Web Hosting Advice

The domain name (what people type in to reach your site) is an integral part of web hosting.  There’s a reason why some names sell for thousands of dollars while you can pick others up for under $20.  The key to a good domain is to be memorable, descriptive, and simple.  There are a few things to consider when picking the perfect one for your business.

First, there are situations where your actual business name might not be the best domain.  One instance is if the name is simply too long, like “Humpty Dumpty’s Twenty-Four Hour Egg Emporium.”  Another consideration is double letters in the middle of your business name, like “Mighty Yams.”  Customers will run into problems trying to remember whether the site is mightyyams.com or mightyams.com. (more…)

On a 2009 list of the “Top 10 Best Designed Websites in the World”, Apple’s website comes in first.  The author commends its balance of white space and images, along with easy navigation.  Is it a coincidence that Apple is one of the most successful companies in the world?  Hardly.  In today’s world, the website is a company’s public face, so picking a host and putting up a basic page isn’t enough.  If your in-house team isn’t prepared for the demands of designing your website, it’s more than worth it to pay an outside designer.  That’s where Ninth Degree Web Site Design comes in.

The company was founded in 1995 and has made a name for itself by designing the sites of high-profile clients like NASA, ESPN, Kobe Japanese Steakhouses, and more.  In an era when businesses come and go every few years, the fact that the company has remained vital for fifteen years is indicative of its quality. (more…)

While GoDaddy has certainly cornered the market on web hosting television advertising, there are many other web hosting sites in existence.  These unsung heroes go about their business every day, providing excellent customer service, support, and more.  If you’re interested in digging under the surface of the market, read on.

• Green Geeks: This site prides itself on its environmental friendliness, in addition to great deals.  Among its features are an energy-efficient infrastructure, replacing electric energy with wind power, and telecommuting for its employees.  Its web hosting deals start at $4.95 a month with a free domain name.
• Blue Host: Trust us, not all hosting sites are named after colors.  Blue Host just happens to be another long-running service (started in 1996) which offers many technical and software features to its users.  These include unlimited hosting, file transfers, and e-mail accounts, along with a permanent domain.  You can get started for $6.95 a month. (more…)

After you decide which hosting service to use, the hard part starts: promoting your web site to the world at large.  This is a hard process which requires patience and time, so don’t be disappointed if you don’t see results immediately.  Here are some tips that have worked in the past.

1. Post frequently on review sites that cater to your market. As long as you are honest about the pros and cons of products (both yours and others’), you can build up trust with consumers.
2. Write frequent press releases. This doesn’t mean every other day—this will cause people to stop paying attention to them—but keep people informed about both your business and your industry in general.
3. Leave room for suggestions. Have a spot on your site where viewers can submit suggestions on what they liked and didn’t like in your site or site advertising.  Encouraging readers to critique your site will build up trust at the same time as it eliminates problems on it. (more…)

Web hosting is a must for any individual or business wanting to make an impression online.  It’s the process by which your web site is stored on a public server, giving users worldwide access to it.  But there are a few ways to go about it, as you’ll see below.

• Free Hosting:  While the notion of “free” hosting might seem initially tempting, it is very limited and not suited for professional use.  Free hosting requires you to use a domain provided by the site, and has little to no technical support or security.
• Shared Hosting:  This option is the most common, and also the best deal for your money.  That’s because the cost is “shared” with other clients of the hosting service.  While this offers good support and software options, it’s not recommended for larger businesses due to lower security and other restrictions. (more…)