Category: Web Hosting Articles > More "Web Hosting" Articles

When you first start out trying to get a site on the Internet everything seems so confusing. Obtuse acronyms flow freely through the 'Beginner Friendly' information sites and definitions can be hard to come across.
The main reason for this is that the Internet and the process of getting a website online is really very simple, and once people get past the first stumbling steps they rarely remember the difficulty they once had, which leads to them being unable to understand the next wave of dot com newbies.

So let's begin with defining some of the basic terms that are commonly thrown around when looking for a web host. You'll quickly realize that computer geeks like using big words for simple concepts. What do you expect from a group of people that decided to call half a Byte a Nibble?

Web Host: These are the people that supply your website with somewhere to sit and be accessed from. They're often a wealth of information, so when you're trying to find your feet it will often be worthwhile to contact their tech support and get your questions answered. Because of this, it's important to contact them BEFORE you sign up for any packages to ensure that you'll receive a timely response. Just fire an email their way and see what happens.

Disk Space: This is the same as the space on your own PC's hard drive. Web Hosts will allocate a certain amount of space to your website, usually in Megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). This determines how much you can store on your site.

Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be retrieved from your site within the bandwidth period. The bandwidth period is the length of time before your bandwidth gets reset once again, usually about a month. Bandwidth is measured in MB and GB, like disk space. Always find out the consequences of exceeding your allocated bandwidth before you purchase a hosting package.

Domain Name: The domain name is your personal identifier on the Internet. This is what gets typed into a web browser's address bar to reach your site. Some hosting companies will offer a domain for free, while others will have the facilities to provide one for a minimal cost.

SQL (MySQL, SQL Server etc.): Structured Query Language. This is the language used to interact with databases. Chances are that if you don't know about it when you start looking for web hosting, you're not going to need to know about it for at least a little while longer.

HTTP: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Basically, how the Internet works. It is the protocol governing the transfer of web pages from one place to another.

HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language. This is (usually) what you'll be using to make your website, whether directly or indirectly. Don't be scared by the name, the 'language' is very easy to learn.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol. This is a method for sending pages and files from your home PC to a server. It is quite simple to use and your host will provide login information if this is the method that they use for file access. Typing "FTP://<server details>" into My Computer on a windows box allows you to use FTP as if your server were a regular windows folder.

POP3: This is a common email 'post box' system. It is use to store emails for retrieval.

SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. A common protocol used to send emails.

The beginner will not really need to know too much about the above two email technologies. If they're listed, good. It means you have email accounts with your website (i.e. the email name@yourdomain.com will reach you, somehow)

There are many 'languages' used to enhance websites, such as Java, Perl, ASP, .NET, PHP, etc. If you're just starting out you should try to learn simple HTML first before you worry too much about these more advanced languages. In general they're not too difficult to learn, but you'll want a solid grounding before you tackle them.

The Internet is a wonderful source of knowledge, so whenever you want information just fire up your favorite search engine and type in your problem. The Internet is full of sites about the Internet, so the information you want shouldn't be too hard to find.

Building professional websites takes a lot of time and skill, so many companies hire people to do it for them. If this is the situation that you're in, talk to the designer you're hiring about hosting, as they may have struck a deal with a webhost to provide clients with cheaper hosting packages. Also, the professional designer will know what features you're going to need in a hosting plan.

The world of web hosting is not as complicated as people would like to make out. Just make sure you do a little bit of research before diving in and you'll be less likely to get burned by a shifty 'here today, gone tomorrow' company. Check out the host's rankings on a few Web Hosting Directories, do a search for reviews of the company, contact the support staff before signing up and enjoy the world opened by having your own online presence.

Daniel Punch - M6.Net
http://www.m6.net
Daniel Punch is a University student doodling his way through many a boring lecture.

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Category: Web Dev. Articles > More "Web Development" Articles

Many businesses and companies are finding it hard to build their own websites. Nevertheless, it should not be daunting as they envision it to be. In fact, it’s easy. You just need your basic knowledge in computer, internet, a free HTML editor and space in the web. And off you go with your new web site!

The first thing to do is to plan your objectives. They must be reflected in your web site. You must also think of the visitors. You are making the website for them and not to yourself alone. It must cater to their needs. I mean individual needs.

The next step is to think about the design. This involves layout, colors and content. These elements are crucial since they make up the totality of your web site. Wrong choice of color may result to hard to read content.

