Nine Web Hosting Tips for Your Small Business

Posted: Tuesday May 17th

When a business begins to grow, the next logical step is to set up a professional website. Whether you are looking for an international market or are trying to connect with your clients or customers, a professional website can ensure that your business is seen by the right people. Here are nine tips to consider when choosing a company to host your business’ website.

Choosing Your Domain Name

Since your website is part of your marketing strategy, you will want to keep your business in the minds of your potential customers. To do this, make sure that your domain name matches either your business or the product that you are selling. If not, your customers may go to your competition simply because they don’t remember your URL.

Deciding on a SEO Friendly Domain Name

More people will find your website if you have a high ranking in a popular search engine like Google or Yahoo. One way to achieve this is by including your main keyword in your domain name. There is no need to stuff your domain with as many keywords as you can. For proper search engine optimization, it is only necessary to include your main keyword.

Buying Multiple Domain Names

Snatching up domain names that are similar to your own can prevent competitors from benefiting from your branding efforts. It will also bring in additional traffic from people who type keywords in the address bar instead of using a search engine. Another trick to boost traffic is to buy common misspellings of your website address. This way, people who make a typing error will still be able to find your website. If you decide to buy multiple domain names, each webpage should automatically redirect users to your main URL.

Using Local Web Hosting

Search engines match their results to the geographical location of their users. For this reason, it’s important to match your web hosting to the location of your business’ clientele. By doing this, you are more likely to attract people who will be interested in your business.

Buying Enough Space

When you are looking for web hosting, you will have to decide on how much space your website will need. The amount of space you should buy depends on the size of your website and the number of images that you will have on it. It also doesn’t hurt to have extra space to expand your website if needed.

Choosing Cluster Servers

If your site gets a lot of traffic, consider using cluster servers to get more reliable service. This will balance the load placed on the servers when a large amount of people visit your website at the same time. If high availability is important to you and your business, then cluster servers is an option to look into.

Choosing a Dedicated Server

A dedicated server is another option for websites that get a lot of traffic. In this case, you will rent a server dedicated to your website alone. It costs much more than to share hosting with a number of other websites, but it will ensure that your site will be able to handle the amount of traffic that it receives.

Benefits of a Virtual Server

If you are looking for the reliability of a dedicated server, but need something that is more affordable, a virtual server may be right for you. By choosing a virtual server, you will be sharing it with other websites. The difference however, is that the traffic from these websites will not affect the performance of your own. This is a cost effective way to host a website while eliminating the problems of a shared server.

Understanding Your Email Needs

It is important to consider your email needs when choosing where to host your website. Some businesses may only need a few email accounts while others will need many more. There are two things to consider in choosing your email hosting: the security provided and the reliability of your clients’ email accounts. Most companies will offer the most basic email hosting package at no additional charge. If your needs are more complicated, email hosting and storage may be an additional cost to factor into your budget.

Finding the right place to host your website is pivotal in marketing your business online. It can be the deciding factor in whether your website attracts potential customers or just becomes another site collecting dust on the internet. Making sure you have the right web hosting is as easy as knowing your email needs and the amount of traffic your website is likely to receive. With these nine tips, you will be well on your way to setting up a website for your small business.

Paid Web Hosting: Better Than the Alternatives

Posted: Monday May 16th

While that free web hosting site may look attractive right now, there are several things you should know before wasting your time. It’s easy to say that you won’t need any advanced features, or that you can’t justify the cost. The truth is web hosting has never been cheaper. With so many choices, chances are that you’ll find a web host in your price range. Consider the following:

1. With a free web host, you’ll be limited in the amount of traffic and bandwidth you’re allowed in any given month. Once your site hits that threshold, you’re essentially shut down until the beginning of the next month.

2. You won’t be able to do anything about your web address. Without at least paying the domain registration fee (usually less than ten dollars), the hosting company’s name will appear in your addresses. On some hosting sites, the addresses look like an eye chart.

3. You’ll have to use the hosting company’s site building tools which will limit what you can do. Only graphics, layouts, themes, and applications specifically allowed by their tools can be used on your site. Think of only having three or four themes, and five or six layouts you can choose from. That custom banner you want will not be available because you won’t be able to upload it.

4. Your pages will be filled with ads and affiliate links that you have no control over. These ads and links will always be in a place which interferes with your overall layout. What little money is made from those ads will never go to you.

5. If you are having technical problems, good luck on getting a human for customer support. Over ninety percent of free hosting sites have fifty-plus pages of Q&A’s, and one or two people actually acting in an admin/support role. Even if there are more, it could take up to three weeks to ever hear back from someone. In their support emails, expect to be referred to one of the Q&A pages.

