Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Providing Affordable Web Hosting Solution

By Johnson

The contents of your website will affect the amount of money you have to pay to your Web Hosting service. Although your website only consists of some web pages, but if you also provide streaming video or audio to visitors, the cost of bandwidth is something you should take into consideration very carefully.

It is highly recommended to opt for a plan that allows you to use bandwidth more than your current requirement so anything you use over it will not cost you extra usage fees. The storage capacity you need depends on the type of website you intend to build.

For instance, if you have a plan to build an article directory where the web space required would grow rapidly you should think about the cost of that extra web space you would need. If your business plan involves the usages of more than one websites, consider to use a web hosting provider which gives you a facility to host all of your domains under one account.

That way it doesn't matter how many domain names you host, you only have to pay for one hosting account. It is also a good idea to thing about the cost of using an add-on domain in case you want to build more websites later. Look at what kind of policies an Affordable Web Hosting company has. Will they charge you automatically when the web space or the bandwidth you use have reached the limit?

Avoiding surprises is a necessity in business, especially when it comes to extraneous costs. Those are some essential rules in finding an affordable web hosting plan. Keep in mind that today the count of Web Hosting providers is endless and most of them claim as the number one company in the world with the very best cheap rates. Before finalizing on a Web Hosting service, do your homework and plan ahead.

Nowadays, because of the competition is getting harder, many Web Hosting companies don't charge you for setting up a new account.

So if you find the one that does it, simply go to other companies. Are there any extra charges for any application or database you might need to make sure that you don't have to spend extra money for setting up databases, putting FrontPage on your site, creating email accounts and using other common applications? They all should be free. Some web hosting providers allow you to build unlimited number of databases and email accounts.

About the Author:

Monday, June 16, 2008

How to Choose a Domain Name That Attracts The Right Customers

By Theo McLanahan

In today's world, a website is one of the fastest ways of attracting attention to your business. And the first step to setting up a website is choosing a good domain name.

This is one of the things that often goes overlooked - how your domain name attracts or turns away customers. Let's look at a few tips.

1. Make Sure Your Domain Describes Your Business

Your domain name should make it clear to your visitors what your website is about, even before they land on the site. Don't make them guess what you're offering.

For example, if your name happens to be Sue Brown and you own a hair salon called Sue's Hair Salon, get a domain name like, www.sueshairsalon.com instead of www.suebrown.com. Seems pretty obvious, but you'll be amazed at how many business owners use their personal names as domain names instead of choosing one that specifically describes their business.

Also, try to keep your domain name within a range of 13-15 characters, as shorter domain names tend to stick in people's minds. It also makes it easier for them to type out your web address in their browsers without too much head scratching.

2. Get A Domain That Includes Your Keywords

It's becoming increasingly important for business owners to have their websites indexed and ranked well in search engines like Google.com, MSN.com and Yahoo.com. And it helps this cause tremendously if you have a keyword-rich domain name. The reason for this is simple: Your potential customers search using specific keyword phrases to find what they're looking for.

Spending the time to research your keywords and find a domain that uses them, while still meeting the first criteria (descriptive, short as possible) is well worth the time.

There are plenty of other things you'll need to do to get good rankings in the search engines, but your domain name sets the foundation for everything else. Also, avoid using dashes in your domain even if it makes it easier to find a keyword-rich name. Hyphens are believed to hurt your rankings in some search engines.

3. Can You Use A Different Extension Than .com?

Well, the answer is yes and no. There's no reason you can't use a different extension like .net or .biz if that's the only way you can get the domain you want. It's not the best choice however, because everybody thinks in terms of .com. If your site uses something else, it's going to be an uphill battle to get people to recognize your site. If someone else already owns the .com version, they're going to get a lot of free traffic thanks to your marketing.

How would you like your potential customers to end up on your competitor's client list thanks to the time and money you spend on marketing?

If you're setting up a website for specific types of organizations, a non-profit group for example which should use .org, the best way to go is to stick with .com.

Don't rush into picking a domain name. Take the time to research your market and find keyword phrases that people actually search for. Websites such as Wordtracker.com and GoodKeywords.com can help you with this. Taking the time to plan correctly in the beginning will pay off well in the long term.

About the Author:

Starting a website - how your business can benefit

By Poppy

There are many ways of benefiting from starting your own website. The benefits you gain will depend on the type of business you are running. For musicians a website is a good way of allowing a wide audience to access your work. You can place MP3 files or videos of yourself on the site and allow a wide range of viewers to see and hear your work. If your music is aimed at a younger audience, make full use of the social networking sites.

Many people suffering from medical conditions feel isolated. You may feel you are the only person with the problem. Start a website. Talk about your condition, find links to treatments, medical resources or forums. Other people with the same condition will find your site. Give them a means to contact you - you will make friends and find yourself less isolated. For anyone with an interest in family history a website can be a useful way of allowing others doing similar research to contact you. Allow others to contact you to share your research.

It is possible to make some extra money from a website. You can use adverts or affiliate sales to earn some extra income. It will take work to drive traffic to your site.

If you are running a business a website can be invaluable. For holiday lettings an automated booking system saves time and allows visitors to book directly. Your own site allows you to provide your potential visitors with all the information they need. If your business sells a range of products, a website allows you to show your wares to a wide audience, including those who may not be local to you.

For businesses selling a range of products or services, a website can be a quick and easy way of promoting your products and services to a wide audience both at home and at a distance. These days more and more people use the Internet to find information on a wide range of subjects and Internet shopping is becoming ever more popular. Don't miss out. Use the Internet to promote your business to the widest possible audience.

If you are a voluntary sector or charitable organization, a website can help put your message across cheaply. You can inform the public about the services your offer and may even find your donations increase as more people hear about your work.

For staff recruitment a website can be a cheap and effective way of reaching a wide range of potential employees. Put your job descriptions and application forms online and save your applicants time and postage.

There are costs involved in setting up a website - monetary and time - but these are minimal compared with the benefits of starting a website.

About the Author: