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samedi 12 novembre 2016
Checklist: 15 Things to Go Through Before Getting A Web Host
After sleepless nights and busy days, you have finally created your own website. You spend so much time and energy deciding on your domain name, researching for your niche and keywords, and even shell out some money to ensure that the design matches your content. And now, you are ready to go online, except you do not know which web hosting company you will choose.
Here are 15 things you have to consider when choosing a website hosting company:
1. Consider the Price
This is the first on the list, not only because it is very important but we do not want you paying more than what you are getting. But then again, you do not have to grab the cheapest one that comes along. The keyword here is compare. List at least 5 affordable web hosting services and compare their features and prices. Choose the one that offers you value for your money.
Dig deeper: Check out
2. Find that perfect match
Like a pair of jeans, not all size and style will fit you, choosing a web hosting requires you to find the one that matches your needs. Some company may be offering services that you do not need or others may be providing you with solutions that are absolutely not needed or applicable on your website.
3. Know the limits
Think if the web hosting company can accommodate all your needs. If you are launching a fully loaded e-commerce website with heavy content and animated graphics, then you should not get a web hosting company that will not be able provide the disk space, bandwidth, and other processing power that your website needs to operate fully.
4. Ensure Tech Support
The website hosting company should offer you free technical support of trained and friendly staff available 24/7.
5. Check the added features
Find out what other add-ons the company is giving you and if these features are necessary for your website.
6. Ask the kind of hardware
You would want to have your website be hosted on premium virtual machines. You do not to risk your website with company that uses hardware of questionable quality.
7. Check out what others are saying
You should research for customer reviews and feedbacks on web hosting companies. And do not limit your searches to the company’s website or affiliate sites. Go to discussion forums and other independent blogs (like this one, WHSR ;)) – you might find something juicy there.
Dig depper: Read my
8. Know email features
This is important in managing communications with your customers, tracking down transactions, as well as in preventing spam problem.
9. Demand security
You do not want your website to be hacked, vandalized, and looted by unscrupulous people. Ask what security features and options can the company give you and compare it with other company’s security features. We do not want you losing control over your data. We want them safe and secured.
10. Evaluate reliability
Find out the company’s web hosting reputation online. Go for the one that has a good track record and has created a niche in the industry. Be wary of new webhosting company as they might just disappear on you without warning.
11. Test performance
As performance is directly related to the kind of hardware use by the company, you have to double check the claims of the website hosting company on the hardware they use. Avoid a company that uses outdated machines or a slow internet connection for its information center. Choose the one that can perform and deliver the best result in fastest possible time.
12. Check user interface
The control panel should allow you to do basic website management by yourself even without calling customer service. The user interface should allow you to set up FTP accounts and install WordPress easily. It should be easily navigated and use. If you have difficulty understanding the control panel, then you will also have a hard time managing your website.
13. Look for room to grow
While your website hosting needs may seem simple and little for now, you should consider future growth. Thus, it is important to choose a website hosting company that provides you an opportunity to expand the operations and applications of your website.
14. Know the script
Make sure that the web hosting company uses language that supports the script required to operate your website.
15. Identify your options
Make sure you are given options for additional services such as upgrades for bigger bandwidth and disk space as the need arises. This is important as your business grows you will be requiring more services.
With so many web hosting companies available, it is understandable that you are having a problem choosing one. You might have ask friends and families what they recommend or you could have spend some time on forums to find out the best features and flaws of some web hosting company. Remember to choose the web hosting company that suits your budget and your website’s needs.
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Free Advertising through Online Blog Tours
You’ve heard of guest blogging, but taking that concept a step further can result in massive traffic driven to your site in the span of a couple of weeks. This can be particularly useful if you’re running a sale or campaign at the same time as the guest blogging tour.
According to
With that kind of competition to capture the interest of readers, you’re definitely going to need a way to reach new readers. A blogging tour can be just the burst of traffic your website needs to engage new readers and keep them coming back for more. What’s even better is that these tours cost nothing but your time and a little bit of thought and interaction with others to be a huge success.
