To ASP or Not to ASP
By Jonathan Baldwin
Microsoft is King. Certainly in the PC market, Microsoft has dominated and defeated most competition. Only in recent years, thanks to a savvy marketing department and the abysmal marketing of Vista, Apple began to make ground against Microsoft. The only other competitors are from the Unix variety.
And this is where the split in web hosting occurs. The majority of web hosting services tend to be Linux, due to the lower cost, and added security of using that operating system. However, Microsoft, being as it is, had developed proprietary software that cannot be run “as is” on Linux based systems. The most prominent of these being Active Server Pages (ASP).
Today, perhaps the majority of webmasters will agree that JSP exceeds ASP, however since Microsoft has already gotten many webmasters to use ASP, not all of them are willing to make the switch. Hence, the web hosting provider’’s quandry. In order to grab this large market of potential customers, web hosts have only two choices. Either to install a Virtual Private Server with Chilisoft ASP, or buy a windows server for those customers.
The first option, installing a Virtual Private Server with Chilisoft can be expensive, Chilisoft seem to no longer be for sale, having once gone for nearly $500. Now Sun as of June 2007 is no longer even offering Chilisoft ASP for sale, requiring perhaps that you buy one of their servers (usually in excess of $1,500) though private deals with web hosting companies might be possible.
In the event a company somehow does manage to get Chilisoft ASP onto one of their servers, the VPS cannot support both Chilisoft and Cold Fusion, which may exclude some users from it.
The second option may be more practical: simply buy a windows server. However the process of managing dedicated servers or shared hosting servers can be quite drastically different on a Windows versus Linux based system. This usually means hiring a new employee to manage the new responsibilities that entails.
In the end, the web hosting company will have to decide: will the profits from the new ASP users exceed the potential costs of installing chilisoft or managing a windows server? Will those costs be passed onto users? Will that make the web hosting service no longer competitive with cheap web hosting services” prices?
With the potential need to hire new employees to manage the windows systems, or added expenses from chilisoft, which will already increase the burden on one of your Linux systems, it would be a difficult choice. The web hosting service will have to decide what the potential gains in customers could be from making that leap to supporting ASP, and whether that outweighs the significant costs.
About The Author
Jonathan Baldwin runs a web hosting reviews website, where you can find this article, To ASP or Not to ASP, and reviews of ASP web hosting services.
Introduction to Windows Web Hosting
By anand maheshwari
As we all knows that we don”t have direct access to web server that’’s why the web server which is hosting our website is a Linux sever or a windows server never matters for us as all the games we play is via web hosting control panels or via ftp while a novice webmaster take it as a confusion that if they are working on a windows machine then they shall not host their website on a Linux based server while this is just a myth which make no sense at all.
The only thing which make sense is that if your website is coded by programmer in ASP or dot net technology then for sure you need to think for your web hosting needs for an windows environment web server else while if your website is made-up with html and flash sort of normal html structure then you might think to host your website on Linux or windows any one of web server as that no matters for you in that case.
Windows based web server gives you environment to host your website over IIS server normally windows 2003 server gives you environment of IIS version 7 while on the other hand windows 2008 gives you higher version of IIS server environment. One of the greatest things with Microsoft windows server is this that it gives developers an environment with better development tools and opportunities.
For example, FrontPage extension is one of the great utility plugged in with windows server which makes your website updation work more easier and more faster as with using FrontPage extension you can update your website on the server in real-time. Another common utility of Microsoft windows server is ASP, a Microsoft’’s patented scripting language. This programming language gives you a powerful environment to develop dynamic websites. Microsoft windows based server also gives you better choice for database backend such as MSSQL 2005, MySQL and MSACCESS databases.
One of the greatest benefits of windows based server is this that windows based servers are compatible for multi language interfaces such as windows server can work with PHP and MySQL environment easily which are features of Linux server at core level.
Traditionally, windows servers are been treated as more expensive servers compare to Linux server while today market dot net development is in huge demands thus that make developers to think for windows based servers for hosting of their web projects thus next time if you develop any dynamic website you definitely can think for windows based server along with dot net technology as a backed for your web development needs.
About The Author
Anand is a webmaster for Windows Hosting & Windows Host visit: http://hosting.b4uindia.com
Web Design for Business
By Sameep Shah
Personal web design and web design for business are two completely different elements. If you”re just having fun creating your own personal website, then colours and graphics can reflect your personal style and taste and may be a great asset to your site. However, when it comes to a business website, you need to have a professional appearance that is functional and appealing to the exact type of person or organisation you”re trying to appease. For example, if you cater to professional business clients, you need a professional-looking site. However, if you”re a business that caters to young adults, having a more interactive and, dynamic site might be more your style.