Because of this, your visitors might be annoyed and switch to another site. The drawback is, you might lose all your visitors. Sure you don’t want it to happen so be extra careful with these elements.

Find a server to publish your site. This is the next thing that you must do. There are sites that offer hosting for free. You can have them if you don’t want to spend a penny. However, if you’re running a business, it is advisable to have your own domain. It may cost you about 70 dollars for two years. Not bad though because your site will be free from pop-ups that the free hosting servers are giving.

Now, you can copy your pages to your chosen server. You need not memorize all the tags and format but you must know about HTML. Though, there are hundreds of WYSIWYG or What You See Is What You Get editors out there, nonetheless, you can create a better site with just your basic knowledge on HTML. Proofread and meticulously examine your site. Is navigation satisfactory? Is the content fulfilling in your own point of view? How about in the point of view of the visitors? How about the graphics? If it is not satisfying, you can redo the pages. If you are fulfilled with the overall appearance and function of your site, then you are ready for the next step - to upload it to your host and promote your site.

After the aforementioned steps, you are now ready to accept visitors.
However, it doesn’t stop here for web site is a cycle. It’s not enough to be visited by visitors you must keep them from coming back. To do this, update your site more often to be acquainted with the recent events at the same time to make it more useful so as to cater to everybody’s needs.


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Category: Website Design Articles > More "Web Design" Articles

The popular search engine Google indexes over 8 billion websites. Is one of them yours, or is your website just floating around in cyberspace and you’re hoping your customers will just find you? Is your website a benefit to your organization or company? Is it just an expensive showpiece or is it of true value?

These are some of the many questions that can be asked when launching a new website. With so many different websites being published (some amazing, awful and otherwise), it would be safe to assume that most current business plans underway include the utilization of a website, and that most active companies are utilizing the Internet to some degree. If you are interested in publishing a website, or already have, here are some key elements that may help towards its success:

1. Domain Registration: Be sure to register your domain name (yourdomain.com) yourself or have it done within your organization, as opposed to letting a third party register your name. Without control of your domain name registration, you can expect to run into some unnecessary delays if the third party becomes unavailable, which is surprisingly common. You also run the risk of having the registration setup incorrectly or even losing the domain. Purchasing a domain is very easy and available at less than $10 a year, so it is a very inexpensive yet potentially valuable asset.

2. Hosting: After domain registration is complete, you will be in control of where to host your website. Your website will be hosted on an Internet server, a computer that will house your website files and process any functionality such as shopping carts, email, databases, etc. Shop around for hosting options, they vary from inexpensive do-it-yourself options, to managed hosting plans, to exorbitantly expensive plans that are unnecessary. What you need to accomplish with your website will determine what your hosting needs are. I have seen small, compact sites be very effective, so beware of purchasing 500MB of hosting when you may only need 10MB.

3. Design and Development: When it comes to website design, less can often be more. Your website should load quickly and yet be visually stimulating. Try to maintain a consistency of look with any pre-existing marketing material you have in place. Avoid bombarding your visitors with tons of miscellaneous information and links, keep your content precise and to the point, and be sure all of your links work properly and that information is presented in an organized manner. Further development can allow you to take online orders, process payments, store customer info in a database, etc. The type of development you need will depend on what your company wants to accomplish with the website. The bottom line is that even a simple website should be beneficial to your organization when well designed.

4. Caution: Keep in mind that anyone, anywhere in the world, can access your website, so take caution with what you make public. The Internet offers wonders of information exchange, but sadly that can sometimes work against us, depending on who accesses the information and for what reasons. One very bizarre and extreme case was the young pregnant mother that was murdered and her baby stolen, after her killer saw a picture of the pregnant woman on the Internet (selling dogs) and then setup a meeting pretending to have an interest in a dog. Focus on publishing informative content related to your products and services only, and keep personal or sensitive information private as much as possible.

5. Marketing: Once your website is designed and hosted you will be ready for visitors, but how are you going to get them to visit your site? Make sure a major search engine indexes your website. If the website is coded correctly, this will be automatic but may take a few weeks. Be sure your website address appears on all of your marketing material, and direct customers to your website for specific reasons, ie. coupons, specials, additional info, etc. Also, explore the many online marketing opportunities as well as traditional print ads.

