Protect Your Customers with SSL Certificates</h1> <article> <h1>Protect Your Customers with SSL Certificates</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:00:09 GMT</p> <p>Consumers want to know that their personal and credit card information will be protected from unauthorized use when they purchase from your store. Therefore, it is your job to prove to them that you are worthy of their trust. <br /><br />The following video explores why Web security is so important and how you can provide an enhanced shopping experience simply by having an <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/security-suite/index.jsp">SSL certificate</a>.</p> <p> </p> <p align="center"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.networksolutions.com/video/nsplayer320_security.swf?video=http://www.networksolutions.com/video/security.flv" /> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /> </object> </p> <p> </p> <p>Check out our other videos for more information on getting online.</p> <ul> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysolutionspot.com/getting-started-online/building-a-web-presence-why-and-how-1914/">Building a Web Presence – Why and How</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysolutionspot.com/getting-started-online/how-to-build-a-web-site-for-your-small-business-1913/">How to Build a Web Site for Your Small Business</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysolutionspot.com/optimizing-online-marketing-efforts/how-to-get-your-web-site-noticed-using-seo-1912/">How to Get Your Web Site Noticed Using SEO</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysolutionspot.com/optimizing-online-marketing-efforts/reach-a-larger-more-targeted-audience-with-search-engine-marketing-1911/">Reach a Larger, More Targeted Audience with Search Engine Marketing</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.mysolutionspot.com/ecommerce-101/the-benefits-of-owning-an-ecommerce-site-1910/">The Benefits of Owning an Ecommerce Site</a></li> </ul><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Analyzing Website Traffic - Making the Most Out of Your Data</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:18:05 GMT</p> <p>Analyzing your web traffic statistics can be an invaluable tool for a number of different reasons. But before you can make full use of this tool, you need to understand how to interpret the data.<br /><br />Most <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/web-hosting/index.jsp">web hosting companies</a> will provide you with basic web traffic information that you then have to interpret and make pertinent use of. However, the data you receive from your host company can be overwhelming if you don't understand how to apply it to your particular business and website. Let's start by examining the most basic data – the average visitors to your site on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.<br /><br />These figures are the most accurate measure of your website's activity. It would appear on the surface that the more traffic you see recorded, the better you can assume your website is doing, but this is an inaccurate perception. You must also look at the behavior of your visitors once they come to your website to accurately gauge the effectiveness of your site.<br /><br />There is often a great misconception about what is commonly known as "hits" and what is really effective, quality traffic to your site. Hits simply mean the number of information requests received by the server. If you think about the fact that a hit can simply equate to the number of graphics per page, you will get an idea of how overblown the concept of hits can be. For example, if your homepage has 15 graphics on it, the server records this as 15 hits, when in reality we are talking about a single visitor checking out a single page on your site. As you can see, hits are not useful in analyzing your website traffic.<br /><br />The more visitors that come to your website, the more accurate your interpretation will become. The greater the traffic is to your website, the more precise your analysis will be of overall trends in visitor behavior. The smaller the number of visitors, the more a few anomalous visitors can distort the analysis.<br /><br />The aim is to use the web traffic statistics to figure out how well or how poorly your site is working for your visitors. One way to determine this is to find out how long on average your visitors spend on your site. If the time spent is relatively brief, it usually indicates an underlying problem. Then the challenge is to figure out what that problem is.<br /><br />It could be that your keywords are directing the wrong type of visitors to your website, or that your graphics are confusing or intimidating, causing the visitor to exit rapidly. Use the knowledge of how much time visitors are spending on your site to pinpoint specific problems, and after you fix those problems, continue to use time spent as a gauge of how effective your fix has been.<br /><br />Additionally, web traffic stats can help you determine effective and ineffective areas of your website. If you have a page that you believe is important, but visitors are exiting it rapidly, that page needs attention. You could, for example, consider improving the link to this page by making the link more noticeable and enticing, or you could improve the look of the page or the ease that your visitors can access the necessary information on that page.<br /><br />If, on the other hand, you notice that visitors are spending a lot of time on pages that you think are less important, you might consider moving some of your sales copy and marketing focus to that particular page.<br /><br />As you can see, these statistics will reveal vital information about the effectiveness of individual pages, and visitor habits and motivation. This is essential information to any successful Internet marketing campaign.