A Bunch of Fives

A selection of top tips from Jonathan Gwyer

Transcript

1. A Bunch of Fives Jonathan Gwyer
2. fairly marvellous hdgnet.com fairlymarvellous.co.uk deargeek.co.uk
3. @deargeek facebook.com/deargeek hdg.co/dgplus
4. My top 5 PC Tips Back to Basics
5. PC Tip #1 It’s your fault
6. P E B C A K
7. Children and your PC • If you use your PC for business, your children shouldn’t touch it • If they must, give them their own user account • No administrator access!
8. You and your PC • ALWAYS read BEFORE clicking • Do you need that toolbar or smiley face utility? • ninite.com – great way to install useful programs without the rubbish
9. PC Tip #2 Make the most of new
10. If you’re buying a new PC • Places like PC World are great because they shift boxes and offer a good place to try out • They make their money with the hard sell on software – security, Office, warranty upgrades • Shop around
11. Amazing Amazon • Software prices always competitive • Amazon Warehouse very good for ‘reconditioned’ new laptops
12. Order some blank DVDs too! • Your PC will suggest you make a set of recovery discs • Usually 3-4 DVDs • Not having them could cost more than £2
13. And then nuke it… • Clear out the rubbish that is preloaded • PC Decrapifier • Then use ninite to put the useful stuff on
14. PC Tip #3 Passwords
15. You have no imagination • Most people use the same password for everything • If someone gets access to one account, they get access to all of them • How to become a spammer
16. You have no memory • If you really cannot cope with individual passwords, have at least 3! • Different passwords for email and banking • Difficult to crack doesn’t have to be hard to remember
17. HTTP://XKCD.COM/936/
18. P@55w0rd5 lastpass.com
19. PC Tip #4 Security
20. But it came free with my PC… • PC manufacturers / retailers don’t always provide the best • You don’t have to wait for the free trial to run out to replace it • Make sure you uninstall it when you replace!
21. The Free and Cheap • Microsoft Security Essentials – business use allowed & very lean • Ideal for the stay at home PC • Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware – excellent protection for less than £20 one-off
22. Fancy something stronger? • We recommend ESET Smart Security • We’re approved resellers for more than one security software, but we only actively promote one
23. PC Tip #5 Belt and Braces
24. It’s not IF, it’s WHEN • You will suffer a data loss • Never have your data stored in one place • When it comes to disasters, think BIG
25. Belt and Braces • Windows Backup works well • System Image as well as documents • Fine for most hardware issues
26. Think big – think offsite • Flood, Fire, Theft • Keeping a fresh backup copy offsite is tedious • Online backup for documents… … fmbackup.co.uk !
27. My top 5 Website Tips More WWW, less worry worry worry
28. Websites Tip #1 There’s no such thing as a free website
29. • Apple - me.com started off free, charged then closed June • Microsoft Office Live Small Business – closed in May • GeoCities – started 1995, bought by Yahoo in 1999 for $3.7billion – closed 2009 taking over 38 million web pages with it Free hosting?
30. Free design? • Even if you DIY, websites take time, time costs money • How much longer does it take if you have to teach yourself? • How long does it take you fix a problem?
31. Your website is an investment • Spend some time • Spend some money • You will get back more than you spend
32. Websites Tip #2 Unique does not mean good
33. Proprietary can be a Problem • Even if you pay for something, if only one provider supports it, what happens when things go wrong?
34. What if things go wrong? • If you use an unusual solution, how many solution providers are there? • Are there hidden support costs? • Can you move your content elsewhere?
35. Go for the “Standards” • Over 74,600,000 Wordpress websites in the world • Lots of support, lots of developers • Easily move from wordpress.com to self- hosted
36. Websites Tip #3 CONTENT!
37. Content really is King • You can use all the magic codes and tags you like, but if your site is rubbish Google will know • Think about what your visitors want to read • Your rank will depend on linking and sharing – so make your page worth sharing
38. Fresh is best • Google likes regularly updated content • Visitors don’t like to see old information • Blogging is powerful but you don’t have to go to extremes
39. Websites Tip #4 You don’t have to be blind to not see something
40. Accessibility is important • Flash based websites are unfriendly to people, devices and bots • Table based or images as text designs belong in the 90s • Mobile access becomes ever more important
41. It’s not just on your screen • Think of different sized screens • Screenreaders for the visually impaired • Printers • Google!
42. Websites Tip #5 Socialise
43. Sharing is caring • Make sure your site links to your social networks • Make it easy for visitors to share your content • It doesn’t have to be hard work – definitely an area for DIY
44. Sharing helps Searching • Google has Google+ • Bing has found a friend in Facebook • Asking your clients to +1, like your Pages and post reviews is going to become very important
45. My top 5 Wordpress Tips Word Up
46. Wordpress Tip #1 Usernames and Passwords
47. They’re not after you… …they just want to use you • Don’t go with the default “admin” username • Another password to keep special • If setting up from scratch, don’t use the wp_ database prefix
48. Wordpress Tip #2 Ch ch ch changes…
49. Keep up-to-date • All those annoying updates are there for a reason • Good idea to deactivate plugins before upgrading Wordpress itself • Very good idea to have a backup!
50. Wordpress Tip #3 Who’s your buddy?
51. Don’t trust your host’s backup • Your host will backup their servers to protect their service, not yours • If you are a single voice, how quickly will they react? • If they disappear, do you too?
52. We love BackupBuddy • Nice, easy, automated backups • Nice, easy, stress free restore and brilliant for moving sites around • Small price to pay (starts at $75)
53. Wordpress Tip #4 Not just for blogging
54. It doesn’t have to be a blog • In Settings, Reading, pick a static Page to be your front page, instead of the blog • Use Settings, Permalinks to make your URLs more friendly • Next time you’re editing a page, click Screen Options and tick Discussion – now you can choose where you want comments
55. Wordpress Tip #5 It’s not just tinned ham
56. Spammers love Comments • That lovely, gushing comment on your last blog post? • Use Settings, Discussions to prevent comments automatically appearing • If you suffer a lot of spam, try Defensio
57. My top 5 Facebook Tips Pop a few more $$$ in Mark’s pocket
58. Facebook Tip #1 Start as you mean to go on
59. Pages are for Business • Resist the temptation to set up a user profile for your business • You will find yourself limited by functionality and could get yourself deleted • Although you can convert to a Page later, doing so is not plain sailing
60. Facebook Tip #2 Look Ma, no hands!
61. Automate – a bit • Use your page’s secret email address to update and post photos while you’re on the move • Set you page to tweet for you – but make sure it’s not your only twitter contribution! • Facebook & Wordbooker plugins can post blog updates automatically but not best option
62. Facebook Tip #3 Closer to the edge
63. Increase your visibility • Videos rank higher than pictures, which rank higher than plain updates • Pictures and videos are far more likely to get Likes, Comments and Shares • Encourage Check-ins
65. Facebook Tip #4 Share the love
66. Find related or local Pages • Like other Pages • Use the “Use as” feature to comment on other pages as your business identity • Share and interact with other pages’ posts and you will naturally attract attention
68. Facebook Tip #5 Coming soon to a Page near you
69. Facebook Offers • Currently limited but expanding soon • You can create special offers that will appear in fans’ feeds • People claiming your offer will receive email from Facebook to use as coupon
70. Reaching out • Your offer can be claimed, liked, shared or commented on • More ways for your message to extend its reach
71. Here Endeth the Tips