6. Maintenance: Be sure to pay all domain registration and hosting fees on time. If you would like to be able to update and edit your website yourself, some professional website designers may offer this service. You may be surprised how easily it can be done and being able to do self-maintenance allows you to get the most out of your website.

Good luck and have fun publishing!

Michael Faeth is the owner of web design shop GLOBI Worldwide in Fresno, CA. See our Portfolio at globidesigns.com.

Category: Web Dev. Articles > More "Web Development" Articles

Many free web hosting accounts are free to use, however they will cost you a lot of money, time, and customers as well if you have a site that is meant for business purposes and is more than the simplest site imaginable. Consider the following items as to why free web hosting might cost you more than you had bargained for when you signed up.

Consideration #1 Bandwidth
Frequently, free web hosting providers offer you little bandwidth which means it will take longer for your page to load. When your page takes more than 10 seconds to load you will lose visitors because they will simply move on. Because of this, you might lose a lot of customers and sales from your free web host.

Consideration #2 Advertising
Many free web hosting companies are “free” to you, however, you will have advertising posted on your website as well as pop up ads. Most people do not like this and will not visit your site because of it. Be careful about signing up with a free web hosting company that uses advertising. It might not bother you, but it will probably affect your traffic and sales.

Consideration #3 Web Space
Since the web host is free, you cannot expect a whole lot of web space. Frequently people do not have the space they need to upload their web page and include all of their information. Be sure to check with your free web space provider or the ones you are considering to make sure you will have enough web space to host all of the required elements of your web pages.

Consideration #4 Reliability
Another consideration with free web hosting companies is reliability. Often times limitations are put on your traffic flow and if you exceed this, your site may be disabled for a period of time or you may even receive a bill. Find out what the rules are for traffic and what the consequences are for exceeding your limits.

Consideration #5 Limitations
More often than not, your free web host will have rules regarding the size of photos, icons, and more that you can upload. You will want to check into this before you sign up for free web hosting because if you cannot upload what you need, it is time to look at other options.

While free web hosting is technically free, it frequently costs websites more money in the long run because it limits activity and business from occurring at the rate set by consumers. Because of this, if you have a growing site it will eventually be too big for the free account and you will have to make some changes. Instead of dealing with the hassle, figure out if a free server will really be worthwhile and make a plan for change and growth ahead of time.

About The Author:
Michael Turner reveals his foolproof way to increase website traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it free right now at powertraffictactics.com.

Category: Web Hosting Articles > More "Web Hosting" Articles

First of all, some people are worried that they will not be able to use Linux hosting because they run Windows on their PCs. However, what operating system you run on your own PC is irrelevant to which web hosting environment you can use, because the latter is run remotely on a web server, where your website files will be uploaded.

Linux and Microsoft Windows are two different operating systems. Windows is a well-known household name and does not require much introduction. Linux is a new version of the Unix operating system. Both these operating systems make excellent environments for web hosting. However, there are some differences between them.

To help you decide whether Linux or Windows hosting is better for you, we look at the following elements:

Cost
Linux is known as an "open source" operating system. i.e. there is no licensing fees to pay. Therefore, compared to Windows, Linux is very cheap. Starting with Windows XP, Microsoft has begun enforcing software activation. This means that a single copy of Windows can only be installed on one computer. With Linux, once you own a copy, you are free to install it as many times as you wish on any number of computers.

Reliability
Linux is reputed to be very stable and reliable. This means that a Linux server is much less likely to crash than a Windows server. Subsequently, a Linux server will mean more 'up time' for your website.

Experience
Linux has many more years of experience than Windows in hosting.

Speed
There is no real difference in speed between Linux and Windows, but Linux is slightly faster in processing basic web pages.

Functionality
Windows support ASP (Active Server Pages), a Microsoft programming/scripting language, which allows you to build dynamically database-driven web pages by connecting to a Microsoft database such as SQL Server or Access. Linux does not support ASP nor Microsoft databases, but uses MySQL database instead.

If you use Microsoft Frontpage to create your website, it doesn't mean that you have to choose Windows hosting. All Linux accounts come free with Frontpage extensions, which allow you to upload your Frontpage website to your web space on a Linux server.

Scripts
There are many CGI programs available on the Internet. The majority of these are Perl scripts and have been developed on Linux / Unix web servers. So they tend to install more smoothly and operate more reliably on a Linux server. Moreover, many Perl scripts are downloadable from the Internet free of charge.

