a default login address means your website is more vulnerable to attacks because, using more sophisticated attack methods, hackers are able to target specific content management systems using the default login address to attempt brute force attacks, dictionary attack and other forms of hacking.

Despite being very inefficient, brute force attacks are still very popular because people typically still use very weak passwords and usernames to log into their website.Brute force attacks simply involve ‘guessing’ the username and password, usually by feeding lists of thousands, millions or in even more extreme cases, billions of combinations in very short spaces of time.

Dictionary attacks are another popular method of hacking that are slightly more directed. While brute force attacks use random methods to generate usernames and password combination, dictionary attacks use specific sets of words chosen by the hacker or derived from a downloaded database. A complex password containing ten or more characters that use combinations of alphabet characters, numbers and symbols is considered to be a secure password today.

For a website with many users, it can become difficult to monitor and ensure that all users have followed these best practice password guidelines and all use a secure password to ensure optimum security. One simple way you can improve security is by simply using rewrite rules to change the default login Url address - making it more difficult for an attacker.

URL REWRITES

A URL rewrite can be allow us to change the standard login URL to something more secure. However, it’s not always easy or possible to change the login path for a CMS.

Umbraco for example uses the mysite.com/umbraco path for other functions required by the user dashboard itself. Changing the Umbraco login path can be tricky and will require professional knowhow to ensure Umbraco continues to function after this change.

WordPress on the other hand welcomes this process, with a few plugins available that will not only change the login path, but also minify script and perform other tasks that will enable you to hide the fact that you’re using WordPress, making your site more secure.

Hide My WP is a plugin used to hide much of the WordPress identifiable script, this means that hackers won’t be able to tell if you’re using WordPress or not. The plugin can also be used to disguise your login page, meaning that attackers looking for the default WordPress login paths such as /wp-admin or /wp-login won’t be able to locate your login page and may not be able to attempt other attacks such as the brute force login attacks mentioned earlier.

Similarly Drupal users can download the Login Disable module. This module will prevent users from logging in to your Drupal sites unless they know a secret key to add to the end of the login pages URL.

OTHER METHODS

There are a number of other steps you might take, most CMS allow plugins, extensions or packages. These are typically written by other people than the core development team of the CMS itself, and typically won't be as secure. We always recommend a security audit of any plugins you run to ensure nothing is included which may compremise the security of your website. Most good CMS systems, including both WordPress and Umbraco include a 'lock out' mechanism after a specified number of failed login attempts.

IP RESTRICTIONS

IP restrictions are a safe and reliable way to secure your website. By allowing access to the login address for Umbraco (/umbraco) and WordPress (wp-admin.php / wp-login.php) from only specific IP addresses, you can completely limit access to the CMS. This has good and bad points though: while it is a good way to restrict access, it means the valid user of the site must be on a static IP address. Most internet connections will typically give you a dynamic IP address and while a static IP is usually provided by your network provider, it will likely require a monthly fee. Typically, this can cause issues when employees work from home (for example) or from other locations - which may not allow easy access to the website.

For WordPress and Apache/Nginx servers, this can be easily achieved through the use of .htaccess files. Alternatively, using IIS you can achieve the same updating the web.config (or using the IIS Server configuration interface)

SSL

SSL certificates protect users by preventing man in the middle attacks when users visit your website. In short, a valid SSL guarantees you (the end user) are communicating directly with the server, and that nobody is snooping, intercepting or modifying the communications. The risk here, is someone may ‘sit’ between you and the server, ‘logging’ the login details you use to access the site so they might login later.

SSL certificates need to be purchased from your domain provider, registrar or hosting company. Some sites such as Umbraco sites will require additional server configuration changes to ensure the site uses the SSL and HTTPs once available.

TOP SECURITY TIPS

  • If you’re using a CMS that makes use of plugins, modules or packages - make sure to explore security add-ons. There are many good ones available for that will help to highlight any potential security vulnerabilities.
  • Use a password that contains more than 10 characters with a mixture of letters, numbers and symbols - preferably with both upper and lowercase characters.
  • Make sure your usernames and passwords are difficult to guess
  • Login pages are an easy target; if you can hide them from would-be attackers using some of the techniques outlined here, this will make it more difficult to execute a meaningful type of attack.
  • One of the best ways to improve security is to keep your CMS up-to-date. Umbraco releases new updates on a regular basis, and these updates often include security enhancements. So make sure you install all new updates as soon as they become available. You will need a developer to undertake this so if you do not have a support contract in place, get in touch and lets see how we can help.
  • You should also take steps to protect your Umbraco installation from unauthorized access. One way to do this is to use strong passwords and change them regularly. You should also restrict access to your CMS backend by using the built in user roles and permissions to restrict where your users can access.
  • Make sure that the website you are visiting begins with https:// rather than http://.

 

Should you need any help with your website, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

 

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Classic ASP, Legacy ASP.NET and older Umbraco version Support https://www.simonantony.net/blog/classic-asp-legacy-aspnet-and-umbraco-4-and-6-website-support/ Simon Antony Limited Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:25:15 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/classic-asp-legacy-aspnet-and-umbraco-4-and-6-website-support/ Are you looking for support for your Classic ASP or ASP.NET website? How about your older Umbraco website, is that supported by anyone? Support for Classic ASP Websites, Legacy .NET and older Umbraco versions support and development

Do you have a classic ASP website? Perhaps you have been putting off that Umbraco upgrade and still run an Umbraco 4 website or Umbraco 6 website or maybe a web application using ASP.NET 2.0? These are all technologies that have since been replaced by newer versions and while older versions are all generally considered reliable by those that use them, it can make a difference who you approach to develop your website.

Many agencies, understandably, will ensure they are quite familiar with the latest technologies, but will often be less knowledgeable about older versions. Some may encourage you to upgrade, partly as it will give you access to any new features and security fixes, but it also makes their life easier in supporting your website.

However, in practice, we recognise that it’s often not that simple; some websites are either too complex and/or too hard-wired to the older technologies to be cost effectively and safely rewritten or upgraded to work with newer versions. But you still want to be sure your website is security patched. Also, you don’t really want all of this to become a roadblock if you wish to continue developing new features for your website in other ways while sticking to the version you are currently on.

Why Choose Simon Antony for Legacy Website Support?

This is where Simon Antony can help! We have extensive experience working with older versions of ASP.NET and also supporting Umbraco 8, 7, 6 down to the very early versions of Umbraco 4. In fact, many of our clients came on board with older builds, some of which we have upgraded, but many we continue to support in their current form.

This means we are very aware of the specific pitfalls in particular versions of these technologies and how to develop in a way that is not only secure and sustainable, but also potentially re-usable if you do ever decide to to upgrade.

Umbraco Upgrade Specialists

We also have extensive experience upgrading Umbraco in particular, which means we can audit your code to tell you what needs to be done to allow you to upgrade. Take a look at our Umbraco upgrade post to see why this is worth considering.

