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Utility Of Support In Web Hosting Business

Introduction:

The importance of support can be explained in form of a small example as depicted here imagine one is in a business of running a smallmedium sized online store that concentrates on affordably prized gift items and now lets say it’s Christmas time. Now it is sure that everybody is busy in shopping and the use him/her self will be waiting for this day to come as it is the time of the year when his/her business really blooms and with which he/she will get revenue to plan next event or business.

Now imaging a biggest trouble came say his/her site goes down due to some sort of problems associated with server on 23rd of December or on Christmas Eve. To make the things worst user is not able to get hosting company as well. Now what will happen? How he/she would react when he/she wont get such support at this moment of time? Now this explains why prompt support required is.

The above example is just a small example and believe it or not things can even go worst that this. It is a true fact that the quality of support builds the foundation of hosting company. It is the foundation on which the whole building of hosting firm rests. The features like speedy and accurate customer service are rare to be seen but they are the things which make one company successful. Along with these features one should take care for performance Space Traffic allowed Features Cost and most importantly Customer support.

In order to check the credibility of a hosting company customer support is considered as a main factor. If a company wants to prove its credibility it has to take care of its technical support at any cost. For a user its really important to know if technical support is dependable or not as if anything goes wrong with his/her site then he/she has to contact the company and cure is only possible if it is directly provided by the hosting company itself.

There are several or rather say almost all companies to claim to offer services like techs working round the clock in their organizations managing their stateofthe art systems etc. But in reality we know that it is mere a fake trap. Due to excess demand of information technology professionals now days many webhosting companies are unable to find employees who are well trained in OS concepts network technology and control panel specifications

In this article we are giving the brief outlines of the hosting support considerations for the beginners as well as any host who have got high regards for the quality standards of their company.

Right support:

Its really quite difficult to find perfect support for ones company. For every web host who gives serious thought to hosting support would be having certain expectation levels regarding the quality of support. It is only if ones support is marvelous that one can feel relaxed as his/her customers are also going to feel relaxed due to this.

In this context the most important thing to consider is how to provide round the clock support and that too whole year. It is quite often seen that every web host just promises to provide support 24 / 7 and even promises to offer money back guarantee in case he/she is not able to provide that. But in reality such things are rare. So one should take care to have best support team to offer support round the clock through out the year. One should ensure proper administration and supervision to check the quality as well as the working style of support people.

Cost:

Next parameter to consider is cost. One should consider this point as well for maintaining cost it is better to have own team of technical experts or outsourcing to an outsourced hosting support company. One should select support wisely with efficient computations of his/her expenses and profit margin. It is advisable to do calculations in such a way that the quality of support can be kept and simultaneously good profit can also be earned even in the long run. One should keep in mind that due to intense competition in the beginning profits are not much but keeping quality will benefit in the long run as all will be out from the market offering poor services.

In order to control cost it is not only possible to control it via controlling technical factors but also non technical aspects like sales / billing support and timely administration of servers etc. In order to save cost one can manage the sales / billing issues by his/her own or he/she can avail the services of a fresher. For the server administration one requires the service of a good system administrator to perform the timely software upgrades and the other fine tuning aspects of the server in order to make it run smooth. Its always considered an additional utility to maintain a team of technical experts who are able to perform technical support as well as server administration instead of employing separate teams for the same. Thus the above things can easily reduce cost and no doubt without compromising quality.

What to choose? InHouse or Outsourced

Now next important thing to consider is whether it is required to have an inhouse team of technicians or one can outsource support to a support company? There are several people with different opinions on this matter; therefore we are taking both the pros and cons to conclude which one is better.

Pros:

InHouse

1 It is possible to have direct interaction with the support staff in person.
2 It is possible to recruit directly the support staff by own.
3 Also local market knowledge and expertise can be known well when it comes to sales and marketing
4 In case of emergency ready availabilityuponcall of in house team.

