5 Step Check List for Choosing the Best Web Host

Web Design and Web Development is only 1/2 the battle. It is important that small business owners understand the importance of hosting as it controls many SEO elements on your website.

1. Set Goals
If you want to reach the top of the search engines then you want a dedicated server (or semi private) with a private CClass Number. Make sure that you are not sharing the CClass number. The price for this service ranges from $50 if you work with your hosting company, to $500. Be careful - the cheaper hosting companies may limit their bandwidth.

If you do not need to be at the top of the search engines then pick a host with a good reputation like Hostgator or Godaddy. It doesn't matter what you pay for Web Design if the search engines, and users, cannot find your website.

2. Customer Service
Call customer service and ask questions - at least 2 - 5 times. You should get someone within 24 hours. Do this before you pay any money. Ask a few questions that cannot be answered in the FAQ or by the sales staff. Keep a list of companies that have a direct phone number to tech support - and make sure that the same person doesn't answer both phones.

Also, make sure that the person is using a real name. This may not happen in live chat, but you want a sense that the company is not outsourcing to a foreign country.

3. Features
Cpanel is a full featured dashboard that should be offered by every host. Only hosts who are trying to 'skimp' will use a lesser dashboard. You also want to look for a host who has included Fantastico. Plesk is also a good dashboard, but many small business owners find it difficult to manage.

4. Cost
Cost is usually number one on most people's list. However, saving a few dollars on hosting can cost you in search engine ranking, traffic, and even get your website penalized by search engines.

There are a lot of free and low fee hosting companies that redirect your traffic. If your visitor hits a dead link, or visits a page more than 2 or 3 times, they will be redirected to an 'advertisement' or popunder.

5. Limits
Many hosting companies limit 2 things: Bandwidth and CPU. They may not have dedicated switches on their servers. All of these things bring your site down - even when the hosting company's server is still 'up'. The more visitors you receive at one time, the quicker you go down. This is horrible when you have an event, or have several people watching a video.

The last point is the most obvious - reputation. I didn't include this in the list because you will develop a feel for the companies who pay for a good review on a hosting review website or an affiliate website and those hosting companies who earn a good review in blogs, forums, and other web venues.

Please let us know your stories in our guest book. I am always happy to listen to other people's ideas.

I bought a new logo design from www.virutaladagency.com I'll let you see it when ready.

We are tearing the walls down on our house. I can look right out the walls in some places. I have no storage. I can't wait until the insulation is done and we have drywall gain. Then I'll feel like I am living in a house.

Traps Common To Small Business: Pt2

6. No Employee Management
Motivating, training, and managing your staff is one of your toughest challenges in a retail setting. Employees are not ‘disposable.’ A well-trained and motivated staff is the best sales force available to retailers. A managers ‘people skills’ and management practices can cause problems where no problem existed. Employee moral directly affects profits. Train employees in customer service, good communication, and clearly outline their responsibilities. More important, outline what types of behavior cannot be tolerated, and the consequences.

7. Superman
You may own the business and you may be able to do everything, but you can’t do everything well. Learn how to Hire the right staff and delegate responsibility. If necessary, outsource tasks like bookkeeping and office work.

8. No Mastermind
Create a network of advisors or a mentor. Sounds expensive for a small operation? The cost of professional help is less than the cost of going out of business. Advisors can be associates, the local Chamber of Commerce, friends, or a business coach/consultant. Ask them to monitor you and your business. Having someone to bounce ideas off and get an objective opinion is critical.

9. Stop Learning
Business owners should never stop improving their management, people, communication, and sales skills. No one knows everything they need to know about every topic. The adage, “Ignorance kills,” is relevant in today’s business world. Another relevant saying is “what you don’t know can destroy you.”

10. You never fail until you quit
Some of the most successful entrepreneurs failed several times before doing succeeding. If you are failing then learn and try again. Never quit. The most common mistake is throwing good money after bad. A business is floundering, so more and more money is invested. A better idea might be to salvage the good from the existing business and start a new one.



Learn more about blogging and making money online at wealthy-writer website.

Traps Common to Small Businesses: Pt 1

1. What works will always work.
Ideas are the currency of entrepreneurs. Play with many ideas and see which ones bring money and success. Trends change, the local consumer base will change, so your store must change. Many retailers make the mistake of investing most of their money into fixtures and décor, making it impossible to change when the local economy changes.

Stores should never stagnate. Displays, colors, image and attitude needs to change.

2. Procrastination
Many retailers wait until they are in financial trouble before implementing a plan of action. Advertising runs on a six-month cycle. Waiting until sales drops can devastate an otherwise solid company.

3. “Advertising doesn’t work.”
This myth contributes to the high failure rate of small businesses. Successful businesses invest 25% of their profits into advertising. The belief that advertising doesn’t work comes from retailer’s lack of understanding. Newspapers may deliver 100 000 copies of your ad, but 30 000 copies are returned, 10 000 copies are never read, leaving 40 000 copies. Of them, only 10% of readers will see your ad. This means that a $900.00 ad in a large newspaper will produce less results than a $900.00 ad supporting a local event.

Retailers also expect ads to produce instant results. Not all products appeal to impulse buyers. Knowing your product, customers, and advertising mediums is the foundation of a good advertising campaign.

4. No Marketing Plan
Marketing plans keep you ahead of the pack, not trailing behind, following what works for other retailers. A marketing plan puts your store in front of the right types of people. A good marketing plan eliminates the need for trying things to see if they work. They outline different plans of actions, then when compared to the customer satisfaction data, identify most cost effective and potentially successful plan.

5. Know Your Customers
A solid customer care program can include newsletters, e-newsletters, fliers, surveys, and suggestion/complaint boxes. The information collected at the point of sale, and through customer feedback, can give your business the edge, leaving the competition in the dust. However, customer feedback data is useless without a good marketing plan.




Learn more about blogging and making money online at wealthy-writer website.