sitetips.ru - The Best Tech Tips
Ok, so you are convinced already that CMS (Content Management System) is a better solution for you than a Website Builder. Good! But which one tho chose? There are many options, and often it could be very confusing to make the decision. So here we have 5 tips for choosing a Content Management System that is right for your needs.
1. Think first about your business needs.
What kind of site are you going to build?
Suppose it is just a blog site, then go for Drupal, WordPress, Joomla, or Ghost.
For e-commerce sites check Magento, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Zen Cart, and OpenCart.
For a portfolio website, you might be ok with a Website builder instead of a CMS, but if you insist on CMS, go for WordPress or Joomla. Kirby might be great for creative groups and portfolio sites too.
For a typical non-interactive website, you can go with WordPress and a paid theme, Siteleaf, Joomla, or Drupal.
2. Don’t forget the plugins.
Think about a platform with a lot of available plugins. Check what kind of additional functionality you might need in the future. It could be adding a payment method, delivery method, additional graphical elements, etc. If you choose a content management system with a lot of built-in functions, but it lacks the right elements you need, you might get into a big problem.
3. Get a Content Management System (CMS) that you can afford.
Many of the CMSs are free and open-source, but still, there might be many expenses on the way. Let’s group the expenses, and you can compare them with your budget for the website.
Hosting. Is it a SaaS solution where you get it on a subscription plan or install it on your hosting? How much will the hosting cost?
Cost of the CMS. Does it cost anything or not? Does it has a free version and paid one?
Cost of plugins. What kind of additional features do you need? How much do they cost?
Backup. Can you backup it for free, or does it cost? How much?
4. Get a Content Management System (CMS) compatible with your skills.
One very important aspect of having a Content Management System (CMS) is managing it. Both front-end and back-end should be suitable for your skills or those of your team. You don’t want to get the “best CMS” and later not be able to administrate it. If you want a CMS with a lot of built-in features and relatively intuitive design, go for Joomla or WordPress. Both have a large community of users, and if you have a problem, you can find the answer. Joomla comes with more built-in features.
In case it is more complicated, can you find who to manage it and at what price?
5. Make it visually stunning.
Apart from making it easy to use and fully functional, you must pay attention to the design. There are billions of sites in the world. So you must make it exceptionally attractive for your visitors. Get a designer who can create a custom theme for your site or choose a platform with enough premium themes to choose from.
So, after considering all the tips above, your list of possible Content Management Systems should already be down to just a few choices. Go ahead and check them deeply. See review, commentaries, and live demos if there are. You can try them on localhost and see by yourself what site you can build before you go online. Remember, better choose wisely the first time because migration from one Content Management System (CMS) to another is not a simple task!
If you already have load balancing in mind, it means your traffic has really grown. Congrats on that!
If you are getting into the topic, here you have the 4 things you have to know about load balancing. It’s a good starting point for you to go deeper!
​What is load balancing?
In a nutshell, load balancing is the action of efficiently distributing traffic and workload across different servers. The more available servers, the best chance to distribute the loads and not let a single one get overwhelmed.
There are different load balancers, simple and more sophisticated mechanisms, software, or hardware. Basically, load balancers constantly check servers to be sure they can handle the incoming requests without trouble. Based on this, they distribute the loads as needed.
​4 things you have to know about load balancing.
​1. It allows for higher scalability.
It’s exciting to see that your website or application is attracting more users every day. Just let’s keep in mind that traffic directly impacts your site performance. It could be a reason for your website to crash if you are not prepared for it.
When you enable load balancing simultaneously, you increase your system’s ability (website, network, application) not only for handling better the growing load of traffic but also the rest of the work. As a result, performance directly improves and, therefore, the experience you offer to your users.
​2. Load balancing provides server persistence.
Persistence is the ability to hold a user session on a specific server instead of sending him/her to a different server for every request. When a user is sent to another server in the middle of his/her session, performance problems appear, and data don’t get saved.