Outsourced

1 It is cost effective as compared to above.
2 One can concentrate better on his/her own business marketing as anyone else is taking care of technical aspect.
3 Biggest advantage is availability of expertise in specific fields.
4 No problems with the planning of shifts or personnel to manage the 24 / 7 support as it is now headache of the outsource company.
5 No training cost.

Cons:

InHouse

1 Its quite expensive as compared to Outsourced.
2 Burden of personnel management in maintaining an inhouse team for support
3 Requirement of dynamism as remedies is to be taken immediately.

Outsourced

1 It is not possible to have direct interaction in person with the support staff.
2 Its important to have accustomed with own support people as they might keep on changing according to the outsource company’s internal policies.
3 Needs perfection of language spoken or written

Conclusion:

To conclude it is always better to select a good outsourced support firm that maintains it’s promises and does not comprise on quality instead of employing own separate staff to handle the technical support sales / billing and server administration.

About the writer:  Searching for the best web hosting company? Find sales deals and discounts from top web hosts as godaddy and hostgator

How To Choose The Right Domain Name For A Successful Web Site

Choosing a domain name may seem like an exercise in frustration and you may be tempted to register the first one you stumble upon that isn’t already taken. Slow down! It requires more thought than that and your choice will have a tremendous impact on the ultimate success of you Web site. In this article we will discuss how to discover a domain name that will work for you.

There are four main concerns when choosing a domain name:

1. Technical Requirements.

2. A Memorable Name.

3. A Descriptive Name.

4. Keyword Research.

Technical Requirements for Domain Names

Let’s get the easy part out of the way first.

When we talk about a “domain name” we’re referring to the part of a Web site address that comes between “www” and “.com.” For instance in “wwwYourWebSitecom” the domain name is “YourWebSite.” You must register the domain within a particular “toplevel domain” the part that comes after the rightmost “dot” as in “.com” “.info” “.us” etc. That is “YourWebSitecom” is a different domain than “YourWebSiteinfo.” You might be able to register “YourWebSitebiz” even though “YourWebSitecom” is already registered.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers “ICANN” defines what a domain name must look like. These rules may be summarized as follows:

* 63 or fewer characters.

* Only numerals hyphens and English letters.

* Must not begin with a hyphen.

* Must not end with a hyphen.

Unfortunately it’s not quite that cut and dried. There are varying interpretations of the rules. Some say that a domain in a fourcharacter toplevel domain .info .mobi can only be 62 characters long. There are several schemes regarding how to encode nonEnglish letters etc.

We can avoid getting bogged down in these points of confusion by remembering two things:

1. You don’t want a long domain name anyway so don’t worry about whether the limit is 64 or 62 characters.

2. NonEnglish letters encoded in schemes that might not be universally applied mean that your domain name may look different and nonsensical on various parts of the Internet so don’t use them.

Choosing a Memorable Domain Name

Your domain name must be something that people can remember and that they can type in readily or recognize at a glance when they see it as a clickable link.

Among other things this means that your domain name should be short. All of the genuinely short domain names are already taken. Virtually every single word in the English language has been registered as a domain name as has every combination of up to five letters. So don’t get too hung up on “short.” As we will discuss later in this article you want to find a balance between “short” and “descriptive.

Although a domain name may include hyphens you are better off without them. If you wanted to register “YourDomainNamecom” and found it was unavailable you will not be doing yourself any favors by registering “YourDomainNamecom.” Users will confuse the two Web sites and will be more likely to go with the shorter version.

Choosing a Descriptive Domain Name

Your domain name should describe what the user will find on your Web site.

Look for a descriptive phrase about your chosen specialty. Is your Web site about baby care tips for working mothers? For parents of babies with special needs? Whatever specific area you intend to address put together three or four words that say it. You don’t have to say it very well at this point. As we will discuss shortly there are tools to help you refine your descriptive phrases. For now just come up with a few phrases that describe your Web site’s content in three or four words.

