Website Transfer

With all of the “how-low-can-you- go” wars among web hosting companies, many are offering extra perks to entice customers. One of the most popular perks is site-builder software, but can you harness the benefits of this software?  Do you need an IQ like Einstein to master site-builder software, or can amateurs use the features to create a professional website?

Should You Use Site-Builder Software?

Not all site-builder software is created equal.  Some are very user-friendly, while others offer complex features that may not be intuitive for a beginner.  There are several factors you want to consider before making the decision to utilize site-builder software for your website:

• Do you want your websites up-and-running quickly? Templates from site-builder software ensure that you can quickly develop a website, saving you significant time in comparison to building and coding one from scratch.
• Are you on a budget? Without having to hire a web programmer and designer, you can save on your website costs by utilizing site-builder software.  This is an excellent option for start-up businesses with limited budgets.
• Consider the time spent building the website vs. the time spent operating the business. Again, site-builder software can help streamline the website development process, which means that you can spend more time focusing on the operations of your business.

Utilizing an intuitive, user-friendly site-building software program will be the key to reaping the benefits outlined above.  If your site-building software program is too complex, then you will spend too much time troubleshooting, which takes away your time and energy from your main focus: operating your online business.

Options that Abound in Site-Builder Software Programs

You can take advantage of the site-builder feature within your shared hosting account. With this option, you can find attractive templates that allow you to build a website in minutes –even if you’ve never done it before. Here are a few of the convenient options with many site-builder accounts:

• Thousands of templates in a design gallery that you can edit to your liking. If you’re not sure what to put under your tabs, no worries! The ready-to-go pages really help you along the way. You get ideas about what to say regarding your products, customer service and more.
• Your own personalized domain and sub-domains. Many template based website solutions include a personalized domain name. If you already have one, you can point it to your newly designed website by updating the domain name server at your registrar. You also have the freedom to choose your own page name. This gives you the opportunity to create sub-domains that are easy to remember or ones that are optimized for the search engines.
• The ability to customize your site with your own layouts, graphics and media clips. Whoever said that pre-made website were ugly was wrong! With just a little bit of know-how, you can alter the templates to look just as good (and sometimes better) than a custom designed site. You can change your text, your colors, your background images and more.
• Another great feature is the ability to collect information from your visitors to establish a database or to monitor customer satisfaction. You can allow your visitors to sign-up for your newsletter, to post public comments to your guestbook, or to track the progress of a new product promotion. With forms and polls, you can even get ideas on what products or services to release next.
• Many site-builder solutions offer personalized emails that allow you to communicate with your website visitors easily and professionally.
• Most site-builder solutions come with the ability to integrate popular shopping carts like Authorize.net or third-party systems like PayPal or Google Checkout. This makes it incredibly easy to set up a website, add products, and begin taking payments for orders right away.
• You can also get in on the social media craze. With the ability to upload script or code to your webpage, you can easily embed video and audio clips from YouTube or any other sharing site. You can also activate text or image links that will quickly take your visitors to another part of your site or to another webpage of your choice.

With this much functionality, you can quickly become a webmaster. Don’t worry about being considered an amateur. With today’s site-building software, no one will know!

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A quality web hosting provider will offer you free sitebuilder software, which can certainly be an asset to your website design efforts.  However, not all web hosts’ sitebuilder software is created equal.  When you are choosing the right web host for your endeavors, consider how robust their sitebuilder software is.  Some of the aspects to compare include:

• Features: Look for a web host that offers sitebuilder software with many fatures, such as image galleries, polls, and blog capabilities.
• Templates: How many templates does the web host offer?  Keep in mind that the more templates that a web host can provide, the better your options will be.  In addition, you may wish to peruse through their sample gallery of templates to determine if the general style is in line with your needs.  Some web hosts offer templates designed with personal uses in mind, while others specialize in business or ecommerce templates.
• Interface:  How intuitive is the sitebuilder software’s interface?  You want to choose one that allows you to easily change colors, add images, and edit content.
• Types of Sitebuilder Software:  Some robust web hosting companies even offer several different types of sitebuilder software in an effort to ensure that one meets your needs.

However, even the sitebuilder software from the best web hosting companies can be limited.  If you love the ease and flexibility you get with sitebuilder software, but loathe the dull, boring templates, you’re not alone.

