Items filtered by date: September 2017

I recently had to come up with a way to track a client's Drupal site, using the Webform module, from within Google Analytics.  Since the Webform module generates the "submit" button automatically, there is no easy way to include the "onClick" tracking code provided by Google into the form:

onClick="ga('send', 'event', { eventCategory: 'Legacy Event Signup', eventAction: 'Sign Up', eventLabel: 'Legacy Signups', eventValue: 1});"

My solution was to write a short "hook" script in the template.  To incorporate into your site, you need to modify this file:

/sites/all/themes/YOURTHEME/template.php

Web host agrees to pay $1m after it’s hit by Linux-targeting ransomware

What would you do if YOUR computer were hit by this type of ransomware?
What if your computer were stolen?
What if your building burns down?  

The advantage of using an SSL certificate with your website is the ‘green lock’ symbol that visitors get when browsing your site:

Rather than this:

For years now, Google has been encouraging all websites to switch from HTTP to secure HTTPS (SSL).

Editor's Note:
I'm posting this article because it goes into a fair amount of detail about how a web site's hosting account and how its various parts are configured play an important role in handling large spikes in traffic.  Most of my clients never encounter this type of a problem.  It's always good to be ready.  If you're not sure if your hosting account is set up to handle large bursts in traffic, let me know, and I'll put together some recommendations.  For most folks, enabling caching is going to be sufficient.  Others might appreciate the extra protection provided by a service like CloudFlare.

Millions relied on Space City Weather—here’s the configuration that weathered Hurricane Harvey.

HOUSTON—I had enough to worry about as Hurricane Harvey plowed into the Texas Gulf Coast on the night of August 25 and delivered a category 4 punch to the nearby city of Rockport. But I simultaneously faced a different kind of storm: an unexpected surge of traffic hitting the Space City Weather Web server. This was the first of what would turn into several very long and restless nights.