Beware of Inferior Webhosts...

What Every Web Site Owner Should Know Beware of Inferior Webhosts... If the provider does not have enough bandwidth your site will load slowly. If the provider does not have redundant connection your site will not load if there is a problem with the Internet connection. If the provider does not have adequate security; your site may get hacked. *This is not always the cause of hacked sites. See the chapter on security. If the provider’s security is too restrictive your Web applications may not work properly. If the provider does not have adequate backup; you could lose the site altogether, so make sure you have your own. These are just a few of the possible calamities that can happen.. After the blood, sweat, tears and money that you have gone through to get your site up, a smoothly running Web host will make all the difference. Hopefully, you will just pay the fees and never have to worry about the host. You will know you have a good Web hosting company if you never have to think

Domain Registrars Part One

What Every Web Site Owner Should Know DOMAIN REGISTRARS Domain Names are the first step to launching a Website. Once you have made the decision to launch a Website, the obvious first step is to pick out and secure a good domain name. This is done by visiting a Domain Registrar. Most registrars have a tool on their Website that lets you check to see if a domain name is available or not. If you find one that you like, then it is a relatively easy process to purchase it. A Registrar will provide Name Servers that will enable your Website to be available online. I am not referring to being “found” by a person using a search engine, which is a subject we will get into later. I am referring to having your domain physically available online. Name Servers and what they do seem to cause a lot of confusion amongst many Website Owners, particularly when changing Web hosts, Registrars or Webmasters. Frequently, the owner does not know the password/user combination, or even worse, the name of the actual registrar. This can cause quite a bit of extra work and delay your project. Therefore, make certain to keep this information safe. In most cases your Web host will send you an email containing all the information that you will need. Be sure to print out a copy and keep in your records. If your Webmaster sets up your hosting account, be sure to have him forward you a copy of the login information I mentioned above. *A decent Webmaster should be able to find the name of the registrar easily, but if you have changed email addresses then it can be unpleasant. Even though in most cases you will be able to access it once you prove that you are the actual owner, it is a hassle that is easily avoided. Congratulations! Once you have set up a domain name, you are officially a Website Owner (see, that wasn’t so hard, was it?). However, at this point, that may not mean much; due to the fact that your Website probably just points to a “parking page”. This page is automatically put in place by your domain registrar. It may have a few ads on it, or perhaps nothing at all. Regardless, it is your Website and nobody else can use that domain name while you own it. Each domain name is completely unique. There can only be one. However, keep in mind the fact that there are several different Top Level Domains or TLDs (.com, .org, .biz, etc ...). Each TLD is independent of the other any domain name may be registered by separate companies or individuals, regardless of the desires of the other Website owner’s wishes. This means that if you own widgets.com, someone else can come along and register widgets.org and still another person or company can be the owner of widgets.net and so on. There have been many unfortunate cases where a Website owner has registered a domain name and subsequent registration of the same domain name with a different TLD has been purchased by a competitor or worse. If an “opposing domain name is either fraudulent, or a competitors domain, your marketing efforts may be sending your clients to their Website. How would it reflect on you or your business if the .net, .biz, .org etc... version of your domain name belonged to a competitor that did poor work, or just had a poorly built Website up ... What if it was a rip-off scheme, or porn? For this reason, it may be important for you to register all of the major TLDs for your domain name. This depends on whether you believe that there may be competition for your domain name. If your competition buys the .org and the .net version of your domain name places a competing Website there, it could be problematic for you.