Web design for business is largely based on personal preference and industry experience as to what works for other companies. If you”re not sure what you need, research similar companies that have successful websites, and use the concepts they have to build your dream website. Don”t be afraid to see what your competitors are doing.
You can also consult with professional designers and design companies to get a better feel for what you need, if you”re less informed on the web design end of starting your business. Often, it’’s better to invest the money into hiring professionals so that your site turns out to be the best that it can be. It’’s not that you”re not capable, but would you fix your own television or hire a trained professional?
Getting traffic to your website takes more than just great web design for business. However, once you get people to your site, you need to have that little edge that makes them want to stay. They aren”t going to want to stay at a site that isn”t intriguing, so appeal to your customers. If you”re not sure how, put yourself in their shoes, or do a research study, ask friends, family or colleagues to find out what people would like. Sure, all this is going to cost money. However, the investment will be worth it in the end, when you have a website that outlasts the test of time and provides you with more business than you ever imagined.
No one can guarantee the success of your website, but having great web design for business purposes is only going to assist you in succeeding. Not having a functional, well designed website is NOT an option in today’’s fast paced e-commerce society.
About The Author
We create, build and maintain attractive web sites and awesome logo’’s at | darwin web design. You can visit our online website by visiting us at darwin website design.
How To Create A High Quality Website Design
By Sameep Shah
The design of your website is going to be very important to the success of your business. If visitors cannot easily navigate your site or find what they need, they will likely leave your site in search of a site that is better designed. Everyone starting a new business or website is under a strict budget, but website design is one element of your business start up that you don”t want to skimp on. It doesn”t have to be a million dollar website, just good enough to get the business that you need. The elements that you include will be completely up to you, but it’’s always helpful to get suggestions from your designer.
When it comes time to choose a website and a designer, you might not know where to start. The good news is that there are plenty of website designers out there that can help you with all of your website design needs, no matter how big or small. Even if you just need a simple site to get started, there are people that can help you. Unless you”re skilled in programming or able to use a basic template program, you shouldn”t attempt website design on your own because the results could be disastrous. It is one expense that is always worth paying for so that it can be done professionally and properly.
The cost of web design varies greatly, depending on the size of your site and the different elements that you want to include. Overall, you can expect to spend anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars or more on website design. If you have an idea of what you want, you can get consultations from designers, and these are usually free. That way, you”ll know that you”re getting exactly what you want without spending a dime before you”re absolutely certain about your decision. There are so many different options when it comes to web design that you might feel overwhelmed. However, you shouldn”t, because there are people that can help walk you through the process to ensure that you”re prepared for the process at hand.
Also make sure to ask your webmaster to include google analytics so that you can track how the website is doing, what pages visitors like, what they don”t like, where your visitors are coming from and most importantly tracking conversions ratio from visitor to customer.
Remember the secrets behind a successful website are simple - good design, easy navigation, build credibility, generate targeted traffic and most importantly provide great services.
About The Author
For more information visit Netlyte | quality website design. You can also request more information to find out how we can help you generate more visitors at website designers.
Critical Planning is a Must in Web Hosting
By Jonathan Baldwin
Above all, in web hosting there are three key issues that must be planned out carefully in order to run a successful web hosting business. First and most importantly, involves running a cost-efficient, but effective customer support team. Second, involves a error proof e-commerce system. Third, failsafe equipment.
The most important factor in web hosting is customer service. A few arguments can be made for pricing and features, however, any gains made from those will be lost quickly if using an inept customer support team. If one’’s web hosting service is cheap, the onus is on the web hosting company to defeat the myth that cheap means low-quality. If a customer is impressed with the customer service, in turn this may lead to positive word-of-mouth spreading about your business, which leads to free sales leads in the future.
The second factor is fine-tuning your e-commerce system to ensure it will not make errors, and perhaps fine-tune those people who are handling it. As Dreamhost demonstrated in January 2008, a simple “typo” on a charge they were doing for the prior billing cycle led to $2 million in erroneous charges. The resulting fury over it, led to a substantial portion of their customers leaving, and left bitterness in many of those who continued to use the service, as many suffered increased interest payments and overdraft charges, regardless that the refunds were given. Such a situation can deal a deathblow to any web hosting company and must be prevented even if it means shelling out more money for a better e-commerce system, or hiring a more qualified worker to handle it.