If you have a Classic ASP website or older Umbraco website and would like support and development - get in touch today and we shall discuss how we can help you!

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Support and Maintenance - Why Is It Important https://www.simonantony.net/blog/support-maintenance-why-is-it-important/ Simon Antony Limited Fri, 20 May 2022 11:55:59 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/support-maintenance-why-is-it-important/ Why is it important to properly support and maintain your site? Modern websites are expected to have an SSL certificate so if you still run under HTTP or your software is not up to date, your website needs maintenance. Support & Maintenance - why is it important?

They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure : dealing with issues at the point they arise is far less costly and time consuming than allowing them to become critical before addressing them. But the web is rapidly changing and we have seen many companies struggle to meet new requirements asked of the website and online activities. We will reviewing some of the top changes which you may not be aware of and the reasons you should definitely have a support and maintenance agreement.

All websites should now be running under SSL

In the last few years, it has become expected that all websites should run over SSL using HTTPS for security and privacy reasons. Amazingly, a study from ahrefs showed that only 1 in 10 websites have what is considered 'flawless' HTTPS setup. Without this, ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks are possible: this is where someone intercepts your communications between you and the server and can either log the transactions, information or possibly even modify your requests as they pass through - while still sending them on to the website you think you are connecting directly to. If you have a content management system (such as Umbraco or Wordpress) you should definitely be running over SSL for these reasons.

Google have actually said they will use SSL as a ranking signal, favouring those sites with it, over those who run regular HTTP. So if you don’t run over SSL, you aren’t just exposing your business and the websites data to risk, but actually missing out on key marketing opportunities. A study carried out in September 2016 found that HTTPS had a reasonably strong correlation with first page Google rankings. 

All websites that have a hosting agreement with Simon Antony qualify for a complimentary SSL certificate, as we feel this is far too important to be left as an option.

Keeping software up-to-date

If you run a content management system like Wordpress or Umbraco, keeping this updated is essential. New security vulnerabilities are found quite frequently and when this happens, updates are brought out to fix the problem. However, if you run an outdated version of your CMS, your website becomes very vulnerable.

Attackers will often have ways to detect if a particular version is out of date, to help them optimise their chances of being able to exploit vulnerabilities in the site. Each day that passes without upgrading, represents an increasing risk to your business and any data contained in your systems - there are known and documented cases when compromised sites have resulted in the business folding as a result of fines or loss of business.

All Simon Antony hosting and maintenance agreements include website security patches as a matter of course. We do it behind the scenes automatically so you don't have to worry about it.

Hosting reliability

Another key metric for the health of your site is the reliability. Have you experienced any downtime where your site has been offline temporarily? How about slow page loads? These are actually the symptoms of not managing something that has already become critical for the site. Our aim is to head these off before they are noticeable: optimising the loading of resources and leveraging the proper level of caching can help reduce the work needed from your website, and ultimately lead to a much better visitor experience.

All Simon Antony hosting and maintenance agreements include server monitoring, we pro-actively check the health of your website to ensure this never becomes and issue and to take action where necessary.

Why should I choose Simon Antony to support my site?

Simple: we offer professional level hosting and support, we are UK based and we communicate in plain English. This means we don’t just copy your site to a server and hope it all works out. For some of our customers, this will involve an audit of the code your site contains to ensure no insecurities are introduced when you come on board for hosting with us.

We prioritise all support requests to ensure we assist those who need it right away. Our fastest response time is less than an hour for critical issues and within 4 hours for high priority. Regardless of the severity, we will respond to support requests on the same day, offering resolutions whenever possible. 

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The Ultimate Guide to Checking your Website Health https://www.simonantony.net/blog/the-ultimate-website-audit-what-are-the-6-vital-metrics/ Simon Antony Limited Wed, 18 May 2022 11:50:34 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/the-ultimate-website-audit-what-are-the-6-vital-metrics/ Our team have put together this unique all-in-one website audit package which covers SEO, security and performance. Here we explain why all three areas are now important to your website. There's a lot of talk these days about website optimization. But what are the key metrics that you need to focus on? In this article, we'll outline the most important website metrics and how to measure them.

A website audit is the process of reviewing a website to determine if it is functioning as intended and whether any improvements or changes are necessary. A website audit can help identify problems with design, content, SEO, security, and more. A professional website audit will also provide an estimate of the costs associated with making the necessary changes.

Are you confident your website is up to date and compliant with all the latest regulations? Do you want to make sure your site is secure and compliant with all the latest security measures? Hired a third party to do a website audit, only to find out they didn't do anything? 

Announcing AuditMyWebsite.co.uk - a Simon Antony Limited initiative!

Running a website is a bit like running a car: it’s hard to know how healthy the systems are so you just hope that they are working properly. Ideally you don’t want to wait until a visible fault develops before taking action, yet with so many professionals offering free SEO reports and website security audits it can be hard to know who’s advice you can trust and which of these are most important to your business.

The truth is, all these areas are important in different ways which increasingly overlap: having reliable and optimised code that runs your site means it runs as quickly as it can, which in turn means you get better rankings in the major search engines. For a long time now, Google use page load speed as a ranking factor - simply put, if your site is slow to load, they will rank you down compared to a competitor that loads quicker.

Website audits are an important part of any organization’s information security program. A website audit can help you identify and fix vulnerabilities in your website’s infrastructure, which could lead to cyberattacks. Website audits can also help you understand how your users are accessing your website, and what areas need improvement.

Similarly, if you don’t have a secure certificate (known as an SSL certificate), then your site can be vulnerable to some types of snooping and attacks; Again Google are using this as a ranking signal now which means insecure websites will be ranked lower as a result. Getting the picture here?

Security, speed, content and performance are all increasingly important aspects of your website and are increasingly dependant upon each other: the days of an SEO 'specialist' providing a simple (usually free) audit to help in one particular area are long gone and these should be treated with great suspicion, after all, how can a business do something for free and still be in business?

With this in mind, our team have carefully developed an integrated all-in-one website audit package that covers everything you need to have peace of mind that

  • your site is performing as well as it can
  • will be secure and reliable
  • and is scalable enough to grow with your business. 

What are the 6 vital metrics this new type of audit covers?

SEO technical audit

This includes a full top-level SEO audit ensuring your sites pages are structured properly and that you are utilising them effectively. Areas such as page titles and meta tags, headings and other key content is correctly in place and setup. We will check to ensure the search engines find you easily and only search the relevant content.

We also check to see what errors or warnings are present which could cause issues with search engines reading your website properly.

Many SEO problems can be hard to spot: such as broken links which often arise due to pages moving or domains (of websites you link to) being discontinued. If not properly managed, these elements can negatively impact your rankings in search engines like Google. Similarly, you may have some very content rich pages that you are only getting 60% of your deserved visibility from in search engines. 

