social media

Cr(h)acked: The Concrete Security of WordPress

July 22, 2018

When we poured concrete in our barn, the contractor said there are two kinds: Concrete that has cracked, and concrete that will crack. Apparently if we just change the word cracked to hacked, the same can be said for WordPress websites.

Knowing this, why was I surprised when back in January my site was invaded by some beastly no-life? Someone who could’ve easily applied such skills to things more productive. Upset? You bet!

(It’s okay…take a deep breath…things have since worked themselves out…)

According to Sucuri Remediation Group, of the 34,371 infected websites it analyzed in 2017, 83% were built on the WordPress. Of course, there are statistical considerations: WordPress is now powering 30% of the internet and the number of sites on its platform increases every year. Even though I sometimes contemplate moving mine somewhere else, I’m always drawn back to the ease and convenience of WordPress.

So, if I’m not setting up shop elsewhere, then I personally must take responsibility for my site’s well-being. The Sucuri team agrees. It’s research showed hackings were more the fault the webmaster than the WordPress framework.

With that in mind, here are a few of the practices I’ve taken on with vigor.

Moved my website to HTTPS

As of this month (July 2018), Google Chrome has begun flagging all HTTP sites as insecure. To avoid this, I moved my website to HTTPS by installing an SSL Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer). This acts as an encrypted security between the web server and browser.

I purchased the SSL Certificate from my host provider and installed it from the AutoInstallSSL in my cPanel (your host provider can help you with this). I then went into my WordPress settings and changed my website address from HTTP to HTTPS. I also installed the WordPress plugin Really Simple SSL, which automatically made the necessary configuration changes to all my site’s pages.

Overall, the process was fairly straightforward.

Installed a WordPress security plugin

There are plenty of effective WordPress plugins that provide security from known threats. I chose Wordfence and use it to regularly scan my files for infection. It sends me an email whenever I log into my website administration and would also email if anyone else did, like say a hacker. It also notifies me when plugins need to be updated.

Speaking of plugins: I’m keeping them current!

Sucuri’s research shows the most common way hackers get into WordPress sites is through out-of-date components: plugins, themes and installations. I’m embarrassed to say I was guilty as charged. Call it a classic case of the shoemaker’s children having no shoes—while I was busy keeping my client’s websites current, I let my own fall behind.

Now I obsessively update my plugins. I’m demanding the same of developers as well—if a plugin or theme hasn’t been refreshed by its creator in the past 12 months, I won’t take the chance of using it. And if I’m not using it, I delete it. As for my own creations, I previously had test folders that sometimes sat empty and unused. Not anymore. Basically, I’ve decluttered my files as thoroughly as Marie Kondo does her closets.

Privacy Policy: Protection of a different nature

A privacy policy details what personal information you collect from your viewers, how you use it, and how you keep it private (here’s Adunate’s privacy policy).

Does your site need a privacy policy? It depends. Google “privacy policy requirements in U.S.” and you get a myriad of answers. Basically, to play it safe, if you’re a business and you collect data from your viewers, you should have a privacy policy. If you’re collecting money, don’t even think of going without one.

Don’t know where to start in writing your own privacy policy? There are plenty of templates online to help. Here’s one from the Better Business Bureau.

And now…drumroll, please…may I present Adunate’s New Website!

As I said, in the end things worked out well for my website. After weeks of back and forth with my host provider and continued cleansing of my files, I finally just scratched the whole thing and rebuilt it. This proved to be a good thing—I was long past giving my site its biennial overhaul and it was ready for a new look. It now comes with an https in its address and a cute little padlock.

I was also able to catch up on the latest and greatest of WordPress; including StudioPress, producers of WP themes I’ve purchased and customized. This, of course, enables me to better serve my clients.

Best of all, each time I redo my site I get a greater sense of the real Adunate—and that’s who you get when you hire me as your contractor. I’d love to help show the real you in your website.

Let’s talk!

The Power of the Story

March 5, 2017

Last weekend we did a getaway to the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse. I had done some design work for them earlier this year and was anxious to really be part of this great event. It was so much fun! Think hobnobbing with 3,500+ farmers, academics and friends; learning lots from any of the 65 workshops, 23 roundtables and two keynote speakers; and networking with two floors of ag-related business owners. And, oh, the food…it was deliciously diviiiiine.

My husband and I are not organic farmers by trade (we are at heart!). Even so, at the MOSES conference we felt inspired, wiser and excited about the many people who do make their living providing the world with good food. As a marketing professional, I couldn’t help notice a dominant lesson repeated throughout the weekend—the power of the story.

