Google Analytics was once the core tracking system of any website, but was always at risk of being blocked on the viewers side by third party software. This was helped by the new controversial cookie law which means EU websites have to actively ask visitors if they would LIKE to be tracked with cookies and would be breaking the law if they didn’t. This perhaps will lead onto supermarket loyalty cards being banned because they do pretty much the same thing… but I highly doubt it.

Anyway, with all this new attention on cookies, many standard anti-virus and internet security programs are blocking cookies on your behalf making you invisible to website owners, if you own a website, this is terrible news! AVG (my defence of choice) is one of those perpetrators, and so no website using Google Analytics or similar javascript based tracking can see me.

Does this mean I can no longer track my visitors?

Thankfully no, you can still track, but certain Google-specific features like goal conversion etc will no longer be effective. It will help to show general patterns but if you want numbers, it will quickly become useless.

So what are your options to track without cookies?

Server Stats

Most servers log every page called and links it to an IP address. Using software which collates this information you can start to build a pretty accurate journey through your site for each user. (Interestingly enough companies can also share this information with other ad servers rendering the EU cookie law a complete and utter waste of time!) Most hosting packages come with one or both of the following (Zako Media naturally offer a choice of both!):

AWstats - http://awstats.sourceforge.net/
(http://awstats NULL.sourceforge NULL.net/)Webalizer - http://www.webalizer.org/ (http://www NULL.webalizer NULL.org/)

PHP/Coding stats

These are much more powerful, instead of asking the user’s browser to load a javascript cookie, they use your actual website to record who is doing what. They are a little less novice friendly because as well as installing the software, you need to add PHP code to the right pages. If using WordPress, it will go into your template’s footer file, flat html files will be more awkward. Again Zako Media offers a choice of both.

Open Web Analytics - http://www.openwebanalytics.com/
(http://www NULL.openwebanalytics NULL.com/)Tracewatch - http://www.tracewatch.com/ (http://www NULL.tracewatch NULL.com/)  (http://www NULL.openwebanalytics NULL.com/)

The best thing of course is you can use more than one to compare how the different systems perform and which give you the most useful information about your visitors, clients and prospects.

Happy tracking without cookies!

Your website represents your business or company and as such can lead to you being sued or fined if things aren’t right. If your website is tracking visitors, recording email addresses, taking orders, forwarding leads, you need to explain to your visitors where their data is going and what to expect as part of the contract. If you give out information, and someone acting on that information is sued, they will pass the buck. If your website gets hacked and starts sending virus’ to people’s computers, you will get sued.

The only way around this is with Terms and Conditions, Disclaimers, Privacy Policies, Linking policies, Anti-spam Policies, Cookies policies…. the list is endless, and that’s just for a basic website!

Officially you should have these drawn up professionally; but that just costs more money.

At a pinch, there are plenty of free T&C templates circulating the web so shop around and find one(s) to suit you. Be aware that all documents are subject to the same copyright as any photograph or text so do not copy and paste anything for which you do not have permission!

One good place to find free templates is www.website-law.co.uk (http://www NULL.website-law NULL.co NULL.uk/)

For custom legal terms and conditions, speak to my friend Sue at http://www.lawhound.co.uk/ (http://www NULL.lawhound NULL.co NULL.uk/) or a friend’s recommendation at http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/ (http://www NULL.legalfutures NULL.co NULL.uk/)

Photograph courtesy of ifindkarma (http://www NULL.flickr NULL.com/photos/ifindkarma/)

If a £1000 item is advertised in a bricks and mortar store as being £100. A shopper may basket it and approach the checkout. The £100 price tag is not actually the retailer ‘offering to sell’ for this price, it is merely an ‘invitation to treat’. No contract is formed until you reach the till. An incorrect price on an item is therefore not legally binding. However, when the cashier asks for an amount of money in exchange for the goods you are intending to buy, he is making his offer and the consumer chooses to accept, negotiate or decline this offer. If the consumer accepts and hands over the money, a contract is established.

If a product is mispriced on the till however, this becomes the offer which a shopper can capitalise on regardless of the advertised price.

So what happens online? When something is mispriced on your ecommerce site and payments are automated?

When a consumer buys online, they rarely reach a human being who could spot the error. If you list an item at £100 which should be £1000, your customer will reach the checkout with only £100 in their basket to pay. Your website then makes the offer for the customer to accept or decline. This offer will contain the wrong price and the order will be placed, money will change hands and the contract has been formed. There is nothing you can do but dispatch or potentially face a lawsuit.

However there is a way to protect yourself, ignoring the terms and conditions, if the customer is told that their order has been accepted, whether on screen or by email; the sale contract is formed. Both you and the customer have accepted the deal and any attempt to cancel their order could be seen as a breach of contract.

