5 steps to launching your website

5 Steps To Planning Your Website

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You have made the decision to invest in a website, but what do you actually want to be on your website?

There is a lot more aspects that go into creating a website than just making sure you have content and beautiful images. The following steps make sure you have a comprehensive plan for your website, so it delivers exactly what you need.

1.      Identify the Purpose of your website

For most websites this is to drive sales or increase enquiries but how are you going to do that? The actions you want your visitors to make needs to be clear and at the forefront of your mind throughout the entire build of your website.

Are you selling products – then make sure the content and layout educate visitors on those products and encourage visitors to travel through the website to the shop.

Are you selling services – your focus needs to be on educating people on your service, making it clear the solution your service provides and encouraging visitors to get in touch or book in an appointment/purchase the service.

Sharing information – Consider what format your visitors will absorb that information. Do they prefer podcasts, blog/articles, How to Guides?

2.      Features

Once you know the purpose of your site you need to consider the exact features you will need. Features can include:

  • A theme
  • Possibly a page builder
  • Plugins
  • Specific content
  • Connections to 3rd party integrations

When selecting a theme there are a number of things to look at, in particular if the theme is compatible with the plugins and 3rd party integrations you want to include. Many purchased themes come with a number of plugins included to help you obtain the look provided in their demo version and will list popular plugins they are compatible with – mainly WooCommerce and page builders.

I highly recommend Themeforest.net for themes, there is so much choice to pick from and the way its all laid out makes it clear to see how updated the theme is, how response their customer support is, and the compatibility with other plugins/WooCommerce/WordPress versions. You want a theme that is updated regularly, with good customer service and works with the plugins you need.

WordPress has its own built in page builder Gutenberg blocks, but for additional elements and styling options a page builder such as WPBakery or Elementor are recommended.

3rd party integrations can be features such as payment gateways, email marketing, booking software; and working out whether they are compatible or require specific plugins to work.

If you provide a membership, or sell certain products, you are required to include certain terms and conditions or even use certain terminology on your website. Research will be needed to ensure you use the correct ones for your site.

3.      Create a Content Inventory

Now you know the focus for your website and have looked at themes you like, you can cater the content to fit. It is a really simple process and extremely useful part of the planning process. The content you use has to be of benefit to the visitor, so consider the jargon they would understand and the way they absorb information.

You can use the demo of a theme you like the look of to assist in determining layouts and available sections.

A content inventory can simply be done using a spreadsheet, think of it like a map of your site and its content. The following column titles can get you started, but feel free to add more if needed.

  1. Page Title – These need to clearly identify what is on the page and are the first thing Google sees when doing an SEO search.
  2. Page Sections – Break your pages down in to sections with things like a larger header image, About us section with text and image, Our work gallery with 3 columns, CTA, Footer
  3. Content Required – its at this point you need to really think about the content each of the sections you will need. The header image needs a short snappy sentence and CTA button, the About us section needs max 100 words and an image, the Our Work Gallery needs 3 images of previous work that links to portfolio pages, CTA needs another snappy sentence giving the visitor a reason to click on the button, the footer needs social media links, a sign up form, 2nd menu etc
  4. Content Ready – when you have all the content you need for that section/page you can place an X in this column helping to keep you on track.

4.      Get your branding in place

When compiling your content, particularly the imagery you need to consider how it ties in with your branding. If your branding is bright and relaxed, then dark or corporate style images may not work.

You also have to consider how to pair the colours from your branding. When placing buttons on top of coloured areas colour combinations can either work really well or leave your visitors squinting at it trying to work out why. If you place elements on top of images they can blend in if the wrong colours are picked, even if you place an overlay on the image you risk it distorting the image just to make the element fit.

Another important element of branding to consider is your logo and how it will work with a theme. If you have a theme in mind look at the logo being used in the demo, would your logo fit in that place? If you want an inline menu layout (Menu options / Logo / Menu options) will your logo fit in within the menu line or stand out too much? On a website I completed the branding was a logo that looked very much like a clothing tag, because of this we chose a theme that had a side bar menu so the logo could sit as if coming out the side of the screen. It wouldn’t have worked with an inline menu or sitting above the menu.

5.      Content

The content to place on your website can actually be one of the hardest steps of preparing a website. The words have to entice a customer to journey further into your website and react to your call to actions, they have to speak to the customer in a way they understand while still showing your expertise, knowledge, and personality.

I highly recommend to all my website build clients that they work towards 500 words minimum per page to help get in their keywords and their message across to customers.

The content needs to be presented in such a way that it keeps the readers attention while providing all the information they will need. The most pertinent details should be placed near the top of the page with short and simple sentences. Don’t limit your content to generalised, high level statements though, be specific with real world examples to help readers visualize your message.

Each industry has its own jargon that makes sense to those in the know, but customers may not. So always nix the jargon as much as possible and keep it accessible. Find yourself using the same words over and over? Then why not check out Thesaurus,com for alternative ideas. It can get pretty boring reading what appears to be the same words over and over again. Ensure though you keep your key terms consistent to avoid confusing visitors and search engines.  

