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Contains:
Web Hosting,
Web host provider,
Domain registration, eCommerce, and asp, web site, host, service, dedicated,
small business, solution
Web Hosting and the value of web host providers is the last thing on
anybody's mind when they prepare their business for its online presence.
However, when it goes down, it can wipe you out.
After forty-two websites and a massive amount of good and bad experiences
with all kinds of hosts and all manner of web sites, here is our checklist
that we use and that is absolutely non-negotiable.
1) Hosting must be search engine friendly.
The search engines are always your primary customer.
Simply put, there are hosts that are 'bin sites' where the search engines
will simply not go into.
Now, they will follow a URL to wherever they have to go to get it.
However, they will not voluntarily go looking through some hosts to find a
site without a specific request. That is not good.
A partial but important clue: If it's free or cheap, that should always
be a red flag.
A simple truth: A web site that can be found, will make more sales than
one that cannot be found.
Even the worst looking web site in the world will make more sales than
the best web site in the world if the worst one can be more easily found and
seen by people ready, willing, and able to buy the products or services on
it.
So... the primary key is to be found.
So, among the several crucial factors for your site to be found these are
the most important ones:
2) Reliable and Secure servers. Your
site is down a lot more often than you think or realize.
While you must appreciate that servers do require normal maintenance,
they do occasionally crash. And, that's where the difference between a good,
serious host who backs up his files daily can keep you from being wiped out.
Been there. Don't let it happen to you.
3) Flexibility in terms of bandwidth.
How many times have you surfed only to land on an interesting link that
generates a web host note that the site has exceeded its monthly bandwidth
quota?
For various legitimate reasons a web site may have seasonal or other
special need of expanded bandwidth.
In this case you need both the larger size bandwidth as well as host
appreciation for and ability to deliver that extra bandwidth. Many (lots) of
hosts simply don't have the server capacity to offer that extra bandwidth.
So, beware.
While that may not be an issue when you're just starting out, it may
become a serious problem later on. And, changing hosts is not as easy as you
may think and could cause permanent damage to your online presence... as I
have found out the hard way.
4) The number of email accounts.
While in the beginning you may feel you need only one or two, the fact is
that as your presence online grows into a more mature use of more advanced
marketing channels within your online activities, you will need upwards of
dozens. On one of our seven year old sites, we use 107 email accounts each
one of which identifies a specific marketing channel.
5) Disc space expandable.
This is important for your future. In the beginning, you may have a page
or two or a few more. And, maybe that is the intended goal. But, as you
mature your site can grow by literally thousands of pages including
doorways, blogs, and rss feeds not to mention the dozen or so new channels
still to be discovered and made available as targeted traffic generators.
Such is the fact of life on the internet.
6) Speed.
Two things I look at are: how quickly can I upload my files especially my
traffic generators and how quickly my sites open when a surfer finds me.
Your host plays a pivotal role in both processes.
If a file gets stuck because their server is inadequate, then you have a
major problem in having to break up your files and almost baby-feed them
online. This can result in incomplete pages and incomplete files. And, that
will cost you.
If your main web site page does not open up in a split second for your hard-earned
visitor, they're gone instantly... forever! Nobody can afford that.
7) Security.
Let's face it the world is full of cyber cowards and internet crackpots
whose only value to society is less than zero.
Some simply try to hurt innocent and hard working people while others are
just low life thieves. And, until some world body can grab control of the
net and these jerkoffs, we all have to do the best we can.
It all starts with your host.
Deal hosting is usually a referral program to a referral program
to a referral program where there is one host and a massive number of
sub-hosts too many of whom are just opportunists. That is not to say that
there are not some really good people... because I know of several of them.
However....
While I put as little sensitive information as possible on my sites and
have strong anti-crap software in my computers, I also rely on my host to
have his / her security measures in place as a strongest possible front line
of defense. I hope that makes sense.
8) Price.
Pricing is important to us. We are always attentive to price. However,
from painful experience, price is also somewhat irrelevant when the absence
of a quality host can put you out of business in a nano-second. Been there.