<br /><br />Your website undoubtedly has exit pages, such as a final order or contact form. This is a page you can expect your visitor to exit rapidly. However, not every visitor to your site is going to find exactly what he or she is looking for, so statistics may show you a number of different exit pages. This is normal unless you notice an exit trend on a particular page that is not intended as an exit page. In the case that a significant percentage of visitors are exiting your website on a page not designed for that purpose, you must closely examine that particular page to discern what the problem is. Once you pinpoint potential weaknesses on that page, minor modifications in content or graphic may have a significant impact on the keeping visitors moving through your site instead of exiting at the wrong page.<br /><br />After you have analyzed your visitor statistics, it's time to turn to your keywords and phrases. Notice if particular keywords are directing a specific type of visitor to your site. The more targeted the visitor - meaning that they find what they are looking for on your site, and even better, fill out your contact form or make a purchase – the more valuable that keyword is.<br /><br />However, if you find a large number of visitors are being directed - or should I say misdirected - to your site by a particular keyword or phrase, that keyword demands adjustment. Keywords are vital to bringing quality visitors to your site who are ready to do business with you. Close analysis of the keywords your visitors are using to find your site will give you a vital understanding of your visitor's needs and motivations.<br /><br />Finally, if you notice that users are finding your website by typing in your company name, break open the champagne! It means you have achieved a significant level of brand recognition, and this is a sure sign of burgeoning success.<br /><br /></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Create Valuable Customer Interaction by Adding a Message Board to Your Web Site</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:13:10 GMT</p> <p>You don't need to be running a multi-million dollar business to benefit from the community-building power of message boards. In fact, message boards – also known as forums or bulletin boards – are typically less expensive than most market research studies, yet they provide business owners with similar benefits.<br /><br />Below are some examples of what an online message board can do for you:<br /></p> <ul> <li>If you are thinking about launching a new product or changing an existing one, there is no better way to get feedback about what your customers think that through a bulletin board. You can receive feedback about your products and services from your target audience.</li> <li>Need new product ideas? A message board can help! You can either post questions asking for new ideas or read ongoing discussions within the message board to determine unmet customer needs. </li> <li>Many businesses have found the materials for the start of great case studies through their message boards. For instance, a customer is satisfied with your product or service, so he or she decides to post a forum entry praising your business. The post is your opportunity to approach the customer about using his or her story as a case study. Chances are, if he or she had a good experience, he or she will agree to your proposal. </li> <li>Message boards enable your customers to ask questions. If you notice that the same question is being asked multiple times, this indicates that either your product or the literature about that product requires clarification. As a result, you can answer the question in the Frequently Asked Questions section of your Web site and limit future inquiries. </li> <li>Message boards enable customers to help other customers. This not only makes your job easier, but it also helps establish a camaraderie among your customer base.</li> <li>In general, features like message boards help make your site more than just an advertisement. By reserving 15 minutes of out your day to reply to messages, answer questions, show your appreciation or simply acknowledge your customers, you will boost both brand image and customer loyalty. </li> </ul> <p><br />Additionally, message boards bring visitors back to your site. People revisit to check for replies to their questions and to read new messages. This increases traffic to your site. Furthermore, message boards give search engines more content to crawl and index, thus helping your search engine visibility. <br /><br />There are many <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/webmaster-resources/index.jsp">Web Tools</a> available online that will allow you to quickly and easily add a message board to your Web site. Some are hosted message board platforms, so you won’t even need to download extensive software to build your board. Instead, you can simply insert a piece of HMTL code onto your Web site, set up your categories, decide the design and colors, and have your message board up and running in almost no time.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Why You Should Register More Than Just .Com</h1> <p>Kerstin Demko — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:37:54 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:small;">Your business has been online long enough for you to realize that your domain name plays a significant role in branding your business. You went to a lot of trouble to find that perfect domain to represent your image, but have you given any thought to registering multiple variations of that domain name?<br /><br />Businesses typically register domain names that end in .com. In fact, you probably thought you were very fortunate to find your domain name in the .com version and you could stop searching, when, in reality, you still need to protect your domain name and your brand identity by registering multiple extensions, variations and misspellings of your primary domain. <br /> <br /><b>Understanding Domain Extensions </b><br />To appreciate how registering multiple extensions can help you compete online, you first need to understand the different domain extensions. Your domain name is made up of two parts: your "uniquename" followed by a "dot extension" or <b>TLD (top level domain)</b>. Registering your domain name with different TLD extensions makes it an entirely new name registered to an entirely different Web address.