To avoid the “look of an amateur,” some people endure the pain of trying to design the site themselves on a shared server. Others deal with the frustration of outsourcing the work and then waiting an eternity every time they need an update.

If you fall in any of those categories, you should know that you can have your cake and eat it too. It is possible (and easy) to keep your template-based sitebuilder website and get a custom look. You just have to know a few secrets to do it.

Giving Your Template a Fresh Face

Sitebuilder software has come a long way from its early years. Web hosting companies today offer sitebuilder software that includes great templates, lots of plug-ins and the ability to embed audio and video. However, if you have a creative spirit, these options will still not be enough. You could spend hours looking through the 2,000 templates that your web host offers and still not find the right vision.  Fortunately, there are lots of creative alternatives for making things work.

When you are perusing the templates, look for a foundation on which you can build.  Perhaps you like how a template is sectioned or flows easily. When you find the right foundation, clear out all of the details except the ones you need for your new look.  To customize it further, try a few of these ideas:

1. You can easily change the background color through the software’s interface.  If a solid color is not creative enough, think outside of the page.  For example, you could take a piece specialty paper from the craft store and scan it as an image. Import it into your website to use as a background.
2. Keep your website’s branding in mind as you customize the colors of the template.  You want the entire website to flow well, reminding visitors on each page of your branding or marketing message.  Make sure that the logos and headers that you add to the template are consistent and convey your message well.
3. Buy a presentation template and customize it to look just the way you want. Save it as an image and import it to your website.
4. Do you want to use a picture for your background without it the enlargement looking distorted? It’s easy. Upload the picture to your PC. Crop the image to show just one half. Save it. Do this with the other side as well. Upload each part to your site in just the right dimensions to fill up half of the page. You’ll be amazed at how perfectly they fit together. Only the discerning eye will know that it’s not a single photo.

In addition, there are many custom elements that you can buy to spruce up your website, including flash banners and stock video. Try a few of them to give your sitebuilder template a fresh face.

Options Beyond Sitebuilder Software

If you find that a sitebuilder template still does not suite your needs, there are affordable options available.  Peruse the internet looking for website designs that you like.  When you find one, scroll to the bottom of the page to see who designed it.

Another alternative is to find a site you like and then right click on the page to view the source code. You’ll get more details on how they designed and programmed the site, giving you tools to design your version.  Minimally, this could provide your programmer or designer with insight into what you like.

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With all of the success stories of internet entrepreneurs, many would-be business owners are considering opening their own membership website. Whereas there is substantial opportunity for success, it remains critical that you first obtain appropriate, flexible, and robust web hosting solutions.

Hosting Necessities for Powering Your Membership Website

• No Restrictions on Simultaneous Users: Many website owners spend exorbitant amounts of money advertising their membership websites. The hope is to generate substantial and simultaneous web traffic. Thus, it is imperative that your web hosting provider accommodates for a large volume of simultaneous connections to your membership web site.  Examine closely the terms and conditions of a potential web host prior to signing on the dotted line, or your ROI could be jeopardized when a web site is disabled due to excessive usage.
• Flexibility – An appropriate web hosting provider that empowers your membership website will allow for not only your current needs, but the needs of your potential growth. Thus, unlimited bandwidth and storage space are critical.
• The Ability to Update Products and Services Easily – A web host worthy of your consideration will offer a plethora of add-on options via the control panel. These website enhancing options will assist you in the management of your products and services. For example, the web hosting provider may offer you robust shopping cart software or a convenient content management system.
• Reliability – Ensuring that your web host provider has a solid and proven track record for consistent and reliable up-time is another important aspect that must be considered. Although no web host provider can guarantee 100% up-time, you should minimally expect a 99% or higher up-time with your web hosting plan. It is also important to learn of any up-time guarantees, as well as the means in which a web host will compensate you should they fall below their guaranteed up-time.