Third is to ensure the equipment hosting your clients” webpages is failsafe. Once again, Dreamhost provides a good example of what not to do, which was having a lack of sufficient back-up power to last through the LA blackouts, whereas a fellow Los Angeles based web hosting company LunarPages managed to survive both of the larger scale blackouts over the past decade. In this industry, many of the potential clients are well-researched and will remember such errors. For those who don”t remember it, there might be a dozen more anti-websites which spout hatred of your product over that event, which can serve to deter many potential buyers to a competitor who does not share that problem.
All of these factors are important to remember in sustaining your customer base, and will help it to grow as long-time customers will frequently recommend their hosting service to friends and colleagues.
About The Author
Jonathan Baldwin runs a Web Hosting Comparison website, where you can find this article, Critical Planning is a Must in Web Hosting, and reviews of LunarPages and other Cheap Web Hosting services.
Non-Searchable Text In Web Design
By Scott Lindsay
Web design pulls from many different schools of thought in the development and implementation of the pages ultimately designed. It is possible to use creative graphics imposed over text for a creative look, but in the end it will not help achieve positive site rankings. You can employ Flash design and still find a lackluster response by search engines. You can even develop beautiful brochures that are downloadable by Portable Document Files (pdf) and have little positive gain in site rankings.
Why does all this work seem fruitless? The answer lies in the title of this article. In each case the information presented is absolutely unsearchable by search engines.
To be clear, the content on a web page is only useful to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes if the content that is read is a text format. If the content is not text it will have no value to your SEO objectives.
Text in JPG (or other graphic file)
This method of showing text has been around the longest and is probably the least used today. Essentially the premise is to create text and graphics, save them as a photographic element and then place them on the website. It would be much better to place all text in the body of your web page and then insert optimized photos throughout the text.
Portable Document File
Some web designers may want to deliver an attractive brochure, manual, or other document as a pdf file that is downloadable by the end user. This does, in fact, provide a great tool for those individuals that may already know of the file and a download in a fully produced format is just what they need. However, if the text would benefit your website in SEO strategies you might consider allowing a text version to appear on your site with an alternate pdf download for those who need it.
If you are concerned about copyright infringement you may not want to make the full text available online. In this case you should develop a keyword rich summary that will be searchable while refraining from publishing the full text (except in a non-altering pdf).
Flash
The use of flash combines great imagery with audio and animation, however, this creative design feature does not assist search engines in ranking your site in more favorable ways.
Some sites are developing a hybrid site. The first side of the website is pure Flash, with the other side is text driven. In this case the end user has the opportunity to utilize all the features of Flash while the text driven side provides search engines with all the searchable information needed for positive site rankings.
Today’’s rule of thumb - when seeking improved site rankings, use text.
About The Author
Now you can Make A Website or Make Your Own Website incredibly fast at HighPowerSites.com. Start a HOME BUSINESS and Resell Ebooks at BooksWealth.com.
What to Look For in Small Business Web Hosting
By Brian Anthony
Finding the right web hosting company for your small business can be a daunting task. A simple internet search can reveal 1,000′’s of service providers offering to provide you small business web hosting.
If you are a successful small business owner, you don”t have time to compare and evaluate all of your choices. This article will give you a way to quickly identify if a hosting provider will fit you small business web hosting needs.
Choose Your Platform
If you are a developer yourself or if you have a website you are transferring over, make sure you find a provider with the right capabilities. A Microsoft based site will not function properly on a LINUX server. However, if you don”t yet have a site built and are planning on hosting a very basic site, the hosting platform will make little difference.
Website Creator and Site Templates
If you don”t have the knowledge to create your own website design and layout, don”t worry. Most of the good web hosting companies have fantastic tools available that allow you to simply choose a template and then drag and drop your content into place. These WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editors can save a small business owner days in frustrating web design.
If you can”t do web design, make it a priority to find a provider that provides plenty of pre-built website templates (at least 500) and an easy editor. Most web hosting companies that provide these tools allow you to see a demo before you commit to buy. Try it out and make sure it will work for you.
Database Support
Many small businesses overlook the importance of robust database capabilities in their small business web hosting providers. This can be a major mistake. Even if you don”t plan on programming any database functionality into your website, many built in forms and email applications utilize these databases to function properly.
If you plan in doing any sort of lead capture and follow up system on your website (and you should) make sure your small business hosting provider provides either MySQL or standard SQL.
