If you remember the law was to protect and educate web users about cookies, those evil tiny bits of text stored on your computer that made websites work.

Announced in 2009 companies in the UK had two years to make their sites compliment.  No one was too sure what this meant so people assumed it either meant

• don’t use cookies
• ask permission explicitly to allow their use
• ask permission implicitly by saying if you use this site you agree
• just tell people you use cookies
• or most people favourite, do nothing.

Soon 2011 was nearly upon us, most people had done nothing about law apart from some companies offering Cookie Law tests and solution when the ICO announced:

Look we’re not going to prosecute anyone for at least a year, so you’ve got a bit of time to sort it out.

At about this time the ICO put a big banner on their site asking people to give permission to use cookies – most people didn’t.

Roll on 2012, this time the Cookie Law is coming and the ICO mean business.  Until the law is watered down right at the last moment. Implied consent is okay, analytic cookies don’t  matter anymore.

The big companies take note – Amazon, Google, Facebook do, well absolutely nothing to comply with the law and undoubtedly wait for the knock on the door from the Cookie Police.

Now it’s 2013 and in a dramatic development the ICO, who until now were seeking permission and failing to get it for cookies on their website, decide to stop asking for permission and tell that world that and they’re doing this “so that we can get reliable information to make our website better”. It’s okay now because “many more people are aware of cookies”.

If you have a pop up on your website asking for permission to use cookies you can now delete it without worrying about a knock on the door.

It’s still good practice to tell people what cookies your site does use and why but the strict control of cookies is no longer, indeed never was, needed.

Infographic from Launch Grow Joy

It’s the time when resolutions are fresh in the minds, the time when planning for a prosperous year is running through people’s minds.

One aspect of your business to consider is your ‘Digital Presence’. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you currently making the most of your website?
• Do you know how many visitors you received last month?
• When was the last time you emailed your clients and prospects?
• Have you updated your Facebook recently, or engaged with anyone there?
• When was the last time your website was updated?
• Do you know where your site ranks in Google?

These questions are just a few that you could be asking that could help your business grow online.

How can we help?

Until the end of this month we are offering a free website review.

This is a comprehensive review on over 40 aspects of your website that can be used as a starting point for improving your website.

Just go to the free review page, complete the form, and we will be in touch.

The site makes clever use of the WordPress menu structure to create the two layers of tabs along with modern techniques with HTML and CSS to create the tab shapes.

The site is developed using WordPress as a CMS.

These errors are an easy fix however

Is your site loading slowly? Is your site not turning up in any search engines? Are things in the wrong place?

This infographic from Copyblogger might help…

Like this infographic? Get more WordPress publishing content from Copyblogger.