Don’t be afraid of white space either, visitors will generally scan through webpages first skipping over large sections of text looking for bulle or numerical lists and smaller paragraphs. The use of headers can hep break up the text even more, clearing highlighting key areas to engage with and help search engines navigate the page.

There is so much more you can do with content these are a few starting tips to help.

Next Steps

With just these 5 pieces of information you can get started with your own website build or be able to provide a well thought out plan to a website designer to build the site for you. Check out other sites in your industry or with a similar feel to what you are aiming for to give a better visual idea once building begins.

Keep referring back to your content inventory, your branding and your message throughout the build to ensure you are staying consistent and providing the best customer experience possible. Once completed send it out to a few friends and get their opinions to help catch anything you may have missed – think of it as quality control! When ready get sharing remembering to keep everything up to date.

Things to remember when moving hosts

Three Things most people forget to consider when moving hosts.

by with No Comment ArticlesBlogs

At some point we all move our websites from one host to another. Be it due to costs or available resources, its one of those business management tasks we find ourselves doing.

It seems simple enough – find a new provider that has everything you need at an affordable cost, purchase the hosting package and leave it to them to handle. Simple right? Wrong! There is a few little extra bits you need to consider, such as the available resources the hosting package will provide – so if your running a membership can the new hosting package handle the amount of php requests you will need? Photo heavy website – does your site have enough storage for the images? These can all be answered easily by the host with a quick chat with them.

There are 3 extra bits though that most hosts don’t cover or advise on clearly. Some hosts may offer to migrate your website over for you, but few will offer to help with emails or domains. See below for what I mean.

Emails

What happens to your emails when you move host? I have had a number of clients come to me and assume that when they move hosts their emails also move… but this is not true.

When you use a host provided email address those emails are saved on a server with the host. When you move hosts and cancel your previous hosting package that space of server is wiped clean ready for someone new to use it. If you don’t have a back up of those emails you will be losing years and years of emails.  The easiest way to create a back up is by using Outlook. You input the server details before the move, wait for outlook to sync all your emails then create a back up of all the emails. (Instructions can be found here from Outlook) Then when you move hosts you can sync the back up with the new webmail.

If you use an email address with Gsuite then you will need to update your DNS server settings again to reconnect your email address and Gsuite.

Domains

If you have a number of additional CNAME or TXT records set up against your domain and move it along with your hosting, then you need to make a record of these. They will not be instantly transferred and can cause issues with services such as email marketing and general emails if not set back up.

This is specially true when using a service such as Gsuite that requires a number of MX records to be set up in order for Gsuite to process your emails, you may suddenly find that your emails stop working and your inbox suddenly goes quiet if you do not remember to re-create the MX records. If you don’t know how it is usually possible to contact the host for help.

Your Website Itself

If you have built your website using Wix, or Godady builder or any other form other than WordPress be prepared to have to rebuild your website. These types of builders own your website; therefore you can’t just take the site and transfer it to a new host, you will have to totally rebuild the site.

Whereas if you have built with WordPress .org things are far easier.

You can use a tool such as All In One Migration to create a back up of the website before purchasing your new hosting. Once purchased install WordPress, and the All In One Migration plugin. You can then easily import your backup and hey ho your website is up and running on your new hosting.

Be careful though, if you had plugins that had licences or api keys you need to check all of these are working to ensure a flawless transfer.

These three things are just 3 of the main host migrations issues I have come across, but there are plenty of other little things that are forgotten in the process. It can be beneficial to keep track of what and where your domain is linked so when you do choose to move you know exactly what needs updating or modifying.

Need help or want to discuss more about moving hosts? Then get in touch today!

Are you ready for Zoom 5.0 let RedRite Help

Zoom 5.0 – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

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March – April 2020 Zoom users experienced a large number of security risks, with random strangers popping in to their chats, unfortunate and at times disturbing screenshares happening and a number of other security issues. At a time when video calling for meetings and socialising was a must thanks to Covid-19, this caused major concerns and safety issues for those using Zoom.

However, Zoom were fast to respond, and instantly new security measures were put in place. Users suddenly found they needed to include passwords when sending invites to people, and for some the waiting room feature was rolled out immediately. Zoom started working on new ways to ensure security and privacy in the Zoom calls, eventually coming up with Zoom 5.0, released on April 27th 2020.

The new version of Zoom was encrypted by 256-bit GCM encryption, a tighter more robust encryption for meeting data and to reduce risk of tampering. All users of Zoom have to upgrade to Zoom 5.0 by May 30th 2020 in order to actually use zoom. So it was highly recommended you pre-warn your attendees prior to the call, allowing them time to upgrade beforehand if they hadn’t already.

Part of the new security features in Zoom include:

Improved Security Features and controls – The host can control who screenshares, if chat is available or not, and even whether people can rename themselves and change their profile picture or not during the meeting. The host can also remove a user from the meeting, or report them to Zoom’s Trust & Safety Team who will review them and take appropriate action.

Waiting Room Be Default – The waiting room feature was available prior to Zoom 5.0 but in the new version enabled the waiting rooms by default for Basic, Education and Single Licence Pro accounts. When a participant joins the call, they are left waiting for permission to enter by the host. If the host does not recognise the participants name, they can refuse them entry to the meeting. It is also a useful tool if you have back to back meetings, as it prevents participants from joining too early and ‘walking in’ on a meeting not meant for them.

Complex meeting Ids and Passwords – If you have shared your meeting room ID with people then you will need to check that it is the new 11 digit unique meeting ID. The IDs are also being removed from the content sharing window so no accidental sharing of the ID or other meeting information.

Anyone who has held a meeting post April 27th will have noticed they are required to create a password for meetings. In Zoom 5.0 these passwords will be more complex and administrated account admins can set requirements for the password (such as length, alphanumeric or special character requirements). Passwords come as standard on the Basic, Single Licence Pro and K 12 customers.

Watermarks – Firstly is the new Audio watermark. When turned on and a user starts recoding during a meeting, their personal information is embedded within the audio of the meeting. If you then find a copy of the audio published without consent on the internet Zoom will be able to trace it back to the participant that shared it.

Secondly, is Screen share watermark. Similar to the audio watermark this feature superimposes an image of the users email address on any screenshots they take during the meeting. Allowing it to be traced back if sensitive information from shared graphs, for example, has been shared without consent.

Meeting Registration and Authentication – Plan to publicise a networking event but want to ensure you know exactly who is joining the meeting? Then this feature is perfect as it allows you to set a registration form for the meetings. Collecting their names, email address and any additional information you may require from them before they join the meeting. Instead of the usual meeting ID link instead you share the registration link, and can identify attendees before the meeting begins. You can also run a report to collect all their information – so ensure you make people aware you will be doing this ahead of time, especially if you then plan to use that data in some way. Remember GDPR!

Authentication is available on Business, Enterprise and Education accounts allowing you to restrict access via specific email domain names – i.e so everyone with a company email address.

Recording Security – If you store your recordings on the cloud these are now encrypted with complex passwords by default to ensure only you can access them.

Data Centre Information – Hosts can now choose which data centre regions they would like their meeting traffic to use when scheduling a meeting. Zoom’s Data Centre’s are US, Canada, China, Austalia, Europe, India, Japan/Hong Kong and Latin America. This feature, at the time of writing this article, was only available to paid accounts.

These are just some of the new security features available, with more being considered and trialled depending on your account level. Many users will have received an email once the forced change was required but it is still best to ensure anyone you are having a meeting with has upgraded to save time when joining the meeting and avoiding any unnecessary disruptions.

If you want to check your version of Zoom is 5.0, you can do this by opening up the app on your desktop, when it prompts you to log in or join a meeting it tells you the version at the bottom of the screen.

Not used Zoom before and would like to test is capabilities, then why not book a 30 min free cuppa with me and we can go through ways you can use Zoom in your business.

Website Jargon by RedRite

Website Terminology and Jargon

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As I am getting ready for my first Website building workshop quite a few people have been asking about the different terminology used when it comes to websites. There are quite a few terms that website developers and designers throw around that might as well be another language to those who don’t spend their days buried in code, so here are some of the most commonly used terms you may here when considering a website for your business.

Back-end/Dashboard

This is a term used for the area within your website that you use to create pages, make updates and maintain your website. In WordPress it usually has slim black banner across the top of the page, and then the menu choices (Pages/Posts/Plugins etc) is don the left hand side.

Wordpress Dashboard

Cache

When you visit a website it will leave a few crumbs of information within your computers memory, sometimes when you make a change to your website you can not always see it straight away. This is because your computer is loading these crumbs of information rather than the new information. You maybe told to clear your cache – to do this you will need to clear your browser history in settings. This will clear away all these crumbs of information ready for new bits of information.

Cpanel/Plesk

This is the names of the control panels that hosting companies use. You will see these when you log in to your hosting account and they showcase a large number of tools – many with 1 click install WordPress options – for you to manage your website. The version depends on whether or not your host uses Linux operating system or Windows. These areas are usually used by your website developer as you can manage your email accounts, the DNS settings and your website files/databases from here so unless you understand what it is you want to do -and how to do it – it is best to stay avoid fiddling if you can.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)

This is the file that determines what your website looks like. It can determine if there is space between your images and or what colour your buttons are and so much more. It is actually a type of computer language that many web developers understand. So, when you developer/builder advises they need to add something to the CSS to make what you want happen it means they are updating this file.

Domain or URL

This is the address of your website. What is typed into a internet browser when you want to visit a website. For example, my domain name is RedRite.co.uk. You need a domain to read the files stored in your hosting that makes up your website.

A URL is another name for the link to a website but also include the bits after the domain name. So RedRite.co.uk/ is the domain and when put together with a page name or a blog post name it becomes a URL. It is the full website link to any page on a website rather than just the name of the website.

DNS

DNS is something you will hear when discussing your domain and hosting if they are owned by 2 different companies. It stands for Domain Name Servers and is like a directory for your website but in a language a computer can understand. Computers can not read Domain Names so they need it in a terminology they understand, thus DNS settings. DNS settings can also include details in relation to your emails and where they are delivered. I strongly suggest speaking to your domain and host company before making any changes yourself to these settings.