And, it hurts!
I have found that the $4/mo stuff is worse than a waste of time. It is a
costly waste of time.
I have found that only a very high volume, full eCommerce site needs to
cost $30 or more a month.
The average good, full service web site should be hosted at the $10 level
assuming that everything else on this page is offered and readily available
as described.
So, while price is important, common sense should still prevail if you're
online to make money.
9) Statistics.
Who is visiting your site? Which search engines are sending which
visitors to your site? Which search engines are scoring your site the best?
What search strings are they picking up so that you can know what to
accentuate more or less in your coding or page content? What is your hits /
visitors ratio? What pages are they landing on? Where are your visitors
going when they come to your site? What pages are they exiting so that you
can determine where the weaknesses are and can be upgraded?
And, that's a partial list.
Web statistics are your life line to what is or is not happening and what
to do about them. The quality of those stats will determine the quality of
how you a) recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your site and b) how
and why to repair them.
Any other way is just shooting blanks. And, that can cost you dearly.
10) How many domains per account.
Now, you may have only one site for now. However, down the road you may
decide that "Hey! this web stuff is really quite good." Then, you
may think of mini sites built around maximizing individual products
or services that seem to show great promise within the current domain.
Mini sites are very powerful.
Even if you're not thinking that way yet, build the possibility into the
equation such that you can expand your hosting program into bigger options
without having to go through the real hassle of changing web hosts.
But, the option itself should be there at the outset.
11) Affiliate program software.
I have many dozens of affiliates and more weekly. And, up until now there
were two alternatives. We could go with ClickBank or we could buy our own
(fairly expensive) software.
The rule in any business success model is always control your own
destiny. We could not believe what we saw when entered this
program.
Even if today you do not yet have your own affiliate program, please
raise it up to at least a possibility for some time down the road.
Believe me, taking a bit of your current marketing costs and pay it out
to affiliates only when they make a sale is a great way to make much more
easy money than by trying to do it all yourself. Our program has the
software built in and opens huge new doors of opportunity for you. .
12) Secure Shopping cart.
Simple fact: the simpler and safer you make the buying experience for
your visitor, the more sales you will make.
A good shopping cart program makes buying quicker by reducing time and
the number of clicks. The more you put your people through hoops, the more
time they have to wonder if they are making the right decision at this web
site.
A safe, secure, easy-to-use shopping cart = more sales.
13) Secure ebook download.
Since a good measure of our income comes from our eBooks, And, since we
have always had to do it manually, this added feature has been a huge
cost-saving benefit.
In doing downloads, security and speed are always the issue... otherwise
you are giving away your books for free or simply losing sales.
14) Live and proactive support.
Despite the large and growing number of sites that
I have, I am nowhere near being as expert as I would like. But, even if I
were, the constancy of the internet is constant change.
You have to work occasionally with your web host to
engage in how new changes will impact your site especially as it involves
hosting.
And, since I accept that they know much more than I
do, I like that I can send an email and get a human response.
As I write this section, I am still waiting for
responses from two other web hosts while I know full well that they will not
reply.
Further, as a bonus, my web host provides a live
chat forum where any of us can post a request or provide information that
helps each other in our online activities. That is very helpful and
important and part of the support community.
15) Ease of operation.
Nothing is easy and fast and simple on the internet. It changes too often
and for far too many reasons.
In fact, the tools and knowledge we use today that generate over 80% of
our results did not even exist just two years ago. And, what we will be
using two years from now to generate 80% of our business then hasn't even
been invested yet.
Through support and the forums and live assistance exactly when we need
it, your web host should be as close as possible to being as easy as
possible to navigate your files. This is a must!
We demand a lot of our hosts... because we have learned from having had
good hosts and bad hosts. And, since the difference between making a good
living online and making no money at all is truly a definable, qualitative
one, you must align yourself always with the best of the best.
I hope the foregoing has helped you. I make my living on the internet. We
have seen and been through the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is what we
have learned about and expect from hosting. And, VodaHost
are the guys and gals from whom we get our best results.
If you need any further help, just drop me a line.
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