Hosting Problem Solved Poem

Solving Common Problems with Hosting Companies

For those of you with Web sites, you probably know what a “host” is. It’s a company that provides a location, or address, on the Internet where your Web site resides.

In other words, just like a physical business needs an address, so does a Web site. You can’t have a Web site and just “stick it up” on the Web. Unless you want to set up your own server, you have to go through a hosting company who gives you that address, including server space and bandwidth, that enables the search engines and visitors to find your site.

Let’s look at some common problems we often have with hosting companies:

• You can never find an actual person to talk to! They may have a 24-hour customer service line open, but you can never get through to a real person.
  
• Hosting companies often think that the “lowest price” will always get the sale, but they fail to realize that what people really want is excellent customer service, servers that are up almost 100% of the time, and a variety of services that come with the hosting package.
  
• Many hosting companies don’t provide any other functionality other than Web site hosting. They don’t provide a “control panel” full of goodies such as PGP secure e-mail, shopping carts, log analysis, database creation, etc.
  
• Guess what? Technical support people often don’t make the best “customer support” people. They may be technical gurus, but their main interest lies in their high tech servers and other functionality, rather than solving the simple problems of their customers.
  
• In other words, weak customer service is a major problem with the majority of hosting companies these days.
  

Solution:

I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to Combustion Hosting Company, and to say I was impressed is a vast understatement.

Here are some things that struck me as unbelievable. When the phone rings, whoever answers the phone is required to stand up to answer it and talk. After all, the sheer act of standing up requires that they’re on the ball and are listening to your problems and concerns. And, you actually speak to a “real” person!

With Combustion, if you have a problem, they don’t just “tell” you how to solve it, they solve it for you! Also, their services certainly aren’t limited to “hosting.” They can set you up with an account to where you can access the Internet through local access numbers no matter where you travel.

Their prices are extremely reasonable – much better than I had been paying previously. Plus, the “extras” I’ve received by going with Combustion are amazing.

But the one thing that makes Combustion shine over most Web hosting companies is their devotion to providing good customer service, and this is an area in which they truly excel.

So, if you’re in the market for a new Web site, or if you aren’t pleased with your current host, consider Combustion Hosting. It will be one of the smartest moves you could ever make for your Web site. http://www.combustionhosting.com/moreinfo

If you want further proof as to the benefits of using Combustion, read: http://www.techvibes.com/absolutenm/templates/template.asp?articleid=39&zoneid=2

Author, Robin Nobles, Director of Training, Academy of Web Specialists, (http://www.academywebspecialists.com) has trained several thousand people in her online search engine marketing courses (http://www.onlinewebtraining.com) and is the content provider for GRSeo software (http://www.se-optimizer.com). She also teaches 2-, 3-, and 5-day hands-on search engine marketing workshops in locations across the globe with Search Engine Workshops (http://www.searchengineworkshops.com).

Web Hosting Switching Opus

Web Hosting: To Switch or to Stay?

That’s a question that can only be answered by you. Depending on your current status and relationship you have with your provider, along with your evolving business objectives and needs, can determine what course of action to pursue. What are your issues and concerns? Ask yourself some basic questions and see where you stand after you’ve answered them. -Are you no longer satisfied with your current provider? -Did they deliver on the level of services that you signed up for? -Has technical support and customer service been to your satisfaction? -Or has your business grown considerably, and the hosting company cannot provide you with the level of capability and technical support you require?

Technically speaking, if you’re looking for solutions out of frustration, or even a new web hosting provider, you’re either very unsatisfied with the service, or you find that they cannot provide you the service you are looking for to handle your business. Switching isn’t always a bad thing to do, especially if your business isn’t doing well with that one particular provider. It’s time to move on and get your online presence back on track. Unfortunately, for every good thing, there is a negative side. The flip side of finding a new provider is that you’re back at square one. Before you decide, whether to stay or switch, do some research and find some indicators to help you make a sound decision.

The last thing you want to do is be surprised, even though you may have seen the writing on the wall with your web host provider, but didn’t jump on the intuition that something was brewing. If your web host goes under, or doesn’t address your technical problems, you could lose sales, and what’s worse; you may not be accessible to users on the Internet. A good theory with anything is to have Plan B, to handle those setbacks that could otherwise be devastating to your business. To stay in the loop, and on top of your business, here are some things to be on the look out for in regards to your web host provider.