Favicon

Ever noticed on a website tab there is a tiny little logo or image? This is a favicon. It can make your site more recognisable to visitors when flicking between tabs who are more familiar with your logo than your website name.

Hex Code

Been asked for a hex code for a colour on your website but utterly confused? A hex code is computer language for colours, a way for the computer to read the exact colour and shade you want to show. You can easily type in your colour and Hex Code into Google and be shown a long list of hex codes for that particular colour and all its available shades. A hex code begins with a hashtag (#) and usually made up of letters and numbers.

Hosting

This is the home where you will place your website. Hosting is a file on a computer (hosting company server) that holds all the files that create your website. If building a self hosted website then you definitely need hosting to install the software you want to build your website. Whereas services such as Squarespace or Wix provide the hosting for you as part of their package price so you don’t have to worry about it.

HTML

HTML is another website language that determines the structure of the website. When combined with the CSS it makes up what your visitors see. HTML identifies elements such as Images, Paragraphs and links.

CSS Coding
CSS Example

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is something you have possibly heard of and it is definitely something worth considering with a website. SEO is action taken to make your website search friendly. These actions include having correct Keywords, correctly naming images and making your website user friendly so that you are more visible by search engines. It increases your ‘Free’ or ‘Organic’ rankings on search engines.

SSL Certificate

Security is extremely important these days when cyber crime is becoming a huge expensive industry. Google made it a requirement back in 2017 that any website without an SSL (Security Sockets Layer) certificate would be flagged as unsafe and therefore affect rankings. SSL is a Standard Security Technology that creates an encrypted link between a customer and your website. It helps ensure information such as name, email address and IP address (where your computer lives on the internet) is kept private and safe when visiting your website. With a SSl certificate you will notice the beginning of any URL on your website will be HTTPS:// rather than HTTP://

Is there anymore terms you have heard of and do not understand? Then why not pop them across in an email or message on my Facebook page and I will be more than happy to explain them to you.

Wordpress Versions - which one?

WordPress – What Is the Difference?

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Mention a website building platform and guarantee WordPress will be one of the names mentioned, if not the first. First released in 2003, WordPress now has around 58% of the CMS market share depending which survey you look at (CMS is Content Management System), and around 75% of live websites are either built on WordPress .com or using the .org installation.

But what is the difference between .com and .org? And what is the difference between normal hosting for WordPress and WordPress managed hosting?

WordPress .com

This version of WordPress I hosted by WordPress itself, on their own servers, and there are a number of levels/packages of flexibility available.

  1. Free Package – The most basic package is their free blogging package that provides you with a WordPress domain and a basic platform to blog. They only have 3gb of storage for this site so best for small sites.
  2. Personal Package – Similar to the free package but this allows for a custom domain. A domain ca be bought via WordPress or with an external provider.
  3.  Premium Package – The minimally suitable website for freelancers and business owners who are wanting a platform to advertise their services. This is the first of the packages that allow monetization of the site, including a PayPal button – the Free/Personal packages do not allow any selling on their sites at all!
  4. Business Package – Perfect for a growing business with unlimited storage and monetization allowed. WordPress advertises this as coming with SEO tools as well as Google Analytics integration. This Package also allows the uploading of Plugins and installation of 3rd party themes.
  5. Ecommerce Package – Everything from above plus integrated tools to sell directly through your site. These integrations include currency tools, shipping methods and ecommerce marketing tools – social media and Mailchimp tools.

While perfect for personal blogging and a starter business this version of WordPress can get costly as your website grows, and to a point requires some HTML/CSS knowledge. This is because to achieve a personalised look you will need HTML to code the layout of the pages themselves.

WordPress .org

This is my favourite version of WordPress, and when you ask around in Facebook groups for websites, or how to on websites majority of commenters will be talking about this version. This requires a hosting package, as well as your own domain name but all it takes is a quick 5 minute install – which many hosting companies will do for you – and your site is up and ready to get going. The fees associated are usually an annual fee of your hosting and domain name, while the WordPress version itself is free.

This version allows you to install any number of themes, or to even code your own pages if you prefer using PHP templates page templates. There is thousands of free and paid for plugins that allow you to do anything from take a subscribers details, place a Cookie notice or host a course and membership on your own website.

Not confident in HTML/CSS/PHP – no worries! Page builders such as WPBakery, Divi or Elementor make creating any number of layouts possible, and you can easily drag and drop on to the page different elements such as images, text blocks, sliding images etc

This version of WordPress has been used for websites such as UPS, CBS Radio and countless other Top 500 Companies.

WordPress Managed Hosting

This is where most people get confused when looking for hosting for their WordPress website.

Managed Hosting for WordPress is usually slightly higher in price per month than normal shared hosting, yet cheaper than dedicated hosting. So what exactly is managed hosting and why is it more expensive than standard shared hosting?