Structure review

An often overlooked aspect of both SEO and security is the structure of your website. Having the right structure not only helps your visitors find what they want (which will help improve conversion rates), it can help you get better performance out of your SEO by ensuring that Urls are correctly setup to help in navigation both by humans and robots.

Having an appropriate foundational structure is important as your business grows; your site needs to be able to adopt new technologies as your businesses uses them. If you find your existing structure needs amending, and you begin renaming, deleting or moving pages around, this could potentially negatively impact SEO. 

Content Review

Another vital aspect of your website’s health is the content. Content that is well-written and highly optimised is essential for effective rankings, but this is only the first step. Your copy should be engaging to the type of visitor you are looking to attract. Content marketing is a discipline in it's own right and one that is integral to your online marketing strategy. Ensuring that call-to-actions (CTAs) are well placed and clearly visible will ensure your pages are as high converting as possible.

Code review

Code reviews are the only way some issues can be spotted at all. A bit like taking your car for an annual service, it's the place where under-the-hood problems can be detected before they become a problem for your day-to-day operations. We will review the code at a high level, making sure it is suitable for your business needs, with particular attention on future proofing and ensuring it's scalable. If you find some pages slow to load, or doing some actions on your site take a long time a code review is a must. This can also highlight any security vulnerabilities and potentially dangerous code.

Security review

On the web today, security is more important than ever; if you have a content managed website like Wordpress or Umbraco, when was the last time you updated and checked all your plugins? Is your website CMS up to date with all the appropriate security patches and fixes? If even one is left un-patched, this could give an attacker a way to get into your websites data and information.

If you have a login area, have you checked all your users passwords are secure? Storing plaintext passwords is a source of many problems for some websites and has lead to some large fines where users personal data has been put at unnecessary risk. We will employ best practices in the industry when reviewing your site and will bring to your attention any potential security concerns that should be addressed.

If you require a more in-depth security review, we can arrange a full penetration test against your website, this is a lot more involved and very specialised but another service we can offer.

Performance

The last, but by no means least important metric we audit is your sites performance. How quickly a page loads is not just a nice to have but a slow site will affect your rankings and sales. In 2010 Google announced they would use page load speed as a ranking factor; if your pages load slowly, you won’t get the rankings you deserve, even if you have your website SEO optimised. Perhaps more importantly, studies carried out by Akamai and Gomez found that nearly a half of web users expect the site to load in 2 seconds or less. Does your website load this quickly? The same study showed that 78% of web shoppers who have trouble with site performance say they won't return to buy from the site again.

If you have any concerns about any of the issues we've detailed here, why not get in touch with us to arrange an audit - prices start from only £299 + VAT, a small investment with potentially a massive return for you?

 

Fill out my online form
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Umbraco 10 - upgrading Umbraco - When is a good time to upgrade your Umbraco CMS https://www.simonantony.net/blog/when-is-a-good-time-to-upgrade-umbraco/ Simon Antony Limited Mon, 10 Oct 2022 15:27:51 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/when-is-a-good-time-to-upgrade-umbraco/ Have you ever wondered the real reasons you should upgrade Umbraco? Here is why it will be a worthwhile investment for your business. A lot of blog posts have been written about upgrading Umbraco (particularly now that Umbraco 10 is now out), but almost all of these are written by developers for developers. Today, we wanted to do something a bit different. Let’s be honest, sometimes geeks enjoy technology for its own sake, without stopping to ask whether it is actually helpful to the business. The benefits of upgrading Umbraco may not be that obvious. We often see many business owners stick to the version of Umbraco they have had for years, after all, it's well known and represents less risk.

However, in the software development world, this can actually be flawed logic and today, we are going to review the main reasons why you should keep your Umbraco version upgraded, what benefits this will offer and why is this a worthwhile investment to your businesses infrastructure.

1. Improved security

You’ve probably already heard developers discuss security, and this can be a big enough reason in itself. Almost all systems will have security vulnerabilities, though often difficult to find. The game often played is one of: “find the problem before an attacker does, and fix it” and the only real way to do this is with testing. Lots and lots of testing.

Each day, software like Umbraco is being used by a lot of people in different situations. Umbraco also employ independent auditors to review the code and site to look for security holes, and very occasionally all these activities will bring to light potential vulnerabilities.

When this happens, the Umbraco community will quickly roll out updates: either an upgrade of Umbraco or sometimes (if the fix is needed more urgently) they produce a ‘hot fix’ which basically means they have fixed the particularly vulnerable files and these need copying to the server as soon as possible. 

Here at Simon Antony, being certified Umbraco developers, we know how important this is so all sites we host or provide an Umbraco support and maintenance service to, will automatically be updated without you even needing to be involved. It's all done behind the scenes and just allows you to concentrate upon running your business, not the website.

2. Access to new features

As Umbraco grows, it gets more complex and adapts to the changing web: more functionality is built in which helps manage the day to day running of the site. Some of these can seem quite small but make a big difference in ensuring your site runs smoothly.

All sites are now expected to be responsive (to show you how important this is, Google even announced they will use 'mobile friendliness' as a ranking factor and have produced a guide for website owners). The Grid Editor (block editor as it's now known in Umbraco 9/10) will let you plan ‘rows’ with ‘blocks’ which is how the modern ‘responsive’ web works.

Umbraco Responsive Grid Editor - a good reason to upgrade Umbraco!

Without this, in earlier versions of Umbraco your developer would have to use other editors such as a Richtext editor, however they are not as user friendly and can break site responsive designs (they allow the user to edit the markup directly!). For instance, inserting an image and setting a width and height will often prevent responsiveness working, by preventing the design shrinking down for mobile displays (the image will prevent it collapsing down as it needs).

Umbraco now also comes with better provisions for handling images and other media but a great number of other useful features  which will help your developer be more productive and solve niggly snags quicker, costing you less. Without these kinds of features, developers may actually need to build ‘work arounds’ or alternative ways of achieving the same thing, and this can increase development time and cost.

3. Improved dashboard, responsiveness

The newer Umbraco versions include new responsive interfaces which are mobile phone and tablet ready: this means you can update and support your website whilst on the move.

This may seem like a small benefit, until that one day you have a meeting at the other end of the country, and suddenly realise you also have that important edit that needs making asap! Because the Umbraco dashboard is responsive, this also means you can preview your responsive site properly and expect it to look as it should.

4. Lower cost development

As already hinted, one additional point to consider: if your site is built on older technology and an older version of Umbraco, it may not support many of the new packages available to Umbraco sites. It could also be that the best package won’t run because the site is too out of date. This means your developer may need to look at less ideal solutions, or custom write (or retro-fit) something, and this will usually take a lot more time and need more planning - ultimately it will add to the cost of your sites development, when it needn't

Conclusion

We feel that keeping your Umbraco upgraded is a very worthwhile investment in your business. It may not be obvious at first what benefits this yields, but it will pay increasing dividends as time goes on, will ensure your site is more maintainable at a lower cost and keep all your data more secure.