Types of Membership Sites

With a reliable, robust, and flexible web host on your side, you are then ready to embark upon your membership website endeavors. There are many products and services that work well for membership sites. Here are a few examples:

1. Careers – Career related membership sites typically provide support and resources for those who work in a particular field. You’ll find exclusive membership sites aimed at enhancing the careers of doctors, lawyers, mortgage professionals, journalists, musicians, artists, writers, designers and more.
2. Business – Many businesses set up membership sites as a way to deliver their services to the customer. Examples of this include insurance companies, government agencies, banks, tutors and trainers.
3. Hobbies – A membership site is a great way to share your creations with others who share your passion. Examples of hobby-related membership sites include photography, quilting, travel, fishing, chess, and car enthusiasts
4. Recreation – The things we do for fun are even more fun when we can nurture our need to belong to a group at the same time. Recreation membership site examples include movie and book clubs, computer gaming, collectors and arts and crafts
5. Health and fitness – When it comes to health and fitness, people enjoy having others to encourage them along the way. Bodybuilding, dieting and sports rehabilitations are examples of health related membership sites.
6. Education – A membership site is a great way to expand your knowledge about a wide variety of topics. A few examples are personal development, spiritual growth and finance management (i.e., stock trading and investing),
7. Associations and organizations -  Churches, neighborhood organizations, homeowners associations, study groups, family reunion groups and schools use membership sites regularly.

How Membership Sites Work

A membership website, also known as a subscription-based website, is one that archives and distributes content on a free or fee basis. It can be simple and offer a few basic features, or it can be a vast online knowledge portal, much like ones offered by colleges and universities.

Membership site subscribers are provided with a user name and password when they signup. This gives them access to the exclusive areas of the website. Some membership sites have various levels of access, such as bronze, silver and gold.

A membership site can be a standalone product or it can supplement an existing one. For instance, you can give added value to an expensive product by including an exclusive membership site for those who buy it.

Developing Your Concept

A membership site requires far more planning than a standard website. You will need to develop a concept to be clear on what your membership site is (or isn’t) going to be. During this stage, you will decide what type of content to offer and in what format (i.e., html, text, video or audio). You’ll also determine what levels of membership you intend to offer.

To get the most leverage from your membership site, you can incorporate other strategies like sell products, handle event registration and conduct surveys. With a more sophisticated membership site solution, you can even integrate an affiliate program and launch email campaigns with auto-responders.

Content is King

Once you have your concept in mind, it’s time to focus on the content. Having enough content is one of the biggest problems that many membership site owners face. When you experience issues with content, you’re guaranteed to see your subscriptions drop off.

It is best to create and organize several months’ worth of content before you launch. You will need copy and content for every category and sub-category within the site. Gather your articles, your images, your audios and videos in one place so that you can populate your membership site quickly.

You may also need to have the same content available in multiple formats. A single article may be available in your membership site as an html document, a pdf download, a streaming audio and as a download. This allows members to consume your content in a way that fits their lifestyle.

If you don’t have the time or resources to do them all, just conduct a quick test by posting the content in one format and letting subscribers know that an another format is available by request. If you get a lot of requests for the written version of an audio, it’s an indication that your members are looking for more.

Once you’ve got your content in place, you’re ready to take your site for a test drive. Be sure to test how it looks to view the site on different browsers. Also, send an auto-responder series over the course of a few days to make sure that it is delivered on the right day and in the right sequence. If all goes well, you’re ready for an official launch of your membership site.

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With all the social media hype, many entrepreneurs have begun to question the real value of a website. With Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, many social media sites now offer the opportunity to make sales right from your fan page.

Social media sites may be all the rage for a select group of customers. However, a majority of internet users still look at a website as the standard for e-commerce. In fact, many would never process a transaction directly from a social media site.

Things to Do with a Website

A website is one of the most affordable and far reaching marketing tools available. With today’s amazing technology, it truly levels the playing field. An internet-savvy small business owner can easily compete with a company three times its size. So why not take full advantage of it? You can use your website in so many ways including for:

• Promotion and sales of your products and services
• A message board for visitors to interact
• An educational center to enhance knowledge about your niche
• An information center for new hires or existing staff
• To provide 24-hour access to your expertise without the physical burden
• To send regular, automated messages to your client database
• To provide training workshops
• Recognize/reward a client or employee
• To announce upcoming events
• To address frequently asked questions
• To poll your client satisfaction rate
• Have a contest
• To post video and audio clips

The possibilities are endless, and you are in control. Whether you elect to have a professional web designer create your site or build one on your own, the most important feature is the ability to edit content quickly and easily. This is priceless. It gives you the freedom to be creative. It also gives you the comfort of knowing that you can add timely, relevant information to your site at a moment’s notice. People tend to think of a blog as a place to upload regular content, but your website is a great place too.