Once you’ve decided to make the commitment to a blogging tour, here are the steps you need to set it up.
Finding Blogs to Visit
The first step is hitting Google and searching for blogs that are not competition but still have your target demographic. For example, if you sell golf supplies, you’ll want to come up with a list of blogs on the topic of golf, but not other sites that sell golf supplies.
As mentioned before, there are millions of blogs out on the Internet. You’ll also want to target the blogs that get heavy traffic and feature high quality posts. Keep in mind that Google now factors which sites link to you, and their quality, in their algorithms. You’ll also want to read our article on
To figure out if a site is good to add to your list, ask these questions:
- Is the site too ad heavy?
- Is it updated regularly?
- How does it rank in Google search engines?
- Does the site have a social media presence?
- Is the content high quality?
- Is the site relevant in some way to your site?
Next, decide how many days you want your blogging tour to run. A week to two weeks is typical. You’ll need to find one site per day for the tour. So, if you plan to guest blog six days out of seven for two weeks, you need 12 sites total. You’ll likely need to contact more sites than that as not all the sites you contact will agree to a guest post. A good rule of thumb is to contact three times as many sites as you need to post on. If you wind up with more than you need, you can either extend your tour or offer a post outside of the tour.
E-mail the Owners
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential places to guest post, you’ll want to contact each of the blog owners and present your idea for a blogging tour. Be sure to explain what you’ll do to promote your time on their blog. Focus on how the situation is beneficial to both of you (they get traffic from your mailing list and you get traffic from their site visitors). Plus, the site gets a free, high quality post from you.
You’ll also want to decide ahead of time how much interaction you want. For example, do you want their site visitors to ask you questions based on your post? Or, do you plan to just keep an eye on natural comments as they occur?
Here is a sample letter you can send to potential hosts:
Dear Max Smith: [Try to find a specific name of the site owner]
My name is Lori Soard and I am in the process of lining up blogs to guest post on for my upcoming blogging tour April 1st through the 14th. For my part, I plan to send out an e-mail each day detailing which blog I will be on the following day and what the topic of discussion will be. This will bring new visitors to your site and I will also reach new readers through your regular site visitors. In addition, you will have a high-quality post go up on your site that day with no work on your part. I’ll be happy to interact with your readers and answer any questions.
I was thinking perhaps the post could be on the topic of guest blogging with an attitude to go with your 10 days of attitude seminar. I hope we can line this up. If so, I will get you on the schedule right away. Let me know if any particular day works better for you than another between April 1st and April 14th.
Thank you for your time,
Lori Soard
Schedule the Tour
One of the most important parts of planning a blogging tour is staying organized. As you hear back from website owners, you’ll want to slot out which day you’ll visit their blog. An Excel spreadsheet works well for keeping track of this type of information, or you can use an online calendar like Yahoo Calendar or Google Calendar. If you are not the online calendar type, then a printed calendar works as well. The important thing is to make sure you write down what dates you’ve promised each website owner, so you don’t overbook and wind up having to guest blog on several sites on the same day.
Once all the slots are filled, you’ll want to send a confirmation letter to the website owners reminding them of the day you’ll be guest blogging and to find out when they want you to send in your post to them for it to go live that day.
If you plan to answer questions and comment, you’ll also want to visit that blog and make sure you are pre-registered for comments so that you save time the day of the event.
Plan an Event on your Own Site
Another thing you can do is to plan some type of event on your own site to coincide with the blog tour. For example, you might run a contest that people can enter simply by signing up for your newsletter. Other ideas include:
- Offering a free guide for download
- Offering a discount
- Creating a more in-depth article on the topic you’re guest blogging on
The goal is to get the blog’s visitors to visit your own site. Be creative and offer them some incentive.
