Web Design and Web Development is only 1/2 the battle. It is important that small business owners understand the importance of hosting as it controls many SEO elements on your website.
1. Set Goals
If you want to reach the top of the search engines then you want a dedicated server (or semi private) with a private CClass Number. Make sure that you are not sharing the CClass number. The price for this service ranges from $50 if you work with your hosting company, to $500. Be careful - the cheaper hosting companies may limit their bandwidth.
If you do not need to be at the top of the search engines then pick a host with a good reputation like Hostgator or Godaddy. It doesn't matter what you pay for Web Design if the search engines, and users, cannot find your website.
2. Customer Service
Call customer service and ask questions - at least 2 - 5 times. You should get someone within 24 hours. Do this before you pay any money. Ask a few questions that cannot be answered in the FAQ or by the sales staff. Keep a list of companies that have a direct phone number to tech support - and make sure that the same person doesn't answer both phones.
Also, make sure that the person is using a real name. This may not happen in live chat, but you want a sense that the company is not outsourcing to a foreign country.
3. Features
Cpanel is a full featured dashboard that should be offered by every host. Only hosts who are trying to 'skimp' will use a lesser dashboard. You also want to look for a host who has included Fantastico. Plesk is also a good dashboard, but many small business owners find it difficult to manage.
4. Cost
Cost is usually number one on most people's list. However, saving a few dollars on hosting can cost you in search engine ranking, traffic, and even get your website penalized by search engines.
There are a lot of free and low fee hosting companies that redirect your traffic. If your visitor hits a dead link, or visits a page more than 2 or 3 times, they will be redirected to an 'advertisement' or popunder.
5. Limits
Many hosting companies limit 2 things: Bandwidth and CPU. They may not have dedicated switches on their servers. All of these things bring your site down - even when the hosting company's server is still 'up'. The more visitors you receive at one time, the quicker you go down. This is horrible when you have an event, or have several people watching a video.
The last point is the most obvious - reputation. I didn't include this in the list because you will develop a feel for the companies who pay for a good review on a hosting review website or an affiliate website and those hosting companies who earn a good review in blogs, forums, and other web venues.
Please let us know your stories in our guest book. I am always happy to listen to other people's ideas.
10/1/09
Web Development and Website Hosting
9/29/08
9/24/08
8/21/08
New Resource: Logo Design
I've been looking around the net for different resources. I learned a long time ago that businesses which do not invest at least 20% of their profits into advertising will not grow, and rarely survives. But, what type of advertising do you need? The first thing you need is a good logo design. I was interested when I read some information on designing logos, and how they impact consumer decisions.
I did pay to have a logo made. I didn't get one made by a NY ad agency for $200, but I did have a good one made. I've used it for several years. The designer created my logo to appeal to women and build credibility as an educational resource. It was interesting that a professional logo design can be made to sell, buid credibility, attract members, and insite other emotional reactions.
4/29/08
Beware Free Contracts
There are dozens of websites that offer small businesses free contracts, or offer downloads of 'boilerplate' contracts. These can be a good thing, but they are never 'one size fits all' and they can turn into a nightmare if the business owner doesn't make sure they know the laws in their State/Province.
What You Should Know Before Copying Contracts from the Internet
Copying contracts from the Internet is a bit like wearing your old cousin’s hand-me-down dresses . . . in order to walk into a bee’s nest (an incongruous image, I know): yes, you’re \"covered,\" but the style is outdated and they usually don’t fit you well. Plus, they won’t provide you with the protection you need for your particular purpose.
Most small businesses can’t afford the Versace of contracts, and, frankly, it’s often not necessary. Sometimes, Kmart will do nicely. However, when you download something for free, it’s usually worth what you paid for it. Internet contracts need to be mended and altered to make sure they truly fit how you want to do business. But if you have limited experience in making clothing, you risk having the garment unravel at the seams if you try to do it yourself.
In the interest of saving money, you may have downloaded a freebie contract from the Internet. But it’s often what you don’t know -- and what’s not included in the document -- that can hurt you. Internet contracts can be helpful resources for identifying issues for you to think about, but are usually not well thought out, nor are they tailored to the needs of your particular business. If an agreement is not drafted in your favor, it may not give you the flexibility and protection that you really need from your business relationships.
For example, I’ve know of business owners who have formed limited liability companies (LLCs) and have downloaded their ownership agreements from the Internet. When \"Jemma\" got hers from a freebie Internet site, it looked long enough and comprehensive enough, so she and her co-owner (neither of whom are lawyers) signed it. Four months later, Jemma wanted to move to a different state to accommodate her husband’s career path; plus, Jemma learned that she was pregnant. So the time was right to transition to her new stage of life. But her LLC agreement only allowed her to leave the business (1) if she had died (which she hadn’t) or (2) as long as her co-owner agreed (which she didn’t). In short, Jemma’s agreement had no meaningful \"exit strategy.\" And Jemma did not know that these were among the issues she needed to focus on in creating and signing such an agreement. There were a whole host of things that the LLC agreement did not include, such as how to deal with the client base that each owner brought to the business, how to place a dollar value on the intellectual property that each owner contributed, and how to leave the business should life changes (other than Jemma’s death) arise. Jemma’s agreement didn’t cover any of these issues. In the face of an irate business partner and an insufficient agreement, Jemma found herself staring down the barrels of (1) a lengthy and expensive lawsuit to dissolve the business or (2) a less expensive (but more costly than it needed to have been) way to extricate herself from her business partner.