Website Hosting Solutions

There is no shortage of companies that offer web hosting solutions. You can search the Internet to take a look at features and prices. With most website providers, you can even test out the functionality by signing up for a trial subscription. Some free trial periods will last for about a week, while others will last for a full 30 days before charging your credit card. If you have great technical skills, you may enjoy a shared hosting plan or a dedicated server. For a smaller company with a not-so-technical helper, the do-it-yourself, template based websites are great. Most all of them have these four important features:

1. They are affordable. You can buy a basic site and purchase extra features or upgrade your business grows.
2. No knowledge of programming language is required. If you know how to type a text document, you’re ready to launch a website.
3. They look great! Many companies have thousands of templates and images for use.
4. You can update or edit your website at anytime. There is no need to wait on a webmaster.

They also come with the capability to upload audio and video clips. Technical support is usually a phone call or e-mail ticket away.

Preparing to Launch a Website

A website doesn’t take much time. However, you will need to allocate time for a few basics:

1. Writing website copy. Even the most basic site has 5-10 pages. Set aside the time to write out your vision. You can create the copy for your site on your word processing software and then copy-and-paste it to your web editor page. You can review and edit it further before making the page available for the public to see. Basic pages for your site might be:

1. • Home page: This is where your most attention grabbing marketing message should appear. Some visitors will not go any further if your message is not compelling.
   • About Us page: Use this page to convey your professional background and credentials or simply the story behind your cause
   • Our Services: Summarize what you do here. Also tell them how you do it. Remember to stress the benefits of your product or service.
   • Products and Prices: List your fee for products and optional services.
   • Contact Us – You will always want to include your contact information and hours of operation. You can also include instructions for contacting you via social media sites, e-mail, fax, or regular mail.

1. Select, buy or photograph digital images to upload to your site. Pictures grab attention and can supplement your written message.
2. Review sites that offer products and services similar to you to see what works and what doesn’t.
3. If you decide to accept electronic payments, set up a merchant account and create a store online.

That’s it. Now that you know what to do and why, you can build a great website!

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If you’re new to buying domains, you may accidently hold several accounts with your favorite registrar.  However, this oversight could cause some confusion when it comes time to renew. If you change email addresses often, this is one time where it could be a huge disservice to you.

To be in compliance with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) rules, the domain name registrar will always send you a notification to make you aware of an upcoming expiration date. However, with too many accounts linked to different emails, you could easily miss a domain renewal deadline.

At first thought, you may just plan to buy the expired domain name back. However, you may be surprised to find that it is easier said than done. You will want to research the domain deletion policy at your registrar to determine exactly what stage of deletion your domain name is in and what, if anything, can be done to recover it.

The Domain Deletion Process

Depending on your registrar, your website domain name will be suspended on the day the name was set to renew. While you are still the current owner of the domain name, your visitors will not be able to view your site until the renewal is complete. During this time, you will continue to get reminders that you could lose your domain name soon.

How long does it take to actually lose your domain name?  While there might be some slight variations from one domain registrar to another, the grace period and deletion process generally work like this:

1. Once you miss your domain name renewal date, your privileges are suspended, and the clocks start ticking for the permanent deletion. Your domain name servers no longer point to your website, but are instead directed to back to the registrar.
2. If your registrar is courteous, you’ll get one or two more reminders that time is running out. This is considered as the grace period. At this point, you normally have the ability to recover the domain name. Unfortunately, a hefty penalty as high as eight times the original fee could be charged. You may think of just re-registering it with another registrar for a lower price, but that will not be possible, as it has not yet been released back into the pool of available domain names.
3. Within 10-45 days, your name will be deleted from your account. During this time, it may still show as “pending final deletion” and gives a searcher the opportunity to bid for it. Depending on the popularity of the name, the bid price could be as low as $10.00.
4. When the name is ready for return to the pool of available domain names, anyone who has placed a bid or backorder will have first dibs. For domains that contain popular keywords such as “mortgage,” there’s usually an auctioneer waiting in the wings to snap it up. If you miss a deadline on one of these names, it could cost you $400-$1,000 to get it back.

