Case Study: The Importance of WordPress Updates

wordpress

A colleague of mine in Australia let me know about an interesting case study they recently posted about how important it is to not only KEEP your WordPress website updated, but also to make sure that your WordPress Theme is compatible with the latest WordPress updates, and if it isn’t, how do you remedy the situation.

The Case Study involved a Firm of Accountants in Aspley,  a suburb in Queensland, Australia, who suddenly found their WordPress website wouldn’t post any new pages they created. Upon investigation it was revealed that the Theme of the website was to blame.

The Good and The Bad of  WordPress Site

If you’ve chosen WordPress for your website, you probably know that being an “open source” platform means any WordPress developers around the globe can have access to your site and work on it. If your website is on some web agency’s CMS solution, you are bound to that agency and they basically hold all the cards if a dispute should arise.

Another major draw card is that WordPress sites are easy for people who aren’t well versed in computer technology to  build and use.

It also helps that WordPress has a multitude of Themes and Plugins to help make each site unique and functional.

Sadly the same characteristics that make WordPress so popular are also it’s biggest weaknesses. For example the open source nature and variety of plugins create numerous critical security challenges. WordPress sites that aren’t properly maintained and locked down are a relatively easy target for hackers.

Another thing to watch out for is the theme. The increase in mobile internet usage means that themes need to be responsive, in other words capable of changing to suit the device its being viewed on, whether PC, tablet or mobile phone, making reading easier.

There are both good and bad themes, depending on how well they are developed, supported and work, with the best themes working every time WordPress issues new updates. Themes that are bad are often not compatible with WordPress’ updates.

The company involved in this case study had a theme which was no longer compatible with the latest version of WordPress. Every time a new page was created, the site would only display the page listing recent blog posts.

The Solution

A new website was created which was almost an exact replica of the problematic website but using an updated theme and Visual Composer.  Replicating a WordPress site with a new one is possible.

While this may have done the trick with other sites, in this specific case the old theme contained problematic coding to display each page which a webmaster had to manually go through and input each page’s contents into the new, replica site, a painstaking process which had to be done one page at a time.

As this case study highlights, using a well-supported and professional theme for your WordPress site is crucial. It’s also important to ensure it is updated and remains compatible with the latest version of WordPress.

 

 

Visa Delays Anger Small Business Owners

small businesAre you one of the small business owners waiting for the processing of 457 visas for foreign workers?

According to reports a number of small business owners are angry at the delays in processing 457 visas, meant to facilitate the filling of temporary skills gaps, but now with these delays the whole purpose of the visas may be defeated.

Although the Department of Immigration and Border Protection boasts about processing claims within 40 working days or 8 weeks, a number of small business owners have complained about 4 months + delays.

As these small business owners explain, running a small business, lack of key staff due to delays and shortages could have devastating financial effects on the business.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/john-durie/small-business-angry-over-section-457-visa-delays/news-story/f53d0b941627c2403cc3abb8d014ce35

How The Budget Helps Small Business

aus money

According to an article on Smh.com.au the 2016 federal budget is full of surprises for small businesses.

There was also welcomed news for small business owners with regard to accessing the small business entity tax concessions.

Currently for a business to qualify as an SBE it must have a turnover of less than $2 million.

This threshold has been the same for a number of years and has been long overdue for an increase.

Qualifying as an SBE provides small businesses with many tax concessions including “simplified depreciation rules, the ability to fully write off assets costing less than $20,000 in the first year, simplified trading stock valuation rules, and an immediate deduction for prepaid expenses that cover a period of 12 months or less”.

Read more at http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/finance/a-super-budget-that-helps-small-business-20160508-gopioe.html

Successful Aussie Businesses That Cracked The US Market

us aussie flag

An article on HuffingtonPost.com.au highlighted how some Australian small businesses are cracking the American market. And it still has opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs.

But the sheer size of the market means many businesses are overwhelmed about where to even begin and how to get a slice of the market share.

The article goes on to give some success stories for US domination and tips for other start-ups that are trying to crack the market.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/05/26/how-these-aussie-small-businesses-have-cracked-the-us-market/

Things That Happened in Technology That Affect Your Small Business

technologyThere are certain developments in the technological realm that have an impact on your small business.