However in this instance, we miss an opportunity to enter another contract (or amendment to the standard buy/sell contract). This contract is contained in your terms and conditions which a shopper should be forced to agree to as part of the purchasing process. In these terms and conditions many retailers get around the above problem by stating that no order has been accepted until dispatch and that payment will only ensure receipt of the offer but not the agreement of that offer. (Do not try to copy and paste this expecting it to be legally watertight as I’m a web developer not a lawyer.)

In other words the process has been re-ordered slightly. The customer is now being invited to treat, he then makes the offer to pay £100 for the items and it is up to the order processing staff or system to agree, negotiate or decline. This gives you the chance to intercept and correct.

It is therefore important that any post-payment messages on your website do not state that an order has been accepted. Emails and post-pay messages should declare that the order has been received or acknowledged and your terms and conditions should state why.

Human error is common, if you sell products or services online, don’t get caught out!

The inspiration for this article from Yahoo! Finance with real life examples can be found here (http://uk NULL.finance NULL.yahoo NULL.com/news/your-rights-when-stores-mis-price-items NULL.html)

(http://upload NULL.wikimedia NULL.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Sage_and_apricot_cookie%2C_May_2009 NULL.jpg/300px-Sage_and_apricot_cookie%2C_May_2009 NULL.jpg)

Image via Wikipedia

As of today, most EU based websites are illegal!

In order to track visitors in analytics software, keep track on a visitor’s shopping basket or to serve adverts, a website uses Cookies. These are tiny files with very basic information in which a website already knows about you and stores it on your computer so that when you come back, it can repopulate the data. They’re wonderful little things and while it may sound intrusive, they can only access the information which they already know, they can’t steal card or bank details, they can’t see whether you bought X product on another site.

Anyway, the EU released a directive that ALL EU websites must actively ask permission from the website visitor before using these cookies… every EU website you ever go on will be constantly asking you whether you accept them or not. If you don’t, your website is illegal.

In the UK, we have a year to comply so don’t panic just yet. 26th March 2012 is the deadline for anyone interested.

Personally I feel this law will be retracted or adjusted because it will be a blow for the EU in a very competitive marketplace: Targeted advertising!

In order to target advertising, cookies are completely necessary, EU advertising companies are going to have to comply to this law more than any other company and that’s going to result in fewer impressions and fewer clicks. Advertisers will instead be forced to outsource to the US or other parts of the world where the Cookie (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie) directive doesn’t apply.

There is a loophole however, firstly the law doesn’t specifically mention cookies, it covers any data left on a user’s computer. Secondly it does say that ‘unless it is completely necessary for the operation a user is performing.

This means your Google tracking cookie is out, but the cookie which keeps track on a user’s shopping cart is in.

The ICO’s own website (the enforcers of this law) have one workaround in the form of a top banner. Unfortunately this is so badly implemented that if you try navigating around the site, some pages break and are unusable because they previously relied on cookies!

Further problems I foresee is the ‘terms and conditions effect’ where users are so used to clicking ‘agree’ without a second thought, to argue that they knowingly opted in is questionable. Users could however be tricked into agreeing to anything. Websites aimed at children would fall into difficulties when a person under 18 isn’t allowed to enter into a contract and therefore any content served would need to be confirmed by an adult before the site can legally use cookies.

It’s a minefield and a very badly thought out one at that.

So technically most EU websites are now illegal, it’s ok for another 12 months and we can all hope that someone with some forward thinking steps in and puts a halt to it or amends it in some way before we’re all spending a fortune getting these added, arguing with WordPress (A US company), and others, about building this into their software, and just becoming desensitised further into ‘agreeing’ to online contracts.

I occasionally watch these ‘customs’ docusoaps on TV where they send drug sniffer dogs into airports and cut open children’s books to find stashes of cocaine in the cover. It’s all fascinating stuff, and it’s amazing to see what people try and get away with.

I’ve always wondered however, what happens if they get it wrong? What if they cut up an expensive camera only to find it filled with the usual set of electronics, or deface a child’s toy to find it completely empty or harbouring a little sand from the beach?

Today I found out, they just put the pieces back in the box and deliver it. A friend returned a USB 3G modem and cable from Australia by post. Thankfully the modem survived, but the cable is unusable:

There were no stickers on the package, no apology, no £5 cheque for a replacement cable, just a broken cable and bits of surgically removed plastic! I don’t know if it was done by UK or Australian customs, I don’t know why, they didn’t even bother to properly reseal the package, it was just stuck down with the same glue Jen used to package it to start with and dropped through my letterbox by the postman.