<br /><br />There are three main types of TLDs: <b>generic</b> (gTLD), <b>special purpose</b> (sTLD), and <b>country code</b> (ccTLD). Popular extensions such as .com, .net .org, .and biz, fall under the gTLD list, but there are less popular gTLDs such as .info, .name and .mobi (.mobi is only for sites built to be browsed by mobile phones). <br /><br />The more specialized sTLDs include .mil .gov, and .edu. You must qualify as a military, government, or education entity to register one of these domain name extensions. <br /><br />The country code ccTLDs are generally used by a country or geographic territory. For example .us is used for the United States while .co.uk is for the United Kingdom. Some smaller countries, however, with interesting ccTLDs have chosen to market their domains for other uses. For instance, the country of Tuvalu, a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, has the extension .tv. This ccTLD is increasingly being used for online video sites. Similarly, the extension .fm, which is assigned to the Federated States of Micronesia, is used by some radio stations. <br /> <br />If you want to learn more about domain name extensions, view the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/domain-name-registration/popup-extensions.jsp">complete list of TLDs</a> along with descriptions of each extension's intended use.<br /><br /><b>What Are the Risks of Registering Just One Domain?</b><br />In the early days of the Internet, companies would generally only register one domain name, often .com or .net, and that would be their corporate Web address. Unfortunately, a number of bad practices on the Internet mean that today this can be a risky strategy. There are several risks associated with registering just one domain name:</span></p> <ul> <li><b>Cyber squatting</b>, or the act of registering a name in bad faith, is a major problem facing businesses on the Internet. In many cases, the registrant will attempt to sell the domain name back to the "legitimate" company, and in some cases companies have paid significant sums to recover domain names that were originally overlooked.</li> <li><b>Competitive vulnerability</b> is when one of your competitors sets up a Web site using a different TLD with your domain name in order to lure your customers away. Unlike cyber squatting, where the registered domain names are usually "parked" until you purchase them, when competitors register a variation of your domain name, it is typically intended to hurt your business.</li> <li><b>Traffic funneling</b> is when someone sets up a variation of your domain name or they register misspellings of your domain name to draw the traffic from people accidentally mistyping your domain name. This is particularly troublesome if they 'funnel' traffic into a disreputable or unsavory Web site. Operators of some adult Web sites use almost any method to attract new visitors. If one of these registers a variation of your domain name, customers who mistype the domain name could be transported to an unsuitable Web page, which could have devastating impact on your business.</li> <li><b>Disgruntled Web sites</b> may be set up when an unhappy customer, or disgruntled ex-employee, could register your name with a different TLD and then post critical or inaccurate information about your company. </li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:small;"><b><br />Multiple Domain Names Don't Always Equal Multiple Web Sites </b> <br />A common question when registering multiple domain names is, "do I need to have a different Web site for each?" The short answer is no. While you could create product-specific "micro sites" for some of your domain name variations (e.g.: you could host videos about your products on your newly registered .tv site), most business owners will opt to "forward" their domain name variations to just one main site.<br /><br />Whether you're protecting your company from the negative impact of unfavorable use of your domain name variation, or you want to strengthen your Web presence with multiple micro sites, or strengthen your brand with multiple extensions, when registering your domain, you should budget for purchasing all the domain names that make sense to protect your business and your brand identity online for years to come. The implications of not reserving the domain names for your business can be costly and devastating.</span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Eight Ways to Protect Your Domain Registration</h1> <p>Pat Parkhurst Higgins — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:00:44 GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:small;">Your business domain name should be viewed as one of your most vital company assets. It is the fiber that weaves your brand name and your physical business with your website and e-mail services. If your domain name expires prematurely or is redirected to another website due to a "domain hijacking," then all the services previously connected to it cease to exist. This could mean big trouble for a small business! <br /><br />Here are eight important precautions to take to protect your domain name registration and your company's reputation.<br /><br /><b>1. Look for a tried and true registrar</b><br />The domain registration industry was opened to competition in 1999. Since that time, many domain name "registrars" - companies certified by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to transact the business of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/domain-name-registration">registering domain names</a> - have come and gone, often with dire consequences to the holders of the domain names. If the domain name registrar you're considering has been around since the beginning of the Internet and is still in business today, it's most likely because they have a solid business model and are financially stable.