1) Know your web hosting requirements
First things first – you’ll need to make sure that the hosting account you are going to take out with Daily is at least the same specification as your current one. Pay particular attention to webspace, bandwidth, mailboxes and databases.

2)Make a copy of your website files
You will need to download all your website files from your current website account, as your current host may delete these files when you close your services with them and you’ll need copies if you’re going to transfer your website.

Just download all your files to somewhere safe, like the hard drive of your computer or onto a CD/DVD or external hard drive, so that you can be sure you’ve got copies to upload to your new web hosting account.

3) Make sure your domain name is ready to be transferred
Your domain name must be in the correct state – you do not want to close down any packages and then find your domain is still ‘locked’ or similar.

4) Open your package with Daily
As part of the order process, you’ll have the option of starting the domain transfer at the same time. Remember though, you’ll need to change your nameservers to Daily or the domain name will still resolve to your old host. There is a tickbox you can select in the order process to make sure the nameservers are updated.

5) Start uploading!
It will take about 24 hours for the domain name to update and start pointing to your new Daily webspace, but you can upload your data straight away, so your website will all be ready when the domain name finishes updating.

Points to Remember
Do you have any CGI Scripts or similar on your website (e.g. feedback forms). If so then some of the paths may well change, which means that simply downloading and re-uploading may not work in all cases – you’ll need to double-check these.

Emails or Databases? Remember to get a copy of these as well so you don’t lose the content when you transfer to Daily.

The first thing to do is prepare your product images – you’ll need to make sure that they’re no larger than 800 x 600 pixels, though we’ve found that 600 x 600 pixels is optimum. You don’t need to worry about creating separate images for slideshows and thumbnails etc – the system will automatically scale the image you upload. Do make sure you don’t have any spaces or special characters, like umlauts, in the filename.

Once you’ve done this, head to the Content/Categories section of your shop’s back office and open file management. Create a new folder with a meaningful name – we’ll use ‘Import’ by way of example. Now upload the product images you’ve just prepared to this folder – you can upload multiple images at once by marking multiple files in the selection field.

Next, create the products in your shop – you can also use the Import/Export function to save time. Create a test product with all the necessary specifications, and then export the product data. You’ll receive a CSV file which can be used as a template for the remaining products. To create additional products, just fill out the CSV file.

There are two columns in the CSV file that you will need to use to assign the product images you just uploaded to the newly created products: “[ImageLarge]” and “[ImageSlideShowString]“. In the “[ImageLarge]” column, enter the path to the product image that will be used as the main image for the respective product. In our example, this would be: Import/ProductA_Image1.jpg.

In the “[ImageSlideShowString]” column, enter the file path to the images that will be used for the gallery in addition to the main image, separating the file paths using a semicolon. In our example, this would then be: Import/ProductA_Image2.jpg; Import/ProductA_Image3.jpg; Import/ProductA_Image4.jpg.

Once you’re done, save the CSV file and upload it back to your back office. The shop will now integrate the files from the ‘Import’ folder into the database and assign the product images accordingly. After it’s finished, you can delete the ‘Import’ folder in the file administration if you wish – files will no longer be needed.

“Hello Mr. Mechanic! That car over there is mine. It started making a knocking noise a couple of days ago, usually happens when I brake. Can I book it in? Here’s the keys.”

What you’d be unlikely to do is walk into the garage and just say:
“Car’s broke. Fix it”

Obviously the mechanic would need to know where your car was for starters and you’d probably want give them a clue as to what was broken so they knew where to look instead of spending hours (for which you’re paying!) randomly testing different components.

Pretty much common sense, really!

That said, you’d be surprised how often our Support team receive emails from customers which really give us very little to go on. While we’ll do our best, if you want your problem to be diagnosed and resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible you do need to try and meet us half way – we’re often very dependent on the information you provide to us. If you omit that information, chances are your next response from us will be various questions to try to narrow down the options, instead of a resolution to your issue.

There are two reasons we need customers to be open with us:
Firstly, if we have the full details of your issue, chances are we’ll know the resolution (or know exactly where to look) and be able to provide a first point resolution. And secondly, if we have the full details, we won’t have to resort to guessing, which at best significantly delays your reply as we try to find out what could be wrong and at worst means we could perform an unwanted action.

So, here’s my guide to exactly what information we need from you in order to assist you as effectively as possible:

1) Raise a Support Ticket instead of sending a general email.
This confirms your identity as it comes from your Control Panel, so there’s no need for us to get back to you with security checks.

2) Be specific about the service to which you’re referring.
Include the relevant domain name or VPS IP address etc. Simple, but if you have multiple services then we need to know what one you’re talking about!

3) Tell us exactly what the problem is.
Provide full details of what isn’t working for you. Is something timing out? Are you getting a login issue etc?