To Recover or Not to Recover

As previously mentioned, popular keyword domain names command big profits. If someone has bought the name for that purpose, you’ll be directed to their sales page and instructed on what to do if you want to bid or purchase the name.

At first thought, you may not feel comfortable paying $500 to get back the same domain name you bought two years ago for $10. However, if you don’t have a plan for acquiring the same traffic, backlinks, Google page rank and history that you built with that name, it may be more than worth the trouble and the money. After all, that’s probably why the auction house acted quickly. They did their homework and realized an opportunity to benefit from the history you created. If your domain name was already indexed with directories like DMOZ or Yahoo, the new website owner could see their site get indexed in record time.

The decision to recover a domain name or not has to be given a lot of consideration. If your customer loyalty and opportunities for new revenue are tied to it, then you may want to give a serious effort to getting the name back.

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A website domain transfer is simply changing the company that manages your domain name records. Most domains typically stay with the same registrar for years at a time. However, customer service issues or a personal preference may lead you to make the decision to switch. Other reasons for changing your registrar include selling a business or a change of ownership.

Since registrars are anxious for new business, you can typically find a registrar at a good price. For example, at GoDaddy.com, you can save as much as 40% off the standard price when you bring a new domain over from another registrar. To move a domain name to Network Solutions is $19.00. Both GoDaddy and Network Solutions offer one-year free after the transfer is complete. Here are a few other standard domain transfer fees:

• Registar   = $20.00
• 625 Domains = $35.00
• NamesCheap = $9.69 – 25.00

The Transfer Process

The process for transferring a domain name from one registrar to another is defined by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). ICANN is a non-profit public-benefit entity that dedicates its time to keeping the internet safe. With that goal in mind, ICANN requires several authentications or authorizations to make sure the request for transfer is a legitimate one.

We’ll summarize the steps involved in completing a transfer. In this example, the old domain registrar will be referred to as GoFrum.com, and the new domain registrar will be referred to as GoeTou.com. The normal process for a domain name transfer is as follows:

1. Purchase a domain transfer package from the GoeTou.com, the new domain registrar. As noted above, prices will vary from one registrar to another. Domain transfer requests are typically not allow on domains that will expire in the next 10 days.
2. To begin the transfer process, the domain name owner verifies with GoFrum.com that the contact information for the current owner of record is correct, especially the email address.
3. The domain name owner then requests an authentication (EPP transfer code) from GoFrum.com. At this time, if any locks have been placed on the domain, they should be removed. The request process can often be done several ways including online, by fax or by mail.
4. After the domain owner provides the EPP code, Goetou.com contacts GoFrum.com with the information. Although the new registrar facilitates the switch, the domain name owner is still responsible for monitoring the progress of the transfer.
5. The old registrar, GoFrum.com will contact the domain name owner to confirm the authenticity of the request received. If there are additional steps for to take, the domain name owner is notified accordingly. GoFrum.com either accepts or rejects the request within 5 days. The request is rarely denied unless the renewal fee is overdue. No response from GoFrum.com would be considered as an acceptance of the transfer request.
6. If all goes well, GoFrum.com will release the domain name to GoeTou.com
7. GoeTou.com notifies the website owner that the transfer has been successfully completed. If necessary, the domain name servers are updated.

The total time for the transfer to be complete usually ranges from 10-14 days. After the transfer is done, the domain name cannot be moved to another registrar for 60 days. The exception to this rule would be if it was moved back to the original registrar.

The new transfers are usually for a period of one year. To double check the completion of the transfer, you can check the domain expiration date on the WhoIs registry. The technical contact listed on WhoIs database will typically be updated to show the name of the new registrar.

New domain registrars seem to crop up often. Here is a list posted by RegistrarStats. It includes companies that were considered to be among the top 30 registrars in 2009:

1.Go Daddy

2.eNom

3.Tucows

4.Network Solutions

5.Melbourne IT (a.k.a INWW.com)

6.1&1 Internet AG (a.k.a. Schlund.de)

7.Wild West Domains (reseller brand of Go Daddy)

8.Register.com

9.Moniker Online Services

10.PublicDomainRegistry.com (a.k.a. ResellerClub and Directi)

11.Key-Systems GmbH (a.k.a. DomainDiscount24)

12.Xin Net Corp

13.OnlineNIC, Inc.

