Strong Indicators of A Great Hosting Provider

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title="Choosing web hosting provider" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/choose-the-right-web-hosting/">Choosing your hosting provider can become an easy task once you’ve sorted your requirements out. However, from the wide range of providers out there, making the right selection is a tricky choice. It’s not necessary for you to know all the features of the hosting services thoroughly but basic knowledge of a few can get you a long way in making the right decision. Therefore, if you choose a hosting service that provides you reliability, scalability, essential technicalities and a high level of support, you’re on way to making a good choice for yourself!

Following are some indicators which can help you determine if the service you’re going for is a great hosting provider or not,

Reliability

A great hosting provider will offer a top of the notch reliable server uptime of 99% in its package along with fast internet connection for your server to run on. A lack of confidence is shown by any provider who claims an uptime below 99% and hence such a setup should be avoided. It’s important for customers and providers to build a relationship of trust among them and for you to believe that what your provider promises you will be delivered to the fullest. Reliable web hosting services invent in high performance servers for their infrastructures and may also stay connected to multiple high speed back-ups for optimum results.

Also, word-of-mouth matters a lot. A great hosting provider works hard to maintain goodwill amongst its competitors in the market. A good word-of-mouth is only related with good service!

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Dig deeper: title="Web hosting review" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-reviews/">WHSR web hosting reviews

Scalability – Room To Grow

It’s a norm that the potential of a web hosting server is usually underestimated at the time of setting up. It’s important for you to know how much your business can grow thus, it’s important to choose href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/wpengine-review/">a hosting provider who provides you with enough scalability to cater your needs when you expand your business. This also implies that you choose that provider which also offers scalability in hardware facilities as well since you may develop the need of acquiring one or more web server or processing power.

For example, you may want to start off with the cheapest and most basic package available because you’re just a novice set out for an adventure. Gradually, as you meet success, you may want to add more features and programs to your website which require greater space for functionality. At that moment, you may not want to get stuck at a limited server capacity. Hence, choose your provider wisely.

Essential Technicalities

Essential technicalities are the provisions you require for the basic setup of your website and should be included in any hosting provider you choose. These are,

Disk Space :

Like mentioned earlier, you may want to opt for a web hosting service that provides you scalability with space making it convenient for you to grow. Most of the services providers provide unlimited space even with their cheapest packages.

Bandwidth :

The amount of bandwidth needed is typically determined by traffic to a site. You wouldn’t want your website to slow down or crash when the traffic becomes higher because we have all heard similar stories with emerging businesses. Always choose a provider which offers unlimited bandwidth.

Technical Limitations

Have a good look at the kind of a website you’re going to develop. Here are a few types of websites that you may be looking in to;

• You’re hosting a blog.
• You are developing an e-commerce website.
• Your website is heavy on content
• You are hosting a video streaming website

If you’re planning to develop any of the above mentioned websites then make sure to not go for any cheap hosting provider. The reason behind it is that a cheap hosting provider may not have enough RAM to support your website or you’ll be left spending most of your time trying to upstream and troubleshoot. Technically, your website should adhere to the following features to be a user-friendly website,

• Loads efficiently
• Does not crash
• Downloads are time effective
• Supports greater bandwidth for smooth functionality

Customer Support

Last but not the least and yes, the most important is the customer support that your provider gives you. Setting up websites face a lot of difficulties during the initial days and hence, one needs consistent support from their hosting providers to keep the process rolling. One that offers a 24/7 customer support is the most recommendable since you don’t want to end up with a crashed website over the holidays and no helping hands to get it back up! Once you’ve found a hosting provider catering to all the above requirements, you can negotiate on the terms and conditions feasible for you. The relationship you have with your hosting providers goes a long way, hence make sure it’s more of a convenience than a pain!

Happy hosting :)

To summarize, an href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/compare-best-five-hosting/">ideal hosting provider is the one which provides lightening fast reliable hosting even during traffic spikes! In short,

• Provides unlimited bandwidth
• Gives 99.9% uptime guarantee
• Free 24/7 customer support, on the go!
• Easy setup.

Some recommendation – href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/bluehost/">BlueHost, href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/ipage/">iPage, href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/altushost-review/">Altus Host, href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/greengeeks-hosting/">GreenGeeks, and href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/arvixe/">Arvixe for budget hosting options; for those who don’t mind paying a little extra (but very good quality): href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/inmotion-hosting/">InMotion Hosting, href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/pressidium/">Pressidium, href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/mdd-hosting-review/">MDD hosting, and href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/hosting-review/a2-hosting/">A2 Hosting.

Page 21 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

Everything You Need To Know About Choosing A Domain Name

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You have a great business opportunity, and you want to share your ideas with the world. Before you can create the website that you’ll use to do this, however, you need to choose a suitable domain name. A domain name (also called a host name) is the same as the website’s URL. It’s the section that comes after “www.” and is usually followed by “.com”, “.org”, “.net” or another extension.

The domain you choose could have a huge impact on the success of your website, as this is what visitors will need to remember in order to find your business online. If you’re in a hurry to start building the actual site, it can be tempting to purchase the first domain your think of from the first seller you find, however by doing this you won’t necessarily get the best domain for your website, nor will you pay the best price.

This article covers several important factors you should consider when choosing and purchasing a domain name for your new website. Follow these steps, and you’ll have a successful, SEO-friendly domain up and running in no time. In case you need more technical info (and the ‘how it works’ logic) about web domain, you can also check out Jerry’s recent article href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/featured-articles/all-you-need-to-know-about-domain-names/">The Technical Details Behind Domain Names.

Choosing Your Domain Name

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Choosing the actual words and phrases that form your domain name is probably the hardest part of the process. It requires creativity, marketing savvy, and the ability to look at your website from the point of view of a visitor.

Let’s start with the hostname. This should contain keywords that are relevant to your business and, ideally, your business name. If the name of your business isn’t available as a domain, try selecting a domain that communicates what your business does. For example, if you run a business called “Carpets4Home” in Los Angeles and the domain “Carpets4Home.com” isn’t available, you could purchase “bestLAcarpets.com” instead. This demonstrates what you’re selling, and has SEO potential when you’re writing your web copy.

The Shorter The Better

As a general rule, the shorter your host name is, the better. The more people are likely to remember it, the more likely they are to remember and return to your website. For the same reason, you should also choose a name with an obvious spelling. If the exact name you want isn’t available, think carefully before substituting letters or words, for example choosing “skool” instead of “school” or “catz” instead of “cats”.

No Numbers For Letters

Another domain no-no is replacing letters with numbers (except when you use numbers as part of your business name), for example writing “4” instead of “for”, or “2” instead of “two”. Even if a potential customer or client remembers your domain name, they are more likely to use the correct spelling of the word, and could end up on someone else’s web page.

