Category: Downloads

Suite CRM

Over the past 9 years I have built up quite a large number of contacts and accounts. These have been managed through various platforms such as Excel (multiple spreadsheets) and email. I have a local redundant server with accounts on for each client where I can track the work requests that have come in as well, and I keep working files and backups there. But it has all got rather too large to manage now, especially with regards to customer management and invoicing using spreadsheets. It was creaking at the seams so something needed to be done.

One of the issues has been tracking payments for services. An analysis we carried out in November 2020 showed around £2000+ of unresolved invoices over a 20 month period. Many of these had been overlooked by my clients, some had been paid, but not using the recommended method of a BACs transfer, so were hard to track.

Solving the problem

I looked around for potential solutions and came across a CRM system (Customer Relationship Management) which is based on an Open Source Sugar CRM which is widely respected across industries.  The package is called SuiteCRM.

It is possible to load the CRM into a hosting account, and the reason I mention it, is it might have wider appeal than just my application. It is basically a complex website fronting a database. The database is built around accounts, the accounts can have contacts, projects, invoices, notes, attached emails etc. It is really very thorough, and so far quite robust. I have even created my own module to cover hosting details for each client.

If you are managing projects, people, organisations on a spreadsheet and wish to move to the next level it might be worth a look.

How much does it cost?

Like WordPress the software is free. It is supported by a community, and is recommended by the UK Government, and also used by the NHS. If you have come across SalesForce CRM it is similar to this as a system.

If you have someone that is a bit techy in your organisation, and can give you local support, then it might well be a useful addition to the systems you use.

Is it easy to learn?

These days I generally judge technology on how easy it is to pick up, figure out and work around. I don’t want to plough through a 300 page manual, and if you find you have to do that, it can put you off. In my case, I have lightly read up on various things when I have hit a problem. After 3 weeks, I have now loaded in around 130 organisations, over 200 contacts from those organisations, details about websites, and services provided, invoices sent out etc and linked it all together. The really big step is creating a whole custom module for my application. I figured out how to do that and link it into the system.

However I deal with this stuff every day. But I know that in many organisations you have IT people either on your trustees, or staff in your organisation. If anyone is interested in learning more, then let me know.

My plan

Over the rest of this financial year, I am going to start adding in projects, work requests, quotes, email communications into this system and get it to generate invoices by the end of March. If I get this far, I will have a complete workflow from start to finish, including support requests for post release.

Researching SuiteCRM

You can find out more about this package which can be loaded in your hosting area by following these links: Main website is here; https://suitecrm.com/ and documentation you can find here: https://docs.suitecrm.com/

In my case, I grabbed a copy of the software and installed it locally on a Linux Server in my office. But the same package could be added to your hosting account, or better still a new and therefore isolated hosting account.

 

Coronavirus image for posts

For those of you with Divi based websites, your posts are best displayed with an image to conform to the newspaper layout you see on your news page. But where do you get an image from?

I originally thought this image was made from dried flowers inserted into a ball, but reading the small print it is actually a 3D generated image of a measles virus.

To use it, place your cursor on top of the image and right click and save the image to your local computer.

The image source is from https://unsplash.com and was created by CDC

Generic virus image

Here are some others so you can create your own.  All of the links below go to the Unsplash.com website where there are thousands of free images covering all sorts of subjects.

https://unsplash.com/photos/bkc-m0iZ4Sk

https://unsplash.com/photos/w9KEokhajKw

https://unsplash.com/photos/rnr8D3FNUNY

Anti Spam Measure for Forms

I have used a variety of Form Managers on sites over the years. The majority of you should have Contact Form 7 on your site. I have used a standard feature in Contact Form 7 which  is a hidden field. Computers can see it, but humans cannot see it, so they do not fill it in. If the form is submitted and the hidden field has data in it, it is not accepted becasue it has been added by a computer so the form is rejected. 

It certainly helps in most cases, but I am also aware that some of you seem to have websites targetted from time to time. Here is another simple addition to your forms which may help. It is a simple quiz which will prevent submission unless the answer is correct. 