4) Tell us whether it’s permanent or intermittent.
This is an important one. If your problem is intermittent, we’ll need to do multiple tests to get a range of results.

5) Send us any Error Messages.
The single most used feature in diagnosing an issue. Even if you think the error is in a foreign language, there’s a good chance it will mean something to us so just copy and paste it and we’ll see.

6) Let us know if you’ve made any changes recently.
It may be coincidence, but it’s probably best to let us make that call. Had you done anything different around the time your problem started? Over 90% of support tickets we get regarding a VPS suddenly blocking access to a user have resulted in comments along the lines of “I can’t think what would have caused it. I mean, I was only adding some extra firewall rules in and closing ports”.

So there you go, six simple steps that will only take you a couple of minutes, but the end result is getting a resolution back to you and saving yourself a considerable amount of time in the long run.

We’ve made it easy to manage and group selected domains by type (ie .uk or com) and apply changes to the selected group only. You’ll find we’ve made life much easier by making it possible to access the following features across several domains at once:

• Full DNS Management – update A records, CNAMES and MX records
• Manage contact details
• Set up and manage web forwarding
• Catch-all email forwarding
• Change nameservers
• Manage WHOIS Privacy

Find out more or log into the Bulk Management section of your control panel.

Picture a row of houses on a street (perhaps a cul-de-sac). All the houses were built by the same builders and have the same security features, like good locks and alarms. Occasionally an opportunistic burglar may sniff around but not get anywhere as they can see all the houses are locked and there are alarms ready to go off.

Then one day, a resident decides to go out to the shops but doesn’t switch their alarm on and leaves all their doors and windows wide open.

One of the opportunistic burglars sees what they consider an invitation so strolls in, grabs a DVD player, and scarpers.

What this does not mean is that:

1) The burglar now has access to every single house on the street just because he/she has managed to find one that is insecure.

2) The reason the burglar managed to get into the house is because the builders of all the houses left some gaping security flaw (like a back door with no lock).

It’s pretty clear exactly what has happened here. The burglar only took advantage of this one house because this was the only home owner who made some mistakes. It’s no good having all these security features as standard if the owner is not going to use them.

Now think about web hosting using the same logic.

Daily ensures all the servers are fully locked down, patched, firewalled and running up-to-date, stable software with various intrusion alarms. Making sure our customers’ data is secure is one of our utmost priorities

When we do hear of customers being hacked, 99.9% of the time this is where a customer has used some sort of PHP blog or Content Management System (for example, WordPress, Joomla, Gallery etc.) but has not kept it properly secured

The most common reason for having an insecure site is:

1) A really weak password (e.g. liverpool1)

2) Not updating the CMS software to the latest stable versions (remember, programs like this are constantly being updated by the vendors/providers every time a new vulnerability is found, so any customers who install it and then never maintain it could well be in for a nasty shock)

3) Installing add-ons that are not secure or again, not installing updates to them when released.

4) Setting the wrong permissions (666 or 777 to make them globally readable/writeable)

To a hacker or someone intent on damaging websites, an insecure site is just as inviting as an open door is to a burglar.

If or when someone does take advantage of an insure site, then just like the scenario above:

1) The hacker does not have access to other customer websites – only the insecure one he/she has found

2) The hacker does not have access to the root functions of our servers and platforms. They will only have access to some parts of the home directory of the insecure site they found.

We do understand that the first reaction of some customers when they see their website replaced with a “hacker’s calling card” is that all of Daily has been compromised, but we can’t emphasise enough that this is not the case.

Our message to all customers is: if you are installing third party programs, scripts, or CMS solutions etc. you must ensure you keep them secure!

- Don’t set incorrect permissions to overcome some error (don’t sacrifice security to overcome coding issues)

- Don’t set weak passwords

- Do sign up for any mailing lists and check the providers site to ensure you update to any newly released and stable versions or security patches ASAP

A strong password should ideally be:

1) At least 8 characters long

2) Contain both upper and lower case characters

3) Contain letters, numbers and other symbols (such as $, %, @, #)

4) Not from any dictionary word (i.e. it should be random)

Many people just don’t understand the importance of a strong password – but these days there are many tools (such as programs that sends multiple password requests to “guess” the correct one and gain them access) available to people intent on no good to allow them to gain access to websites and email accounts.

These programs are getting increasingly clever and have their own algorithms to try the most commonly used passwords. Not sure what I’m talking about? Google seach for “Brute forcing passwords” to see what I mean.

When we do raise a password issue with a customer, we often hear “I need something easy to remember” as a defence for weak passwords. It’s understandable, but the reality is that the primary purpose of a password is to provide security. Being easily memorable is secondary – and you can always use mnemonics to make it easier for you to remember a stronger password. It boils down to this: do you really want your pet’s name to be the only thing protecting your website or emails?