14.Fabulous.com Pty Ltd

15.Dotster

16.Cronon AG

17.Intercosmos Media

18.DomainDiscover

19.FAST DOMAIN INC

20.OVH

21.PSI-USA, Inc.

22.HiChina Web Solutions ltd.

23.GMO Internet, Inc.

24.NameKing.com

25.Name.com

26.Ascio Technologies, Inc. – Denmark

27.Gandi.net

28.Compana LLC

29.Dotregistrar.com

30.joker.com

31.gkg.net

ICANN provides and accredited-registrants list. Registrars who appear on the ICANN list have signed the Registrar Accreditation Agreement to acknowledge their willingness to operate in a way that protects domain name owners and makes the registrars more accountable.

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JustHost, one of the most popular web hosting companies, has a worldwide presence with offices in Delaware (USA), Fareham (UK) and North Adelaide (Australia).

With awards for Best Features and Best Hosting Service, they’ve been able to garner a big slice of the web hosting pie. JustHost is also a member of the Better Business Bureau Online. Although it is known for being fast, reliable and affordable, JustHost considers its first-class support and “anytime money-back guarantee” to be some of its biggest benefits.

Features

JustHost customers receive an abundance of unlimited services with every package. A few of the features that are unlimited include:

• Secure email accounts (POP3/POP3, IMAP/Secure IMAP)
• Unlimited number of hosted domains
• Bandwidth
• Add-on domains, parked domains and sub-domains
• Forwarding for email
• Auto-responders
• FTP Accounts
• MySQL Databases

The c-panel interface offered by JustHost makes the hosting service very user-friendly. You can manage your domains, email, documents and media files all from one central location. You also get a variety of scripts in the Script Library, including WordPress and Joomla. Unlike other hosts who charge extra for popular scripts like Fantastico, JustHost gives it to you free.

JustHost includes ecommerce capability with all of its plans. Launching a webstore is a breeze with the SSL secure server and the option to have easy-to-use shopping carts like the OS commerce and Agora. There is also support for other popular merchant accounts, including PayPal.

Reliability and Speed

JustHost guarantees its customers that it will consistently have 99.9% reliability. They’re so committed to reliability and speed that they set up a separate company called Just Uptime to monitor the performance of their servers.

JustHost knows that it can deliver on its 99.9% uptime guarantee because of its load balancing technology. The ability of this technology to make your site available from multiple servers ensures that you won’t experience downtime, even if there is a problem with another server.

Security

JustHost gets great ratings for security. With a separate team to monitor performance, they provide extra protection for you and your customers.

Technical Support

JustHost keeps it first class when it comes to customer service. They provide customers with a variety of support options, including phone, email and a live chat system. You can reach JustHost by phone 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. They know how important it is for you to speak to a real person.

They also provide the option to submit a support ticket when you need help. However, unlike some poor service providers, the JustHost email support team responds to tech support tickets within 1 hour of receipt. The live chat team is always available, and the host also has a knowledge base that addresses common situations.

Price

Prices at JustHost.com are fantastic. You get nearly as much with the basic $3.95 per month plan as you do with the $6.95 per month premium plan. Both come with a plethora of unlimited features.  In fact, JustHost plans already include features that are normally considered to be a premium item with other hosts, such as e-commerce capability and multimedia features. With just a small difference in price, both the standard and the premium plan are great values. The standard plan comes with one domain for life, while the premium plan includes up to three domains for life.

Specials

JustHost is currently offering its $6.95 per month package at $3.95 per month. That’s a great value, especially when you see all the features that come with it.

Email

Unlimited personalized email accounts are available on both the basic and the premium web hosting plans. You can generate all the email accounts you need for different departments and individuals within your operation. Emails can be forwarded to another address to keep them all in one central location. You can also create an autoresponder, a poll or a survey to help improve your level of customer service and increase product sales.