SEO blog rel="nofollow" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-domain-name" target="_blank">Seomoz suggests additional tips that can help you minimize the risk of losing web visitors, like excluding hyphens, and avoiding using the number 0, as it looks very similar to the letter O.

Copyright Issues

When selecting a domain name for your new website, it’s important to check you’re not infringing on another website’s copyright. This is illegal and, if you use a copyrighted website name, you could find yourself in trouble, and lose your carefully nurtured brand, further down the line. You can usually tell whether another website has copyrighted the same site or brand name with a quick Google search. If you want to look into the matter more thoroughly, visit rel="nofollow" href="http://www.copyright.gov/" target="_blank">The United States Copyright Office and search their directories.

The .com’s Bias

Once you’ve selected a hostname, you need to decide which extension to choose. Many web developers are divided over this issue. Some are adamant that you should choose a domain with a “.com” extension at all costs, while others say that the extension doesn’t matter as long as you have a good hostname.

The arguments for choosing a domain with a .com extension include that it adds more credibility to your website. Additionally, people are more likely to assume the extension is “.com”, and could end up visiting a competitor’s website if you have the same domain name but a different extension. The arguments against only choosing domain names that have a “.com” extension include that you’re limited in your selection, and could end up compromising on your domain name in a way that won’t be helpful for your branding or SEO.

Christopher Heng, founder of rel="nofollow" href="http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/domainname.shtml" target="_blank">thesitewizard.com, advises website owners that it’s a good idea to promote the website using the full domain name if you’re using an extension that isn’t “.com” to minimize the chance that web users will end up on a competitor’s website.

Purchasing A Domain

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Once you’ve chosen a suitable domain name for your business, the next step is to compare pricing from different domain sellers. The average price for a domain hovers around per year, however if your domain is only available through an auction, this could be a lot more.

If someone else currently owns the domain you want, you can try purchasing it through auction, or by making an offer to the owner. There is no guarantee that either of these methods will get you the domain you want, and they could end up costing you a lot more than registering a normal domain would, but if you have your heart set on it then it’s worth trying.

Research domain registrars. You might have initially found your ideal domain through a specific seller, but the same domain could also be available through other services at a lower price.

As well as purchasing the core domain you intend to use for your website, you should also try to purchase variations on your domain name, recommends rel="nofollow" href="http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/05/28/should-you-secure-com-and-net-for-your-domain/" target="_blank">ProBlogger author Darren Rowse. This means that if your new website is happycat.com, you should also consider purchasing the same domain with different extensions (“.net”, “.org”, “.co.uk”), and the plural, happycats.com. Then, you can redirect all these domains back to your original website, increasing the likelihood that potential customers will find you.

Domain Resources

If you’re stuck for a domain name and need some inspiration, or you’re not sure where to purchase your domain of choice, here are a list of websites that can help.

rel="nofollow" href="http://ajaxwhois.com/" target="_blank">Ajaxhois 2.0 is a useful service that enables you to check whether a domain name is free or not. You can also look at any available statistics for the web address to see how many people visit that URL.

href="http://www.domainnamesoup.com/" target="_blank">Domain Name Soup, rel="nofollow" href="http://www.namestation.com/?utm_expid=604578-0" target="_blank">Namestation and rel="nofollow" href="http://www.domainfellow.com/" target="_blank">Domain Fellow are a free domain name generators that can help you through creative blocks. They are particularly useful if you don’t know what you want to call your website or business yet, or are stuck for which keywords you want to include in your domain name.

href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/go/godaddy" target="_blank">GoDaddy and rel="nofollow" href="http://www.register.com/" target="_blank">Register.com, for example, are domain registrar companies that also offer web hosting services. You can select and buy your domain through these websites without signing up to a hosting package, however if hosting is something you also need, some people find it easier to purchase a domain name and hosting from the same provider.

Even if you’re in a hurry, comparing the prices and terms of different domain registrars will help you get the best long-term deal on your domain name, so you can focus on building your website and moving your business up to the next level.

Page 21 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

Use Free Webinars to Draw Traffic to Your Site

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style="line-height: 1.5em;">Many webpreneurs need to get the word out about their site, but don’t know where to start. It can be costly to run ads on various sites and newsletters only get you so far. For those who have a wealth of knowledge, hosting free webinars can draw in new visitors to a website, with only a small time and financial investment. The goal of the webinar is to teach potential customers and href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/10-killer-strategies-to-win-more-traffic-for-your-blog/">help them discover your website or blog or product.

Webinars are hosted in a virtual environment, but combine the elements of audio, visual and participant interaction to create a one-of-a-kind experience. Hosting a few of these events each year can allow you to give back to current customers who might have questions and introduce your services to new customers who are simply interested in the topic you’re presenting.

If the technology of putting together a webinar seems a bit daunting, don’t worry. There are several services that have perfected the online live seminar and can help you get up and running quite easily. You’ll need a good microphone and a webcam.

Choose a Service

There are numerous webinar creation services. To make the process a bit easier for you, we’ve reviewed them and href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/compare-best-five-hosting/" target="_blank">come up with the top five. The top five were chosen for ease of use, cost effectiveness, availability of customer service and reputation.

GoToWebinar

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Conduct meetings or webinars for up to 1,000 people for one flat rate. While the rates for this service are a bit pricey, it is the easiest to set up if you don’t have experience using webinars. It also seemed worthy of listing because GoToWebinar offers a 30-day free trial if you want to give it a whirl before committing. This software is easy to set-up. They advertise it as something that can be done without an IT person in minutes. You may need a little longer if you aren’t as tech savvy as some, but should still be able to follow the step-by-step instructions and get started in less than 30 minutes.

The first step is to schedule your webinar. At GoToWebinar, they offer a complete solution that also promotes your upcoming online even by sending out invitations. You can also send out a reminder just before the event, so that people don’t register and then forget to attend. This program allows you to go in and practice your webinar so you don’t start the presentation completely inexperienced. You can practice as much as you need to in order to become familiar with the software and feel comfortable presenting your live webinar.

With this software, you can:

• Interact with attendees in a small chat box area
• Hear those who enable their microphones
• Present materials online or that you’ve uploaded beforehand
• Keep order by having participants to raise their hands to ask questions
• Take polls throughout the session
• Create follow-up e-mails to help increase sales or get participants engaged in other activities available through your site

Pricing is based on the number of participants. You can pay month-to-month, but if you plan to offer a monthly webinar, the annual plan will save you money. The cost varies from for up to 25 participants to up to 9 for 1,000.