Well, it is exactly what it states. The hosting company manage the maintenance of your website for you, running updates and controlling your Cpanel for you – which is perfectly fine if you do not know what you are doing but a number of times I have needed access to a Folder to install something for a client and the hosting company refuses access. The servers themselves used to host these sites is specifically configured to optimise Wordpress websites, and the support you receive is from expert support staff. A down side is though a number of plugins are blocked form running on Managed WordPress sites, usually ones that could potentially slow down your website – however sometimes these plugins are essential so load time has to be sacrificed.

Managed WordPress Hosting Packages comes with a number of pros and is really good for small business owners who need the technical support and want to leave things such as updates to someone else to worry about. However, sometimes you have to weigh the costs, would it be cheaper for you to get Managed WordPress Hosting, or to pay £75 for 90 minutes of training on how to keep on top of your plugins and the basic knowledge of maintaining your site?

 So there we have it, the basics of WordPress Versions. Have you built your site already on WordPress? Then why not share your site on my Facebook page.

Not got a website yet but interested in using WordPress for your site, then give me a call to discuss my WordPress Website Building Packages, all designed to make building your site easy as possible.

Save Money in Business

Saving Money in Your Business

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One thing people are always looking for is to save money. However, following on from a recent networking event the attendees realised that we may not always be as open to saving money as we think. We discussed savings in gas and electric at home, but it got me thinking about ways we can save money in business as well.

So here are my top ways you can save money in your business.

Regularly check contracts

You would be amazed how many people forget their contract end dates. Usually at the end of a contract where you received a really cheap deal at the beginning, the rates will triple in price. If you do not keep track of those contracts due to end you may get stumped with an unexpected payment taken from your account. Such services are hosting packages. Many companies offer an introductory rate for the first 12 months, but on renewal it will go sky high.

Keep a note of these renewal dates and about 2 weeks before they are due start looking around for better deals elsewhere. The same for mobile phone contracts. I saved £20 per month by shopping around for a better deal.

Consider Paying ‘Get Out Fees’ to make long term savings

My mobile phone contract was due to renew in April, at a monthly cost of £53 per month but I had been offered a far better deal by a different provider saving me £20 a month. So, I paid the get out early fees (£40) and saved myself £200 long term that I can look at investing in my business.

Many services from internet and landlines, to service providers such as those of point of sale devices, will have a get out early fee arrangement. It is worth getting someone to look over all your bills for you and see what savings can be made compared to staying with your current provider.

Do You Really Need it?

Another great money saving trick is to check if you actually need a service, or a different level of plan with your current providers. Take for example Dropbox, I was paying monthly for 1TB and yet had less than 1gb of files stored in it, files which I had not touched in around 6 months. At the same time I was paying monthly for my Office 365 business account, which comes with 1TB of One Drive. I removed all business files from my drop box, added them to the One Drive and cancelled the plan. Saving around £90 a year.

Similarly with Hootsuite, I had their premium version which I got at a discount several years ago, yet I had not used it in 18 months! So I cancelled my plan, disconnected the platforms I no longer use and saved my self around £150 a year.

So how could you save money in your business?

GDPR, Leeds, RedRite

GDPR – My Thoughts

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GDPR.

Its 4 letters that have started to put the fear of life in business owners, and with its implementation in May not too far away many business owners are stressing over whether they are compliant or not.

STOP STRESSING!

GDPR is all about being upfront, honest and very clear in what you do – which as business owners we should be anyway. The biggest change that has affected me and my clients is that of email marketing and data handling, something very simple to become compliant in. So here are my top tips to becoming GDPR Compliant based upon research, and multiple seminars.

Data

So what do they mean when they say Data?

They mean any data you hold on your PC, mobile, latop etc Data includes details such as name, address, contact number and email. The usual details you need t conduct business.

There is a secondary level of data which is classed as sensitive data and must be treated even more delicately. Data that falls under this category is things such as medical information, religious information and financial information. It is best to get a compliant officer/lawyer to help you understand how to handle this data.

So now we know what Data is, what’s next?

Whether you use the data for contractual purposes, marketing or for profiling to understand your audience it all needs to be clearly put out there for those that the data belongs to, to understand. Therefore you need to update your privacy policy.

You also need to make sure you have explicit consent to hold and process their data.

Update your Privacy Policy

If you have a website with Google Analytics installed, cookies or a contact form then you need to update your Privacy Policy to include what details they use, and how. For example, my Privacy Policy states exactly what data I will obtain when you visit my website, how I obtain that information as well as how I use it and with what software – Google Analytics.

The Privacy policy is relevant for website visitors and clients as it also advises clients what information I will need from them and the systems I will use to process that data. Agreeing to my services creates an understanding of contractual performance for me to process that data in order to provide the services – without it I can not perform the tasks required.

Consent

So I have mentioned Contractual performance, which is quite clear in regards to consent given. But what other forms of consent are there, and how do you prove it?

This is where Email marketing comes in!

Firstly, that list of emails you have for your newsletter – you need to be able to prove you had consent from them all to send the emails you send. The easiest way is double opt-ins for new subscribers. All though not required it does assure you that the person signing up is in complete agreement by completing the secondary sign up step. The data you can download from your email marketing platform will keep a track of when they signed up and when they signed the confirmation email – this is your evidence!

For current subscribers, you can send them an email with a sign up link to a new list asking for confirmation they would like to remain on your mailing list. This is a good time to let them know what do with their data, and the types of emails you will be sending them to make it VERY clear how the data is being processed – as require by GDPR.

If someone contacts you via a contact form, or generally via email you can not just add them to your list! This is not consent. You need to direct them to your sign-up form and get them to sign up themselves.

There is also an issue with freebies – although I do not have all the details – but there is a grey area because people are signing up for the freebie, not to receive marketing emails (although we all expect them). To continue offering a freebie you need to make it VERY clear that not only are they signing up for the freebie but also for the marketing emails – without this you will be in hot water.

Other forms of Consent

If you have employees – then by law you are required to process their data for things such as HMRC. Therefore agreeing to work for you is giving consent for that data to be processed. There are a few legal obligations that also require businesses to process consumer data such as The Enterprise Act 2002.

The final relevant form of Consent is that of Legitimate interest. Now this is a very flexible lawful basis but can not be used as an excuse for every processing task you take part in. According to GDPR you can se this as a lawful basis if –

‘you can show that how you use people’s data is proportionate, has a minimal privacy impact, and people would not be surprised or likely to object – but only if you don’t need consent under PECR’.

You can hold data for suppliers, and 3rd parties as these details are required in order to provide services to your clients, therefore falls under legitimate interest.

Right to be forgotten

So this another area I know a few fellow business owners are having issues wrapping their heads around. So let’s break it down as simple as possible.

Individuals now have the right to request any data you hold is removed from their databases – every single one of them!

Once an individual has made a request to be forgotten a business has just 1 month to follow through – unless legal obligations require otherwise. And this is where it gets fuzzy for people.

The main reason to not comply is where the data is needed to provide agreed services, and without it the agreed contract cannot be fulfilled. There are also other reasons, the ICO states:

‘The right to erasure does not apply if processing is necessary for one of the following reasons:

  • to exercise the right of freedom of expression and information;
  • to comply with a legal obligation;
  • for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority;
  • for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific research historical research or statistical purposes where erasure is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of that processing; or
  • for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.’

So for example, take employee records. They are required to be held for a set amount of time, even after the employee leaves, and it is during this time that the data can be held even if the employee requests to have it erased. The reasons being for HMRC record keeping and if required for legal claims – i.e unfair dismissal.

If you have clients who come back say once a year for projects – like branding help – then you can hold their data with the intent that it is kept for future projects. Just make sure you let them know you will hold it for that length of time!

Security

This is a biggie.

The data you do hold, and process needs to be kept secure, preferably encrypted. GDPR requires us to hold the information in a way that prevents unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or theft using appropriate technical measures.

If someone gets access to your database then you are required to inform everyone you hold data for ASAP.

Such ways to protect the data is to ensure you have firewalls in place, the data is held on an external hard drive unplugged from your laptop when not in use, or if using a 3rd party to process and hold the data they are complaint with GDPR and under Article 32 of GDPR.

GDPR is not as scary as people first thought and although for some it might mean more paperwork and process changes while they get use to the new requirements, it will soon become easy to comply.

I am still learning, and still finding out all that I can to help people with GDPR. I have compiled the main points I feel are most relevant to sole traders/small businesses but if you have any questions do not hesitate to get in touch and I will go through my research to find the answer for you.

 

 

Time Management, Deadlines, Business, RedRite

Deadlines and Time Management

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February has seen me taking part in a group project as part of my university studies, and it was a testament to my time management skills more than anything else I have ever done.

I am use to juggling several projects, children commitments and my own personal commitments but this project required me to work to someone else’s time table and to do so with a group of 15 other people. Now you can image how hard it is to get 15 people from all over Yorkshire together at one time when we all work different hours, have different commitments and the odd technical issue thrown in. But we have managed it and the 28th of February saw the end of the project and a sigh of relief from us all – even though we loved having the collective support!

It got me thinking though about time management and meeting deadlines – how do you manage your time to meet a deadline? Here are my top tips to managing.

1)     One bite at a time

I use a number of tools and those that receive my emails or follow me on LinkedIn will have seen what those tools are – number 1 being Trello. It helps me to break down a project into bite size manageable chunks, similar to the timetable our tutor gave us with set deadlines for each step of the project.

I take a project and create a series of milestones for that project. Then I note these down on a board, with a cut off point for each milestone – these are my deadlines. As I am aware of the time frame most tasks will take it is then possible to slot work in around other projects and still have it done within my self-allotted deadlines. However, it is essential to always add in extra time for any unexpected problems e.g. system down, delay in client feedback etc

2)     Keep Track

It can be easy to get distracted or go off on a tangent, but then you find yourself with a bunch of half-finished projects and no track of where you got with them. This is where I love reminders – they maybe pesky little pings on your phone but they do save your projects.