Keyword Research when Choosing a Domain Name

You want your domain name to be short and descriptive. That means that each word in it must have value.

Keyword research can identify powerful keywords for your Web site’s content but it can also find words to use in your domain name. There is one difference as will be discussed below.

Keyword research identifies the words and phrases that people are using when searching for information related to your planned Web site. You will use these keywords in your Web site’s content and in any payperclick PPC campaigns but you should also use them in your domain name. A keywordrich domain name is more likely to rank high in search engine results.

When researching keywords for use in your Web site content or in PPC advertising you want search terms that are frequently used but rarely matched. These are the highvalue keywords that can make the content of your Web site stand out in the search engines.

However when you are looking for keywords to use in your domain name you should concentrate on frequently used keywords and not necessarily those that are rarely matched. This is the difference alluded to earlier.

Keyword research can not tell you whether a domain name is available. It can only tell you what people are looking for and what they are finding in the content of Web pages. So identify terms that people are looking for then determine what domain names are available that use those terms and you will have a winning domain name.

Take the list of descriptive phrases you identified in the last section and use each one as the starting point for keyword research. From your keyword research build a list of phrases that people are searching for when they want to find the kind of content you plan to offer.

From that list focus on the shortest phrases that are relevant and clearly descriptive of the content you intend to offer. Now check to see which of these phrases are available for you to register as domain names.

What if you find two or more keywordrich domain names available? Register all of them! Choose the one you like best as the main name for your Web site but keep the others. You can use them as “redirect” pages and you always have the option of using the alternate names later.

For the same reason register your domain name in various toplevel domains if they are available such as .com .info etc. Lock in your options on those alternate names and lock out your competitors from stealing the results of your research.

Conclusion: What to Do Next

Before you rush out and register the first available domain name you come up with do your homework.

* Think of a short list of descriptive phrases about the Web site you intend to build.

* Do some comprehensive keyword research on each of those descriptive phrases and build a list of more keywordrich descriptive phrases.

* Choose the shortest most memorable phrases from your list and check which ones are available to register as domain names.

* Register as many of these keywordrich descriptive domain names as you can.

About the writer:  Charles J. Bonner is the founder and principal project manager of www.FreeLanceSubmit.com. For more tips techniques and services for creating maintaining and promoting your Web site including keyword research to identify a great domain name visit www.FreeLanceSubmit.com.