I really can’t emphasise enough: don’t skimp on security!

Windows Live mail is a free mail client that is often downloaded at the same time as Windows Live Messenger and other Microsoft services.  We find that many users prefer using this free client  to something like Outlook Express, so we’ve put together a tutorial to walk you through – you can find it how to set up your email using Windows Live Mail.

This tends to make our Support guys splutter their tea and and our system administrators look like they’ve been electrocuted, as something very, very major (in fact, several things) would have to have happened if a customer was having to alert us to a server problem. So, by way of reassurance:

All of our various servers and platforms are fully monitored 24/7/365  – we’re generally going to know within seconds if there is an issue on any of them. Picture a 80′s sci-fi film, as that’s what our office will resemble  if something does go wrong – screens start flashing red and white, about six system administrator mobile telephones will sound simultaneously with SMS alerts, we’ll get calls from our teams working remotely, and so on.

When calls suggesting there’s a problem with one of our services come in, the reality is often that there isn’t a fault with our servers, but rather a basic user issue so there’s no need to panic. Two recent examples:

- A call saying all our email servers were offline was actually because the user had forgotten his mailbox password, saw the “username or password is incorrect” error message and suspected our mail platform had gone offline.

- Another call was reporting a fault with our web servers as the user was seeing a default error when trying to access their website. This turned out to be because the user had no working internet connection.

So just for reference:

If there is ever a fault on any of our systems, we are alerted straight away and we will always update our Status Page (www.dailystatus.co.uk – this is maintained completely separately from every other system we operate) explaining what is happening, who it will affect and when the resolution or next update is expected.

We strongly recommend customers add our Status Page to their favourite places/bookmarks in their browser so that it’s easy to find if you ever need to check whether we’re dealing with a service issue. There is also a link in the top right corner of our www.daily.co.uk website.

Order Processing

The “Orders” menu is pivotal. Under “Incoming”, you will find all recently placed orders that you haven’t yet processed. Under “Orders/Orders” menu, you will find an archive of all orders, and you can use the search function to locate orders that you’ve processed or completed. Click on any individual order for a closer look at it.

Order status

You can specify an order status for every order. This allows you to see at a glance whether, for example, you are still waiting for payment or if goods can be processed. An order’s status code also serves as the basis for automated customer email notifications which allow you to keep your customers updated on the status of their orders. For more information on e-mail events, please see the fifth article (Putting your eShop live) in this blog series.

Depending on which payment provider you choose, the status of an order can automatically change to “Paid” as soon as payment is deposited into your account with the provider. If you prefer to monitor payments manually, you’ll find an overview of transactions in the “Orders/Transactions” menu.

Batch processing

Would you like to reduce the time it takes to create invoices? Simply use your shop’s batch-processing function! Just mark all the invoices you want to process and then choose “Create documents” in the drop-down menu in order to generate all necessary papers. Links to logistics companies such as UPS  allow you to quickly create corresponding shipping labels and to request with just a few mouse clicks that goods be picked up.

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If you’re already up and running on Google Analytics, you can access the new tool via the Content menu.

Once you do you should see your website load within Analytics with an overlay.

First Impressions – and what to do with them

The first thing you should see is a collection of speech bubbles containing percentages. These represent, by default, the percentage of clicks each item has received from all visits over the timeframe covered. So, what the bubbles are telling you is the relative popularity of each of the links on your webpage.

Take a little time to examine this picture and it should provide an interesting overview of where customer interest lies – for example, we can see at a glance which of our product tabs generate the most clicks.

In-page Analytics also makes it easy to see if there are areas of the site which don’t receive many clicks – if you find that something just isn’t attracting attention, you can then review it and consider testing new ways to present the information. Is it just the placement on the website that’s a problem? Consider moving to a higher traffic area of the site if you can do so without sacrificing something more important to you. If that generates no more interest, then maybe it’s either the item itself or the way it’s presented that’s not as appealing to customers as it could be?

You might even find that there’s something in which customers are more interested than you expected, giving you the opportunity to make a bigger deal of it on the website and therefore hopefully improve your conversion rates.

Exploring the detail

It’s not just clicks that you can measure using In-page Analytics. Hover over one of the bubbles and you’ll see that it also provides data on transactions, revenue, and figures relating to any goals you may have set up in Google Analytics. You can alter the overlay itself to display any one of these items in the bubbles – just use the drop down menus given immediately above your website to adjust to your preference.

If you wish to see only data relating to, say, paid search traffic, click the dropdown menu next to ‘Advanced Segments’ above the date range and make the selection there:

And finally…

For more information, take a look at Google’s blog post about In-page Analytics.

Do bear in mind that the service is still in beta and may not be completed, so you may find a few bugs as they’re ironing things out.