Stories Create Connection

There were two keynote speakers—Mas Masumoto and Liz Carlisle—and they were both captivating storytellers. They shared heartfelt narratives of themselves and farmers, and they emphasized the importance of telling your own story. Masumoto asked each of us to turn to our neighbor and share the story of how we got into organic food. It was slow going for about five seconds and then the conversation took off in an excited hum. What a great way for everyone to realize they have a unique story, all the while meeting other people and hearing theirs.

Organic farmers—well, any business for that matter—can tote facts and features all day long, but in the end, emotions are what really motivate people to buy. This was true decades ago when Dale Carnegie said “we are dealing with creatures of emotion.” It’s even truer today in this “experience-economy,” as Masumoto explained, where consumers are looking for a personal connection to the things around them. When you share your story with others, you allow them an emotional ownership in your farm, your brand and your product.

The World is Waiting to Hear Your Story

So what is your story? As Masumoto asks, “What is your story of significance?” Maybe you have difficulties figuring this out. Or maybe you feel uncomfortable telling it, like on your website or in a brochure.

Here’s where I’m your gal. As a trained journalist, I excel in the interview. I ask lots of questions and get to the heart of who you are. I listen. I take notes. And then I take all this wonderful stuff about you and weave it into a meaningful story, one that captures the emotion of your consumers and motives them to action.

If you need help telling your story, whether in design or in words—I’d love to help.

Adunate Now Offers Social Media Marketing

December 3, 2015

You know you should be doing social media marketing. But maybe you don’t quite know how? Maybe you don’t have time? Or maybe you just don’t have an interest?

Here’s something to think about.

The days of passive consumerism are over. Impersonal advertising, like television, radio and newspaper, no longer holds the all-influencing power it used to have. Now we consumers seek connection, communication and information. With all our cool tech devices, we pursue these desires whenever we want, wherever we want. Given that, social media has become the primary marketing venue for reaching today’s consumers.

Forward Mutual takes on social media marketing

Mutual insurance companies generally are not frontrunners in online marketing, yet, last spring when Forward Mutual updated its website, we discussed the idea of social media marketing. President and CEO Lois Wiedenhoeft wanted to reach out to its younger target market in the way they communicate. She also wanted to answer their insurance questions and offer helpful ownership advice. Social media was just the tool to do that, plus it would increase Forward Mutual’s exposure and build credibility.

Last month we got the ball rolling!

Once a week, Forward Mutual and Adunate work together to post on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. We’re also doing regular blog posts in the form of News. Contracting Adunate to manage its social media marketing allows the staff at Forward Mutual time to do what they’re committed to doing best—serving home and farm owners throughout southeastern Wisconsin.

So check out Forward Mutual’s new presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Be sure to “Like” the pages and follow this innovative mutual as it reaches out to its market!

Oh, and by the way, if you’re on the fence about social media marketing for your business, check out this little infographic I put together. Based on statistics from Statista, it’s easy to see your business is hiding in a hole if it’s not active online.

If you’d like help with your social media marketing, be sure to give me a call.

November Means Working Together (Pro-Bono)

November 19, 2015

Here it is November and we still have sandhill cranes. If you look closely in this zoomed-to-the-max iPhone shot, you see two of them enhancing the otherwise desolate cornfield. They caught my attention a few mornings ago as they gaggled away in response to another pair far in the distance. This weekend we’re supposed to get several inches of snow so these snowbirds will likely say to heck with this and take off for warmer temps.

Aren’t the migratory habits of birds amazing?

For example, for several months in autumn the sandhills gather in wetlands before heading south. These are called staging areas and here in Wisconsin there are several where thousands of cranes assemble at a time. I like to imagine this is a time of preparation and joining together of forces for the arduous journey ahead.

You probably knew migrating birds fly in the V-Formation, officially known as the echelon formation. They do this for its aerodynamic advantage, obviously. But did you know birds take turns flying the front helm of this V, a very strenuous task? And did you know the mortality rate for birds is six times higher during the migration season? Given this, isn’t it interesting that even though survival favors the selfish—those that promote their own well-being before that of others—the God-given nature of birds is to selflessly share the responsibility?

This author makes a good point when he says, “If migrating birds work together, the flock has a greater chance of having all of its feathered brethren make the long trip to their destination.”

Working together. For the good of all.

With this caring concept in mind and because November is the month of giving, let me announce it’s my season for pro-bono applications. Each year Adunate accepts two pro-bono projects for greatly reduced or no cost. These are projects I strongly support and believe will positively impact God’s creation, his people, or his ministry.

