Magento v1 cut-off date myths busted

If Magento version 1 is what powers your ecommerce site, you could be forgiven for being concerned. The company’s announcement at the release of version 2 that the older platform would shortly be decommissioned, along with any technical support, put fear through the hearts of many customers. Since then, lots of rumours have been flying …

What is HTTP/2?

HTTP has served as the internet’s underlying protocol since its inception in 1991, so why do we need HTTP 2? The answer is simple, HTTP has its limitations. What was fine in 1997 when the current version of HTTP was released, is not sufficiently adaptable for today’s high bandwidth resource intensive web apps. The web …

Slump in the pound means the cost of Microsoft products is on the rise

With the pound falling 18% in value against the dollar post-Brexit, it appears that Microsoft have joined the likes of Apple and Dell by increasing prices in the UK. The move, which is likely to have a detrimental effect on thousands of UK-based businesses, will see Microsoft hike the cost of its products by 22%. …

Critical Magento Patch

Magento has recently released a critical patch, if you run Magento, update today. You can see more information at: https://magento.com/security/patches/supee-8788 Always make sure you have up to date backups of your site before applying a patch. What does this patch fix? Quite a few things including: With some payment methods it might be possible to execute …

NoSQL databases versus Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS)

Databases involve the collection and organisation of related data, stored or hosted in such a way that authorised users can interact freely with the data: information in a database can be deleted, updated or replaced. This post will outline the differences between NoSQL databases, which we can provide on our managed dedicated servers, and other …

Microsoft ends Internet Explorer tech support

Microsoft has ended security updates and technical support for older versions of the Internet Explorer web browser. The changes were announced in August 2014 but have come into effect this month. The move, which applies to versions 8, 9 and 10 of the browser, affects an estimated 20% of web traffic and could leave users …

Magento: what’s behind the hype?

Frequently hailed as a transformative force in the world of e-commerce, Magento has attracted enormous attention as a marketing platform that presents a wealth of appealing possibilities to any web entrepreneur. Here we take a look at some of the key benefits it can bring to your business, as well as some important points to …

Top WordPress Plugins for 2015

A WordPress Plugin is (to quote WordPress) a “bit of software that can be uploaded to extend and expand the functionality of your WordPress site.” What that means is that a plugin allows you to do more with your site, giving you more abilities and functions, and in turn increases your professionalism. In short, it …

Email marketing: the right way

When businesses talk about email marketing, there can often be a sense of confusion. Many people, especially those who are new to the world of online business, don’t always know or understand what email marketing is and how it can help them. Therefore, to clarify, email marketing is any form of email communication between business …