To summarise, most users find that Linux hosting is easier to use, more reliable, provides free, open source software and is much cheaper than Windows hosting. So unless you particularly need to use Windows specific features such as ASP and an Access database, it is probably a better choice to choose Linux over Windows. For more information on Linux hosting, visit frontierpowerhosting.com.

About The Author
Matt Bacak became "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets promotingtips.com

Category: Website Design Articles > More "Web Design" Articles

With all of the factors involved in designing and building a web site, one of the most influential questions is often overlooked: Is your site easy to use?

Usability isn't the same as design. Just because you've hired a talented designer to craft your site and make it look great doesn't mean it's easy to use. Looking good is a completely different matter from working well! After all, plenty of beautiful sites have won design awards while losing customers by the thousands.

How many times have you gotten lost on a good-looking site or abandoned a purchase in frustration after you couldn't find the information you were looking for? If you walk into a brick-and-mortar store and can't find your favorite brand of gherkin pickles, you can simply ask an employee where they are. But on the Web, it's much easier for a customer to go to a competitor's site than to go through the trouble of sending an e-mail inquiry.

Whatever your business is about, your web site will have specific goals, such as convincing people to...

1.Subscribe to your newsletter
2.Fill out a survey
3.Purchase your product
4.Inquire about a service you offer

Usability is simply a gauge of how easy it is for your visitors to do these things. For an e-commerce site, usability is especially crucial. If people can't follow your navigation scheme, they won't be able to find your products. And if they can't find them, how can they buy them?

Obviously, a key measure of the success of your site is its efficiency in converting visitors to buyers. Yet did you know that, according to market research from the Gartner Group - http://www.gartner.com - more than 50% of Web sales are lost because visitors can't find the content they're looking for? And another study by usability consultants Creative Good - http://www.creativegood.com - estimated that improving the customer experience increases the number of buyers by 40% and increases the overall order size by 10%!

With results like these, why doesn't everyone test their sites for usability? Some people mistakenly assume that usability testing is too expensive, too time-consuming, or too complicated to bother with, especially for smaller companies.

Fortunately, usability doesn't need to be any of these things. While there are high-priced consultants who can do it for you, a do-it-yourself test can be very effective.

Setting Up a Basic Usability Test
While usability testing is most efficiently done as part of the process of creating a web site, it can be done at any time to improve your site's effectiveness. If you are planning a design update or adding new elements to a site, it's crucial you begin the testing before you invest time and money in making changes.

To do a basic usability test, you just need to find a "sample group" of potential customers and ask them to perform simple tasks at your web site -- like purchasing a product, subscribing to a newsletter, or locating specific information like your guarantee -- while you watch them.

1. When to test:
You can test usability any time. In fact, even if you don't have a site yet, you can still test your initial design using rough sketches on paper that show the layout of key information and navigation links. If you're testing potential changes to an existing site, you can work from quick HTML mock-ups, or use your designer's print-outs. Obviously, the more detailed the testing prototype, the better the results, but you'll be surprised by how much information you can gather with even the roughest layouts. If your site is up and running already, you can test your current design to flag any potential problems and increase its efficiency. Usability testing should be an ongoing process to fine-tune your site and make sure you aren't losing customers -- and profits -- unnecessarily.

2. Set your goals:
Start by setting your testing priorities. Which of the actions your visitors perform are most important to your business? Focus on a few key things you want all visitors to be able to do, such as...

A. Subscribe to your newsletter
B. Become a member
C. Add a product to their shopping cart
D. Find answers to common questions

These basic tasks are the "script" for the test. The more complicated the site, the more detailed the script. An e-commerce site selling plumbing supplies might use a script that looks something like this:

1. Click the link for the page on which you think bathroom faucets are located.
2. Find the American Standard "Ceratop" faucet.
3. Are there any less expensive faucets?
4. Add it to a list of items to buy.
5. How much will it cost to ship the faucet to where you live?
6. How long is the warranty?
7. Complete the purchase.

As your testers work through each task, you'll be able to see how they use your site. Do they browse categories or look for a search function? Do they encounter any difficulties along the way? This is an incredible opportunity to get inside your customers' heads and watch what happens when they use your site.