The Bottom Line

With a “no questions asked” cancellation policy that includes a prorated refund, JustHost has to make sure that its customers are satisfied. Online video tutorials that help you get the most from your subscription are a customer favorite. JustHost gives even more value with generous start up advertising credits for Yahoo, Google and MySpace. When you stack up all the great things that come with a JustHost hosting plan, it’s easy to see why they rank above the rest.

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There are a plethora of factors to consider when looking for a web hosting service. It involves a lot more than calculating who has the best price.

Analyze Your Needs

It doesn’t matter if a web host has a thousand advanced options available if it doesn’t have the one feature you need most. Rather than being lured in by all of the bells and whistles, make a list of what is important for you and your customers. Consider whether you are a good candidate for shared hosting or if you actually need a dedicated server for your volume of business.

Additionally, you want to make sure that there are training tutorials, videos and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) to help you along the way if problems arise.

Important Features to Consider

There are some standard features that will be available with any good website hosting service. Here’s a quick look at some of what you will want to factor in to your selection process:

1. The server script options – Most hosting companies offer a variety of server options, including CGI, PHP, MySQL, and ASP.
2. Speed and Reliability – Nobody likes to be reminded of the “dial-up days” while waiting for your web pages to load. Test the speed of your site by loading it on different browsers and on different operating systems. You should know which one provides the best experience long before your customers do. You also want a hosting service that has a rate of reliability that is as close to 100% as possible. They exist so do not settle for less.
3. Price/Packages – With the stiff competition among web hosting companies, you may see accounts starting as low as $3 per month. Considering that you may not get much more than what you pay for, you’ll want to investigate further. In doing so, you’ll find that the low price may be for annual subscriptions, and you may have some limitations that are listed in the small print. Remember to do your homework to see what’s included.
4. FTP- Easy, secure FTP (file transfer protocol) is a must for your hosting plan. Uploading data and media from your hard drive to your host’s server will be a common task you will perform.  You will want to be mindful of any limitations you may have with regard to file size and total storage capacity. It won’t matter how terrific the FTP client is if you don’t have the storage capacity you need to make good use of it.
5. Space and Bandwidth – Knowing how much space and bandwidth you really have available is essential. Many website owners have found out the hard way that the claim to offer “unlimited bandwidth” is nothing more than a big farce played on the uninformed. It is used to snag customers, but quickly results in excess usage fees to those who try to get what they were promised. Bandwidth refers to how much capacity is used by your website to transfer data from your host’s server to your visitor’s web browser. The space simply refers to the amount of storage space allocated to you for all of the components of your website, including files, pages, images and media.
6. Customer support – A standard among good web hosting services is to have customer support available to you 24/7 via a variety of options including phone, email and online chats. For a sub-par hosting service, you may be limited to submitting support tickets, which may not be answered for an extended period of time.
7. Control panel - Managing your website should be relatively easy for even a novice. Your control panel (aka dashboard, administrator etc.) should have the functionality you need to add, edit, delete and manage emails and passwords all from one area.
8. Security – If you are collecting payments online for your products and services, you definitely want access to a secure server. It will give you credibility as an online merchant, and your customers will have the peace of mind they need before processing a transaction on your site.
9. Email options – Even though we’re in the midst of a social media craze, email still plays an important role in running a business online. The ability to have personalized email accounts that you can customize will give you the professional image you want.

Now that you understand these important considerations, you can find a web hosting service that really meets your needs.

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InMotion web hosting is often rated as one of the best business-class web hosting providers. Armed with low prices, dedicated servers and great customer service, this employee-owned, California based company is making its mark among the best of the best.

Since its inception in 2001, InMotion has focused on acquiring and retaining loyal business customers. Based on the numerous awards and certifications garnered in recent years, they seemed to be successful at doing just that.

In addition to being a proud member of the Better Business Bureau Online, InMotion holds the prestigious position of a 3-star certification with CNET as an outstanding service provider.

Features

InMotion features three packages (Launch, Power and Pro) to meet the needs of its growing client base. This allows business owners to have just what they need for their current stage of growth.

InMotion packages include the industry’s standard features, such as servers that work with both Windows and Mac. Then they step it up a notch by providing custom features like business class hardware, e-commerce software, streaming video/audio capability and on-staff design and SEO specialists.