Here are the top 4:

  1. Twitter has stopped focussing on the “buy” button.
  2. Snapchat could now be worth $18 billion.
  3. Monitoring of employees is reaching all new levels which are creating new levels.
  4. GoDaddy offers a new app to evaluate your start-up idea.

Find out more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/quickerbettertech/2016/05/29/small-business-tech-this-week-twitter-abandons-the-buy-button-and-now-you-can-eat-your-six-pack/3/#45dbeb4614b8

Small Business Mental Health

mentalhealthSmall and medium business  mental health is one of the major issues for the 2016 federal election.

Public health and Medicare are major election issues but the Council of Small Business Australia is urging politicians to make the mental health problems in the small business sector a priority.

Employee mental health is often spoken about, and that’s good because it is important, but employers’ mental health can easily be neglected. We cannot afford to overlook the mental health of this sector of the industry.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/federal-election-2016-small-business-mental-health-a-priority-20160523-gp1mr2.html#ixzz49i1V3yCe 
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Why Small Business Owners Suffer From Mental Ill Health in Silence

mentalhealthSmall business owners are usually good when handling workplace health and safety issues regarding their employees but are often slow to act when they themselves are involved, particularly  mental health issues.

Small business owners in Australia are the least likely to ask for health with mental health issues and risk losing their companies as a result.

According to Kate Carnell, the first Australian small business and family enterprise ombudsman says small business owners are amongst the most affected by mental health problems.

She highlighted that smaller operators should seek help if necessary and assist those in their business that need help with mental health issues.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/small-business-owners-at-risk-of-mental-illness-if-they-dont-speak-up/news-story/120c21b53689b0ec6abae8a9eb696d55

NT WorkSafe Helps Small Businesses Improve Safety

nt worksafe

A pilot Small Business Safety Advisors (SBSAs) program has been established by NT WorkSafe to provide small to medium businesses improve their work health and safety standards.

The program was designed to improve the capabilities of smaller businesses to manage their own workplace safety processes.

Advisors will be working with businesses in the state on a request basis, providing assistance in improving WHS practices.

Part of the aim is to help companies with the challenges of understanding and implementing workplace health and safety laws and legislative requirements.

 

Source: http://content.safetyculture.com.au/news/index.php/05/safety-advisors-help-small-business-improve-work-health-safety-standards/#.VzTkEYR97IU

Learn to Drive Innovation in Your Small Business

innovationInnovation has become an important word for small businesses, in fact all businesses especially since the Prime Minister released the government’s $1.1 billion innovation plan last year. But how can you as a small business actually put it into practice.

In an article on HuffingtonPost.com.au, Dr Amantha Imber, an innovation psychologist, author and founder of a business consultancy says we shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the term, it simply means a change that adds value to the company.

It’s an all inclusive term, so anyone in the business, regardless of their position can come up with ways to innovate in their specific designation.

So what can we do new or differently to benefit the future of the business? Let’s read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/04/18/expert-tips-for-small-business-to-introduce-and-drive-innovation/

Supporting Women in a Male Dominated Environment

The construction industry has long been known as a male dominated industry, where women are often made to feel intimidated and not welcome, or worse harassed with wolf whistles and the like.

So I was pleased to see, as I was scanning through my blog list today, a short article posted on a blog by a training group that offer the safety qualification White Card online.  The blog highlighted what a company called Hilti were doing to attract and retain female workers in the construction industry.

hilti

Kudos to Hilti!

Read more here>

https://www.whitecardonlineexpress.com.au/industry-news/supporting-women-in-construction/ 

Best Apps for Your Small Business

smartphoneNo matter your niche there are a number of apps that would benefit your small business.

When asked by Smh.com.au to provide a list of the most popular free-to-download apps for Australian small businesses, Apple and Google provided this list. These apps are free but have in app purchases.

  1. Canva – the graphic design app
  2. Evernote – Allows you to remain organised
  3. Invoice2Go – Create invoices and quotes anywhere
  4. Genius Scan – Allows you to use your smartphone as a scanner in your pocket to scan receipts and documents on the go and export them to PF files.
  5. Deputy – A staff management app allows you to communicate with your team from your smartphone.

    Find out the rest of the apps at: http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/smallbiz-tech/the-nine-best-free-apps-for-small-business-20160419-go9pta.html#ixzz46mFlSg1B