<br /><br /><b>2. Consider the registration term length or auto renew options</b><br />Why risk accidentally losing your domain name because you forgot to renew the registration? A longer term (5 years or more) gives you peace of mind that you have secured the domain name for at least that period of time. Additionally, search engines perceive websites with domain terms of 5 years or more to be more legitimate than shorter-term domains - potentially increasing the site's search results ranking. As an added bonus, as the term increases, the price per year usually decreases! <br /><br />You should also choose a registrar that offers an automatic renew feature so the term never really expires, but is renewed at the current rate year after year. Remember to keep your payment information current (update expired credit cards) if you are using an automatic renewing feature.<br /><br /><b>3. Register multiple extensions of your domain name</b><br />Your domain name is a valuable branding tool. Just registering the ".com" domain name extensions won't stop your competitors from registering the .net, .org, .biz or any of the other extensions used today. If your customer types in the wrong extension when entering your domain name, you want to be sure they end up at your website, not your competitors, or worse, at an embarrassing site that could harm your reputation. Conversely, when picking out a domain name, look at all the extensions for this domain they may be registered by other businesses and then weigh the impact this could have on your business.<br /><br /><b>4. Protect your WHOIS information</b><br />WHOIS is a public database that all ICANN-accredited registrars are required to make available so anyone can look up domain registration information. In fact, WHOIS is viewed about one million times a day! Your name, address, email, and phone number will all be displayed in this public record unless you choose a domain registrar who offers a "private registration" service. This feature hides your personal information and instead displays the contact information of the registrar. Correspondence from anyone inquiring about your domain name will be forwarded to you via your domain name registrar. In fact, there is no reason NOT to use private registration given that the benefits far outweigh the minimal fee. <br /><br /><b>5. Centralize all your domain registrations when possible</b><br />Whether you have one or 20 domain names registered with your business, it is best to have them all in one account. You can allow other people to have access to that account, but make certain you are listed as the primary account holder so you will receive renewal notices and other important messages from your registrar. While it may sound obvious, when managing your accounts, select user names and passwords that are not easily associated with public information like your name, birth date, the city where you were born or street address.<br /><br /><b>6.</b> <b>Keep your contact information current </b><br />E-mail is the primary way your domain registrar notifies you of expiration dates and changes to your account. If you've changed any of your contact information, especially your e-mail address, make sure it is reflected in the information you provide your registrar. <br /><br /><b>7.</b> <b>Keep your domain locked</b><br />Most credible domain registrars, including <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/domain-name-registration">Network Solutions®</a>, lock or secure the domain in your account as a default so it cannot be transferred to another registrar by anyone but the primary contact on the account. You should be able to turn this protection on and off when necessary. <br /><br /><b>8. Consider the customer support behind the registrar</b><br />Registrars with live customer service and technical support can be your lifeline if you run into a problem with your domain name service. Even better, consider a registrar with 24/7 customer service so you can get the help you need when you need it! Consider this value in the price point of the domain name when you are choosing a registrar. Often times, the cheaper the domain, the harder it is to find the customer service contact information on the registrar's website.<br /><br />In short, there are many, many resources online where you can go to choose and register domain names. It's up to you choose your registrar wisely and to manage your domain name accounts with care.</span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Designing for Seniors -- and the Rest of Us</h1> <p>Gayley Knight — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:41 GMT</p> <p>Let's face it, we are all growing older each second. And soon, if we aren't already, we'll be looking for sites that are senior-friendly: easy on the eye, good color contrast, simple clear language, appropriate graphics, text alternatives, consistent layout and design, single mouse clicks to get information, step by step instructions (don't make me think and don't assume I know what you know), and so on. </p> <p> There are excellent resources for designing for the elderly. But wait...don't all of us want sites that are easy to read and manipulate, simple to locate the information sought, and that provide a seamless interactive experience? </p> <p> Know your target audience (seniors in this case) -- and then consider the rest of us anyway: </p> <ol> </ol><ol> <li>Font Type - Use a sans serif typeface, such as Helvetica, that is not condensed. Avoid the use of serif, novelty, and display typefaces. </li> <li>Font Size - Use 12 point or 14 point type size for body text. </li> <li>Justify Text - There are three ways to justify type: left, full, or center justified. Left justified text is optimal for older adults. </li> <li>Color - Avoid yellow and blue and green in close proximity. These colors and juxtapositions are difficult for some older adults to discriminate. Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed on a black and white monitor.</li> <li>Consistent Layout - Use a standard page design and the same symbols and icons throughout. Use the same set of navigation buttons in the same place on each page to move from one web page or section of the web site to another. Label each page in the same location with the name of the web site.