6. Almost all free hosting sites require you to click that you agree to their terms. If you read those terms of service carefully you will find a section which says that they can change the terms or start charging you at any time without advanced notice.

You could find yourself with even more limited capabilities after the first month. Even worse, you could wake up to find your account locked, and only by paying a new monthly fee will you be able to access and download your files and graphics.

In the end, it’s better to shop around and find a paid web hosing site which has the options you want and need. Free hosting (unless it’s a one page family website that doesn’t need to be edited) is a complete waste of your time, energy, and sanity. Why get a free gallon of gas which will cause your car to break down when that two dollar gallon will keep you going for another hundred miles?

Secure Backups and File Sharing Made Easy With Dropbox

Posted: Monday May 16th

Dropbox is an online file hosting service created by Dropbox Inc., a company founded by entrepreneurs Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi in 2007. Registration for the service is free, and it allows its users to securely back up and share files across several computers.

In order to use the Dropbox service, you need to download the Dropbox client from Dropbox.com. The Dropbox client is cross-platform, meaning a version exists for each of the major operating systems (Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux). Dropbox’s pricing model is based on the amount of storage space that a user signs up for; the “basic plan” with 2GB storage space is free, while 100GB and 50GB accounts attract monthly charges of $19.99 and $9.99 respectively.

Installing the Dropbox client creates a “My Dropbox” folder on a user’s computer. Any files saved in this folder are automatically backed up in Dropbox’s servers and synced with similar files stored on other computers associated with the Dropbox account. If changes are made to files in the Dropbox folder when the computer is offline, Dropbox will automatically sync the files when the computer gets connected to the internet. This makes Dropbox ideal for file sharing and collaboration between users working on the same files.

By installing the Dropbox iPhone app, a user can view, download, or edit files saved in his Dropbox account and add new files from his iPhone. This is also possible on other mobile phones by logging into the mobile-optimized version of Dropbox.com. According to the company’s official blog, they are currently working on an Android app.

Dropbox employs an efficient version control mechanism which allows the user to view past versions of a file and to ascertain what changes were made, when they were made and by whom. By default, the version history is only available for a period of 30 days. However, those on any of the two paid packages can add a feature named “Pack-rat” that stores their version history indefinitely at no extra cost.

Perhaps Dropbox’s strongest point is its easy-to-use website and desktop user interface. For example, the desktop user interface on Windows is based on a shell extension of Explorer, which allows you to back up a file by simply saving it in the Dropbox folder. A Dropbox icon is also created in the system tray on the Windows taskbar that, when clicked, gives access to the recently changed files, the Dropbox website and the Dropbox folder, and information on available storage space.

Dropbox is keen on keeping its users’ files secure. Transfers between users’ computers and the Dropbox servers are handled using a cryptographic protocol called SSL (secure sockets layer), and files stored in Dropbox’s servers are encrypted using one of the most secure encryption modes, AES-256.

Dropbox is undoubtedly one of the most user-friendly and efficient online backup services currently available. Try it out by registering for the free 2GB package at Dropbox.com.

Some Tips to Help You Find the Best Web Hosting Package

Posted: Tuesday May 10th

If your business does not have a presence on the web you are wasting money every day you wait. These days no company can afford to be without a strong presence in the online world, and creating and maintaining your own web site is one of the best ways to get the word out about your firm and all the great things it has to offer. When your company has a website you instantly have a marketing campaign that is nearly free. Compared to other types of advertising a web site is nearly cost free, making it an invaluable tool in your company’s marketing campaign.

One of the reasons many business owners do not have a web site is that they feel it will be too difficult to get started. Thankfully this is no longer the case – there are many fine companies that can do the heavy lifting of creating that great web site for you, allowing you to focus on creating just the right message for our company. There are also companies who will happily host your web site once it has been created, providing you with a steady and reliable home on the World Wide Web. Even so, it is important to choose the best web hosting package for your company. Choosing the right web hosting package can help your company achieve even the loftiest goals, while choosing an inferior company could set your goals back significantly.

What to Look For – Before you start shopping for a web hosting package it is important to think about what you want out of the service. Do you want only web hosting services, or does your company also need marketing services and search engine optimization advice? Understanding your own needs will help you get the most for your money and help your business grow.

Many companies find that the combination approach works best for them. Combining web site creation, web site hosting and web site marketing services under a single umbrella is one of the best ways to simplify your company’s internet presence. Combining the creative, design and marketing services will also help your firm create a consistent experience for your customers. Having a consistent voice on the web is important for any company, no matter what line of work they are in.