Time to Update websites to WordPress 5.xx

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As a consultant for WordPress web hosting I will always recommend keeping your site as up to date as possible as falling behind can cause the site and worse, my host to be hacked by known problems, unnecessary problems.

But the update to WordPress version 5 has been a hot topic as it changes to a new editor, and change is scary. Personally I like the new editor, it uses blocks for all its elements and (theoretically) requires less knowledge of HTML. But it is different and is a change.

I ‘manage’ all the sites I host for others that is I do the updating and I have chosen to go ahead with version 5 but am keeping the old editor in all the sites.

If I am your host and you would rather use the new Gutenberg editor you need only activate its plugin from your Admin Plugin page. Or if you prefer, contact me and I’ll activate it for you and help you through understanding how to use it.

As End of Life Nears, More Than Half of Websites Still Use PHP V5 — Foxeth

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Websites I host are all updated to version 7+ now, but many are using a PHP version that is going to be dropped at the end of the year.  If you have a website and don’t know if you are in trouble with this issue ask your host, or check your self. I recommend the Chrome addin called Wappalyzer which will show the source and version of websites CMS and server programs as you view websites. Read the linked site below to know the whole story…

Support for PHP 5.6 drops on December 31 – but a recent report found that  almost 62 percent of websites are still using version 5.

via As End of Life Nears, More Than Half of Websites Still Use PHP V5 — Foxeth

How to use Astroid to Design Stunning Joomla Templates? — Vashishtha Kapoo

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JoomDev is very proud to introduce you all to the very new and powerful Joomla template framework – Astroid. Astroid is a free, quick and adaptable framework driving you to the universe of unlimited potential outcomes to play with your imagination and creativity to design Joomla Templates. Astroid enables you to build up any sort […]

via How to use Astroid to Design Stunning Joomla Templates? — Vashishtha Kapoor

 

I’ve shared this post here using WordPress.com’s sharing features and I invite you to click the link above and see something great and new for Joomla…

My new (used) Chromebook

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It’s been two weeks now since I bought a Chromebook on Craigslist. I have thought about it for some time, one I had seen at my PC User group meeting looked like it might be useful. I was waiting to see one for less than $100 and a Samsung showed up and I bought it.

The first thing I noticed was how quickly it started. Flash memory replaces the hard drive, no moving parts!

The second was the keyboard is not a normal PC board. The F keys are not labeled, there are no pgup and pgdn keys, no Home or End keys. It took a a while to discover ctrl-alt-/ would bring up a help screen including key combinations to handle these functions.

Now that two weeks have passed I found I really like this little thing. It does all that a good Android does but it has a keyboard. It runs any app the Play Store has so I can log into my desktop and run Linux or Windows programs with them but most of what I need to do works in a web browser and using Google’s Suite and drive I can handle all I need to do.

Backup, backup, backup!

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Include backup in your website planning

Too often we need a backup before we made one, and it is too late. WordPress sites can be saved for no cost using Updraftplus and Google Drive automatically, behind the scenes. If you aren’t doing this, contact me for guidance or help before you really need it!

One of the most important steps to a secure website (or computer!) is to keep backups. When you need it is after you have used it reliably for some time.

Larry Cotton

Hostcopilot

The 12 Best SEO Tools To Use (2017 Edition)

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A list of the best SEO tools for your blog and online business in 2017. I personally use most of these tools for my own online biz and absolutely LOVE them.

So many younger people are wiser and better writers than I am. It is sad, for me. But for the world, we have some great information on how to make our websites get more and more valuable hits…

Source: The 12 Best SEO Tools To Use (2017 Edition)

FDA issues new security guidelines so that your pacemaker won’t get hacked — TechCrunch

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This week, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a set of recommendations for securing medical devices that could jeopardize the safety and privacy of their users. The report, titled “Postmarket Management of Cybersecurity in Medical Devices,” focuses on security throughout the lifecycle of a device, emphasizing that robust cybersecurity is an ongoing process that requires……

via FDA issues new security guidelines so that your pacemaker won’t get hacked — TechCrunch

Wordable for WordPress

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I have been searching for a way to post directly from Google Docs to a WordPress site and this plugin for WordPress just came to my attention. If you see this I have written this post in Google Docs which would other use of the Doc (printing to another format, etc.) or further editing.

Does it import graphics? Let’s see:

DSCN1787