Have you been running the same version of Umbraco for a few years? Would you like to find out more about the benefits available to your businsess of upgrading? Why not get in touch with Simon Antony on 01492588780 or complete the form below

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Ways to support your Umbraco powered website https://www.simonantony.net/blog/ways-to-support-your-umbraco-powered-website/ Simon Antony Limited Wed, 18 May 2022 14:25:42 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/ways-to-support-your-umbraco-powered-website/ Umbraco is an incredible piece of software, but it can be hard to maintain, mainly because it’s more of a developer tool than other CMS’s like Wordpress. That's where support contracts come in... What is Umbraco?

Umbraco is a popular open-source content management system (CMS) used to power websites. Umbraco is free and easy to use, making it a great choice for first-time webmasters. Umbraco features an intuitive interface and a wide range of features to help you manage your website. It also offers powerful built-in content management tools, allowing you to easily create, edit, and manage your website media and content.

Simon Antony are a Registered Umbraco Partner

Umbraco is an incredible piece of software, but it can be hard to maintain, mainly because it’s more of a developer tool than other CMS’s like Wordpress. That's where support contracts come in - they offer a way to get professional support for your Umbraco website without having to spend a lot of money up front. There are many different options for support contracts, so it is important to find one that fits your needs and budget.

Support Contracts

If you are using Umbraco to power your website, it is important to have a support contract in place to ensure that your website is maintained and supported.

We can help with supporting your website

Umbraco's popularity potentially makes it a target for hackers and criminals so it's important to have measures in place (i.e. a support / maintenance contract) to ensure that your website is looked after properly. A support contract ensures that Umbraco support will be available when you need it, and that any issues will be resolved quickly.

Umbraco is complex and has a lot of features, these can also be extended by the use of custom code making it very flexible and powerful. If you are not using a support contract, then you may end up paying for upgrades or support yourself, which can be expensive and unless you are an experienced developer, highly risky.

Can’t I update it myself?

Upgrading your website

You can, however do you have all the required skills to do it properly and securely or would you prefer to pay someone that knows what they are doing and allowing you to focus on your own business skills?

If you're like most website owners, you probably don't have time to keep your site up-to-date with the latest design and technology changes. That's where a support contract comes in handy. A support contract ensures that any issues or problems with your website are addressed in a timely manner. You can rely on your support agency providing knowledgeable guidance and help you stay current with the latest changes, while freeing up your time to focus on other tasks.

Latest versions?

A support contract can also help you stay up-to-date with the latest Umbraco updates and releases.

The Umbraco team regularly releases updates and new versions of the software, which can be difficult to keep up with. A support contract can help you stay up-to-date with the latest Umbraco security updates and releases. This way, you can ensure that your Umbraco website remains in compliance with the latest industry standards and best practices.

However just because a newer version of Umbraco has been released, it does not mean you should be upgraded to it - there are always downsides to consider with upgrades, you should discuss these with your support agency to ensure you get the best advice for your particular Umbraco website installation and business needs.

Options

When it comes to Umbraco support contracts, there are many different options available. This is important to consider because not all contracts will fit everyone's needs and budget. 

Depending on your specific needs, you may be better off choosing an option with a longer term commitment or one that includes extra features or support. It is important to find a contract that matches your specific needs and expectations, so don't hesitate to ask questions during the contract negotiation process.

Some of the most common Umbraco support contracts include monthly, annual, and per-project contracts. It is also important to consider the type of support you need, such as technical assistance, bug fixes, or feature development.

Here at Simon Antony, we have many years of experience looking after a wide range of Umbraco sites built by many different companies - we work with you to create a bespoke plan that fits your budgetary requirements.

 

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Is it still legal to use Google Analytics? https://www.simonantony.net/blog/is-it-still-legal-to-use-google-analytics/ Simon Antony Limited Wed, 29 Jun 2022 12:37:34 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/is-it-still-legal-to-use-google-analytics/ Three countries have now deemed Google Analytics illegal to use and officially ban it's usage, Italy is the latest to follow France and Austria earlier in the year. What does this mean for UK businesses? In a new blow to Google Analytics, it's usage has now been banned in Italy (following similar bans in Austria and France earlier in the year)! In a statement released on 23rd June 2022, Italian SA state:

Italian SA bans use of Google Analytics
No adequate safeguards for data transfers to the USA

A website using Google Analytics (GA) without the safeguards set out in the EU GDPR violates data protection law because it transfers users’ data to the USA, which is a country without an adequate level of data protection.

The Italian SA came to this conclusion after a complex fact-finding exercise it had started in close coordination with other EU data protection authorities following complaints it had received. The Italian SA found that the website operators using GA collected, via cookies, information on user interactions with the respective websites, visited pages and services on offer. The multifarious set of data collected in this connection included the user device IP address along with information on browser, operating system, screen resolution, selected language, date and time of page viewing. This information was found to be transferred to the USA. In determining that the processing was unlawful, the Italian SA reiterated that an IP address is a personal data and would not be anonymised even if it were truncated – given Google’s capabilities to enrich such data through additional information it holds.

The Italian SA highlighted, in particular, that US-based governmental and intelligence agencies may access the personal data being transferred without the required safeguards; it pointed out in this regard that the measures adopted by Google to supplement the data transfer instruments did not ensure an adequate level of protection for users’ personal data in the light of the guidance provided by the EDPB through its Recommendations No 1/2020 of 18 June 2021.

The Italian SA wishes to draw the attention of all the Italian website operators, both public and private, to the unlawfulness of the data transfers to the USA as resulting from the use of GA – partly on account of the many alerts and queries received so far. The Italian SA calls upon all controllers to verify that the use of cookies and other tracking tools on their websites is compliant with data protection law; this applies in particular to Google Analytics and similar services.

So what does this mean to UK based websites?

So effectively if you are peddling your wares to users in Austria, France or Italy, you absolutely must disable Google Analytics from being loaded for those visitors!

How do I track website usage?

Tracking analytics without Google

If you rely upon Google Analytics, unfortunately the answer is going to be you can't and there is nothing much you can do about it. However you do have other options including other analytics tools.

Google Analytics 4

Google are planning to retire Google Analytics Universal (current implementation) next year and steps are underway to move users across to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). GA4 is machine learning driven and apparently privacy centric by design, however it's unknown at this time whether this new tool will meet all the EU requirements!

Matomo

Matomo have two offerings that they claim both provide adequate privacy and meet GDPR and CCPA compliance rules. Their on-premise (which is free btw!) version is great if you have your own infrastructure hosted and managed in the UK as data never needs to leave your own network. The avantage to the On Premise version is that you have full control over where your data is stored, there are no data limits and you have full control to extend and customise the platform to suit your own requirements.