For example, in an e-shop without persistence, the shoppers’ session will be changed from one server to another every time they send a different request. As a result, their purchases list (products on their shopping cart) can be displayed empty, or the card details won’t be saved, so they have to type them again. Abandoned carts (money losses) could get multiplied.
All interactive websites really need persistence. This way, the users’ information will be kept on a single server the time their session lasts.
​3. It strengths your security.
Load balancing strengths your defenses against one of the most dangerous threats on the Internet, the DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks.
The DDoS objective is to make websites and online services unavailable for legitimate users. There are different criminal techniques, but generally, they drown victims by sending huge traffic loads from multiple sources. As a result, systems get their vital resources (like bandwidth) drained, and they go down.
When you enable a quality load balancer, you are getting an efficient tool to manage genuine traffic. But at the same time, you are giving your system the power to handle malicious traffic too. Yes! You can prevent or mitigate DDoS attacks.
​4. Load balancing provides redundancy.
First, load balancing involves the existence of more than a single server to distribute the traffic. Second, load balancers can detect servers with failures, or overloaded, to transfer the traffic to others. This means redundancy! You can trust that your traffic will always be handled. And redundancy produces a positive domino effect. It brings higher uptime, better performance, and less disruption for your system.
High traffic can be a double-edged sword. It can mean online success, but it can drown you if it’s not properly handled. Load balancing is a great solution you should know and try if it suits your business needs. Pick a quality solution, and enjoy the benefits!
Phishing attack explained
The phishing attack is a common type of cyber attack. The attackers are attempting to make you take one of the next actions:
Enter data. You could be guided to a fraudulent site. It is very similar to a well-known one and asks you to fill in data (passwords, usernames, emails, and bank information).
Download a file. The file could be a virus that can harm your device.
The message usually appears normal, and it could be tough to notice something is wrong. Typically, it includes something that the victim wants, such as free software or something they have to go, like changing a password in a certain amount of time.
This strategy has been used for a long time. Also, the term “phish” points to the way we lure a fish with bait.
It wants you to verify personal information. If the email looks authentic, but it requires from you data that you usually wouldn’t expect. That for sure is a sign that the email is from an untrusted source.
Keep an eye out for emails asking you to verify private information that you would never normally give. For example, it could be banking details or login information. Remember not to reply or click on any links. If you think that the email has a possibility to be genuine, first contact the company. Still, don’t use any method for communication given in the email. Instead, search online, and if you could make a telephone call.
The email address doesn’t seem genuine
Often a phishing email could arrive from an email address that looks reliable. Attackers do their best to trick their victims by using the names of legitimate companies inside the message or in the web address.
Just take a moment to examine the email address fully. You might see that it is a false variation designed to appear authentic.
Also, before clicking on any links, make sure to inspect them first.
You can detect a phishing email by the poor writing used in the message. If there are spelling and grammatical mistakes and unusual twists of phrases, that is a secure sign. Legitimate companies make sure to send professionally written and checked adequately for mistakes emails. An unexpected email from an organization with mistakes is a sure indicator that is phishing.
If a company sends you an email of the blue with an attachment, be aware it could be a malicious URL or a virus. The goal could be to infect your device or network.
The intention is to make you panic.
A common characteristic of phishing emails is to insert panic in the recipient. It could be a claim that your account is compromised, and the way to validate it is to enter personal information. Another case could be an urgency that if you don’t act immediately, your account will be deleted. Take a minute to think if this email is asking for something reasonable from you.
Security improvement – Phishing occurs through emails. Apply MTA-STS, DMARC, DKIM, SPF. They are email authentication practices for recognizing and preventing messaging threats.
Anti-spam filters – Filtering is a great option for distinguishing undesired and infected emails and preventing them from arriving in inboxes.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) – The standard combination of username and password is not so reliable. So to stop spoofed accounts, attach one more level of security with 2FA. People will have to verify their individuality by a second attempt to receive access.
Virus detection and clearing – Effective antivirus software could keep your devices without threats. Still, understand that phishing can attack your employees as a method to get to your company’s sensitive data.