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Server reboot

We are writing to inform you we will shortly begin rebooting our Linux shared web hosting servers in order to apply a mission-critical security patch. At no point were any of our servers compromised, but it is very important that we patch this bug in order to prevent any possible attacks.

Websites may become inaccessible for periods of up to 10 minutes. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your patience throughout this time.

We will keep webhostingstatus.com up to date with the progress of these updates.

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Google Removes More Search Features

By now the masses are likely done mourning the upcoming demise of Google Reader (slated to swim with the fishes this summer), but some are noticing key Google toolbar features disappearing like a gaggle of phantoms too.

As always, there’s a method to Google’s madness (namely, they say these features just weren’t used enough), but this could very well be a case of quantity trumping quality. SEO experts, business owners, and search influencers alike are frustrated with Google’s willingness to yank once-touted top features, with little to no warning or fanfare.

While these folks undoubtedly represent the minority in terms of sheer numbers, many rank as top experts and consultants tasked with ensuring Google’s results are of the highest caliber. Furthermore, it seems many of Google’s rolled out features go unnoticed because people simply do not know to where to look for new releases, or to even expect they may arrive. Google is playing a numbers game, while many experts wish they would consider quality and communication first; and ultimately, stop taking away functionality that has helped make the web a better place, albeit in small doses. Read more here

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Joomla/WordPress Websites

We are currently seeing further attempts from a large scale botnet targeting Joomla/Wordpress Administration areas. This attack has recently increased its hit rate and we have taken action to protect the targeted areas from these attacks. As a result of this you may now find you are prompted to pass a CAPTCHA check when attempting to login to your WordPress / Joomla website. Information regarding this botnet was also recently published by the BBC and you can read that article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22152296

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new magento project

Digital Ideas has just secured their latest magento project for leading online retailer of technology products – This will require design and integration of their till system to magento. We look forward to completing this job in the coming weeks. We will share this magento project when it completed.

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new clubstohire.com site launched

We have just finished the new site for the world largest golf hire provider. We created the design in partnership with block5design in Galway one of our preferred agencies. The site comes from over two years development while the company was rapidly expanding from 1 to 16 locations, The system checks stock in real time across all locations to ensure that there is no double booking or stock issues. This is very busy site and the custom built central management console controls all orders, stock, financials, agents and affiliates. The programming was using CakePHP and html5 and we used Twitters Bootstrap framework for the cms. The site uses some of the latest technologies to give the users and great experience and easy to order system.

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New Magento development

The brief was to create a new design and system for their new UK offering. The site features some great custom background programming linking the magento interface with the shops other Irish system. Products and stock quantity are updated in real time. Orders in store are updated to the magento store in real time  and vice versa.

A very popular magento website with a neat design.

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www.cleantechcivils.com

We developed a new website for a the lastest branch of P& S Groups. Custom wordpress theme with some nice portfolio custom development work

Clean Tech Civils are specialists in pipeline construction, mechanical & electrical installations and upgrading & maintenance, for distribution and collection networks; we strive to be at the forefront of pioneering construction methods and environmental solutions.

Key sectors of our website are sub divided into civil/infrastructure and clean works. This delineation is representative of our passion and commitment to the provision of niche engineering services for water, waste water and renewable energy projects.

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www.lowe.ie

We developed a custom designed WordPress theme for Dublins  largest Management and Letting agency

A custom designed theme developed and programmed by our talented graphic designers / developers to meet the requirements of the client.  Their letting properties are retrieved from Ireland leading property site www.daft.ie using their API. Their sales properties are retrieved from the Irish Times owned  www.myhome.ie.  This site was designed to compliment the existing SEO Digital Ideas had undertaken for the site.

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Clubstohire.com wins Digital/Online Startup of the Year

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Congratulations to clubstohire.com for winning Digital/Online Startup of the Year – at the Vodafone Startup Awards 2012 ! See full list of Winners here .

Digital ideas engineered and programmed the full web enviroment for clubstohire.com as well as bringing them to #1 position in Google for the majority of their keywords across Europe.

web developmentClubs to Hire picked up the Vodafone Online Start Up of the year at the awards ceremony on May 24th at the Burlington Hotel Dublin.

The category is strongly contested and is a real shot in the arm for the Dublin based Company.

Chief Executive Tony Judge said ‘We were delighted to be short listed for this award and to win it is just fantastic. We have invested heavily in our IT and golf product and this is true recognition that people are appreciating what we are doing’.