My interests include, but aren’t limited to:

Architecture
Arts
Children
Faith
History
Humanity
Natural Food & Living
Nature & Animals
Preservation & Sustainability

If your organization needs creative assistance in the upcoming year, click here for an application. Then, to guarantee your project’s success, be sure to click here!

Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2015. I will let applicants know of my decision in January.

Day #6: Trempealeau Food, Fountain City Brew and Good Company

October 22, 2014

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but cartoon Glen and Di are getting more robust with each post I write. That’s what happens when you spend a week feasting on Wisconsin’s savory fare and specialty brew.

No calories there whatsoever.

As we navigate our way up the Great River Road, each Mississippi town has been as quaint as the next and we’ve met some super nice people. Trempealeau and Fountain City are especially distinct.

Trempealeau

Hands down, our best meal has been dinner at the historic Trempealeau Hotel and Restaurant, overlooking the river and this beautiful sunset. Besides serving Spaten, my husband’s favorite Oktoberfest beer (which we won’t discuss because it’s a German import), the restaurant has an obvious appreciation of its vintage atmosphere and local farmers. My husband had the walleye with a heavenly kale-bacon-whatever sauté. I had a shrimp skewer drenched in butter and lightly crusted with a blend of herbs.

Getting hungry? I am, just reminiscing.

To work this off, the next day we hiked through Perrot State Park, another beautiful area with killer-bluffs overlooking the river. Actually, hiking the bluffs isn’t that hard, but be mindful that this week real Glen and Di are not a tight stretch from cartoon Glen and Di. At the top of one bluff, we met a lovely family with young boys whose infectious enthusiasm for nature reminded us of how blessed we all really are.

Fountain City

Further up the Mississippi we lunched at the Monarch Public House, a food and drink destination since 1894. We had fish because it was Friday and in Wisconsin you have fish on Fridays, even if the Monarch calls it fish ‘n chips, which it does because it’s Irish. It’s just what we do (along with run-on sentences).

Our server explained their heritage style of baking the fish at 600+ degrees instead of deep frying. It was delicious!

Isn’t this bar stunning? Our server said it’s original to the building. The pressed tin ceiling is also original and easily 16-feet high, if not more. The Monarch’s website shares an interesting history of the building—be sure to scroll all the way down.

In addition to being the longest running tavern in Wisconsin, the Monarch has also resurrected Fountain City Brewing Company. Long part of the community’s heritage, this brewery originated in 1862. When it closed in 1965 and the building later demolished, it seemed the local flavor would be lost forever.

That is, until 1997.

By then John Harrington owned the Monarch tavern and was guiding it through a loving restoration. One day a nearly 90-year-old, retired assistant brewmaster named Wilbert Schmitt came forward with the original recipes he had saved all these years. Harrington and Schmitty, as he’s known, collaborated and reintroduced Fountain City’s beloved brew.

Fascinating story, eh? The Monarch tells it in greater detail here. Again, be sure to scroll completely down the page.

Next year, according to our server, the Monarch will break ground for a brewery building right next to the tavern. Bucket list: Go back to Fountain City in two years and check it out!

While wandering Main Street, we met John Campbell of Gasoline Alley. One compliment on his car parked outside and he proudly brought us inside to see his latest work.

I like his business logo!

John shared fun stories of Fountain City. He also pointed out how the buildings on the town’s main streets are all veered to match the angle of the river. None of them were built square to the street. Intriguing!

Ratings

Beer
Fountain City doesn’t brew an Oktoberfest but we enjoyed their signature styles nonetheless. My husband had an Irish Valley Spring Bock and I went all historical with the original recipe Fountain Brew. Both were great!

Ambiance
Need I say more? I loved this building and its meticulous restoration.

Food
My husband had fish ‘n chips. I had a Caesar salad. We shared and were extremely happy travelers!

Community
An endearing little river town, where life seems slow and peaceful. With this list of things to do, we could have stayed longer than the one afternoon we did. Next time!

Copy & Design
The Monarch has a great story to tell and does so very well on it’s website. It’s Facebook page shares the same enthusiasm and friendliness our server did. I’m looking forward to the promotions it puts out when they build the brewery.

Our next, and final, stop: Reads Landing Brewing Company, Reads Landing, Minnesota

Responsive Web, Inverted Pyramids and Door County, Wisconsin

February 6, 2014

If there’s anything that reinforces the need for good web design, it’s a 4-day weekend in the boondocks. Think about it: If you’ve got the who, what, where, when and why right in front of you, you’re pretty much good to go no matter where you happen to be.

Like Door County, Wisconsin. In February.