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URL: href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/go/gotowebinar" target="_blank">http://gotowebinar.com

Instant Presenter

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This is a lesser known online webinar system, but fairly simply to use. It is also integrated with a PayPal payment system, if you’d like to charge for your webinars or offer more in-depth webinars after your initial free webcast. Instant Presenter records your webinars and they can be played back later. They offer daily live demos Monday through Friday, if you’d like to see how the software works. With this software, you can:

• Upload and share files
• Streamline with PowerPoint files
• Utilize the whiteboard
• E-mail invitations
• Utilize online registration forms
• Integrate with social media like Facebook and Twitter
• Get training on how to use the live webinar system

Pricing is also based on the number of attendees. As with other online software programs, if you pay for an annual plan, you’ll save about 20 percent. The cost for month-to-month for 25 attendees is , and for 100 is . For 500 or more attendees, phone customer support for pricing. Instant Presenter offers a 14-day free trial.

 

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URL: rel="nofollow" href="http://instantpresenter.com" target="_blank">http://instantpresenter.com

Microsoft LyncOnline

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Microsoft LyncOnline is a very inexpensive solution, but offers less support and out-of-the-box options than some of the pricier alternatives. If you plan to offer your webinars for free and are just starting out, you might be on a tight budget. In that case, it can make sense to use something like LyncOnline. You can always upgrade to advanced software as your business grows or your webinars increase in popularity. Keep in mind that different software works on different versions of windows, Microsoft also utilizes Meeting Space, Live Meeting or NetMeeting. The concept is similar enough that the description below can apply to all formats.

Some of the features available in Live Meeting include:

• Can upload earlier and then present documents during the meeting
• Live audio and video feed capabilities
• Enhanced instant messages
• Team site where you can share content with others

LyncOnline has a free 30-day trial, so it might pay to try it out and make sure it has all the features you want before making a commitment. Pricing runs per month for 25 participants or less and for larger groups.

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URL: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/lync-online.aspx">http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/lync-online.aspx

AnyMeeting

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If you don’t mind a bit of advertising, this is a free webinar hosting solution that might be a good place to start on your adventure into online conference. Up to 200 attendees can participate in your web conference for free, but there will be ads. If you prefer no ads, AnyMeeting has options for that, but it will cost you a little.

This is an easy program to set up. It has many of the features of the more expensive webinar hosting sites, including:

• E-mail invitations
• PayPal integration
• Promote your meetings on Facebook and Twitter
• Share what’s on your screen
• Upload and share files
• Record meetings and share with others
• Take polls
• Interact with attendees in real time
• Send follow-up e-mails
• Survey attendees

Try the free version of AnyMeeting to get started. If you’d like to get rid of the ads, you can have up to 25 attendees to unlimited meetings for only .99 per month or up to 200 attendees and unlimited meetings for .99 per month.

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 rel="nofollow" href="http://anymeeting.com">http://anymeeting.com

The Promotion that Keeps on Promoting

The promise of a free webinar can draw visitors to your site to register for this free information, but even better is when you can record the live session and continue to offer it after the fact. Whether you upload it to YouTube as an additional promotional medium, or you offer it when new subscribers sign up for your newsletter, a webinar is an inexpensive marketing solution.

Page 21 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

The New Face of SEO for 2013

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Once upon a time, search engine optimization (SEO) seemed pretty straightforward. The formula stayed the same article after article. Choose a keyword people were looking for that was even slightly related to your site or article. Use that keyword over and over a set amount of times, use it in a heading or two, add a bit of code, some meta data and wave a magic wand. Your site would rank great in Google. Then, a new animal arrived on the scene…

Not So Gentle Panda

Pandas are supposed to be cute and cuddly right? Not always. It would behoove website owners to remember that pandas have claws and so did rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Panda" target="_blank">Google Panda. Many content farms saw their traffic drop by the millions during the early implementation of Panda and some innocent bystanders got caught in the resulting tsunami. While the positives and negatives of the changes can be argued (less poor content, better content for site visitors), it won’t change the fact that SEO as we knew it is gone forever. As website owners, we can adapt or be scratched to death, and Panda wasn’t the only change Google has made or will make. In fact, Google reserves the right to continuously change their algorithm and you can be almost certain they will do so to keep advertisers happy as advertising is where the revenue comes from.

A Look at Changes in the Last Year

While the initial Panda changes back in 2011 were probably the most drastic and hit website owners the hardest, there have been a whole host of changes in 2012 and already in 2013.  Studying the features Google has looked at can help you predict what changes might be upcoming. Here are some of the things Google looked at with each new update:

• Image searches and if the image was of quality and matched the keyword, relevancy of site links, quality of webpage descriptions. Google also took a new approach to pages with “top-heavy” ads or ads above the fold.
• How fast the page loaded, when it was last updated and if spelling was correct weighed into ranking. Yes, they even looked at spelling! Google also integrated “rel="nofollow" href="http://www.seomoz.org/blog/understand-and-rock-the-google-venice-update" target="_blank">Venice”, which looked at local content and if it was relevant or not.
• In April of 2012, Google rolled out Penguin or the “Webspam” update. In other words, if your site has too many ads, your site is keyword stuff or you are trying to sell without offering valuable free content, your site will be penalized. Webmasters also figured out that parked domains are given less value with Google’s systems.
• Google changed their algorithm to give a boost to a site that uses sources from reliable or trusted sites. This might include an educational institution or government website, for example.
• Exact-match domains are no longer given premium ranking. In other words, you can’t just buy a domain name like perfectsitename.com and take advantage of search engine traffic without adding valuable content as well.

Some Inside Information

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Were you aware that Google hires outside companies to put rankers to work evaluating websites for Google? While it is uncertain whether this information is used to actually rank the site or to make changes to the algorithms, I was able to take part in this activity. While I can’t share details exactly, due a non-disclosure agreement, I can tell you what I’ve changed on my own sites since that time that has been successful for me (wink, wink). I also work for a lot of sites that have what I like to call “extreme SEO experts” and I use the tidbits I pick up from them.

• Add regular content that is of high quality.
• Forget keywords for the most part because they no longer work the way they once did. Of course there are some exceptions to this, but don’t focus so much on the keywords as trends in what people want to read.
• Check out what others have written and write more, different, better content.
• Reduce the advertising on your site to no more than one or two ads per page and put them below the fold (top third of your page).
• Remove links to any outside sites that are not ranked high with Google.
• Check your backlinks, too. Are there sites that are spammy or low quality linking to you? You can be penalized for this. E-mail the website owners and ask to be removed.
• Make sure that your images are tagged properly and are high quality for the search (alt text) terms.
• Spell check and then have a friend check again for you (remember that you will be penalized for spelling errors).
• Design and navigation is important.

Recovering from Panda’s Trampling

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If your website saw a huge traffic drop and you’re still trying to recover from the raging panda Google unleashed, take it in stages. Because the way people conduct business online changes from year to year anyway, you must first learn to be flexible. The marketing that worked back in 1995 (including participating in listservs) no longer works in 2013. You only have so many resources and so much time, so focus on a handful of changes that can increase your site ranking and traffic and let the rest go.