Free Domain Names
If you”re creating a website, you need at least one good domain name. These can run between eight and twelve dollars a year. The top small business web hosting companies pay this fee for you as long as you are their customer. In fact, some of them provide you with three ( you should always have your website registered 3 times under .com, .net and .biz).
Marketing Support and PPC Credit
If you”re looking for small business web hosting, it means you need to promote your company. The top web hosting providers not only furnish you with design tools, but they also provide credit to use with the top PPC (pay per click) and other online marketing programs.
Don”t overlook this. If you”re paying $10 a month for your site and are getting over $300 in marketing expenses paid for, it can pay for the cost of your website many times over!
There are many factors to consider when choosing a small business web hosting provider. This article has highlighted the top priorities, but we have also created a website that evaluates the pros and cons of the top small business web hosting companies (See the resource box / about me section for a link). I invite you to use that site as you evaluate your next steps.
Good luck!
About The Author
As a website developer and consultant, Brian Anthony has extensively evaluated the majority of web hosting alternatives for small businesses. He passes that information on to his clients and provides in-depth reviews for small business web hosting here.
How Hostgator Came to Dominate Webhosting
By Jonathan Baldwin
Hostgator web hosting has gone from zero to hero. In a short time, Hostgator has accelerated to becoming a major player on the web hosting scene, with over 1 million customers achieved earlier this year. Most web hosting forums are flooded with people generally pleased with their service and helping Hostgator via their constant positive mentions. The secret, may be that Hostgator may have simply gone back to the basics of web hosting. What makes a good web hosting business? Price, features, and customer service would be the three main components of a great web hosting service, then marketing that business comes in as the final component. In evaluating Hostgator these basics of the webhosting industry must be taken into account before any more advanced analysis is done.
Regarding pricing, Hostgator is certainly competitive. While they offer plans starting at $4.95 a month, considering it only allows one domain it’’s really not doable for the majority of webmasters. The $7.95 domain jumps drastically up and allows unlimited domains so it will fulfill most casual webmastering needs, and all of them allow unlimited FTP accounts, so you won”t be constrained at any price.
Next up, features, and Hostgator sure does have many of those. The one that truly stands out to me was the unlimited MYSQL databases, which I thought I would never use, but if you run many websites and want to seperate the databases you can use many very quickly. 1&1 hosting for example only allows 100 with their most expensive non-dedicated plan, much more expensive than Hostgator’’s. Hostgator offers PHP 5, SSI, Ruby on Rails, SSH, Python, cURL, Chilisoft ASP, JSP support, or even free module installation (not all webhosts offer free installation).
In the customer service department, Hostgator soars above all others. On every issue experienced, Hostgator dealt with in a quick, even daresay, intelligent manner. From even at four in the morning, one can talk to a service representative online, who is able to handle surprisingly complex issues.
This leads to the fourth component, marketing. A recent venture into becoming a “green web hosting” effort, combined with charitable donations and free hosting given to non-profits may help provide the clean image that can help encourage customers to promote them. And thanks to their superior customer service, online forums everywhere are abuzz with positive reviews of Hostgator, giving them the acclaim they need. And the relative lack of Hostgator complaints compared to other web hosting companies also helps bolster their image. This will cut down the marketing costs needed to garner a good public image, and is a tremendous boon to their business, and perhaps the key of their success lies in the positive spin that their great customer service allows them.
About The Author
Jonathan Baldwin runs a Web Hosting Comparison website, where you can find this article, How Hostgator Dominated Web Hosting, and reviews of Hostgator and other Cheap Web Hosting services.
The Yahoo Unlimited Hosting Myth
By Jonathan Baldwin
If you look at Yahoo’’s web hosting page, Yahoo truly has some bold claims. Unlimited hard disk space, unlimited bandwidth, sounds too good to be true? Well, that’’s because it is. If you read the fine print you will find some amazingly ambiguous terms. Yahoo claims it is “unlimited” as long as it is “appropriate usage”. The Yahoo definition of “inappropriate usage” would be any business that has “a sustained demand that places undue burden on our systems or negatively impacts use by small, independently owned and operated businesses”.
Quite odd for a “unlimited claim”. The Yahoo web hosting claim of unlimited bandwidth is clearly misleading and false. I have no qualms with their service at all, in fact I think it’’s great, and it even won Editor’’s Choice from PC magazine in 2005. However, what is a “sustained demand that places undue burden” on their system? There is no amount defined, so if your business grows to a large proportion you may see them suspend your account.