Each deadline has a 24hr reminder before it’s due and any emails or conversations associated with that particular task is all kept in one place. I find sending the client and myself a summary email every few days keeps us all on track. We know what has been done, what is still needed and if there are any issues. Try this yourself, have a draft email with each task and as you go through add any notes, comments or accomplishments and at the end of every day/week send it to yourself so you can see where you are – many email apps will no let you schedule emails so auto schedule it and it will be one less thing to remember. (If your email client doesn’t allow this there are various ones that will aid this – depending on the client you use.)

3)     Observe Time

Whether you’re having fun or not, time will fly by without you noticing. That 5 minutes break on Facebook, or a quick look at the news can turn in to channel surfing and before you know it an hour has gone by and your deadline is ever closer.

I am guilty of this but found timing my breaks helps me restrict them and cut back on distractions. I will turn the kettle on and in the time it takes to boil I will flick through Facebook, or put a bit of washing away (downside to working from home!) then as soon as my cuppa is ready I am back at my desk and working away.

Taking a break though is not a bad thing, twice a week I take an hour break for gym and twice a week I start late so I can spend time with family/friends or take care of housework, this helps me get out and about as well as benefits my health. These are breaks for set times on set days, so I can easily plan my work around them and nothing has to suffer. What breaks do you take, and how often?

The number one thing not to do when you have a deadline is stress! Yes I know easier said then done, but when you stress you make small mistakes that suddenly seem overly proportional and you start seconding guessing yourself. So a 2 minute job to fix ends up taking 20 minutes, a few blue words and handful of hair pulled – or is that just me?

Need help with your Time Management? Then get in touch and let me help you put together a workable time table.

 

Business Tips, Leeds, RedRite

Top tips to Spring Clean your Paperwork

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In our third instalment of Spring Cleaning your business, we look at the paperwork side of things.

Not just physical but also the electronic side including emails.

 

A big thing that is becoming popular in offices, small and big, is having a virtual office only. This is the reduction of paper materials unless absolutely necessary. No more printing out of emails, no more printing out of signed documents and no more scraps of paper lying around. Not only does this de-clutter your space but it is good for the environment too. I know a few individuals who follow this, but others like me still enjoy scribbling notes in a note book.

If you want to completely remove all paper forms from your desk then consider getting either a system such as Dragon – where you dictate your notes directly on to your computer, or a graphics tablet to take notes instead.

 

Not ready to lose all the paper?

If like me you still use a few bits of paper, or still have a need to print documents off then here are some simple tips to follow to de-clutter the papers you do have.

 

Firstly, check the need for some of those papers. If you have any old client papers, such as their personal details from an order, or even an old order form GET RID. The Data Protection Act states that personal information must only be held for as long as it is needed. If you no longer need to know the address of a client from 3 years ago, you do not need that paper file.

 

If you want to keep a copy of any paper invoices, or order forms, then scan them into your laptop and save them in to a cloud storage facility (we will look at storing e-files in a minute). This way you still have a copy of transactions for your record, without the piles of paperwork associated.

 

The same for any notes you have taken associated with a client, find a couple of hours – or hire a VA – to type up all those handwritten notes and then file them electronically before recycling the papers.

 

A cheat I saw off a fellow VA once, and loved(!), was to have a notebook for each client. Or you could use a notebook per month/year etc and then type up all those notes once the note book is filled. It is a good way to keep track of all the notes, rather than lots of scraps of paper.

 

How to organise those e-files

Just because your files are on your PC does not mean they are organised. In fact, you may find it harder to find an e-file than to dig through a paper mountain. The following tips will help you get organised, and reduce time hunting around.

Most laptops are used for work and personal, a good way of separating the two is to create two accounts. A personal account and a work account, this makes it easier to avoid distractions and switch between the two uses for your laptop. It also helps organise your files a bit better.

Secondly create a folder for the following:

  • Each Client
  • Personal Admin – documents such as expenses, receipts, company registration paperwork etc
  • Important Documents – things such as copies of contract templates, client registration files, price cards, website back up files etc
  • Education – I will explain this one in a moment.

Then organise each of the files you hold in to the relevant folder. If you have a folder full of information for a client that is associated to one project then keep it together in the folder, and place that folder inside the client’s folder. It may seem like a lot of folders but this way everything is perfectly filed away and so easy to locate.

If you download a lot of images for work, create an Images folder either in the main Work document location or in each client folder (depending on the need of the image). This saves digging through your download file for something you downloaded months ago – just remember to move it as soon as you download it.

The education folder is for any files that in some way teach you something, whether they are a freebie from signing up to a newsletter, or notes from a webinar you have seen, or even a copy of a webinar you have seen. This way you have all those educational, development supporting files together.

As you organise your files, consider how important they are for you to keep. Have you accessed them in the last 6 months? Do they hold any important information, legal information? Is it the only copy, or are there several copies of the same information? This way you can cut down on the number of files you hold, and create more storage space.

On the Windows interface in File Explorer you will have a tab on the left-hand side called Quick Access. This is where you want to add a shortcut to your work folders. I have my top client’s I access on a regular basis and my Important Documents folder. When I open File Explorer I just click there and saves me having to go into documents, then in to where the files are saved… Saves so much clicking and time waiting for things to load.