• Add new content at least once a week, but it’s better if you can add more often. Make sure that content is well written (spelling, good quality, etc.). Link to authoritative, high quality sources. Make sure it is something your readers want to read.
• Start a mailing list and newsletter. Some people visit your site, enjoy it and then never return. Change this. Stay in touch. Give them a free report for signing up for your monthly newsletter. Once you have people on your mailing list, you are less dependent on Google for traffic, since you’ve created a repeat visitor of your own.
• Edit old content to match it to current algorithms or delete it if it is no longer timely.
• Seek links from quality sites, but only when it makes sense within an article.

The Future of Google Panda/Penguin/?

What does the future of Google’s Panda, or whatever they are calling it these days, look like? One thing is certain. The algorithm can and will change, probably tomorrow. When you look at the changes made since 2011, it is readily apparent that Google frowns upon poor content, content farms, sites that seem too spammy or self-serving.

Do your site and your SEO a favor and focus on giving your readers quality. Offer highly relevant content, articles that are the right reading length for online (600 to 1000 words is ideal for most sites), provide images that make sense for the article, check for spelling and grammar errors and strive to improve your site visitors’ experience. If you focus on the quality of your site, you’ll soon forget about the stresses of SEO and figuring out what Google is doing. Instead, you’ll wind up with a site that is so fabulous that it won’t matter what changes Google makes. Visitors will flock back time and time again and this alone can help improve your ranking.

Page 21 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

Should You Invest In A Media Server?

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Most people know about shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated servers, but one type of hosting service that goes overlooked is media servers. These are servers that are built specifically to handle the large amount of resources needed to stream video and audio. A media server allows you to add new elements to your site that you probably never even considered.

How Media Servers Work

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Like I mentioned, a lot of people simply don’t know a lot about media servers because we typically use other services to handle our media for us rather than host it ourselves. This is because videos require large amounts of space to store and a significant amount of resource to stream. But media servers are often installed or added onto your current VPS or dedicated server as separate software.

The media server gives you the ability to stream media (typically video or audio) right on your site rather than rely on a third party service to do it for you. Also, media servers give you the ability to do things that you cannot do with YouTube such as live video streams right from your own website, video chats, and more.

In order to see the capabilities of media servers and how they work, take a look at rel="nofollow" href="http://new.livestream.com/" target="_blank">Livestream.com or rel="nofollow" href="http://www.justin.tv/" target="_blank">Justin.tv. Both of these sites use media servers for the live streaming capabilities.

Can’t I Just Use YouTube?

One of the first questions I had when I first began learning about media servers is “why can’t I just use YouTube?” That’s a very valid question and upon doing a little research, I grew to learn the advantages of using a media server rather than YouTube, Vimeo, or other video hosting sites.

• More control: With sites like YouTube, you don’t have control over your content. The TOS for YouTube is pretty strict and they reserve the right to pull down your videos at any time. With media servers you have complete control over what you can and cannot put on your site without worrying about breaking any rules.
• Branding: If you want your website to have a completely custom look to it, using a branded video player or media streamer such as YouTube or Vimeo kind of contradicts the goal. Since you’re hosting your own media, the video streamer will actually be a part of your site. It’s similar to having a blog with the domain name, companyname.blogspot.com vs. companyname.com. The former doesn’t have the same professionalism as the latter.
• Less competition: Look on the right side of YouTube when you’re watching a video. You’ll see a ton of related videos that are from other users. Those other users are your competition. YouTube serves them to your viewers on a silver platter which distracts users from your videos. Using a media server allows you to place the videos on your site without an option to redirect to YouTube where viewers will become distracted by competing sites.
• Reliability: When you use YouTube to host your videos, you’re relying on their servers to keep your videos up and running. If YouTube has an issue with their servers, then you have a problem as well. There have been plenty of instances where users have run into problems with YouTube videos not loading quick enough. Believe it or not, buffering doesn’t always mean you have a bad internet connection. Sometimes the slow or low quality video playback is a result of the site that is streaming the video. When you use a media server you don’t have to depend on a third party’s server.

Keep in mind that using a media server to host your own videos does not mean that you cannot place your videos on YouTube as well. In fact, I would highly recommend trying to distribute your videos across as many outlets as possible for more exposure and SEO benefits as well.

Putting Media Servers To Use

I want to go over some cool and creative ways that media servers can come in handy for your site.

• Live chat: We live in a time where people want a personal level of interaction with businesses, celebrities, and even bloggers. Hosting chat sessions on your website to interact with your customers or website visitors is a great way to get creative with your site. For businesses, you could use it as a customer service tool. For bloggers you could have chat sessions with your readers.
• Webinars: One of the most obvious benefits you get with streaming video on your own site is the ability to do live webinars. When you use a service like rel="nofollow" href="http://www.webnethosting.net/wowza-hosting/">Wowza hosting, you can get time shifted viewing so webinar participants can pause and rewind your webinar as it streams.
• Exclusive video content: Another way to use your media server is to set up a section with exclusive videos for paying or special visitors. You could use this as a monetization method or just as a way to get more subscribers to your site. You can use the videos to showcase insider tips and tricks related to your business or site too.

So Who Should Invest In A Media Server?

By now, you should have a pretty good idea of the benefits of media servers and how they can be used on your site. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not it’s worth it to invest in a media server, consider a few things. Does your site rely heavily on videos? If the answer is yes, then getting a media server might make sense for you. On the flipside, if you only upload new videos once a year to your site then it probably wouldn’t make much sense for you.

Also, if you read some of the possible use cases I mentioned earlier and you think they’re features you could implement on your site, a media server could definitely benefit you. A media server isn’t a must have for everyone, but when you’re trying to capitalize on video and audio streaming media servers are definitely a great option to explore.

Page 21 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

How To Increase Your Twitter Following

alt="How To Increase Your Twitter Following" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/twitter-followers-500x166_c.jpg" />

class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1022" alt="Twitter Statistics" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/twitter-stats-750x529.jpg" width="750" height="529" srcset="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/twitter-stats-750x529.jpg 750w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/twitter-stats-300x211.jpg 300w, http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/twitter-stats.jpg 975w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" />

I’m going to contradict the title. The number displayed immediately after “followers” no your Twitter profile isn’t really that important.

Wait. What?

Yes, you read that right. Let me explain. A number? Irrelevant. A community? Invaluable. The community emphasis that social media is fostering makes the typical “Increase your Twitter Followers by 500% in 3 days!” type of article ineffective. Rather than talking numbers, let’s talk impact. With all of this in mind, let me re-title the article.