There are standard forms of recaptcha used by Google. It relies on a human interpreting what is in a picture, or pictures. It can be particularly tiresome on some websites. I have also noted a difference in operation of Google Recaptcha with different types of browser. It works very well with Chrome, less so with other browsers. 

The following is a simple addition to your Contact Form 7. Download the file by clicking at the bottom of this post and copy the text and insert it just above the entry for the Enter button. 

Here is an example:

 

I have inserted another form control between the message area of the form and the Enter button. Here is what it looks like in the Contact Form 7 Layout. Highlighted in yellow below. 

It may look complicated, but it isn’t really. There is a short explanation at the start and a series of questions, each with the response expected like this:

“1 plus 2 =|3”

You can build your own questions for example:

“What is the capital of France?|Paris”

Anyone submitting a message can see the question, but not the answer.

Of course none of this should be really necessary. But unfortunately there is a large group of people that must see some success from sending spam messages otherwise it would not be worth effort.

Will this solve the problem?

I honestly do not know. I am pretty sure with some of the anti spam measures which are often defeated, there must be people who are paid to paste messages into forms. In which case none of these methods will work. But if you are currently plagued with spam messages coming in via the website, this may be worth a try.

Do It Yourself

Locate your contact form by logging in and locating Contact in the side bar. Look for the form(s) and open one. Towards the bottom of the form you will see the text:

[submit “Send”]

Place some line breaks between this and the content above it. Then click on the download button to download the example code. Then paste it into the space you have made. Save the form and then go to your contact us page and test it. Make sure it works and you still receive a message through your website before leaving.

Any problems drop me a line or call me. Click on the button below, you should see the text, copy it, and paste it into the form as described.

Download Code Here (text file) opens in a new window

Reminder on handling images on your site

There is one recurring theme as I work my way around various websites, handle support issues, or work with new clients on importing old websites to a new framework. It relates to images. To ensure your website runs quickly, and does not waste bandwidth you need to optimise your images before they are placed on the website.

Over the years I have offered various guidelines on sizes, it often depends on the size of your template. But the core guidance remains the same. Do not upload an image to your website without scaling it down first.

Images are getting larger and larger with high resolution sensors. Your camera may well be able to produce an image which is 5000 pixels wide. However your website is only 1000 pixels wide, and the available space for an image in some cases may only be 500px wide.

Please check out this video which I put on the site a couple of years ago. It talks about free image editing software called IrfanView and how to use it.

Using Images on your site

QR Codes

Marketing Tip

If you have an event coming up and there is an application form, or greater detail available online, you can use a QR Code which is a graphical symbol which a smart phone or tablet can scan, the scan function seems to be built into most smart phones. Just point your camera at one and it will automatically ask if you want to go to the website. You have probably seen them around, may even have scanned them in the past, but are not sure where to get them from.

I will quote this case, as it is a live example, of where having a QR code can be beneficial for you.

Home-Start Hampshire Charity Golf Day

Home-Start Hampshire are running a Charity Golf Day and asked me to add it to their website. Included in the package of information was a poster and two application forms, one in PDF format and one in MS Word format. (You need both because not everyone has MS Word).

I went to this website which you can create them for free: https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/ There are several QR code sites around, however as I found out some are after your money, so do take care, you can read what happened to me by skipping down this post to QR-CODE-GENERATOR.COM. I do however thoroughly recommend qrcode-monkey.com which is free to use, the codes do not expire, and there is no intermediate translation, and they can be used as many times as you wish.

I placed a wrapper around the QR code and produced the graphic below

Read more

Password Protected Pages in Divi

On many Home-Start sites, and some of the regional charity websites I have included one or more password based pages. You can add these yourself, it is controlled in the editing view of the page or post on the right handside where it refers to Visibility. You have the following available:

  • Public
  • Public (and stick to the front page)
  • Password Protected 
  • Private

Items are normally set up as Public. If you use Public and stick to the front page, check what it does first. It may not work as you expect it to work because it relates to the template. 

Password protected pages in Divi

There is an annoying problem with password protected pages in Divi, if you try to enter one the first time you will see small writing on the left and a button on the right. On a wide screen these look totally disconnected, and not obvious. If you have a non Divi based website, you are unaffected. 