I hope this doesn’t happen too often, think of those children opening a stuffed bunny birthday present only to find it had been decapitated by some overzealous customs official.

Thank you whoever you are, for not cutting up the modem and various other things I have posted from abroad. Next time, a little post-it with a handwritten ‘Sorry’ would have been enough for something of this value. At least that way I’d accept it’s part of your job to destroy other people’s things.

As the self-assessment deadline draws closer, thousands of business are being hit with an email, supposedly from the tax office claiming they are owed a rebate. HMRC describe it as ”the most sophisticated and prolific scam” they’ve had to deal with and would like to remind people that HMRC will only ever offer rebates by post.

HMRC are receiving around 500 of these emails forwarded by customers. Taxpayers are being asked either to leave their bank details or to call a premium rate number which will charge them around £6 per minute as they hold for a reply.

From HMRC: “We only ever contact customers who are due a refund in writing by post,” said a spokesman for HMRC. “We never use emails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances, and it is very important that anyone receiving it does not reply or provide any personal details whatsoever.”

Website Accessibility

2.2 (p7): “The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public.”4.7 (p39): “From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services.”

2.13 – 2.17 (p11-13): “What services are affected by the Disability Discrimination Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act.”

5.23 (p71): “For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

5.26 (p68): “For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

Hotels have lifts, shops have ramps, even London underground is making an effort. (although much work still needs to be done.)

Is a website not accessible? How do you make a website accessible?

Blind people cannot read a computer screen, but many are online. How? They use a screen reader to read the page. Text content NEEDS to be in order in the code for this to work, also images should not be used for content, and any flash should have a text alternative.

Coming away from the extreme, many people in the UK are long-sighted or have difficulty reading, particularly on the back-lit screen. To combat this, the text colour should contrast the background, should be large enough or be re-sizable. You should also take into account the number of colourblind men there are out there, particularly when some colours are indistinguishable.

If you rely on video or audio files, you should provide a text alternative for the deaf.

Flash websites are BANNED! however some flash elements with text equivalents are still allowed… they are usually unnecessary. If a site must be in flash, a full HTML version should be provided, the second html site is also good for google as flash can’t be seen.

“This seems a bit like political correctness gone mad, can you be sued?”

In a word, yes. The RNIB has approached two large companies with regard to their websites. When they raised the accessibility issues of the websites under the DDA, both companies made the necessary changes, rather than facing the prospect of legal action (in exchange for anonymity).

The DRC launched a formal investigation into 1000 websites, of which over 80% were next to impossible for disabled people to use. They issued a stern warning that organisations will face legal action under the DDA and the threat of unlimited compensation payments if they fail to make websites accessible for people with disabilities.

In short, if you operate a website, this applies to you. Generally speaking, little will need to be done (if anything) to make your site accessible, speak to your web designer today or contact us for advice.

You can also check your site free on http://wave.webaim.org/ (http://wave NULL.webaim NULL.org/)

While not 100% accurate, it will give a good idea as to how much work will be needed. Have a chat to your web designer if you think your exposure could be increased.

Can I also tell you a secret? Google factors website accessibility into it’s algorythm. An accessible website will rank more highly than an in-accessible one with the same content.

Do we need a code of conduct for writing blogs?

According to DLA Piper, only 5% of Internet users know the legal rights and wrongs of posting online. It also found that 77% of bloggers were unaware of the law surrounding publication and journalism.

The same study found that 42% of Internet users believe that bloggers should be made to follow the same legal standards as journalists. 46% like the idea of a voluntary code of conduct. Bloggers however, don’t agree, only 32% support the idea with 34% directly opposed.

According to a spokesman from DLA Piper, there is potential for bloggers to end up in court. Beyond defamation and employment law, there are plenty of other issues which bloggers could trip up on. Issues such as, but not limited to: Libel (http://www NULL.mcalesternews NULL.com/local/local_story_229160310 NULL.html), Contempt of court (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Contempt_of_court), the Telecommunications act (http://news NULL.bbc NULL.co NULL.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7373639 NULL.stm), Protection from harassment act (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Harassment_(UK)), even the anti-terrorist legislation (http://news NULL.bbc NULL.co NULL.uk/1/hi/uk/7084801 NULL.stm).

Given that nobody reads website Terms and Conditions (and many still do not have them!) wouldn’t a code of conduct be pointless? Essentially, a code of conduct is not a set of laws, followers of this conduct will however protect themselves against some potential legal surprises if UK companies and individuals do decide to clamp down. A court may even look more favourably on them for following the voluntary code if the matter does reach a court.

Who would sign up for a voluntary code of conduct? Would it be those who are already careful in what they publish? or would it be the trouble makers inspiring this discussion in the first place?