How to Protect the Investment You've Made in Your Website

One night about two months ago I was on the phone with a client, discussing the content of a fundraising letter we were planning, when she glanced at her e-mail and saw a message telling her that her website was down.

She thought it must be a faulty connection on the part of her writer's ISP - of course her website wasn't down!

But it was. We both went immediately to check and found that it just wasn't there.

OK - she decided to take a deep breath and contact her "web guy." She hung up, telling me she'd call back in a few minutes.

When she called back the news was not good. Her web guy had decided he didn't want to work for her any more. The idea that she planned to solicit donations to help with the animal rescue work she was doing offended him.

And, since she had trusted him to "take care" of everything, he was able to take down her site, leaving her with nothing - not even control of her own domain name.

That happened 2 months ago, and she's still struggling to re-create her website.

Something similar, yet less drastic, happened to a friend of mine who let one of her trusted employees set up their web account. He was listed as the account administrator, because he was the one in the organization who knew how to take care of the site. All was well - until he passed away. She went through months of proving who she was in order to gain control of her own site.

So what can you do to protect your website?

First, and most important: own your own domain name. Do the work of purchasing it yourself and list yourself as the responsible party. You can give someone working for you access to your user name and password - and you'll have the ability to change those names should you and your web builder part company.

If you're thinking of buying into a "template site" check first to see that you'll be able to make changes to your title tags and other meta tags - and that you'll be able to add alt tags to your photo images. These can make a huge difference in your search engine optimization, so don't let anyone tell you it doesn't matter.

Next, even if you have hired a "web guy" to do all the work, learn how to access your site to make changes. Then set up a FTP program on your own computer, and download all your files for safekeeping. In addition, put them on a back up disk or an external hard drive, to protect against disaster should your own computer crash.

This is not only a smart move for protection - it will allow you to make small changes immediately without the expense (or the wait time) of calling in the web expert.

Host your site with a well-known, solid company rather than an off-shoot that may or may not be around next year. And before you choose, make sure that they offer solid customer support. I happen to love GoDaddy because I'm hopelessly non-techie. Their support people are on duty 24 hours a day and always willing to walk me through any problems I create or show me how to do something new.

Make sure the company you choose offers support for programs such as WordPress, so you're not limited in what you can do with your site. You may not want a blog today, but you could change your mind in 6 months. Keep your options open.

When you do choose that web expert, make sure he or she is willing to use copy you provide from any source. If he insists that only he or "his friend" can produce your copy, or if the price quoted includes all your copy, move on to another expert. Copywriting and website development are two different specialties, and one person is not necessarily going to be expert at both.

The bottom line: Maintain control of your site. If a programmer you interview has a problem with that, choose someone different.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter who specializes in making people feel good about buying products or services, or donating to worthy causes.

She has extensive experience in writing search engine optimized web copy, direct sales letters, postcards, space ad copy, press releases, and more. She is also available for marketing plan creation and editing services.

You can visit her at http://www.marte-cliff.com. While you're there, sign up for one of her marketing ezines. She promises to gently nag you about ways to make your own marketing efforts more productive - whether you're selling a product or service, or promoting a non-profit organization.

How to Prevent Fraud While Shopping Online

Internet has greatly changed the shopping habits of the people precisely because of the convenience it provides in terms of saving time and money. You do not have to travel from one shop to the other; you can simply sit in the comfort of your home and browse through the various websites, do a comparison shopping and buy the goods online using your credit card. That said, there is a catch and that is online frauds. Today, making money online is very easy and there are lots of opportunities available on internet. Online retailers have to provide safety measures to build consumer confidence. If you have an e-commerce business you must ensure that it is 100 percent secure and the sensitive information they provide is completely protected. Keep in mind the following points to prevent your E-commerce website against fraud.

Fraud Detection Service

There is a fraud detection service you can avail of to prevent fraudulent activities. The fraud detection service asks the consumer to verify an address and compares it to what is one file with the credit card issuer. It the address matches, the customer is given permission to go ahead with making a purchase.

Credit Card Verification Codes

The credit card verification code is the three important numbers found on the back of a credit card. As a consumer, you would be asked to insert those numbers when you shop on a site. In order for someone to place website fraud, they most acquire the credit card numbers and the credit card as well. So if you have the verification system is place, you can decrease the risks of fraud significantly.

Site Design

You website design can also help to reduce online frauds. For this, your website should be designed with the latest versions of scripting languages and programs to fight off hackers and protect the integrity of your business. You may have to shell out extra money to make sure fraud is not occurring, but it is well worth it in the long run. Having a secure site will save you money and protect your customers, which is perhaps the most important aspect of online business.

Go for a trusted web design company to ensure that your website is protected against frauds. ITRIX Technologies, http://www.itrixtechnologies.com is one such company providing neat, clear-cut secure web design services customized to their customers' unique requirements. Their certified web designers have extensive experience in web site design and graphic art. The company understands that your website represents your brand and can help design a solution that not only strengthens and creates brand awareness but also fulfils your business objectives. ITRIX Technologies can take care of your web needs from web hosting to web page design to online marketing.

Mark Alter, the author of this article, writes about the benefits of a trusted web design to ensure that your website is protected against frauds. Want to know more about ITRIX Technologies and web design? Still lots of things remain to explore.