</li> </ol><ol> </ol> </article> <article> <h1>Microsoft vs. UNIX Hosting</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:39 GMT</p> <p>UNIX or Windows Hosting: How Do I Choose?</p> <p>Your web hosting company is responsible for maintaining the physical location of your business web site. That location consists of computers called servers which are connected to the Internet and which, as their name shows, serve your pages to customers interested in visiting your business web site.</p> <p>Like all computers, servers are controlled by operating system software. For Web hosting, there are two main operating platforms: Microsoft® (Windows) and UNIX. No matter which platform your web hosting company uses, all of your customers will be able to see your business web pages. The server platform is not affected by the customer’s computer or browser.</p> <p>In fact, many of the best web hosting companies offer both UNIX web hosting and Windows web hosting platforms and are able to provide their web hosting service customers with the appropriate platform for their business website and the features those sites include.</p> <p>What difference does the platform make to you and your web-based business site? Unless you are doing your own web page design and incorporating advanced features in your business web site, the choice of platform probably won’t make a lot of difference to you. </p> <p>If you, or your Web designer, are doing your own business web page programming, you already know which platform you’ll need: your choice of a UNIX web hosting plan or a Windows web hosting plan will depend on whether you are using UNIX-based tools such as the mySQL® database and other scripting features, or whether your business website is built with Microsoft® tools such as ASP/Access and the MS SQL database.</p> <p>Bear in mind that your choice of UNIX web hosting or Windows web hosting is only affected by your choice of advanced web programming tools such as mySQL®.</p> </article> <article> <h1>What are Virtual Private Servers (VPS)?</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:39 GMT</p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">Every page and site on the Web has to exist physically, in the form of files on a computer <em>server. </em><span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>Web hosting companies have found effective ways to increase the effectiveness of offering reliable, fast, affordable web hosting services. Shared hosting is the most common of these approaches, especially for small businesses.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">Another approach that’s not for everyone but that can meet certain specific needs of some business websites is the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/vps/index.jsp"><em>Virtual Private Server</em> </a>(VPS.)</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-size:x-small;"><span><strong>What’s a VPS?</strong></span></span></p> <p style="background:white;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="color:red;font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">It is a software technique some web hosting companies employ to enable a single advanced server to operate as though it was <em>several</em> servers, one for each customer whose web-based business site and pages reside on it.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">Essentially a VPS uses software to divide the machine into several self-contained units or virtual machines, each with its own operating system and other resources, all operating with full reliability and speed, as though they were physically separate machines, though without, obviously, the high cost that separate physical machines would carry.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">Among the advantages of VPS – in addition to the cost-savings for small business web hosting customers – is the flexibility offered to the web hosting company that operates the servers.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">If, for example, a business website customer needs to make major changes or updates to its material, that particular partition can be closed down without affecting the operation or availability of any of the other customers’ partitions.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="background:white;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"><strong>Is VPS right for me?</strong></span></span></p> <p style="background:white;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="background:white;margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">While VPS is not for everyone, it does offer an effective and relatively affordable intermediate step between shared servers and the far higher cost of acquiring and applying the technical resources required by dedicated servers</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">Be certain, though, that your <a target="_blank" href="http://www.networksolutions.com/web-hosting/index.jsp">web hosting company </a>possesses both experience and expertise in VPS. Managing the technology can be challenging and requires absolute precision and attention to detail. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes;"> </span>They should walk you through their advantages and potential drawbacks. Some less-than-reputable hosting companies offer VPS without being fully competent in their management and operation. The best web hosting companies <em>only</em> offer services that they possess the skill, experience and resources to manage properly.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;" class="MsoNormal" style="><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:x-small;">Make certain that the web hosting company you’re considering is qualified and skilled in <em>all</em> the services they offer. By focusing your attention on the best web hosting companies, of course, you’ve already take a large step toward insuring that the services you buy are the services you need, and that they’re reliable, available and professionally managed.