Follow-Up with Attendees
On the site
“Make sure to go out there and visit other people. People won’t come to you unless you go to them first. Visit other people’s blogs and leave meaningful comments on their posts. My experience is that most people will visit you back. Again, it’s a win-win situation and it’s a great way to find blogger friends too.”
One way you can connect with those who attended your “blog tour” is to read their comments carefully. Some will include a link to their own blogs. Be sure to visit those blogs, read an article or two and leave a comment. Something along the lines of:
“Thanks for visiting me at ABC Golf Site when I guest posted about choosing the right golf tee. I enjoyed this article on left handed grip for golfers. There aren’t a lot of resources out there on this topic and you covered it in an interesting and informative way.”
If there is a place to add a link, be sure to go ahead and link to your own blog, but don’t be too spammy with the comment. Your goal isn’t to get that person’s visitors to your site so much as to let readers know you appreciate their own interaction on your blogging tour and you are repaying the favor. You may just gain a fan for life who will share your articles with others.
To Guest Blog or Not to Guest Blog?
The bottom line is that while Google’s algorithm changes make
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July Roundup: Blogging through Summer
Keeping up with all the things necessary to run a successful website can be a challenge, but even more so during the summer months. There are many competing activities not only clamoring for your time as the website owner, but also competing for the time of your workers and site visitors. On top of all those challenges, many people are shopping for back to school. The best thing to do to get through the summer slow down is to focus on making your site the absolute best it can be. Fortunately, WHSR has some inside advice to take your site to that next level.
Exclusive Interview
Ryan Pierson of RocketTheme agreed to an
Social Media Conundrum
Social media promotions are the bane of many website owners. How much social media marketing (SMM) is enough and how much is too much. Are people tired of seeing ads on social media sites? What ads are most effective? Figuring out the labyrinth of options for SMM is a difficult process even for expert social media markets. Fortunately, Lori Soard takes a look at
Finding the Perfect Host
Summer is a good time to clean house. Have you been holding on with a hosting company that you’re really not happy with because you dread moving to a new one? One of the things we do for you here at WHSR is to check out various web hosts and offer a non-biased view of the best and worst features of each. This allows you to make an informed decision without having to do the legwork of sifting through thousands of different review sites simply to find out about a new hosting company. In July, we took a look at
While you’re making the decision, check out Jerry Low’s hosting guide titled
Write Better/Write Faster
Whether you’re writing the content for your sites, or you’ve advanced to hiring others to write it for you, there are some tools of of the trade to help you write better, faster and more on target content. Jerry Low shares
Now that we are in full-blown summer in many parts of the world, take the time to figure out both your hosting needs and your social media marketing needs. By honing in on different aspects of your website throughout the year, you’ll keep things moving forward and your site will continue to grow and be more and more successful.
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Why There’s More to Blogging Than Writing – A Road Map to Guide You Through Every Article You Post
Wouldn’t life be simple if all one had to do was write up a quick post and schedule it to go live? Ask any blogger you know and he or she will tell you that blogging is about so much more than just the writing part of the job.
Instead, you have to juggle a lot of different plates at once to truly build a noteworthy blog that readers will want to return to time and again.
It’s important to write the best content possible,
Somewhere between all that, you have to make sure you’re
If you’re exhausted just thinking about it all, this simple road map will guide you through the steps you need to take to have a successful blog. The starting point is the first thing you write. The finish line is marketing and community engagement.
Writing Your Blog
You might think it is obvious that the first step to a success blog is to write that blog. However, there are some very specific things you’ll want to keep in mind as you work up posts for your niche topic.
- Write an engaging headline that will grab readers. This is the first thing your reader sees, so it is vital that it grabs her and makes her want to read your work. Our very own Jerry Low wrote an article titled
- Write a skimmable article. Readers want something they can digest quickly.
- Keep it short and sweet. People are busy. The average person works, has a family, spends time with friends and has other hobbies and interests. They need information that can be read in a matter of minutes.