20 Tips and Tools to Increase Your IMPACT on Twitter

To increase impact you must cultivate community. Consumers want a conversation, for a brand to talk with them; not a brand to talk at them (remember href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/web-marketing/twitter-is-like-a-cocktail-party/">Twitter is like a cocktail party?). Making an impact isn’t about a step-by-step process where you have “arrived” when you reach step 10. Take time to analyze the following tips and how they can best be implemented into your current Twitter efforts.

Twitter Tips

1. Audience

There are several critical factors that you must know about your audience.

• Who: Do you know who you are trying to connect with? Are they you’re current customers? Is your Twitter account a means to provide customer support? Are you facilitating a competition via Twitter?
• Voice: Do they want witty banter? Informative? Jokes? Intellectual? How do people in your industry communicate?
• What: What do they want to know? Do they want political updates? Business tips? Are they following you to learn about the latest in photography lenses? If you aren’t providing the information they want, they’ll unfollow.
• When: Is your audience night owls or early birds? Is there a time difference? Do they tend to tweet during the day or only before and after work? If you can plan your schedule around your audience’s you’ll be much more likely to have an real-time conversation.

2. Interact

If you only take heed to my advice on one tip, make it this one. Let me reiterate: your followers don’t want to be advertised to, they want to be interacted with. Engage in conversation, retweet, thank followers for mentions, respond to direct messages; anything you can do to show you’re listening will help cultivate community. A big part of community building is gaining trust. A trusting relationship is an influential relationship.

3. Connect with industry influencers

One common technique individuals use when building a twitter list is to follow those that follow industry leaders. By associating yourself with the top names in your industry, their fans will likely become your fans.

4. Learn from industry influencers

Once you’ve connected with industry influencers, learn why they are influential in your industry. Study their technique. When do they post? Who do they @mention? What types of information do they share in their tweets? How often do they tweet? You need to bring individuality to your Twitter account, but you’ll find valuable information in learning from someone who is already in a place you want to be in.

5. Participate in Twitter events

Some of the easiest ways to connect with others with similar interests are through event hashtags and Twitter chats.

• Events: Next time you go to a conference, seminar, or luncheon, take note of the hash tag they are using to promote the event and use it! Retweet other event goers, converse with them about your favorite parts of the conference, and don’t forget to @mention the speakers.
• Twitter Chats: Savvy Twitter users have come up with the concept of a Twitter chat. They publicize a topic and time (most of them are recurring events) and Twitter users will congregate at the specified time to discuss the topic. It is a great time to connect with other serious Twitter users. Here are some great lists to find which chat works best for you: 1) href="http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3480-23-Twitter-Chats-for-Small-Businesses" target="_blank">Chats for Small Businesses 2) href="http://socialmediatoday.com/kevin-fawley/407822/20-game-changing-twitter-chats" target="_blank">Twitter for Social Media Marketers 3) href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhisaMy5TGiwcnVhejNHWnZlT3NvWFVPT3Q4NkIzQVE%23gid=0" target="_blank">Twitter Chat Schedule.

6. Keep auto-tweeting to a minimum

By this I simply mean that you should limit your scheduled or automated tweets. It isn’t going to sabotage your impact by using Hootsuite or RSS feeds occasionally, but it should be used, at most, as a supplement to your personal tweets.

7. Good Composition

Millions upon millions of tweets are published every single day – if you want to stand out amongst the masses you have to carefully compose your tweet, not just write 140 characters on a whim.

8. Use hashtags

Hashtags can help you in two major ways 1) you can search to find others tweeting about your industry 2) others can find you based on the hashtags you use in your Tweets.

You have to be conscious of the tags you use; there is a unique craft in composing hashtags. You’ll want to use tags that are common, and trending if possible. For example, people will be more likely to find your tweet for #CEO than #BusinessTipsforCEOs.

Remember, you only have 140 characters, so composition is crucial in both the message and the hashtag. If you aren’t sure whether or not others are using the hashtag you want to use, visit href="http://www.hashtags.org" target="_blank">HashTags.org, use a search query with your hash tag of choice, and review the running ticker of uses.

9. Be positive

Nobody wants to read negative tweets day after day. Be positive, encouraging, uplifting, witty – anything really besides negative. If you make your followers feel good about your online relationship they will likely pay more attention your tweets.

10. Add badges everywhere

Help people make it easy to follow you. Anywhere your name is on the Internet, make sure it is followed by your Twitter handle: on your website, your blog, guest posts, your friends/colleagues blog, your other social media profiles, etc.

11. Synchronize

One of the best things about social media and the online world today is that it is so intertwined. Sync your networks together (one easy way to do so is to href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/blogging-tips/how-to-save-time-in-blog-marketing-with-ifttt/">make use of IFTTT) so when you post on one it is carried through all of your profiles to every person in your network.

12. Be authentic

If you’re fake, people will be able to tell. You can keep your personal life private, but let your personality shine through. Interact with people on Twitter as if you were interacting with them at the water cooler or a cocktail party.

Helpful Twitter Tools

These tools will make your life easier as you increase your Twitter impact – and the best part is they are free!

13. href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/" target="_blank">Tweet Deck

This app allows you to track all that’s happening on Twitter with a customizable layout. You can also schedule tweets and set up notifications to be able to effectively monitor your following.

14. href="http://twileshare.com/" target="_blank">TwileShare

Some users want tangible resources from those they follow on Twitter. This tool will allow you to directly share files on Twitter.

15. href="http://dlvr.it/" target="_blank">dlvr.it

This tool will aid in the synchronization of your online efforts.

16. href="http://bufferapp.com/" target="_blank">Buffer

I often find myself reviewing articles all at one time during the day but don’t want to overload my Twitter feed with all of the tweets all at once. This site is the perfect solution – and the icon is popping up on blogs across the blogosphere. Add it to your buffer and the retweets will be published throughout the day.

17. href="http://klout.com/" target="_blank">Klout

Klout measures your online impact – we just did an entire article on how to use it, read: href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/featured-articles/getting-started-with-klout/">Getting Started With Klout.

18. href="http://www.peerindex.com/" target="_blank">PeerIndex

This nearly the same as Klout, it really comes down to your personal preference as neither tool stands out above the other.

19. href="http://justtweetit.com/" target="_blank">Just Tweet It

This is a directory that will allow you to search based on interests – a great way to find influencers in your industry.

20. href="http://followerwonk.com/" target="_blank">Followerwonk

Similar to Just Tweet It but also allows you search Twitter users’ bio, location, name, and URL.

Happy Twittering!

Additional: If you want more retweets, also read Jerry’s href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/socialmedia-marketing/49-data-proven-tips-on-how-to-get-more-retweets/">49 data-proven ways to win more retweets.