</span></span></p> </article> <article> <h1>Optimizing images for the Web: decrease load time without sacrificing image quality</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:38 GMT</p> <p> </p> <div> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 0in 2.25pt;" align="left" valign="top"> <p><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"><a href="http://ecommerce.networksolutions.com/support/TechServices.asp"><strong>Optimizing images</strong></a> for the Web will increase the speed of your Web site dramatically. Before we begin, there are a few things you are going to need to know. </span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Image formats and extensions</span></strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"><br /> Every image format ends in a three-letter extension, the most common are .BMP, .JPG, .GIF and the newcomer, .PNG. First and foremost .BMP files are usually huge and can be further optimized. .PNG files are the new bad boys of the net, they are extraordinarily flexible- they can be optimized and while showing excellent quality. That leaves us with the two most common Web extensions, .JPG and .GIF. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">JPG files are generally used for high quality images since JPG files do a better job at retaining subtle color changes such as gradients and large sums of color. JPG files are used when it's pertinent that you retain quality in your image, but are generally always larger than GIF files because they compress at a color bit rate. </span></p> <p><strong></strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">GIF files on the other hand, are always compressed. They can be compressed using 128, colors, 256 colors and using a full range of colors (notice they're not compressed at a bit rate). Naturally, the more colors you use, the larger the file will be. The single most advantageous feature of GIF files is the fact that they can contain a transparent background while JPG files cannot. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">This brings us to what rules we should follow in terms of size. On the Web we don't think in terms of inches or centimeters, we use a different form of measurement –<em><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;"> pixels</span></strong></em>. The next thing to know is what screen resolution your Web site is designed for. Many older sites are designed for 640x480, which has nearly died in the Web world. Most Web sites are now designed for an 800x600 resolution, but that's starting to lose its favor to the now common 1024x768. Playing it safe, anything at about 300x300 is probably a good size for a product view when it comes to e-commerce. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Every site is different and the best way to find the right size for your images is to experiment with the size for optimal performance. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">You may want to compress the thumbnails using GIF images (for faster load times) and provide a really nice high quality image for the actual product image using. JPG's. If a person's going to click on that product, they are going to want to see a nice image (they are probably willing to wait a few extra seconds to download the larger image.) </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">So this brings us to the next question. How exactly do we resize and/or compress our images? Well there's hundreds of ways to do it, but I'll run over a few ways that are quick and easy. </span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Dreamweaver</span></strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> - Visit this link: <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/exchange/index.cfm#loc=en_us&view=sn106&viewName=Exchange%20Search%20Details&authorid=60639501&page=0&scrollPos=0&subcatid=0&snid=sn106&itemnumber=22&extid=608657&catid=0"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Click Here</span></a> and download the Macromedia 'Web Photo Album 2.1'. It's worth it. After you've installed the extension, just open up Dreamweaver and fire up the wizard. Follow the prompts and you'll have your images recreated and optimized in no time. </span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Windows XP </span></strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">- If you're using Windows XP, there's a neat image re-sizing tool built right into Windows. You can access it simply by browsing to where you have the photo stored and selecting the image, right clicking on the image and select 'resize image'. You'll then be guided through a quick wizard where you can select some options on how you want your images resized. </span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Fireworks/Photoshop</span></strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> - You can always resize the images individually in Fireworks or Photoshop, but this really isn't the best way to do this since you need to work with each image individually. When exporting as a GIF, note which color settings you choose, 128, 256 or exact. The same goes for your JPG files. Be sure to use the bar selector to select how much compression the image should receive. 80 is the standard in a JPG and it works. </span></p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">ACDsee</span></strong><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;"> - As a last resort (if all else fails), visit <a href="http://www.acdsystems.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: none;">www.acdsystems.com</span></a>, and download the trial version of ACDsee. After installed, use the program to find your photo(s) and create a Web page from the menu. It's as simple as that. </span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <p><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; font-family: Arial; color: black;">Ultimately, your goal in the end is to come up with an image that is compressed, that looks sharp and that takes up very little disk space. If your image is over 50kb, you may want to consider what you can do to make the file size smaller. You should definitely consider resizing the image if it's over 1mb. Most of the time a form of compression or resizing will help make the file smaller, thus make your site load faster. </span></p> </article> </main></body></html>