Clubs to Hire now operates at 12 European locations which are Antalya, Alicante, Murcia, Gran Caria, Tenerife, Gibraltar, Dublin, Malaga, Edinburgh, the Isle of Man, Lisbon and Faro.

The service is proving immensely popular with travelling golfers who are, otherwise, faced with prohibitive airline baggage charges and the hassle of lugging clubs to and from airports.

The business is on target to save its customers €1,000,000 on excess baggage charges during 2012 and we hope to open in another 4 European cities over the summer months.

Recently, Ryanair increased its charges for golf bags to a minimum of £/€100 per return flight, while, before the end of last year, Air Berlin raised its golf bag carriage charge to €100 return. And, with the majority of European carriers now charging upwards of £60 return, hiring a set of high-end clubs from ClubstoHire.com makes enormous economic sense while also offering peace of mind.

A broad equipment range is offered from just €35 per week, with options available from TaylorMade (including the R11S driver and the new RocketBallz), Callaway, Wilson and MD Golf; all clubs are offered – left or right-handed, ladies and men’s – and hire is available from just one day to a full four weeks. For those wishing to travel extra-light, shoe hire is also available.

The service couldn’t be easier to use – just order on-line ahead of travel and pick up the hire set at the destination.

■ Bookings for all of ClubstoHire.com’s 12 stores can be made online at www.clubstohire.com.

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IMPORTANT : How the new EU cookie law affects your websites

What is this EU cookie law I keep hearing about?

Last May a law was passed stating that all websites dropping non-essential cookies on visitors’ devices have to declare it publicly and ensure visitors acknowledge and agree with them to continue browsing the website. If you/your business resides within the EU, you have until the 26th May 2012 to implement your solution on your website(s). The most important thing to know is that if your website doesn’t comply with the new law, you can potentially be fined up to £500,000.

Is the law associated with me or the location of my web host?

The law is linked to you/your business, so even if you have a .com website with an American audience, you still need to comply with regulations if you/your business is based within the EU. The law applies to all domain name extensions regardless of their association with a particular country or region.

My website is a personal site, do I still need to comply?

Even if your website is non-commercial, you should still comply with the EU cookie law if you drop non-essential cookies.

Where can I find out more about the law and how websites are implementing it?

 

What are the exceptions to the new law?

Pretty much every site drops cookies of some description. If you have Google Analytics installed, your website drops cookies. If you have any affiliate links or use Google Adsense or any other advertising networks, your website drops cookies.

The law only applies to ‘non-essential’ cookies that aren’t required for your website to function. So, for example, if you run an online store and cookies are used so your customers can add products to their basket and checkout, you don’t need to conform to the new EU cookie law regulations. However, if you track visitors via a tool like Google Analytics as well, you will need to explicitly tell your visitors that cookies are in use on your site.

Some of the likely exceptions to cookie compliance are provided below:

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Taken from ICO’s Guidance on the New Cookies Regulations PDF.

So, what steps do I need to take for my websites?

There’s no one solution to comply and the guidelines that are provided are quite vague, causing a lot of confusion and more difficulties for website owners who want to comply but are unsure what to do. Because there are so many types of websites using unlimited combinations of cookies, there’s no one size fits all solution. It all comes down to what kind of website you have and what cookies are in place.

It’s not enough to simply update your privacy policy or terms and conditions. A user must explicitly accept cookies in order for you to legally use non-essential cookies on your website.

1. Check the cookies in use on your website

If you aren’t sure about the cookies you use on your website, check out the detailed information provided in ICO’s PDF or use one of the many third party tools available, such as:

Please be aware that you should check every page of your website and that not all third party tools are completely accurate.

2. Implement a solution

There are plenty of solutions on offer; we’ve done the work for you and found several easy to use free solutions:

Cookie Control: One of the easiest options we’ve found is a little widget called Cookie Control (there’s also aWordPress version). You simply add the code to your website and it shows up as a noticeable but unobtrusive triangle in the bottom corner of your website.

Whether you implement one of these solutions or opt for another one entirely, the message should appear on every page of your website. If you have a static website that isn’t run on a template or CMS, you may want to look into adding it via a PHP include.

In addition to these methods, you may also want to update your privacy policy and/or terms and conditions. Tint Network has an easy to read privacy and cookies policy which they are happy for people to use as a template.

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