Door County is an almost 500-square-mile jut of land between the Green Bay and Lake Michigan. My husband and I were there last weekend for our anniversary. We love going at this time of year because it’s the quiet season. We can snowshoe in the many parks, find miles and miles of diverse shoreline and visit cozy, lakeside villages, all free of the crowds that make them a hot spot in summer.

That’s Cave Point in the picture. Isn’t it stunning? Often, the crashing Lake Michigan waves cover the rocks with sprays of water. This day everything—I mean, everything— was so very still. With temperatures well below zero, the water was a frigid wonder of clarity.

But Door County Wi-Fi? Understandably, not so clear.

Even though Door County is more commercially developed than it was decades ago (sadly so, in my opinion), it’s still rather remote, especially when it comes to the internet. As we randomly zig-zagged the peninsula on country backroads, I perused my iPhone in search of the next cool place to stop. One minute there was reception, the next there wasn’t. Knowing it could give out at any time, I really appreciated a well-designed website.

I appreciated responsive websites even more.

Nowadays, a responsive website is a necessity for good business. Responsive web design is like the inverted pyramid of the old journalism days; it puts the most important information up front for optimal viewing no matter what device is being used.

Here are three sites I found helpful while in Door County. Two are simply well-designed and put the necessary information where it needs to be. The third is a fully responsive site that properly rearranges itself according to the order of importance and size of the device.

Here’s the Wild Tomato Restaurant and how it appears on my iPhone. Mmmm, this looks good, doesn’t it?

Many Door County businesses are closed for the winter. Yet when I googled “Door County pizza,” I found right here on Wild Tomato’s home page that they are open, where they’re located and their phone number. The fact that they link to a beer menu tells me they have artisan beers even if I don’t take the time to click into it.

Good business? You bet. The restaurant was super fun and the food was delicious!

Most churches don’t think of themselves as a business. Yet sometimes they need to act like one; for example, when they want to reach out to the tourists of their unique vacation community.

St. John does just that with its website. Right there on the home page I found the 5 W’s needed for knowing about the congregation and how we could attend its services. And yes, the members of this beautiful church in the country were as warm and welcoming as their website!

So here’s the fully responsive site: The Door County Visitor Bureau. Check it out on your computer, then check it out on your iPod or smartphone. Notice how it’s packed full of interesting information and rather than proportionately shrinking it en masse for small devices, which would make it way too small to read, its responsiveness vertically rearranges the contents into segments in order of their importance.

That, my dears, is responsive web design and that’s what brings people to Door County, even in the dead of winter!

What about your website? How does it look on a smartphone? Can viewers clearly find what they need to know? Here’s a completely responsive website Adunate did for a Donny’s Girl Supper Club. Contact me if you’d like the same exposure for your business.

Making Better Use of the First Hour of the Day

September 13, 2013

My husband is out of the house by 5:15 each morning. And because I’m such a sweet wife, I get up with him, make his lunch and kiss him goodbye (it’s the least I can do since his working and benefits do, after all, make my self-employment a much more feasible thing).

So anyway, at this hour I’m rather lethargic and not quite ready to start my day. It’s way too easy to plop down on the couch and open up a laptop. You know how that goes…I think I’ll just do a quick post to my Facebook business page, check my email, read the news, and then I’ll get going. Of course, two hours later, I’m still sitting there on the couch. What a waste of the most beautiful time of day!

Thankfully, I don’t always do that.

In his Work Smart article, writer Kevin Purdy describes what successful people do with the first hour of their workday. They don’t check their email. Seriously, he says. Stop that.

Maybe Facebook should be banned as well.

Think about it. Facebook has become such a black hole of critical opinions, arguments and TMI that quite often all it does is stew a heartburn of negativity for the rest of the day. Ditto for the world’s news (and don’t even mention talk radio).

What total day-downers these are!

In Ed Gandia’s Effortless Productivity seminar, he describes his early morning routine. Each day he does a gratitude exercise, where he writes in longhand a full page of things for which he’s thankful. This, he says, sets the tone for the rest of his day. A happier tone.

I started doing this too. I use it as my thank-you list to God. Interestingly, the more I write, the more ideas of thankfulness come to my mind. Doing this makes me realize how blessed I really am.

Furthermore, recognizing these blessings motivates me to get off my butt. This summer I’ve gardened almost every morning—yes, that’s my early riser’s view, isn’t it beautiful? I’ve also kept up with swimming laps, yoga in the park, and walking with my neighbor (not all on the same day, of course…I’m not that energetic:-). By time I sit down to start my workday, I feel upbeat and full of creativity.

I’ve gotta say, it’s been a great summer.

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