They also have a paid cloud offering  (from $19 per month) which may also suit a different set of users but does not have the same extensibility or control options..

They also have the ability to import data from your Google Analytics account so historical information is available - this is very important to a lot of GA users as they don't want to lose historicaly important data.

Custom developed solution

Here at Simon Antony, we have developed a set of analytics tools for some of our own clients which is fully integrated into your website and stores it's data alongside your Umbraco data. Although it's not as comprehensive as the full blow Google Analytics suite, it managed to tick a lot of boxes for the clients that utilised it and is always an option to ensure you have full control over your visit data.

If you would like a custom developed analytics solution for your own Umbraco website, fill in the form below to see how we can help.

Cloudflare Analytics

Working as a partner with Cloudflare, we offer a new and simpler way to manage analytic and website security with the use of their platform. Essentially Cloudflare is

Cloudflare secures and ensures the reliability of your external-facing resources such as websites, APIs, and applications. It protects your internal resources such as behind-the-firewall applications, teams, and devices. And it is your platform for developing globally-scalable applications.

We've used it for a number of year now managing for DNS management (instant changes - no more ttl waiting time), edge caching, SSL management, Distributed denial of service attacks (DDOS), Bot filtering, Web Application Firewalls (WAF), DNS registration, DNS Security, Email forwarding services and now Analytics (network and web). Deployment simply requires your domain to use our nameservers, everything else is taken care of from that point forwards in the CF dashboard.

As a result of extensive testing with select users, we are now starting to offer managed Cloudflare services which, for a small fee each month, we will configure your domain records to provide all the above protection and enable the analytics module so you can take advange of all that this platform is to offer.

Get in touch if this is something you would like to take advantage of!

 

 

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Attention PR Agencies that use Umbraco! https://www.simonantony.net/blog/attention-pr-agencies-that-use-umbraco/ Simon Antony Limited Tue, 24 Jan 2023 12:12:50 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/attention-pr-agencies-that-use-umbraco/ If you're a PR agency, you know that staying ahead of the game is key to your success. With so many different projects and clients to manage, it's easy to become overwhelmed and stretched thin. That's where outsourcing your Umbraco development can come in handy If you're a PR agency, you know that staying ahead of the game is key to your success. With so many different projects and clients to manage, it's easy to become overwhelmed and stretched thin. That's where outsourcing your Umbraco development can come in handy.

Umbraco is a powerful content management system (CMS) that allows you to easily create and manage websites, online stores, and more. It's a popular choice for PR agencies because it allows them to easily create and update content, manage multiple websites, and track analytics.

But if you're not a developer, managing an Umbraco site can be a daunting task. That's where outsourcing your Umbraco development to a third party can help. Here are a few reasons why:

Save time and resources

By outsourcing your Umbraco development, you can free up time and resources to focus on other aspects of your business. This can be especially helpful if you have a lot of clients or projects on your plate.

Expertise

Working with a third-party development team means you have access to a team of experts who specialize in Umbraco development. This can be especially helpful if you have a complex project or need help with a specific feature.

Cost-effective

Outsourcing your development can be more cost-effective than hiring a full-time in-house developer, plus, you only pay for the work that's done, rather than paying a salary and benefits for a full-time employee.

If you're considering outsourcing your Umbraco development, there are a few things to keep in mind

Do your research

Make sure to research different development companies and compare their rates, services, and portfolios.

Communicate clearly

Make sure to clearly communicate your needs and expectations to your development team. This will help ensure that your project is completed to your satisfaction.

Establish a contract

It's always a good idea to establish a contract with your development team outlining the scope of work, timeline, and payment terms. This can help prevent misunderstandings and ensure that both parties are on the same page.

Outsourcing your Umbraco development can be a great way to save time and resources, while still getting the expertise you need to create a successful website or online store. Just make sure to do your research, communicate clearly, and establish a contract to ensure a smooth and successful project.

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Navigating Umbraco in 2023: Your Comprehensive Guide to Support and Maintenance https://www.simonantony.net/blog/umbraco-unveiled-your-ultimate-guide-to-umbraco-support-and-maintenance/ Simon Antony Limited Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:10:11 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/umbraco-unveiled-your-ultimate-guide-to-umbraco-support-and-maintenance/ Umbraco, known for its user-friendly appeal, continues to gain traction in the web development arena with its adaptable framework and open-source ethos. Its growing popularity among businesses as a preferred content management system is notable. Yet, to harness its full potential, regular upkeep and adept support are imperative. This exhaustive guide aims to traverse the breadth of Umbraco support and maintenance, encapsulating fundamental to progressive insights. Ready to navigate through? Your journey into mastering Umbraco's maintenance realm begins here! The importance of Umbraco support and maintenance

Why bother with maintenance?

You might be wondering, "Why do I even need Umbraco support and maintenance?" Well, just like a well-oiled machine, a website needs regular tune-ups to ensure optimal performance. Here are a few reasons why Umbraco support and maintenance should be at the top of your priority list:

  • Improved Security: Regular updates and security patches help protect your website from potential cyber threats.
  • Enhanced Performance: Routine maintenance ensures optimal loading times and a seamless user experience.
  • Higher Search Engine Rankings: A well-maintained site is more likely to rank higher in search engine results.
  • Future-Proofing: Keeping your Umbraco site updated ensures compatibility with new technologies and web standards.
  • Adding new functionality: Your support contract may also include ad-hoc development work as well.

The nitty-gritty of Umbraco support

Umbraco support can be broken down into a few key areas:

  • Technical Support: This covers troubleshooting, bug fixes, and addressing any issues that may arise with your Umbraco site.
  • Customization and Development: This includes modifying existing features or adding new functionality to your site to meet your specific needs.
  • Training and Education: This entails providing resources, tutorials, and guidance to help you and your team get the most out of your Umbraco site.

Umbraco security through maintenance upgrades

A deep dive into Umbraco maintenance

Regular Checkups: The Heart of Umbraco Maintenance. Like a car, your Umbraco site needs regular checkups to ensure everything is running smoothly. Here are some tasks you should perform as part of your Umbraco maintenance routine:

  • Update Umbraco core and packages: Always look to keep your site updated with the latest Umbraco releases and third-party packages.
  • Database optimization: Regularly optimize your database to improve site performance and reduce load times.
  • Backup and disaster recovery: Establish a backup and recovery plan to protect your site from data loss.
  • Monitor site performance: Keep an eye on your site's performance metrics and take action if issues arise.

Going the Extra Mile: For those who want to take their Umbraco maintenance game to the next level, consider the following:

  • Implement caching strategies: Use caching techniques to improve site speed and overall performance.
  • Optimize images and media: Compress and optimize images to reduce load times and improve site performance.
  • Security audits: Regularly review your site's security measures to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

Umbraco support and maintenance FAQs

Commonly asked questions related to Umbraco support and maintenance:

  • Q: How often should I update my Umbraco site?