Edits
Ahh, the dreaded “E” word. Edits are not fun for anyway and if you aren’t a professional writer by trade, you may worry that you’ll be able to make a difference in your written word. However, edits are important if you want to put out a professional looking blog.
Since Google now ranks on the quality of content, you do want to present your best work possible. Either edit the articles yourself or hire a professional editor to polish them up for you.
- Let the article sit for at least a day or two. You’ll be able to go back and read it with fresh eyes and catch errors you might not have seen before.
- Read out loud. Reading your written word out loud will help you hear any awkward phrasing and to find missing words or repeated words.
- Do a spell check. It sounds simple and basic, but this is a step that many writers forget but one that can polish your work up quickly and help you find typos.
Promotion
One of the most important parts of blogging is marketing. If you only write posts for your blog but never get the word out that the posts are available, then you likely won’t have many site visitors.
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is one of the least expensive ways to get the word out about your blog and what you have to offer. If you aren’t already active on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter, then you should set up pages for your business and start talking to others.
- Add family and friends to your friends lists. The best way to get word of mouth going is through those you already know. Ask family and friends to like/join your new page and share it with others.
- Don’t spam your readers. No one wants a constant barrage of sales pitches. Offer useful tips, share funny quotes, post a picture of an event.
- Utilize HootSuite to schedule posts ahead. If Tuesday is the best day to promote, you may wonder how you’ll ever find time in the middle of the week to do social media marketing. There is no need to worry. You can use HootSuite and schedule your promotional posts ahead of time.
Email Marketing
One of the most powerful tools you can develop as a blogger is your personal mailing list. When a visitor comes to your site, you should have a Call to Action that encourages him to sign up for your newsletter or emails.
- Send out a regular newsletter or email. A few times a week is a good goal, but at least once or twice a month.
- Make it easy for users to sign up. Use MailChimp or Constant Contact. Both offer a two-step verification process to make sure anyone who subscribes really wants to be on your list.
- Offer value to your readers. You have to make your visitors want to subscribe to your news. Offer a free ebook download for signing up. Send coupons only subscribers have access to. Provide articles that are exclusive to your newsletter.
Sweepstakes and Events Marketing
Offering contests and fun online events can help draw traffic to your site. Keep these details in mind:
- Be careful of
- Hold a webinar. You are an expert in your topic. Hold a webinar or teleseminar on a specific topic in your area of expertise and invite people to register. Collect their info when they register and invite them to sign up for your newsletter for updates on future events.
- Poll your visitors to find out what they most want and need. Business owners have used polls for many years to figure out what their customers want and need. Poll your site visitors to find out what events they’d like to see on your blog.
Community Engagement
Your final step in the process is to engage your readers. There are several ways of keeping readers engaged and making them feel part of a wider community.
- Turn on your comments. Some blog owners choose to turn off comments, because it is time consuming to moderate them. While this is not a bad idea, especially if you get a lot of spam comments, try to engage your readers in conversation on at least some of your posts. Ask for their thoughts and interact with them.
- Set up a chat room. Is there a hot topic on your blog that everyone seems to be commenting on and sharing? Schedule and online chat and invite your readers to attend. Ask an expert to come speak on the topic (or do it yourself). Offer classes on a set day and time.
- Get people talking on Facebook and Twitter. Utilize private events and hashtags to engage others.
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
If you never write another blog post outside of the ones already on your site, you still need to repeat the steps after the writing portion of this road map, over and over and over.
Every three to six months, you should review posts on your site and figure out what needs edited, updated, removed, or replaces.
You’ll also want to continue to promote your articles. Go back to old articles and reference them here and there.
Engage others in discussion on these topics. Repeat what you’ve done in the past with both old and new posts.
I’m certainly not advocating never writing another post. You need fresh content on your site to keep people reading and visiting your blog.
However, the steps after writing are equally important and shouldn’t be ignored if you want to have a successful visitor base.
Page 11 – Web Hosting Secret Revealed
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