Continue reading Password Protected Pages in Divi

Get a bear

I am adding a link behind this image at the bottom of new sites. Admin’s can click on it to go to a special admin page.

This is especially for Divi based websites. I have revised my training for new websites, and am now running the training for Divi based sites within the template environment. My tutorial is based on an ordinary post or page layout. 

If you think it will be helpful, I can add a special private page and post to your website. These can only be seen by an administrator who is logged into the site, the general visitor cannot see them. 

The Admin page has a general description on the relevance of Sections, Rows and Columns; these are elements within the Divi Template. It also talks about the differences between pages and posts.  There is a section with links back to my training videos and other education resources. 

I also include a Template Post which has guidance built into it to help you to remember what to do. It is explained at a very detailed level, and I would anticipate it would help to ensure you cover every step.  I also include a guide built into the website as well. The guide includes screenshots. You can see a copy here. 

Access to this area is through a small bear in the footer of your website. Or for those of you with more adult rather than family content I can use a different icon. The point being you click on it when you are logged in and it takes you to the Admin page with all of the tips on. 

Continue reading Get a bear

GDPR Privacy Notice

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is due to come into force from the 25th of May. Everyone processing data in any form will be subject to the requirements of this new regulation. 

I  have been researching the implications of the regulation with regards to your website, and have attempted to put an example notice together which will help to cover the regulation. First though some caveats. Continue reading GDPR Privacy Notice

IP Geo Block

I have found a WordPress plugin which looks quite interesting. I am currently evaluating how it works, and whether it makes any difference. What it does is blocks access to your site from countries that are not listed as acceptable.

Why would you want to do that?

Hackers control things called Bot Nets. They are computers based all around the world. In many if not most cases the owners of those computers are unaware that they have been infiltrated. What a hacker may do with a compromised server is use it to launch attacks on other sites and servers.

With the security used on your sites there is a mechanism which will detect failed logins. If more than three failed logins occur over a set period (generally 30 minutes) the device that is attempting to login will be blocked for a period of time.

At the point the login is blocked another computer comes on line and attempts to login too, and so the process repeats itself. It is called a Brute Force Attack, they occur all of the time, and sometimes for extended periods of time. Continue reading IP Geo Block

You don’t want one of these….

I was passed the following message in a text file from a small regional charity. It was on the start up screen when the computer was turned on.

ATTENTION!
All your documents, photos, databases and other important personal files
were encrypted using strong RSA-1024 algorithm with a unique key.
To restore your files you have to pay 0.49965 BTC (bitcoins).
Please follow this manual:1. Create Bitcoin wallet here: https://blockchain.info/wallet/new2. Buy 0.49965 BTC with cash, using search here: https://localbitcoins.com/buy_bitcoins3. Send 0.49965 BTC to this Bitcoin address:1FkFRVWCvTyimcAAxq19dhYGspQ4KaeoabL4. Open one of the following links in your browser to download decryptor:

http://tt-metall.ru/counter/?a=1FkFRVWCvTyimcAAxq19tidShQ4KaeoabL
http://technocooks.com/counter/?a=1FkFRVWCvTyimcAAxqsHyiLppQ4KaeoabL
http://projectdare.co.uk/counter/?a=1FkFRVWCvTyimcAAxq19ssHppQ4KaeoabL
http://grutorax.com.br/counter/?a=1FkFRVWCvTyimcAAxq19mITppQ4KaeoabL
http://www.wordbaasoverdebal.nl/counter/?a=1FkFRVWCvTyimcAAxq13SDppQ4KaeoabL

5. Run decryptor to restore your files.

PLEASE REMEMBER:

– If you do not pay in 3 days YOU LOOSE ALL YOUR FILES.
– Nobody can help you except us.
– It`s useless to reinstall Windows, update antivirus software, etc.
– Your files can be decrypted only after you make payment.
– You can find this manual on your desktop (DECRYPT.txt)

(In the above example I have edited all of the links to make them void just in case anyone was curious to take a look and land in more trouble.) 

Is it real what should I do?

First, tell your manager. It may represent a risk to the office and everything connected to the local area network.

Continue reading You don’t want one of these….