Similar things can happen with even the simplest of contracts with your customers. Download from the Internet all you like, but recognize that the document you copy (1) may not reflect the most recent changes in the law (how will you know? -- ask a lawyer!); (2) may contain provisions that are harmful to your business (or omit ones that could help you), and (3) may not properly reflect how you want to do business with your customers. Internet contracts may raise some of the important issues, without a doubt. But they don’t necessarily deal with the specific issues of your situation. In short, when downloading from the Internet: \"one size fits all\" usually means that \"one size fits none.\"
How to avoid this pitfall: ideally, by working with an attorney who really understands the legal issues that small businesses face. Although some entrepreneurs may try to economize with a do-it-yourself approach, they often end up costing themselves more because they are not trained, as attorneys are, to spot the issues and problems that can harm them. Taking the time to find a lawyer who meets your needs is one of the best investments you will ever make in the growth of your business. Find out more about how to hire and work with attorneys -- and keep your costs down -- by listening to the free audio class available through www.WiseCounselPress.com. With the help of your lawyer, you can start to make the smart decisions that will protect your company and save you money!
© 2005 Wise Counsel Press LLC. Nina L. Kaufman, Esq., is a small business attorney and the founder of Wise Counsel Press LLC, which offers easy-to-understand legal strategies that protect small businesses and save them money . . . wisely. To learn more, and to sign up for their FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, visit www.WiseCounselPress.com.
With the help of your lawyer, you can start to make the smart decisions that will protect your company and save you money! © 2005 Wise Counsel Press LLC. Nina L. Kaufman, Esq., is a small business attorney and the founder of Wise Counsel Press LLC, which offers easy-to-understand legal strategies that protect small businesses and save them money . . . wisely. To learn more, and to sign up for their FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, visit www.WiseCounselPress.com.
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Digg Series: The Basics
Kevin Rose's friend David Prager (The Screen Savers, This Week in Tech) originally wanted to call the site “Diggnation”, but Kevin wanted a simpler name. He chose the name "Digg", because users are able to "dig" stories, out of those submitted, up to the front page. The site was called “Digg” instead of “Dig” because the domain name “dig.com” was previously registered, by Walt Disney Internet Group. “Diggnation” would eventually be used as the title of Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht's weekly podcast discussing popular stories from Digg.
The original design was free of advertisements, and was designed by Dan Ries. As Digg became more popular, Google AdSense was added to the website. In July 2005, the site was updated to "Version 2.0". The new "version" featured a friends list, the ability to "digg" a story without being redirected to a "success" page, and a new interface designed by web design company Silverorange [2]. The site developers have stated that in future versions a more minimalist design will likely be employed. On Monday June 26, 2006 version 3 of Digg was released with specific categories for Technology, Science, World & Business, Videos, Entertainment and Gaming as well as a View All section where all categories are merged.
Digg has grown large enough that submissions sometimes create a sudden increase of traffic to the "dugg" website. This is referred to by some Digg users as the "Digg effect" and by some others as the site being "dugg to death". However, in many cases stories are linked simultaneously on several popular bookmarking sites. In such cases, the impact of the "digg effect" is difficult to isolate and assess. Wordpress is especially hated among diggers for its tendency to crash under the increased traffic.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digg
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Digg: How To Get On Top
There are people who study what hits the top of Digg, and what doesn't. The basics rule is that you don't need to get everyone of your articles up there to generate free content. Just write one good article and then promote it. Ask people to Digg it.
Top Categories on Digg
36% Technology
29% World and Business
18% Offbeat News
9% Science
7% Entertainment
1% Gaming
Types of article in the Top 100
38% News
15% Announcement
16% Story
11% Other
6% Story about Digg
5% General blog
4% Secret
3% Top list article
2% How to
If you write one article on Tehcnology news, you are most likely to get on top - in theory. These numbers could be skewed by the fact that there are digg groups promoting certain aritcles and burrying other articles.
The average number of words in the top articles are 650 with the chances of reaching the top levels decreasing as the article reaches 1000 words. No one really wants to read articles over 1500 words.
Comments
There is more chances of getting in the top 100 if your group leaves a comment. The more comments, the higher the comment will rank.
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Server Pronto
The Top Corporation ServerPronto is the place to find budget dedicated servers from $29.00 per month. They offer cheap managed servers. Excellent for new businesses that are getting started.
Server Pronto provides 24/7 customer support via a ticketing system. Their servers can be used for web development, email, photos, gaming, or all of the above.
This is a great place to start your own web based business.
4/22/08
Happy Earth Day -
The windows are open. The sky is blue. The air is warm. I love spring.Most years April is wet and cool. This year, the temperature is a balmy 20C.
I've already been to the garden centers. Their racks are still bare. The skids stacked in patient repose. Only the greenhouses are a hive of activity, their thousands of plants yearning for the summer's light.
4/18/08
Bloggers Starting to Mock Google
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1422253744/bclid1425858176/bctid1425858171
The net is full of reports by bloggers who have gone from making a good living to zip because of Google's last move. What Google didn't take into account was the fact that most bloggers do not rely on Google for the bulk of their income.
The above video shows the irreverance that bloggers have for Google. In the last two years, many bloggers are receiveing 10 000 hits a month plus, have large RSS subscriptions, lots of comments, and yet they don't make more than $1 a day from Google.
Why should they obey Google anymore when IZEA, payu2blog,and Blogsvertise has been paying the bills for many of them? It will be amazing to see what happens if bloggers totally turn their back on Google.