  • A: Umbraco HQ recommend you update your site with every new Umbraco release which typically occurs every few months. However as a priority, always pay attention to security patches and apply them as soon as possible. Saying that, they are not paying the bill so discus with your development partner to see if it's actually worth doing!

  • Q: What are some common Umbraco maintenance pitfalls to avoid?

  • A: Common pitfalls entail neglecting backups, failing to keep your site updated, not optimizing your database, and overlooking security vulnerabilities. Additionally, ignoring performance monitoring, not utilizing Umbraco’s logging and health check features, and neglecting to remove outdated or unused plugins and data can also lead to maintenance issues. It's also crucial to avoid hard coding and instead, use Umbraco’s built-in content management features to ensure that your site remains easy to update and maintain.

  • Q: How do I choose the right Umbraco support partner?

  • A: Selecting a partner with a proven track record, extensive Umbraco experience, and a clear understanding of your specific needs is essential. Consider factors such as communication, responsiveness, and their overall approach to support and maintenance. Additionally, evaluate their familiarity with the latest Umbraco versions and features, as well as their ability to provide proactive maintenance to prevent issues before they arise. It's also wise to seek references or case studies to understand how they've helped other businesses with Umbraco support.

  • Q: Can I handle Umbraco support and maintenance on my own?

  • A: Managing Umbraco support and maintenance in-house is possible, but it can be time-consuming and may require specialized knowledge. If you're not confident in your abilities, considering professional support is advisable. Hiring a professional Umbraco support team or partnering with a reliable Umbraco agency can provide the expertise needed to ensure your site remains secure, optimized, and up-to-date. Moreover, professional support can free up your time, allowing you to focus on other critical aspects of your business.

In conclusion

Umbraco support and maintenance are crucial elements in ensuring your website's long-term success. By prioritizing regular checkups, updates, and security measures, you can keep your Umbraco-powered site running at peak performance. Whether you choose to handle these tasks in-house or enlist the help of a professional support partner, being proactive about your site's upkeep will pay dividends in the long run.

So, there you have it! Now you're equipped with the knowledge you need to effectively manage your Umbraco site's support and maintenance needs. Keep this guide handy, and remember: a well-maintained Umbraco site is a happy Umbraco site. Happy maintaining!

September 2023 latest updates

  1. Umbraco Versions:

    • The latest major version of Umbraco as of September 2023 is Umbraco 12​
    • Umbraco 11.4 was released as part of an update in May 2023​
  2. Umbraco Cloud Features:

    • Umbraco Cloud has introduced several new features and improvements throughout 2023 to enhance user experience and streamline processes​:
      • Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Flow: Integration between existing CI/CD pipelines and Umbraco Cloud for efficient and error-free deployments.
      • Automatic Upgrades for Minor Versions: Expanded automatic minor upgrades for Umbraco CMS, Umbraco Forms, and Umbraco Deploy.
      • Shared Secrets: A feature to streamline build processes and enhance security by eliminating repetitive environment configurations.
      • Upgraded "Usage" Page for Custom Plans: An updated "Usage" page in Umbraco Cloud to accurately reflect additions of extra bandwidth or media storage to cloud projects.
      • Australia Region Hosting: Expansion of regional hosting offerings with the addition of Australia East.
      • Visualization of Events on “Availability & Performance”: A tool to track critical events and their impact on project's journey.
      • Improved trial flow for Umbraco Cloud: Significant visual upgrades to offer a more engaging and intuitive experience.
      • Customize Environment Ordering: Allows changing the order of environments in the Projects Dashboard.
      • Umbraco 12 Support: Support for creating new cloud projects with Umbraco 12.
  3. Umbraco Block Editor:

    • The latest version of Umbraco introduced a new block editor which provides greater flexibility in design, based on a concept called "blocks." Blocks are self-contained units of content that can be combined to create more complex layouts​
  4. Security Updates:

    • In March 2023, a patch was released addressing a discovered vulnerability, with new patches made available for Umbraco 8, 10, and 11​
  5. Performance Monitoring:

    • Availability & Performance feature in Umbraco Cloud provides a set of tools to monitor and optimize cloud projects effectively, with specific views for dedicated and shared project plans​
  6. Product Updates:

    • Regular product updates are released, providing new features and enhancements, such as the release of Umbraco Workflow and the Umbraco UI Library 1.3 in May 2023​

 

 

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Mastering Your Website: Essential Tips for Success | Comprehensive Guide https://www.simonantony.net/blog/ten-problems-website-owners-have-when-it-comes-to-looking-after-their-websites/ Simon Antony Limited Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:24:15 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/ten-problems-website-owners-have-when-it-comes-to-looking-after-their-websites/ Unlock the secrets to an effective website with this comprehensive guide. Dive into essential topics such as website security, performance, SEO, content management, user experience, data privacy, analytics, monetization, accessibility, and backup. Follow our step-by-step advice to enhance your website and ensure its success in the digital landscape. Perfect for website owners looking to maximize their online presence. Mastering your website: essential tips for success

Website security

Website owners often struggle with securing their websites from hackers, malware, and various other security threats. This includes keeping their site software and plugins up to date, regularly monitoring for suspicious activity, and maintaining a robust firewall.

Ensure you use security plugins and tools designed for your website platform, like Wordfence for WordPress or for an Umbraco website partner with a Registered Umbraco Agency like us. Regularly update all software, including the website platform, plugins, and themes. Use a secure, reputable hosting provider and consider a firewall for added protection.

Website performance

Ensuring a website is running smoothly and quickly is a common challenge. This includes optimising page load times, ensuring adequate server resources and fixing any errors or bugs that might slow down the website or cause it to crash.

Optimise your website's performance by compressing images, enabling browser caching, and minimising JavaScript and CSS files where possible. You could also use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to speed up delivery of your site's content.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Many website owners have difficulty understanding and implementing SEO best practices for their website. This includes keyword optimization, meta tag creation, schema markup, and proper site structure for maximum search engine visibility.

Utilise SEO tools like SEMRush or Yoast SEO to help optimise your content and site structure. Stay up to date with SEO best practices through resources like Google's Search Console Help and Moz's SEO guide. Partner with an agency that has experience with your content management system as they will know how best to extract the optimum SEO for your content.

Content creation and management

Regularly updating a website with fresh, high-quality content is critical for SEO and user engagement, but it can be time-consuming and requires a consistent effort.

Develop a content calendar to plan your posts ahead of time and use the built in CMS scheduling tools to push content out at optimum times. Use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway for writing and editing. Consider outsourcing content creation to freelancers if you lack the time or writing skills.

User experience (UX)

Maintaining a site that is user-friendly and intuitive is key to keeping visitors on the site and encouraging them to return. This can involve issues related to site navigation, mobile responsiveness, and page layout.

Use responsive design to ensure your website looks good on all devices. Test your website's usability with tools like Hotjar or UserTesting. Regularly seek user feedback to identify areas of improvement.

Data privacy compliance

With various regulations like GDPR and CCPA, website owners often struggle to ensure they're compliant with data privacy laws. This can include implementing and maintaining a privacy policy, obtaining user consent for cookies, and handling user data securely.

Consult with a legal expert to ensure you're compliant with all relevant data privacy laws. Use tools that help with GDPR and CCPA compliance, like cookie consent plugins.

Website analytics

Understanding and interpreting website data can be challenging for many website owners. This includes setting up and using tools like Google Analytics, tracking user behaviour, and making data-driven decisions.

Use Google Analytics or a similar tool to track your website's performance. Consider taking online courses or tutorials to better understand website analytics. Set up regular reports to monitor your site's progress.

Website monetization

For those who wish to generate revenue from their website, figuring out the most effective monetization strategies can be a problem. This includes selecting the right advertising networks, setting up e-commerce systems, or creating and selling digital products or services.

Consider various monetization strategies such as affiliate marketing, sponsored content, or selling digital products. Test different strategies to see what works best for your audience. Use dedicated e-commerce platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce to sell products directly.

Website accessibility

Ensuring a website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, can be a challenge. This involves following web accessibility guidelines like WCAG, providing alt text for images, and using accessible colour schemes and fonts.

Make sure your website follows the WCAG 2.1 guidelines. Use accessibility tools like aXe or WAVE to check your website's accessibility. Include accessibility in your website design from the beginning, rather than as an afterthought.

Website backup and recovery

Many website owners struggle with maintaining regular backups of their website. This is crucial in case of a site crash or hack, but it requires ongoing effort and technical understanding to ensure backups are comprehensive and stored securely. Recovering lost data from a backup can also be a difficult task.

Set up automatic backups with your hosting provider or use a plugin like UpdraftPlus. Regularly test your backups to make sure they're working correctly. Store a copy of your backup off-site for added security.

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Need an Umbraco Website? Discover Why Discerning Brands Trust Us Year After Year... https://www.simonantony.net/blog/need-an-umbraco-website-discover-why-discerning-brands-trust-us-year-after-year/ Simon Antony Limited Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:21:42 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/need-an-umbraco-website-discover-why-discerning-brands-trust-us-year-after-year/ When it comes to building a website, the choice of developer is crucial. Specialising in Umbraco development, we offer more than just a well-coded site. We offer a reliable partnership and a commitment to translating your brand’s ethos into a digital platform that serves your goals. Scary digital landscape!

The digital landscape is vast and ever-evolving, and your website is often the first interaction potential clients have with your brand. When it comes to constructing this key asset, the expertise and approach of the developer you choose can significantly impact your online success.

As a specialist in Umbraco development, my services extend beyond just coding a website. It's about forging a reliable partnership that aims to encapsulate your brand's core values and objectives into a digital platform tailored to propel your goals forward.

Why use Simon Antony?

Here's why partnering with me for your Umbraco builds is a choice you won't regret:

  1. Proven Trust: Over the years, discerning brands have continually entrusted their Umbraco projects to me. This trust stems from a consistent track record of delivering not just visually appealing, but highly functional and user-friendly websites that enhance online engagement and drive tangible results.
  2. Umbraco Expertise: Umbraco is a powerful and flexible CMS when harnessed correctly. My specialisation in Umbraco development ensures that your website is built to leverage the full potential of this robust CMS, providing a seamless and enriched user experience.
  3. Tailored Approach: Every brand is unique and deserves a bespoke digital platform. I delve into understanding your brand, your industry, and your audience to tailor a development approach that aligns with your specific objectives and maximizes your online impact.
  4. Collaborative Journey: Your insights and feedback are invaluable. I advocate for an open collaborative process, ensuring that every aspect of the website resonates with your vision and meets your expectations.
  5. Future-Ready Solutions: In a digital era where change is the only constant, having a website that's adaptable and poised for growth is crucial. All the Umbraco builds I undertake are designed with scalability in mind, ensuring your website remains relevant and continues to serve your evolving business needs.
  6. Ease of Content Management: Umbraco is known for its user-friendly content management capabilities. I ensure that managing your website's content is a breeze, allowing you to keep your audience updated with ease and efficiency.

Summary

Investing in a well-built Umbraco website is investing in your brand's online success. I am committed to delivering a website that benefits, not hinders your business. Feel free to reach out if you're considering an Umbraco website and would like to discuss how I can make your project a success.

Header image summarises our green growth and digital scalability: The Umbraco tree symbolizing robust web development with solid roots which are key to ensuring your long term online success with your website.

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Umbraco 7 Maintenance Over Upgrade: A Cost-Efficient Approach to Secure Your Platform https://www.simonantony.net/blog/navigating-the-upgrade-dilemma-the-sustainable-path-of-sticking-with-umbraco-7/ Simon Antony Limited Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:14:09 GMT https://www.simonantony.net/blog/navigating-the-upgrade-dilemma-the-sustainable-path-of-sticking-with-umbraco-7/ Facing the Umbraco 7 upgrade dilemma? Discover a sustainable path that balances security, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness through strategic maintenance. Get insights into forming a partnership that keeps your platform robust in line with your business objectives. Introduction

In the world of software, upgrades are a common occurrence. For organizations using Umbraco 7, the end of official support has spurred discussions about migrating to newer versions. However, this rush towards upgrading can lead to unnecessary expenses and complications. This article aims to challenge the notion of mandatory upgrades and presents an alternative - establishing a partnership with a reliable maintenance provider to ensure your Umbraco 7 platform remains secure, efficient, and in line with your business objectives.

Acknowledgment of concerns

The cessation of official support for Umbraco 7 at the end of September 2023 raised valid concerns among its users. Does this mean we now have to upgrade, what if we can't afford to, are we now vulnerable to attack, will our site stop working?

This move by Umbraco to stop providing support can potentially expose the platform to security risks, especially given the lack of official updates to counter new threats. However instead of just dismissing these concerns, it's crucial to understand and address them to provide a solid foundation for the arguments against mandatory forced upgrades. Many of the big Umbraco agencies are pushing out scare tactics to try and instil fear into Umbraco 7 (and older) website owners when there is no real need to.

Customised security measures

Customised security measures

Many of the issues can be mitigated by getting together with an Umbraco partner agency that will still be happy to support these older versions and help you over the coming years to manage them effectively.

A proficient maintenance partner can implement custom security measures including potentially back-porting security patches from other versions (if applicable or even practical) or creating bespoke solutions to address vulnerabilities by implementing other 3rd party strategies to deal with incoming threats. Their expertise plays a pivotal role in safeguarding your platform, making the absence of official updates a lesser concern.

Should I be upgrading though?

Should I be upgrading Umbraco?