The disc space and bandwidth for all three packages is unlimited. The biggest difference in the Launch, Power and Pro accounts are the number of sites and domains available for each account. Here is an example:

• Launch : 2 sites on 1 account, 6 domains and 25 sub-domains
• Power: 6 sites on 1 account, 26 domains and 100 sub-domains
• Pro: 16 sites on 1 account, unlimited domains and unlimited sub-domains

Additionally, the Power and Pro packages come with e-commerce capability.

Reliability and Speed

InMotion provides 99.9% reliability. It uses a top-tier network that incorporates the power of commercial grade Dell servers and Cisco routers. InMotion’s business-class hardware has the best Dell Power Edge 2950s available.  This makes their technology run up to 50% faster than the average web hosting solution.

In addition, InMotion hosting is the only company to offer Max Speed Zones. InMotion allows you to choose from 3 data centers on the east and west coasts. This means that your website and email could run faster (up to 6x) simply because your data center is closer to where you are.

Security

As specialist in business technology, the InMotion team has developed a sophisticated monitoring system to protect its clients. The experienced staff monitors the system for uninterrupted performance 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. This powerful system has the ability to detect and clear security issues before the client’s website ever notices.

Technical Support

All InMotion packages include toll-free phone support 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The InMotion system is monitored 24 hours per day to ensure excellent performance.

Unlike many hosting providers, InMotion is owned and operated by its employees. The benefit of them having a vested interest is apparent in the tenure of the staff.  Most senior staff members have more than 10 years of experience. This means you do not have to worry about getting stuck with a newbie who doesn’t have a clue as to how to help you.

Price

InMotion pricing plans range from $5.95 per month to $17.95. While all three price packages include more than 60 valuable features, the custom ecommerce features are restricted to the Power and Pro packages.  All InMotion pricing packages come with the option to purchase as a monthly, annual or a two-year contract.

Specials

For a limited time, InMotion is reducing the price of its 6, 12 and 24 monthly hosting plans by $1.00 per month. This special reduces the Launch plan from $6.95 to $5.95. The Power plan is reduced to $7.95, and the Pro package is temporarily priced at $17.95. Each plan includes cPanel software at no additional charge.

Email

All InMotion packages come with secure POP3/IMAP/SMTP email. The email plans are also compatible with most mobile devices, including the iPhone, Blackberry and more. Email autoresponders are another handy feature for businesses.

Summary

InMotion continues to receive high ratings from top review experts in the areas of customer service and performance. InMotion is so confident in its ability to provide excellent customer service that it includes a standard 100% satisfaction guarantee for 30 days. An extended 90-day 100% guarantee is provided to customers who purchase the Launch, Power or Pro business class hosting package. The guarantees help remove the risk barrier for curious web host seekers who want to know what to expect before making a long term commitment.

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iPage has been in the business of offering websites for more than 10 years. In fact, some of their team members were actually founders of the web hosting industry.

iPage considers itself to be a “green company” because it is reducing the carbon footprint on the planet. With the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), iPage is able to have 100% of their energy powered by wind. This includes their offices, servers and data centers.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits of some of iPage’s web hosting accounts:

In addition to being a green company, iPage runs its website in a very transparent way. Even before becoming a customer, you can access their knowledge base to get questions answered and even watch video tutorials.

iPage does a great job of including a wide array of services in their package. Here are just a few of the categories and what they include:

1. Core features: Unlimited disk space, domain names and bandwidth
2. Web building and design software: Sitebuilder, design templates and a blog wizard
3. Online selling capability:  A free store, a shopping cart and PayPal integration
4. World-class technology: A powerful security suite, control panel and tracking software
5. Marketing tools: Marketing guides, Adword credits from Google and Yahoo
6. Email services: Personalized email addresses, webmail, forwarding capability and autoresponders.
7. Outstanding customer support: By phone, email and online chat

iPage hosting is one of the leaders in its field. The company enjoys consistent ratings in the following categories:

• Cost
• Customer support
• Space
• Reliability & uptime
• Ease of use
• Quality
• Traffic
• Software
• Tech support

We looked around for the bad reviews during a comparison of services and were hard pressed to find one. That’s good news for the iPage customers who are looking for a long happy relationship. Other hosting services that are skimping on their services better beware. They just might lose a few earth-friendly customers to iPage.

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