 

What about Email?

The e-filing method can be used for your emails as well. Create a folder for each client/project and create a rule in your inbox that will automatically send the emails to these folders without you having to touch them. They will then keep all necessary emails together and save having to dig through your inbox if any is needed.

If you have a lot of subscriptions, go through each of them and remove yourself from any subscriptions you have not accessed within the past 6-8 weeks – if you haven’t looked at them at least once a week you are not interested and they are filling up space. Make sure your spam settings are set to high to avoid your inbox being filled with random sales emails and advertising stuff you have no interest in – any slip through just select either label as spam or unsubscribe. I helped a client with this recently and he went from receiving over 500 emails a day to 200 emails a day! He can now see what is important, and what can wait a few days. I also advised him if it was of no interest to just delete, rather than keep it hanging around his inbox (he has had to increase his inbox capacity several times, so trying to cut back now).

Get in to the habit of flagging emails that require your attention, yet you might not be able to provide when they arrive. For example, I receive my emails to my phone but I cannot always sit and read them. So, I flag them and in the evening when I sit to do admin I go back to the flagged emails and deal with them. You can also leave them unread, that way just filter by unread emails and keep them unread until dealt with. It is easier to manage your time replying to emails if you sit and do it at once rather than every few minutes during the day.

If you need a little help organising your files, and emails, then do not hesitate to get in touch. I will sit with you and assist you every step of the way to cut down on the noise that prevents you from easily accessing what you need. Just book a coffee with me today 😊

Put a spring in your Business, RedRite, Leeds

Put a spring in your online presence with these simple steps

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As Spring makes it’s presence even more known, we look at spring cleaning your online presence. Part two of our Spring Clean Series.

In my last blog post we looked at running a business audit in order to spring clean your business. I would love to hear your feedback on that, because now we are going to look at spring cleaning your online presence.

I have recently looked at the importance of being online (Visit the blog post here) but this time we will be looking at how to be consistent online with your brand, and the benefits.

There are 3.773 billion internet users, and 2.789 billion of those users are active on social media in 2016 and out of those internet users 1.61 billion sales were made online in 2016. Accessing this audience, and becoming recognisable is important to start making those sales and achieving your financial goals.

So how can you be consistent online?

1.       Imagery

Apply your logo to any imagery you use. It does not have to be big and bold, as long as it is clear and recognisable. Software such as Canva, or Photoshop, can assist you in placing your logo on any imagery you use. You can have variations of your logo such as a vertical logo, square logo without writing, or a horizontal logo to fit within the different marketing materials, as long as the logo is the same content.

If you haven’t already, select a collection of colours that ties in with your brand and use them on your website, in your logo and even in your imagery. For example for RedRite, red is the prominent colour which I try to use in my logo, and in the floral images I use by selecting red/pink flowers.

Talking about images, make sure the ones you use relate to your business. If you sell clothing, and use images of individuals wearing the clothes, or clothes flat lays, then keep it consistent and use the same type of images on social media and adverts.

 

2.       Content and tone

Different social media platforms do require different approaches on tone, such as professional on LinkedIn and chatty on Facebook. However, you can still keep the message of your business consistent. Think of a singer, whether they are singing a ballad or something more upbeat their voice is recognisable by their audience – this is what you want. Keep the language the same, just apply small tweaks to the tone in order to match your business. If you brand is happy go lucky yet using LinkedIn as a platform, you can keep your posts light-hearted while still being professional.

Keep your business name the same – seems silly but I don’t just mean your actual business name but also the usernames you use. When setting up a social media account check that the username you use on other profiles is the same. If it is not available do not pick something off topic, just insert a ‘_’ instead or ‘-‘. This keeps it as consistent as possible.

Content is not just the words you use but also the font you use for those words. On social media you are of course limited to the fonts of the platform. However, for your website and marketing materials, eve your logo, it is possible to mix up the fonts you use. Select 2-3 font families that you can use throughout all platforms. If you use a decorative font in your logo then, select third less decorative font that compliments it for use in written content.

A big question I see a lot online is whether or not to have the same posts posted to different platforms at the same time. The answers are always mixed, my opinion is that to be consistent you need to share the same content throughout all your platforms, not necessarily allposted at the same time in the same way but yes you need to post the same things. Use the same imagery but change the tone of the message to match the platform, such as Twitter – make it sharp and witty but to match the same message you have expanded on in Facebook.

 

So what now?

If your imagery and content is not on brand then start to make the changes to match them up. If needed hire a designer to create your perfect logo in various formats so it can be used in all the ways you need.

 

Create your brand colour board, with related image themes you wish to use, add the font families you want to the board as well. Then keep this file somewhere safe so you can relate back to it whenever you feel you are losing focus.

 

The benefits won’t be noticed overnight but the longer you stick with consistency the more your audience will start to recognise your brand and therefore take notice when they see you online.

 

If you need help taking these first steps I offer a 1 hour free consultation where we can go over what you currently have in place and how to change it. Email me to day to book in your consultation.