Page 23 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

5 Factors In Choosing A Cloud Storage Provider

alt="5 Factors In Choosing A Cloud Storage Provider" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/cloud-hosting-companies-500x200_c.jpg" />

In online companies, or even businesses with online components, one of the hottest topics in the past year or so has been cloud storage. The reason for this is fairly simple: businesses thrive on efficiency and reliability, and these are precisely the benefits that established cloud storage systems offer. The specific utilities of a cloud storage system are numerous – uploading work data and files to a cloud decreases dependency on individual computers and mobile devices, backs up work more effectively, and allows far more efficient collaboration by groups. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily simple to work cloud storage capability into href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/web-hosting-knowledge/a-brief-on-cloud-hosting/">an existing online business or website.

The tricky part comes in choosing which cloud storage system to choose. From mainstream services such as Dropbox, to file sharing security systems like Sharefile that also offer cloud storage, there are plenty of different options out there – each with different services, capabilities, and of course, pricing options. So, how can you accurately assess which of these many systems is best for your business or web hosting platform?

Partially, this will depend on your own specific needs and preferences, and how they align with the various existing options. But in more general terms, here are 5 factors you will want to consider when evaluating and comparing cloud system options.

class="border" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/images/2011/0304-3.jpg" alt="Cloud Hosting - How To Choose" width="750" height=" " />

1. Security

There are title="Cloud Hosting Security Problem" href="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/featured-articles/what-might-go-wrong-with-cloud-hosting/">various security concerns involved when choosing a cloud service provider. The first is to ensure that the system you choose conducts its own business in a secure environment. Generally, cloud storage systems provide you with off-site data storage facilities, and it is your responsibility as a customer to check that the hardware, and even location of your cloud system is secure. This could mean everything from encryption and access to data, to the physical stability of the system’s infrastructure (for protection against natural disasters, storms, etc. that could harm the hardware storing your data).

Additionally, your security concerns when selecting a cloud storage system should include understanding what exactly your cloud provider is responsible for. Different cloud storage systems include different services (Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, etc.), and they are only responsible for your work’s security in relation to the services they specifically provide. For example, if you take advantage of a cloud system’s infrastructure but use your own software, you remain responsible for security as it relates to software.

2. Attention To Mobile Devices

The very nature of cloud storage tends to imply heavier involvement of mobile devices. Naturally, when you enable website employees, business employees, etc. to access and share work on a cloud network, mobile devices will be used more frequently, and will often be used for access to and transfer of significant files. Therefore, it is also important to pay attention to mobile devices when considering some of the security concerns mentioned previously.

In some cases, and with some cloud storage systems, it will remain your own responsibility to secure mobile devices for people involved with your website or company. However, there are cloud storage systems that offer security coverage which extends to mobile devices. This is certainly worth looking into as you compare systems, if mobile device security is of specific concern.

3. Service Provider Background

As is the case when aligning your business or website with any exterior service, it is also necessary to research the background of the cloud storage system you wind up choosing. Looking into factors such as customer service history, risk management procedures, security capabilities, etc. can help to give you a broad overview of a cloud storage system, which in turn will help you to choose the right provider for your needs as accurately as possible. This information tends to be publicly available for cloud service providers, and it is simply a manner of asking the right questions and conducting thorough research when it comes to your background checks on potential partners.

4. Business Growth Potential

When selecting a cloud storage system, it is important to consider the ways in which your business or website may grow, and your needs may change. Of course, to some extent you can address changes and growth when the time comes – however, certain elements of your cloud storage system may come into play with regard to growth. For example, some larger companies and websites prefer to keep their data storage hardware on site, rather than in a remote cloud location, but still connected to the cloud network. If there is potential that this situation may describe your eventual needs due to growth, expansion, or other changes, you may want to be sure that the provider you choose is capable of adjusting to meet your needs. Adjustments within a partnership tend to be far simpler than shifting to a different provider down the road.

5. Costs

For most people looking into partnering with a cloud service provider, cost is the main factor that will ultimately differentiate providers. However, it is very important to recognize that comparing different cloud storage systems is about more than simply looking at a base price. As mentioned previously, different providers offer different services, and it may be that you ultimately choose to take advantage of only some of these services. Rather than looking at base costs for various providers, try to gain a clear picture of what the services you actually intend to take advantage of will cost from each different provider. This will help you to gain the most accurate understanding of what you’ll be paying for each different option.

Page 21 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

Tips for Writing a Testimonial about Yourself

alt="Tips for Writing a Testimonial about Yourself" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/customer-feedbacks-500x500_c.png" />

id="floatright">class="alignright" src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2011/1204-1.jpg" alt="" width="275" height="320" />

20 Fresh jQuery Tutorials You Probably Haven't Read Before

alt="20 Fresh jQuery Tutorials You Probably Haven't Read Before" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/default-image-500x308_c.jpg" />

There are few things that are more exciting than tutorials and tricks for web development! The new technology and techniques enhance Internet capabilities and the overall experience for website visitors. In my work with various businesses and the development of their websites, jQuery is being used more than ever to add a dynamic flare to websites.

If you are looking to spice up your jQuery technique portfolio, check out these tutorials:

href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/04/05/slideshow-with-jmpress-js/">Slideshow

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/SlideshowJmpress.jpg" alt="Slideshow Screenshot" class='border' />

Slideshows are a quick and easy way to demand attention on website home pages. Having an arsenal of different techniques will help you create unique, stand-out websites.

href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/04/02/responsive-horizontal-layout/">Horizontal Layout

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/ResponsiveHorizontalLayout.jpg" alt="Horizontal Layout Screenshot" class="border" />

I”m not sure what the appeal is, but I”ve always been a fan of horizontal layouts – and this one is great. This probably won”t be the top used technique, but it is a great tutorial to have for when you need an out of the ordinary website layout.

href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/04/24/audio-slideshow-with-jplayer/">Audio Slideshow with jPlayer

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/AudioSlideshow.jpg" alt="Audio Slideshow Screenshot" class="border"/>

This tutorial adds an extra kick to the average slideshow by adding audio.

href="http://tutorialzine.com/2011/12/countdown-jquery/">Countdown Timer

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/Countdowntimer.jpg" alt="Countdown Timer Screenshot" class="border"/>

Countdowns can build anticipation and serve as a placeholder for future projects. This is a simple, clean timer, but it does the job nicely.

href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/04/09/direction-aware-hover-effect-with-css3-and-jquery/">Direction Aware Hover Effect

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/DirectionAwareHoverEffect.jpg" alt="Direction Aware Hover Effect Screenshot" class="border"/>

So this isn”t solely a jQuery tutorial, but adding a little CSS3 really sets this hover effect apart.

href="http://tutorialzine.com/2012/04/timeline-portfolio/">Timeline Portfolio

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/TimelinePortfolio.jpg" alt="Timeline Portfolio Screenshot" class="border"/>

