Site Builder Updates V 4.98
Site Builder Updates V 4.98
We are preparing the next site builder system update. This update will feature many new enhancements and optimizations. We are in the final stages of testing and are planning to enable features in phases. Not all of the features will be available at the same time.
Updates
HTTPS Security
Mobile Editing
Performance
Data/Privacy GDPR
Site Editor Updates
System/Components
Design Updates
Mobile Styling
HTTPS – TLS / Secure Connections enhancements.
With the Google Chrome update this July, Google will start displaying all websites that are not using HTTPS as “Not secure”. The site builder update will automatically enable HTTPS for all websites. The system will install a HTTPS certificate and redirect all pages to secure mode. The certificate setup is completely automated and will not require customers to do anything. Basic certificates will be included with all site builder plans (no additional fees to users).
Even with the switch over to HTTPS, some sites may still not display as secure because they have custom HTML, scripts and code. Customers will need to review their sites and update any pages that are not displaying as secure.
We will still offer enhanced certificates for purchase.
Site Editor Mobile Mode
The mobile edit mode makes it much easier to manage your site and edit content from mobile devices. When logging in from a mobile device users will have the option to switch to the mobile editor. The mobile editor simplifies the editing environment and uses responsive design to make the site editor much easier to use.
Touch/Swipe Support
The content slider has been updated to support swiping left/right to change slides.
Performance/Speed Optimizations
Many optimizations are being enabled to help sites load faster on both web and mobile. Optimizations include..compressing and combining script/css files, optimizing scripts to load and run after the page loads,optimizing HTML pages, server enhancements, and more.
Privacy/Data Policy (GDPR)
Starting this month the Europe Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will take effect. This regulation affects customers in the EU as well as any website that has customers/visitors from the EU. We are not experts on the law. It is very complex and has many requirements. It is up to website owners to determine what they must to do comply with the law. Depending on your location and where your customers are from, site owners may need to make adjustments to their site and how they use data.
Here are just a few of the components of the law….The law requires site owners to be more transparent about what data they collect from users and exactly how they use the data. Websites need to have a clear privacy/data policy. Users have a right to request all the data that you have collected about them as well as the right to have all of their data deleted (right to be forgotten). Data collection and usage is Opt In. Users must explicitly agree to each way that a site owner may want to use their data.
We are making adjustments to help site owners comply with the law and will continue updates as we learn more.
Check boxes for mailing list signup (not checked by default)
Form builder – new option to have required checkboxes to submit a form
Global privacy policy setup – privacy link is automatically added to forms that collect data
Form to request user data – we are putting together a process to generate a report on data that the system has about a user.
Form to request user data deletion – we are setting up a process to delete data about a user
NOTE: The site builder data reports will only include data from our systems. To be compliant with the law, site owners need to also report/delete any other data they have about users. This could be in emails, downloaded files, or data added to other systems out site the site builder such as a CRM system.
Site Editor UI
The site editor UI has been updated and optimized to make it easier to edit and manage your site. Many pages now have sticky apply buttons so you can scroll up/down and click apply without having to scroll back to the top or bottom.
Power Edit Key (Experimental)
When viewing or editing a page hold down the CTRL key when hovering over a component. Click the component to quickly access the component editor. This feature allows you to jump directly to the component editor without having to scroll around and click the “EDIT” link above the component. It can also be used on the site menu, banner, logos and footer areas.
InPage Editing (Experimental)
When editing a page, hover over text areas and titles. Click on highlighted areas to edit directly text on the page.
New Templates / Styles
New layouts have been added and with more layouts and style sets coming soon.
Design Area
The design area UI has been updated to focus on the design and text styles. With a couple of clicks you can easily adjust your base style settings for default text and titles.
New Design Styles
Several new styles have been added. These include groupboxes, page titles and tabbed content boxes.
Mobile Styling
More customization options are available to spice up your mobile website. Customize the mobile bar color/style/background image. Set the mobile button colors and fonts.
Menu Options
New templates now have the option to enable/disable the sticky menu and inverse menu options. You can also set the sub menu in/out animation styles.
Page Layout
Adjust column widths from the page layout area.
Page Layouts Modern Style
Several new starter page layouts have been added. Click add page and choose the modern layouts. New page layouts include a quick option to start with a single page website layout.
Social Networking Icons
New modern style social icons have been added. These icon styles are designed to help your pages load quickly.
File Manager
The file manager has been enhanced to make it easier to select and manage your images. View images and adjust image sizes so you can see more.
Component Slider/Flow
Add components into a slider. Choose how many components to show on the screen and use navigation arrows to cycle through the list. There is an option to quickly copy the last component to make editing faster. With component flow you set the number of columns and components are automatically arranged on the page to fit. Both the slider and flow modes are responsive and will auto adjust for mobile.
Form Builder
The form editor has been updated to help make setting up your forms easier. There is a new option to setup the required checkbox fields. The UI for showing required fields to users has been updated.
Blog
New option to enable a “read more” button under the blog post summary. New blog styles.
Big Text Component
Add styled/larger text to your site.
Facebook Feed Plugin
Keith Hickman, Director of Marketing and technology, has been working in the field of Web design and search marketing since 1995 when he was active in the online game development community.
In 1997 Keith founded Advanced Web Site Publishing, which is a full-service Web Design and search engine optimization/marketing company. In 2004, Keith brought Houston’s Host under the AWSP umbrella featuring hosting and additional web services.
In 1999 Keith earned his MCP and MSCE network engineering credentials to further understand networking and server-side management and development.
Keith is now at the forefront of the search engine optimization industry and is highly effective at SEO marketing techniques. He also consults with customers concerning Online marketing and SEO.
Houston’s Host is celebrating its 19th year as part of the AWSP family in 2021.