Summarily, Yahoo web hosting’’s claim to unlimited bandwidth being offered is definitely a fine line for them to walk on. If they tell a lawyer-crazy customer that they can no longer host there, they had better not tell him the reason was too much bandwidth usage. Such a subjective claim as “undue burden” is questionable. After all, is not “unlimited bandwidth” going to be an “undue burden”? However the marketing tactics are understandable, outright saying “unlimited usage within reasonable boundaries” is not as tempting.
It seems to truly be a word game. If one believes the more popular term of unlimited meaning “infinite”, that would not apply to Yahoo web hosting as finite amounts of bandwidth are alloted. However if one believes that it merely means “without restriction” it would also be wrong, in that the restriction is there. Yahoo might hope to argue that a “small business” does not get the type of traffic that causes undue burden, however there are many exceptions indeed if one qualifies a business” size based on the number of employees hired. Most reasonable users understand that there is no such thing as infinite business offerings, and thus will display a healthy skepticism that will serve them well.
In the end, however, most reasonable customers who are receiving enough traffic to cause such an internet behemoth as Yahoo to feel “undue burden” would probably have monetized their website in a way to be able to pay for dedicated hosting without a problem. Overall, Yahoo’’s marketing strategy in using the term unlimited instead of large numbers as other web hosting companies do, seems to be effective and understandable to the common folk who don”t take words at face value, if slightly confusing to the more researched and technical user.
About The Author
Jonathan Baldwin runs a Web Hosting Comparison website, where you can find this article, Yahoo Unlimited Hosting Myth, and reviews of Cheap Web Hosting.
What is a Managed Services Provider?
By Amy Nutt
A managed services provider, or MSP, is revolutionizing the way in which a business manages its information. This is because the MSP manages that information for the business, giving the business a little less to worry about in their day-to-day operations. This is the perfect example of continuous outsourcing of an IT function.
Many businesses today are finding that outsourcing is a more cost-effective way to go about business, especially if they don”t have an in-house staff to take care of IT functions. It is especially beneficial because of the fact that the only function of an MSP is to ensure the proper function of the systems that they manage.
Services provided by MSPs
There are quite a few services that can be provided by MSPs. Those services include desktop and security monitoring, remote network, remote data backup, patch management, and technical assistance.
All of this is available at several different price structures. The various price structures are set up because some businesses need services that others may not. This offers a wide range of flexibility to the business, which is probably why MSPs are growing in popularity. They are also growing in popularity due to the fact that the costs to keep these operations in-house are on the rise. Businesses cannot simply see the sense in having in-house operations when operating in-house is more expensive than outsourcing these services to MSPs.
The benefits
There are a wide range of benefits to the company when using MSPs. Those benefits include:
- System monitoring 24 hours per day 7 days per week. This is something that a lot of businesses are not able to take care of themselves. Their IT staff comes in for an eight hour work day and that is it.
- Everything is taken care of by one company instead of multiple vendors. This avoids a lot of confusion.
- The price contracts are fixed, so the cost of using an MSP is not a mystery. The company knows exactly what to expect. Even if a crisis comes about, the price stays the same. The company is not charged more just because everyone had to work a little harder.
- The average revenue per user increases due to reduced costs. This is a result of the company not having to pay an hourly wage to IT employees that can equal tens of thousands of dollars per year.
- The cost for maintaining an IT staff is reduced because the service is outsourced.
- There is no cost to build their own IT management system. This is something that can be incredibly expensive because of equipment costs and staff costs.
As for the services offered, the list goes on and on, but one will find that managed integrated access, networking, and remote access are amongst the services. There is also network marketing and management, configuration management, asset management, managed videoconferencing, managed firewall, managed voice security, incident management, threat assessment monitoring, and much more.
What are the drawbacks?
There cannot be benefits without the other extreme, which are drawbacks. Just like with everything, there is always something. In this case, it is the fact that there is a lack of on-site repair. MSPs can fix software problems from their location, but fixing hardware issues is not possible. That is why it is good for a company to have provisions in place in case a hardware issue occurs. However, even companies with an IT staff on board may have to occasionally have another company come in to fix hardware issues, so this is not something that is specific to MSPs.
Nevertheless, this is something that is growing in popularity, especially in a time where competitiveness requires a business to save as much money as possible. At the same time, the business is able to have the best of everything.
About The Author
SAS 70 certified data center provides solutions that will keep your data safe through managed security, disaster recovery solutions, managed IT services, managed hosting and other business continuity services.