Upgrading to newer versions of Umbraco brings about various advantages, as outlined below:

  1. Improved Performance:
    • Newer versions of Umbraco have been optimized to resolve speed issues and enhance platform performance, making websites run faster and more efficiently​. However, this does not mean your current website is slow and if there are performance issues in the front end, upgrading will not necessarily improve things.
  2. Enhanced Security:
    • Updated versions of Umbraco contain bug fixes and security improvements that bolster the security of the website, making it more robust against potential threats​ - these would only apply for netcore versions, Umbraco 7 and 8 are still on the old .net Framework platform so a completely different codebase.
  3. Feature Enhancements:
    • Newer versions introduce various feature enhancements. For instance, upgrading from Umbraco 7 to Umbraco 11 brings significant changes within the .NET core framework and the CMS's database structure, introducing a visual update to the back office, an "Element Type" feature, nested content, and the Models Builder, among others​. Some of these are still available in different guises in older versions and if your site is already built and running, the fact that new nested content or models builder functionality will make no difference to your current site at all.
  4. Latest Technology Stack:
    • Upgrading allows users to leverage the latest technology stacks. For example, Umbraco 12 runs on the latest version of .NET (7) and introduces a new headless Content Delivery API, EF Core Support and much more, which could improve the development experience and offer new capabilities​ should they be required.
  5. Support and Maintenance:
    • With newer versions, users can benefit from ongoing support and maintenance, which might not be available for older versions (but discussed in detail in this article). This could be crucial for addressing any future issues and ensuring the platform remains updated and secure.
    • You may find that your current agency will no longer provide support and only wishes to deal with newer versions. In this case, you either have the option to spend thousands upgrading and staying with them, or finding a new partner like us that will support your existing site.
  6. Adaptability and Futureproofing:
    • As technology evolves, upgrading to newer versions can ensure that the CMS remains adaptable to emerging technologies and standards, thereby futureproofing the platform against obsolescence.

These advantages underscore the potential benefits of upgrading to newer versions of Umbraco. However, the decision to upgrade should be weighed against the costs, the learning curve, and the specific needs of the organization.

Cost-efficiency

In an ideal world, upgrading to a newer version brings lots of advantages as discussed previously, however upgrading to a newer version entails significant costs i.e. potential licensing, additional hosting requirements, development, and potential downtime to name a few. Conversely, maintaining the current version with a trusted partner is often a more cost-effective solution. In the long run, the financial benefits of sticking with Umbraco 7 could be substantial, freeing up resources for other critical business needs.

Eventually there will be a point where your existing site does need to be updated to a new design / version. It's only at that point, you should be considering an upgrade to the newest version of Umbraco.

Tailored solutions

A seasoned maintenance partner can provide tailored solutions that align with your existing systems and specific business objectives. Newer versions often come with features that may not be necessary for all businesses, adding to the complexity without delivering value.

A personalized approach ensures you get what you need, without the extras you don’t.

Business continuity

Business continuity is a paramount concern for organisations in the digital age, and having a trusted maintenance partner is instrumental in achieving this objective. A dedicated maintenance partner can provide ongoing support, updates, and necessary enhancements to your website, ensuring it remains robust, secure, and efficient over time. This level of support not only addresses the immediate technical needs but also fosters a stable digital environment where businesses can thrive and grow.

The beauty of this partnership is that it empowers organisations to have control over their upgrade timeline. They can meticulously plan and execute upgrades on their own terms, aligning them with their strategic goals and budgetary considerations. This is a stark contrast to being propelled into upgrades due to external pressures, fear of security lapses, or perceived obsolescence often associated with older software versions. The latter scenario can lead to hasty decisions, unforeseen costs, and potential operational disruptions, which could be detrimental to business processes and customer satisfaction.

Long-term relationship

Umbraco partnerships

The value of a long-term relationship with a maintenance partner cannot be overstated. This contrasts sharply with the risks associated with engaging a new agency that might push for an upgrade for their own benefit, not yours. A dedicated partner works to understand and meet your evolving needs over time.

Here at Simon Antony believe in a collaborative approach when it comes to decision-making around upgrades. We work closely with our clients to comprehensively evaluate the pros and cons of upgrading versus maintaining the existing Umbraco 7 setup. Our objective is to ensure that our clients make well-informed decisions that are in the best interest of their organisation's long-term success. We provide clear insights, practical advice, and continuous support, ensuring that the decision to upgrade or maintain is well-thought-out, and the execution of this decision is seamless and beneficial.

Through this approach, we aim to demystify the upgrade dilemma and provide a path that prioritises business continuity, operational excellence, and cost-effectiveness. Our goal is to stand by our clients at every step of their digital journey, providing a reliable technical foundation upon which they can build their future success.

Offering a comprehensive maintenance plan

A comprehensive maintenance and support plan manifests our dedication to preserving the robustness and security of your Umbraco 7 platform. This plan will lay out a clear strategy encompassing regular security audits, performance monitoring, and ongoing optimisations. Security audits are essential in a digital environment where threats constantly evolve, helping to identify potential vulnerabilities and ensure adherence to industry-standard security protocols. On the other hand, performance monitoring helps in early detection and rectification of issues impacting the website's loading speed, responsiveness, or overall user experience, thus maintaining an efficient and reliable platform.

The emphasis on ongoing optimisations within the maintenance plan demonstrates a proactive approach and is how we like to work. Optimisations like code refinement, database tuning, and other technical enhancements ensure the platform remains agile, capable of handling evolving demands efficiently although these need to be balanced carefully to offer a ROI, no point spending hours of additional development time to get miniscule performance improvements that will not help the end user visiting the site!

This proactive stance towards maintenance, backed by a well-articulated plan, instils confidence in our clients. It signals a readiness to stay ahead of potential issues, fostering a sense of trust and reliability. This approach showcases a pathway for our clients to keep their legacy Umbraco platform secure and efficient, aligning with their long-term operational and business goals without the urgency of an immediate upgrade.

We still have clients using Umbraco 3, 4, 6, 7 & 8 on our support programs - why not join them?

Explore secure, cost-effective solutions for your Umbraco platform

Get in touch for help with your Umbraco project

We understand that the thought of navigating the digital landscape with an out-of-support Umbraco platform can be daunting. However, with the right expertise and a tailored maintenance plan, your current setup can continue to serve your business efficiently and securely.

We invite you to discuss your concerns and explore cost-effective, secure solutions tailored to your unique needs. Offering a no-obligation consultation, we aim to address any apprehensions you may have and demonstrate the value a dedicated maintenance partner brings to your digital operations, sans the pressure of an immediate upgrade.

Reach out to explore how we can work together to ensure your Umbraco 7 platform remains a robust, reliable asset for your business. Your journey towards a secure, efficient digital presence doesn't have to begin with an upgrade. Let's explore what's possible with your existing setup.

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