Free Web Hosting Tips

Can you really get FREE web hosting?
Yes there are hundreds of free hosts as far as not having to pay any money. Generally they either cost you in time hosting restrictions or modifying your web pages by adding popups or other adverts. When looking for free web hosting especially on search engines you should beware that there are also a large number of commercial web hosts that claim to offer free hosting but those have a catch such as paying an excessive amount for a domain name or other service and therefore aren’t really free.
How do the free web hosts make money?
The free hosts often make money in other ways such as putting banners popups or popunders on your site. Some free hosting companies do not put ads on your site but require you as the webmaster to click on banners in their control panel or signup process or just display banners in the file manager in hopes you will click them. Some lure visitors with free hosting in hopes you will upgrade and pay for advanced features. A few send you occasional emails with ads or may even sell your email address.
Are free web hosts reliable?
Generally no although there may be a few exceptions. If the host is making money from banner ads or other revenue sources directly from the free hosting then they likely will stay in business provided someone doesn’t abuse their hosting with spam hacking etc. as often happens to new free web hosting companies with liberal signup policies. If the host accepts just anyone especially with an automated instant activation and it offers features such as PHP or CGI then some users invariably try to find ways to abuse it which can cause the host to have a lot of downtime or the server to be slow. It is best if you choose a very selective free host which only accepts quality sites assuming you have one.
Uses for free webspace
Free web hosting is not recommended for businesses unless you can get domain hosting from an adfree host that is very selective such as DistantHost http://signup.distanthost.com/ or Fairmount http://www.fairmount.nu/. Other reasons for using free hosting would be to learn the basics of website hosting have a personal website with pictures of your family or whatever a doorway page to another website of yours or to try scripts you have written on different hosting environments.
How to find the right free web hosting
The best place to search for free webhosting is on a free webspace directory website i.e. a site which specializes in listing only free web hosting providers. There are some which add new free hosts pretty much every week and if it is updated often has usually had to delete about as many. There are also many which almost never update their site and a huge percent of their links and info are outdated. Unfortunately that includes most of the directories that were the best several years ago. The problem is free hosts change so often and most fold up in less than a year often even after only a day or two that it is hard to keep such a directory uptodate. The most recommended directory is Free Webspace http://www.freewebhosts.com/ which has a detailed list of over 900 free web hosting providers with user reviews ratings forums and searchable database. It is updated daily and the advanced free web hosting search has 42 options helping you to find the free hosting package with all the features you need such as CGI PHP MySQL ASP SSI and FrontPage extensions.
For a smaller more selective list of the best free hosts there is also:
100 Best Free Webspace http://www.100BestFreeWebspace.com/
Free Hosting http://www.AbsolutelyFreeHosting.com/
Free Webspace http://www.freewebspace.org/
Other usually less useful resources include subcategories of freebies sites search engines and directories and forums. Your ISP might also supply you with free webhosting.
Hints for finding the best free web hosting
Generally it is best not to choose a free hosting package with more features than you need and also check to see if the company somehow receives revenue from the free hosting itself to keep it in business. As already mentioned it is best to try to get accepted to a more selective free host if possible. Look at other sites hosted there to see what kind of ads are on your site and the server speed keep in mind newer hosts will be faster at first. Read the Terms of Service TOS and host features to make sure it has enough bandwidth for your site large webspace and file size limit and any scripting options you might need. Read free webspace reviews and ratings by other users on free hosting directories. If you don’t have your own domain name you might want to use a free URL forwarding service so you can change your site’s host if needed.
Recommended free web hosts
It would be awfully hard to recommend any host and someone not like it as different people need different hosting features and have different priorities and the hosting quality may change over time. Also some people want free domain hosting you own the domain and others might not be able to buy a domain. Here are some of the most recommended free web hosts and their main features.
DistantHost http://signup.distanthost.com/ offers subdomain or domain hosting 100 MB webspace no forced ads on your site FTP and/or browser upload CGI and Perl PHP MySQL database SSI and FrontPage Extensions as well as a collection of other preinstalled scripts. It has great support and a generous bandwidth limit of 6 GB/month. There is also CPanel 7 control panel with most if not all the options you would find on a paid host: webbased Email and forwarding statistics custom error pages SSL Cron and much more. What is the catch? You must click on a certain number of banners in the control panel monthly.
HostRave http://www.freehosting.hostrave.com/ gives you a URL such as http://freehosting.hostrave.com/b/ and offers 21 MB webspace POP3 and webbased Email PHP and SSI MySQL database guestbook and forum script and unmetered bandwidth. You can upload via a file manger or FTP import. Only English websites are accepted and there is a text link at the top of your pages. It has about the best support of any free host and in fact maybe better than any paid host. It’s two sister sites offer slightly different features:
Hph http://signup.hspages.com/cgibin/signup 50 MB.
HomepageHost http://www.homepagehost.uni.cc/index1.html 10 MB and no forced ads.
Yahoo Geocities http://geocities.yahoo.com/home/ is controversial. Many people hate the ads they put on your site or its other limitations but it is one of the oldest and most reliable free web hosts. Your URL looks like http://www.geocities.com/you . They give you 15 MB webspace file manager and editor webbased Email and statistics. The bandwidth limit is 3 GB/month and the file size limit is 5 MB. You can upload several file types such as RealAudio RealVideo Flash MP3 and Java but other scripting is not supported.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Written by Ted Amerson. Find the latest
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