This tutorial puts a unique spin on the horizontal layout and will provide you with a unique way to visually depict company history, portfolio, life events, and so many other possibilities!

href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/2012/03/15/parallax-content-slider-with-css3-and-jquery/">Parallax Content Slider

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/ParallaxContentSlider.jpg" alt="Parallax Content Slider Screenshot" class="border"/>

So I cheated again by adding CSS3 to the mix, but this tutorial is too good not to include. This isn”t your average homepage content slider. They dynamic movement of all the various parts of the content will immediately capture the attention of website visitors.

href="http://tutorialzine.com/2010/08/animated-404-not-found-page-css-jquery/">404 Error Page

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/404page.jpg" alt="404 Page" class="border"/>

Web design/development teams are utilizing 404 error pages as a new creative outlet. Here is a tutorial for an animated take on the trend.

href="http://buildinternet.com/2010/02/animate-panning-slideshow-with-jquery/">Panning Slideshow

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/panning-slideshow.jpg" alt="Panning Slideshow Screenshot" class="border"/>

This tutorial will help you create a simple, but unique way to display images through a slideshow.

href="http://buildinternet.com/2011/09/cycle-through-images-on-hover-with-jquery/">Cycle Images

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/cycleimages.jpg" alt="Cycle Images Screenshot" class="border"/>

This tutorial breaks down how to create a unique element. Check out thehref="http://buildinternet.com/live/cycle-images/">demo to get the full effect!

href="http://buildinternet.com/project/mosaic/">Mosaic

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/mosaic.jpg" alt="Mosaic Screenshot" class="border"/>

This tutorial is really several all in one. The huge number of available options make this tutorial a must read.

href="http://line25.com/tutorials/build-a-simple-image-slideshow-with-jquery-cycle">Simple Slideshow

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/demo.jpg" alt="Slideshow Screenshot" class="border"/>

This is a very simple, straight forward image slider. A basic element that should be in every designers portfolio.

href="http://tutorialzine.com/2011/03/photography-portfolio-shutter-effect/">Shutter Folio

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/ShutterFolio.jpg" alt="Shutter Folio Screenshot" class="border"/>

This tutorial will help you add a creative twist to a photography portfolio.

href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/2011/04/28/rotating-image-slider/">Rotating Image Slider

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/RotatingImageSlider.jpg" alt="Rotating Image Slider Screenshot" class="border"/>

If you”re looking for creative inspiration, you”ll find it in this tutorial. Be warned though, your expectations for image slideshows will forever be heightened.

href="http://tympanus.net/codrops/2011/03/16/expanding-image-menu/">Expanding Image Menu

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/ExpandingImageMenu.jpg" alt="Expanding Image Menu Screenshot" class="border"/>

Include all the information you want to without using up all of your space. This accordion style menu will prove useful in more than one situation.

href="http://www.queness.com/post/6480/create-an-attractive-before-and-after-photo-effect-with-jquery">Before and After

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/beforeandafter.jpg" alt="Before and After Screenshot" class="border"/>

This is a fun effect to add a before and after look into your photography portfolio.

href="http://www.marcofolio.net/webdesign/advanced_jquery_background_image_slideshow.html">Background Image Slideshow

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/slideshow.jpg" alt="Slideshow Screenshot" class="border"/>

A rotating background can help keep your homepage fresh and captivating.

href="http://demo.marcofolio.net/polaroid_photo_viewer/">Polaroid

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/Polaroid.jpg" alt="Polaroid Screenshot" class="border"/>

One of the biggest trends today is vintage. Anything (or idea) that was from before the turn of the millennium is coveted. Polaroid pictures happen to be a loved vintage concept. This tutorial will help you keep the idea, but bring it up to speed with today”s technology.

href="http://webdesignerwall.com/tutorials/mobile-navigation-design-tutorial">Mobile Navigation

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/mobilenavigation.jpg" alt="Mobile Navigation Screenshot" class="border"/>

If you have begun adding mobile websites into your portfolio, this tutorial is a must! Easily (and effectively) create a menu that displays well on mobile phones. This tutorial not only solves the issue of bad navigation, but it gives several solutions.

href="http://buildinternet.com/2011/07/supersized-3-2-fullscreen-jquery-slideshow/">Fullscreen Slideshow

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/supersized.jpg" alt="Fullscreen Slideshow Screenshot" class="border"/>

Sometimes images are all you need to communicate. If you are looking to captivate visitors with stunning photographs or illustrations, this is the tutorial for you.

Page 23 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed

The Basics Of .htaccess

alt="The Basics Of .htaccess" src="http://whsr.webrevenueinc1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/default-image-500x308_c.jpg" />

Understanding a Server’s .htaccess File is a Key Component of Web Design and Development

Most amateur web hosting clients and new web developers assume that the most important part of any server setup is the installed software. They feverishly install their ASP-based or PHP-based application, in hopes of creating advanced content that is controlled by popular software and extensive database cells and tables. But amid this flurry of activity, almost every developer initially ignores one of the most important and powerful files on the server itself. That file is known as the ".htaccess" file, and it controls everything form error messages to password-protected pages, permalink structure to blocked users who cannot see the site’s content.

The ".htaccess" file resides in the server’s root public directory by default. On Linux servers, that directory is almost always called "public_html." For subfolders which need to benefit from the power of this file, href="http://wildjokerdesign.net/faq/how-do-i-enable-htaccess-files-secondary-domain" target="_blank">a secondary ".htaccess" file can be placed within every subfolder and other directory on the server itself. Every file or folder within a directory with an ".htaccess" file inherits that file’s permissions and guidelines unless overridden by a separately-coded version of the file. If it sounds complex, that’s because of is a moderately advanced technique of controlling server behavior. It is not, however, impossible to learn. And once a developer or novice web hosting customers learns how to control their server using this file, they’ll find it impossible to return to the days when an ".htaccess" file was a nuisance that was hardly understood, let alone employed.

src="http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/images/2012/0608-2.jpg" title=".htaccess Guide" class="border" />

Password Protecting Directories is a Snap with the .htaccess File

Web hosting server security is something that almost every customer looks into before they commit to any specific hosting company or server technology. For the most part, Windows and Linux servers are equally secure, keeping information away form those who should not have it. But that is only true as far as defending against hackers and malicious web scripts. When it comes to password protecting specific files or directories, all of the work must be done by the .htaccess file separate from either server’s technologies or security features.

The .htaccess file has its own unique style of protecting these directories, as laid out by its simple, line-by-line programming language and techniques. In this case, a user simply defines the directory to be protected and then sets the required parameters for accessing that directory in the file itself. That password can apply to just one file, to an entire directory, or to the entire server itself when accessed via a typical web browser. The simple, single-line setup of a file or directory password looks like the example below when it as been completely filled out and initiated.