You can also analyze your site's metrics to see what's not working. If an analysis of your web logs reveals that tons of people are exiting your site from one or two particular pages, for instance, usability testing can be a good way to find out what's behind the high exit rate. This is especially crucial if these pages are part of your check-out process.

Note: If you can, get a test credit card number from your merchant account or gateway provider so your testers can complete test purchases. If this isn't possible, have the testers take the check-out process as far as possible, and then ask them what they'd expect to happen next.

3. Choose the right people:
The people you choose for the test are important, as they should mimic the range of users you have (or want to have) using your site. Sit down and gather any customer demographic information you have to create a series of user profiles.

What is their level of computer experience? How old are they? What special knowledge do they have (if your site serves a specific demographic or industry). A site targeting real estate professionals will have very different user profiles than a site selling skateboard wheels, so make sure your testers mirror your actual users.

Strive for a mix of computer experience that matches the mix you'd expect of your audience. Are most of your customers already comfortable with computers? Are there some newbies in the mix? You can recruit existing customers if you're testing changes to the site, but for an existing site, look for people who haven't used your site before.

Finally, don't worry about getting a large pool of testers: You only need five or six people to identify 80% of the main problems that may be affecting your sales.

Note: It's common practice to pay testers for their time and effort. And while using Uncle Henry or Bob from accounting may save you $40, they're likely to skew the results if they don't reflect your target audience and are already familiar with your site.

4. What you'll need:
Set aside a clean, quiet place where there will be no distractions, and provide a comfortable chair for the tester. Place a chair for yourself slightly behind the tester so you can see where they're clicking as they complete each task.

Have your tasks and questions -- your script -- written down, and be ready to take notes. If you have a video camera, you can also tape the test (with the camera looking over the tester's shoulder towards the screen). Before you start the actual test, run through the script yourself to make sure all the links are working, that the tasks make sense, and that the video equipment captures the detail you'll need to see.

5. Running the test:
Before you start the test, explain to your testers that it's the site you're testing, not them. Let them know that they can't do anything "wrong," and tell them to surf the same way they normally would. The more relaxed and natural they are during the test, the better your results.

Then, ask them a few questions about their level of experience, how often they use the Web, and what they know about your company and products, so you can better understand their reactions.

Start at your homepage, and ask them what they think your site is about. This can be a good way of judging how successfully you're welcoming new visitors.

Throughout the test, encourage your testers to think aloud while they work through the tasks you've set out for them, so you can get a sense of their expectations.

Next, work through your prepared script. Ask the tester to attempt various tasks and answer the questions you've prepared, while checking their expectations with questions such as: "What do you think you'll be able to do here?" and "Before you press that button, tell me what you expect to see next." While you should take notes and follow the script, be flexible enough that you can pursue any responses that may take you by surprise.

During the test, be sure not to guide the subject. Watch that you don't provide any hints, suggestions, or even answers that will influence their actions. If they can't complete a task, simply ask them what they expected to have happen and how they'd fix the problem, then move on to the next task.

If testers have a problem or become confused, don't assume you know why. Ask what the problem is, and then paraphrase their answer back to them to make sure you aren't bringing your own bias into the test.

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Final Thoughts:
These days, there are certain expectations regarding how a web site should look and how it should work. For instance, research shows that most people expect to see a "home" link in the top left corner of a page, and that they look for internal links down the left as well.

Now, you could argue that internal links look better or make more sense along the right side, but in the end, usability isn't about what "makes sense" or looks good to you, it's about what works for your average visitor. And if 90% of your users expect to find your navigation along the left side of the page, then the left side is what works!

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Links that look like buttons get clicked on more often -- simply because they look like something that can be clicked on. The first thing anyone who surfs the Web learns is that blue, underlined text is a link. If you start making your links look different for the sake of prettying up your site, you risk losing functionality.

Finally, don't reinvent the wheel just for the sake of being trendy. Your web site is a business tool first and foremost. Study sites that have a similar function to yours and look for common approaches. Amazon.com, for instance, has helped set standards and expectations for how an e-commerce site should be organized.

While you don't want to simply copy successful sites, it makes sense to adopt some of the same navigation techniques. After all, with millions and millions of customers using a site like Amazon.com, chances are your visitors will be familiar with their approach. Take advantage of this familiarity and apply the usability strategies other successful sites have found to be effective to your site -- then focus on testing to fine-tune the way your own site works.

Written by Ash Kawa.