My 20-year career as a website developer hasn’t been limited to just creating new websites: I enjoy being able to answer a wide range of technical questions, no matter what my customer asks me about. It’s an honour and a privilege when a client says “we always just think to ask you for help first, even if it isn’t related to our site.”
People call me for help with all kinds of things: a PDF that won’t print, crashed computers, myriad problems with email — whatever may be plaguing them. Even if it’s “not my job”, I try not to turn people away. With a little Googling and stubbornness, I can usually solve their problem and learn something new. After twenty years, these little learning experiences add up, and turn you into a decent jack-of-all-trades (plus I have a terrific group of colleagues — expert specialists I can turn to, if I get stuck.)
Three Things I Want You To Know:
There are three subjects which have been coming up quite frequently lately. I wanted to post them here, along with my advice to customers, to help you avoid some common hassles and expenses.
1. Write Down Your Email Password
Keep a paper notebook or a folder for all of your important computer passwords; lock it up somewhere if you need to, but make sure all your “things to remember” are in here, particularly your email password.
This is especially important if you have multiple gadgets: a phone, a laptop, a desktop, and a tablet. Imagine that your phone breaks and you have to replace it. If you know what your email password is, this makes the job much simpler — just pull out the folder with your password in it, get the sales clerk to set up your account on your new phone, and you’re done.
If you don’t remember what that password is, however, you’ll need to get a new one from your email provider — and now you have to input that new password into your phone, your laptop, your desktop, and your tablet. And, if you type it incorrectly at any point, you’ll have to troubleshoot the resulting connection problems. A simple job has suddenly become much more time-consuming than it needed to be. Save yourself the trouble.
2. Put Antivirus Software on your Mac
There’s a widely-held belief that Apple computers, phones, and tablets can’t get malware and viruses. This is simply not true. Here’s a recent article with a long list of threats to your Mac. You definitely do need antivirus software.
3. Avoid This SEO Scam
My clients frequently get approached by companies who want to charge an ongoing, monthly fee to boost their website’s search engine ranking. These companies make very vague promises about “getting to the top of Google”, or claiming that they have inside knowledge that’ll boost your site — if you just pay them hundreds of dollars a month.
Please don’t give these people your money. The best way to “get to the top of Google” is to have a well-crafted website, which meets Google’s SEO (search engine optimization) standards. Update it often, keep it maintained, network with other people, and do your marketing work. There’s no shortcut to good search engine placement, but a good website developer knows how to give you a head start. You shouldn’t be paying through the nose for this service; it should be rolled into your website during the creation process.
…Hope You Found This Helpful!
If you have any questions about the topics above, please feel free to contact me.