Web Hosting Advice

Tips and tools for choosing the perfect domain name

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:16:55 +0000

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.The world of search engine optimization lends its own troubles to the process. Obviously, you will want your site to appear as high up as possible in a search engine. Many professional web designers believe that if you put your prime keyword in your domain name, and separate the words with dashes, a search engine like Google will see the keyword more easily, and place it higher in their list.There are a variety of tools you can use to come up with a perfect name. One is “Dot-o-mator”, where you can pick prefixes, suffixes, and/or pre-selected groups of both and generate all possible combinations. “Domain Tools” is a tool for finding out more about the history of a domain, suggesting similar names, and finding which domains are currently for sale or auction. If you think that a particular domain is overpriced at auction, check out “dnScoop”, a tool which uses traffic and linking statistics to estimate the actual value of a domain name. This will keep you from getting stuck with an overpriced stinker.

Ninth Degree web design “sets its sites” on America

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:14:31 +0000

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. Ninth Degree has stayed current by keeping its development in-house, as opposed to the more common programming outsourcing. Their personnel and technological efficiency also allows them to keep their prices lower than many other companies that cater to a similar clientele.Ninth Degree has offices in California, New York, Illinois, and Arizona, and clients across the U.S. If you’re interested in becoming one of them, you can start the process by filling out the form on their Contact/RFQ page, defining your budget and project requirements. An account manager will then contact you with specific ideas on what Ninth Degree can do for you. If you decide to proceed, you’ll be assigned a dedicated manager who will keep you informed via regular conferences, online status agendas and consultations, and milestone information. If your website is in need of an overhaul, Ninth Degree could be the answer.

A cavalcade of web hosting sites

www.webhostingadvice.net — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:02:20 +0000

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.
Host Monster: Host Monster is an attractive choice for the many rewards they include for buyers, such as free Yahoo and Google credits. Unlike some hosting services, there are also no long-term contracts, meaning no cancellation fee. For a limited time, you can sign up for 5.95 a month.
Network Solutions: Network Solutions has one of the easiest-to-use search engines, allowing you to search for the domain of your choice with a variety of extensions. Hosting starts at 11.95 for a monthly contract, but goes down considerably for sites with longer-term goals. NS also instantly makes a listing for your site in local directories, making it easier to find for the people who need it.

Just as with choosing the type of hosting that’s best for you, choosing which host to go with should be a carefully-planned decision. Examine each one’s features and discuss with your website experts to see what your business needs.

Promoting your web site

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:53:21 +0000

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.

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.
Write frequent press releases. This doesn’t mean every other daythis will cause people to stop paying attention to thembut keep people informed about both your business and your industry in general.
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.
Hold contests. Not only will holding a contest increase interest for your product, but it will give you an interesting way to get your name on other web sites. This could quickly expand your foothold on your market.
Keep in touch with your visitors. Have a way to collect your users’ names and e-mail addresses, and then keep in contact with them with regular, meaningful information (i.e. not spam). A regular company newsletter is a great way to do this.
Keep your website at the top of pay-per-click search engines. This is a great way for people to see your name, and you only have to pay for each time someone actually clicks through the ad. If they find what they’re looking for on your site, the advertising will pretty much pay for itself.

The many faces of web hosting: what’s right for you?

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:52:09 +0000

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.
Virtual Private Server Hosting: This option is the “missing link” between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. While other clients will still be on your server, the system is divided so that a certain amount of resources are only available to your site. VPS hosting is cheaper than dedicated hosting.
Dedicated Hosting: This option, one of the most expensive, offers plenty of bang for your buck. You get the most powerful security with the highest traffic capabilities, as well as the option for multiple domain names. For large businesses, this is a must.
Co-Located Web Hosting: This is the DIY option of web-hosting, in which you buy your own server and manage it on your own. It gives you most of the same options as a dedicated server, but with even more customization options.

Now that you know the basics of web hosting, do your own research to find out which is best for your business needs. Don’t be afraid to ask a professional for help.