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Squarespace Acquires Google Domains – How does it affect us?

When we heard that Squarespace is acquiring all domain name registrations and related customer accounts from Google Domains, we had some mixed emotions. We were caught between surprise, anticipation, and a little bit of disappointment. A Farewell to Google Domains Google Domains has been our favorite domain registrar for a few years now. Its ease…
EU-US Data Transfer Agreement: Is it Okay to use Google Analytics now?

On July 10, 2023, the European Commission announced a groundbreaking decision that redefines the rules for transferring data of EU citizens to the US. This decision has significant implications for businesses using services like Google Analytics, as it opens up new possibilities and resolves legal uncertainties surrounding data privacy. This does not affect US companies…
Website Slider Carousels: Should you use one?

A popular website design element that often comes up in discussions is the website slider carousel or slider for short. While this feature may seem appealing at first, at Emphasis.LA, we recommend that most websites avoid using slider carousels due to various reasons. When we create web designs we usually avoid adding sliders in the…
Google updates guidance on search ranking systems page April 2023

A lot of talk this past week on Google updating its guidance on the search ranking systems page. Specifically, they removed the sections on page experience, mobile friendliness, page speed, and site security. There is a lot of noise about what this means, but in the end nothing really changed except for the official guidance. …
Does my California Small Business Website Need a Privacy Policy

Most likely the answer to this question is: Yes, you need to have a privacy policy on your website. Let’s review the reasons why. Disclaimer: This is not legal advice, just our understanding. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) The CCPA gives California residents four fundamental privacy rights that affect the information you collect and…
Know Google’s Approach to Search

Google is the top search engine. According to Statista, Google commands 84.69% of all online search market share. I believe that to get a good understanding of Google’s business model and how they make money is important to position yourself properly. Read their approach to search If you read Google’s approach to search, you will…
Your Website Should Work for you

Since we work with a lot of small businesses and nonprofits, we see a lot of websites that are not set up for success. People know that they need a website and they know that there are services that allow you to easily create a website. But they don’t know the true value because they…
Website speed basics

The speed of your website is important because it can lead to a better user experience (UX), increase your conversion rate on your website, and lead to better search engine optimization (SEO). If you do a little research online you will hear a lot of terms such as caching, content delivery network (CDN), or time…
Should I use an accessibility overlay?

The simple answer to this question is, no, you shouldn’t use an accessibility overlay or widget. The main reason not to use an overlay is because they don’t make your site accessible. The only true way of making a website accessible is through testing. Accessibility overlays may, ironically, make your site less accessible and more…
What is a website slug?

The slug is a unique combination of letters, numbers, and symbols that forms the last part of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) link. This is what you type into the browser to find a website. When the web was younger, it was common practice to format with non-descriptive IDs such as example.com/page_id=123. If you were…
Stop the Comment Spam on your WordPress website

A common complaint on WordPress websites are the excessive amount of spam comments on blog posts. Lets go through some ways we can reduce or eliminate the spam. Disable WordPress comments Of course, the simplest thing you can do is disable comments. I’ve done this a few times. Some businesses or industries do not see…
The Newest Things in Web Development

I was recently at a networking event where someone asked me, “what are the newest things in the web development industry?”. While these are not necessarily “new” developments, these are the things you need to be considering this year (2022) when building a website. Note: some of the links below may be affiliate links. If…