AuthUserFile /public_html/secure/files/.htpasswd
AuthGroupFile /dev/null
AuthName EnterPassword
AuthType Basic
require user secureUser

These lines of code are paired with a new file called ".htpasswd." This file resides in the directory which is being secured and it contains the username and password which will grant users access to the protected information. In the example above, it has been specified that only the user "secureUser" can be given access to the directory, and they must enter the required password as determined by the "AuthName EnterPassword" line of code that lies just a bit above the user definition.

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In the ".htpasswd" file that will be created in the protected directory, users only need to add a single line of code. The format is simple; every user and password combination is separated using colons. This means they’ll simply add "user:password" to the file. In this case, it would be "secureUser:securedirectorypassword1" as an example. This will define all possible access codes and usernames. Site administrators can certainly include multiple users and passwords within this list, so long as the remove the "require user secureUser" distinction form the ".htpasswd" file. Alternatively, they could define multiple passwords for the same username while keeping that line of code, ensuring that access could be revoked from certain individuals or groups at any time if the right password is deleted from the ".htpasswd" file.

To learn more on this issue, read: href="http://support.godaddy.com/help/article/1641">Using .htpasswd with Your Linux Shared Hosting Account.

Defining Easy-to-Remember Links to Website Content and Static Pages

One of the most widespread current uses of the prolific ".htaccess" file is to use the file’s parameters to define semantically-easy "href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Permalinks" target="_blank">permalinks" for site content and static pages when using content management software like WordPress or MovableType. This not only helps users remember and reload site content, but also improves a website’s search ranking on major search engines. Those search engines use semantically-friendly URLs to determine what content is on any given page and whether or not the content matches the URL. A title-URL match indicates more authority and a higher likelihood that a user will find the information they’re looking for. Appropriate, the website then ranks higher on major search engines when using permalink structure.

For those users who have installed WordPress to their site’s servers, the following line is added during the installation process almost as a requirement — especially with more recent versions of the software from version 3.0 and newer. The line of code looks exactly like the example below and is standard for more than 60 million self-hosted WordPress customers worldwide.

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

Again, it’s easy to see the line-by-line structure of ".htaccess" file programming instructions. These few simple lines of code tell the server to use the WordPress "index.php" file as the base for all URLs which originate within the content manage software solution itself. Using that file as a base, and rewriting the entry titles as permalinks, the URL rewrite essentially combines database queries with file permissions to create "friendly" URLs. Modifying an ".htaccess" file to rewrite its URLs is currently the leading, if not only, way of constructing friendlier URLs from PHP and ASP-based content management software solutions.

Guiding Search Engines to Recently Relocated Content Locally or Remotely

While permalinks were designed to eliminate the process of randomly-relocated content and intensive redirects, they haven’t completely eliminated the problem. Indeed, permalinks can be managed within any content management solution’s control panel; the moment a user changes the permalink structure, everything within the purview of the CMS software can go missing and throw errors to search engines and users alike. This can be eliminated as problem with a very simple line of ".htaccess" code which redirects customers and throws an "invisible" error to major search engines. The code is this:

Redirect 301 /archive/ /past-entries/

This redirect places the old and new URLs side-by-side with the old URL listed first. It instructs the server to throw a 301 redirect error at browsers and search engine "spiders" alike, but this error is never seen by the end user. Instead, a 301 redirection is an invisible error that occurs behind the scenes. While the user is automatically taken to the new path and new content, the browser and search engine understand that "301" means "permanently moved." Both the browser and any search engines which experience this error will immediately update their records to reflect the new URL and they’ll remove the old one immediately.

This is a great way to move to a new domain name without losing customers, as well. The ".htaccess" file on the old server can be used to actually point to content at a completely new domain name with just a little change to the line of code that was presented above. Instead of pointing to two relative paths on the same server, the 301 redirection code in this case would look like the following:

Redirect 301 / http://www.your-domain-name.com

This instructs the server to send anything in the root directory, or any subfolders, to the new domain name at the exact same path as it was on the old server. All that changes is the actual domain name itself. Again, because it uses the 301 error code, search engines will automatically update their records to reflect the new domain name. This is not only a great tool for usability, but it also prevents a website from losing its search engine rankings. Instead of starting over, search engines will understand that this is the same website at a new location. They’ll maintain their old perception and rankings, and the administrator will benefit greatly from employing this unique method of moving between domains.

From Invisible Errors and Redirections to Actual Error Pages for Site Visitors

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What Is Typography And Why Does It Matter

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Thinking back to my college days, I remember enrolling in a typography class and saying to myself, “what in the world is this class about? It cannot possibly be an entire semester of studying fonts!” What I came to discover is that even in a semester long class, we barely touched the surface of typography.

According to dictionary.com, typography is the art or process of printing with type. Bringing the definition up to speed with the digital world – typography is the art or process of using typefaces to communicate (not just in print). In times past typography was most closely associated with newspapers, books, and other informative sources. As graphic design expanded, so did the possibilities of typography; it has evolved into not only a means of simply creating lines of text, but into an artistic expression and communication tool.

Just like color, typography is a crucial design element that can evoke emotions, portray images, and stimulate responses: everything from happiness to anger or athleticism to elegance. It is of the utmost importance to embrace typography to ensure clear communication.

Let’s review the basics.

Leading

The space between lines of text and will contribute the most to the readability of your text

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Measure

The width of your text. To long can create confusion and be visually distracting while too short creates more line breaks and can decrease the readability of your text.

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Text Alignment

The standard for alignment will vary depending on your medium and intended voice. Usually websites use a flush right while newspapers are more likely to use a justified alignment.

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Font

With thousands of fonts available and the ability to create your own font, the options are endless. Consider the intended purpose of your design and find a suitable font. Different fonts evoke different emotions so they should be taken into careful contemplation. For example, Victorian cursive fonts usually associate well with elegance while simple lined fonts usually associate with a modern feel.

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Color

Like font, color is important in creating the right tone of voice. Hues of red can indicated warning, excitement, passion, or energy while shades of purple indicate wisdom, sophistication, or celebration (more color meanings can be found href="http://www.bolderimage.com/blog/marketing/what-the-color-of-your-site-is-saying-about-you" target="_blank">here).

Keep in mind that what I outlined are general rules and what I listed as “bad” may be exactly what you need to use in order to communicate your point to your audience. For example, if you are communicate something regarding a crowded space it might be better to decrease your leading. Typography is a fluid art form and rules can be bent (or even broken) if your message will be better received.

As you strive to master the art of typography, it is helpful to have a toolbox of resources to help you. Jacob at Six Revisions has created ahref="http://sixrevisions.com/graphics-design/20-useful-typography-tools/" target="_blank"> great list of tools that will help you take your typography to the next level! What other tidbits of information have you picked up about typography? I’d love to hear your insight!

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