Don't Over-Think It

What Every Web Site Owner Should Know DON’T OVER-THINK IT Keep it simple. You’ve probably heard it said a thousand times before, about a thousand different topics, but it really applies here. A common misconception many people make is to assume that publishing a Website is some kind of mystical process, in which only ultra-geeks with super human intellect can do ... While I would love to consider myself to have any superhuman attributes whatsoever, sadly, I don’t. There is a lot to learn and it can get confusing. However, if you take your time and you are patient, you can do it. It is a simply a matter of taking it one step at a time and making sure you understand what you are learning as you go. There are two separate aspects to technology that will need to be concerned with: The interface, which consist of the icons, buttons, tabs and everything else that you can see. The logic, which is the actual concept behind it all. If you can focus on the concept you will gain a basic understanding of how everything works. Once you understand the basic concepts, the interface will become intuitive. Don’t worry about knowing everything. Just play heads up ball. Technology changes, but the concepts don’t. Fortunately, your job is not to be an expert at technology; you just need to manage it to get the results that you want ... Easy as pie. In fact; your job is a manager, or overseer. You are in charge and your Webmaster is trying to make you happy. Do both of you a favor and make it easier for him. All you need an overall basic understanding and a clear fundamental vision of what you want to accomplish with the site and a general idea of how you think it should look. If you don’t know exactly what you want, then spend a couple of hours surfing the Web. Take notes regarding what you like and what you dislike. The amount of technical expertise that you need to be a successful Website owner is actually quite minimal. As with any aspect of business; it is of course, a trade-off; money vs. knowledge & time. The more you know and the more time you are willing to spend on it, the less it will ultimately cost. Even so, if you want to be truly successful, a number of those things are absolutely essential to know. This is where many Website owners fail. Many assume that once the site is launched the teaming masses will clamor to visit and the money will just start rolling in. Many owners will completely neglect marketing altogether. Sometimes lightning strikes and every now and then a Website is an overnight success right off the bat. Don’t depend on it; most likely, it will take time, money, a bit of “know how” and a little effort. Now, for the good news: just by the simple act of reading this book you are ahead of the game. Many Website owners are completely in the dark regarding the whole process. The lack of knowledge necessary to launch and maintain a successful Website leaves a site owner completely dependent on their Webmaster. While there are some good Webmasters out there, it is perhaps not the strongest position to be in. By educating yourself you have placed yourself at the front of the class and improved your chances of success substantially... Many of my less-technically-inclined people have made the mistake of believing that the whole process of launching a Website was too difficult. They believe that they have to be a computer guru, or that it is harder than it is. Often, this apprehension gets the better of them and never start or they abandon a Website that they paid good money to get online. I have seen some very nice (and expensive) Websites immediately get abandoned as soon as the Webmaster completes his work; in fact, often it never even gets completed. In some cases, all that was required of the owner would be a few paragraphs about their business, or perhaps a photo or two. The frustrated Webmaster contacts them several times requesting the info, but never receives it. Eventually he stops trying, and finishes the site to the best of his ability without the desired information. Of course, the site ends up being less than it could be. If the owner of the failed site simply had kept an open mind, the Webmaster would have been happy to work through the rough spots step by step. Ultimately the owner would have spent a few short hours scribbling a handful of paragraphs. In many cases, the owner simply needs to take twenty minutes to look over a site and give some suggestions. It makes a lot of difference. These people were no less intelligent than others I have worked with and I have taught people with all sorts of different skill sets. You don’t need to be a tech-wizard to do this. Regardless, they convinced themselves that it was harder than it really is and paid the price. The bottom line is this, if you are not willing to invest even the barest minimum of time and effort, your site will suffer for it. Therefore, I recommend that you approach technology with an open mind and don’t assume anything. Consider, regarding technology; kids generally “catch on” the quickest. While there are many reasons for this, I believe this is largely due to the fact that they simply approach computing with an open mind. Furthermore, it is apparent to me, that one secret to children’s success with technology is due to the fact that they accept it for what it is, rather then what they expect it to be. They are able to simply learn by trial and error, as opposed to dealing with preconceived notions. If you want to improve your general computer skills quickly, then I recommend finding a game, or application that you enjoy and have fun with it. Once you can do that, the rest will come intuitively.

Know Where and How To Get Info...

What Every Web Site Owner Should Know KNOW WHERE & HOW TO GET INFORMATION So, you have decided; for whatever reason you need to have a presence on the Internet. Obviously, this means getting a website. If you are like the majority of people on this planet, you probably have little or no idea where to start. Considering the cost of building a website, you may be facing a significant investment. To make matters worse; unless you are fortunate enough to have an I.T. department, you are probably at square one with nowhere to go for reliable advice... Well there is no need to worry, you have already started. Between the information contained in this book and the information which you can find on my website http://www.evermoretech.com/ you are well on your way to having all the tools and information you will need right at your fingertips. Just being prepared will help your odds of success significantly. Whether you intend to build your website yourself, or if you are planning to have a professional build it for you; having a good foundation of knowledge is extremely important when you start out. With the basics that are covered in this book you will have a good fundamental understanding of how Websites work, the tools needed to create them and how to launch, maintain and market them. This can mean the difference between success and failure. Congratulations, you have taken the first step toward owning a successful Website. Additionally, you now know that you are not alone. You now know the first thing that every website owner should know: Where to start, where to get information, and how to use it. Even better, the rest of the book is pretty easy too. So sit down make yourself comfortable and let’s get to the meat and potatoes. You might want to grab a pen, or pencil because I’ve included several blank pages and many places that you can take notes directly in this book that will help you organize your thoughts and store information that you will need to keep handy throughout the entire process.