-Support is nowhere to be found. This is one big indicator that the provider is having some difficulties within the business. You’re not getting prompt attention when you call or email with concerns or issues. If they fail to respond to your emails or calls, you have a reason to be concerned. The company may have laid off staff, or is disorganized in processing customer service requests, which could indicate financial difficulties. If you have tried numerous attempts in phoning, or emailing to reach a human person to respond, it’s time to find a new host provider before that hosting company goes under. Keep in mind, the better the support center and technical support; the more stable the web host provider. -Free is not always good. Web hosting companies that offer free services or services of a minimal charge where they cannot make a profit are ones that are generally in trouble. Stay clear of those, and if you started out with one of these ‘freebies’, it would be a good idea to find a good reputable paying service. If you haven’t run into any problems, consider yourself very lucky. But do decide if you feel comfortable with the prospective performance of such a company in the long term, and ask yourself how the company can turn a profit with no rates or low rates. Always remember, ‘you get what you pay for.’ -Reputation of the Web Host. With the nature of the thousands of web hosting providers online, they are relatively very low profile and you don’t really read or hear anything particular about them. But if you find coverage regarding a web host company, make sure it’s good stuff; otherwise you know what action to take if it’s negative. Stay on top of your web host provider newsletters and articles about changes in management, a buyout, a merger, or layoffs. Be aware of such changes, though certainly not always, result in decreased communication or support for the client. If it smells fishy, go with that gut feeling, and find a new host. You can start at http://www.webhostingrebates.com, where they gather all the reputable and most trusted hosting companies in the industry.

-Visit the Web Site of the Web Host regularly. Participate in various discussion groups or forums to see what other businesses are saying about the web host provider. See a lot of negativity? You should have a backup plan ready to go if you are viewing mainly complaints and problems with poor customer support and the quality of service. That’s a sure sign that the provider isn’t doing well. Check out their website to see if their prices are grossly inflated compared to what you purchased the service for. Granted, businesses need to have price increases every now and then, but if they seen overly inflated, that’s a sure sign that something is seriously wrong. Make sure that the web host provider is still providing services and packages. If you find that it isn’t being offered or the site itself has changed with less to offer, which tells you that the company may be phasing out of operation. You want to be hosting with someone else before they shut down.

-Limited service or capabilities. You may be having a great relationship with your current provider, but your business needs have grown and your web host cannot accommodate your upgrade capabilities and technical support for your growing company. You have no other option, than to leave this host on a good note, and find one that will offer you the approximate service and surpass the previous host provider.

Every website needs a home and any web host provider will gladly (beg) house your site. If you’ve made the decision to go with a new provider, it’s time to go on a new search. The best advice is to select a provider with many years of experience is a smart decision... Listen to your colleagues and go where they have had the best luck and let them show you what their web host provider is doing for them. Hopefully, with the experience you have learned with your previous web host provider, you will make the right long term choice.

eMarketingAnswers.com is dedicated to providing free emarketing resources and online promotion tools.
HostingChecker.com - help for all your web hosting needs. http://www.hostingchecker.com

Article may be republished if this portion is not removed. hostingc@hostingchecker.com.

Web Design Creating Opus

How To Build Your First Web Site

Getting Started!

Most Internet service providers offer their customers a space to place a basic site on the World Wide Web. With this basic site you will get your very own URL. (Universal Resource Locater) This will be your business address on the web. Now, anyone who knows your URL will know how to contact you on the World Wide Web. Even if they are on the other side of the world!

Many other places exist where you can easily set up a free website.

• http://www.geocities.com
  
• http://www.freewebspace.net
  
• http://www.tripod.com
  
• http://www.freeservers.com
  

Or surf to http://www.google.com...

Type Free Web Host into the search box. And then check out the top Free Web Host. Comparing their services.

Here are even more reasons to build a website!

• To start a business.
  
• To promote a business.
  
• Advertise where guest can find a Wedding.
  
• Information on an upcoming family reunion.
  
• To put together a class reunion and find classmates.
  
• Publish ideas about life to the world.
  
• Publish works of art and literature to the world.
  
• Build a site to help with a charity or personal project.
  

You will need to learn a little HTML. Web pages are written in HTML. This is a special language read by computers. Don't panic! HTML(hyper text markup language) is easy to learn. Here's a few online resources:

DaveSite http://www.davesite.com

HTML Goodies http://www.htmlgoodies.com

Webmonkey http://www.webmonkey.com

Many special editors are available to guide you in composing HTML documents.

Microsoft Front Page http://www.microsoft.com

Dreamweaver http://www.macromedia.com

Or download one of the WYSIWYG editors. (What You See Is What You Get!)

With these editors you can easily compose web pages without knowing any HTML at all. Go to the site below and type in WYSIWYG Editors in the search box.

http://www.webattack.com

Or you might decide to use the editor at one of the free host to compose your first website.

In addition, the web host usually supply website templates. You plug in your important information and build a professional looking website quickly. All sounds to good to be true. But it is!

Many free web host also supply users with WYSIWYG Editors.

Thanks to technological advances and improved software, composing your first professional looking website is a breeze.

BB Lee is Editor/Publisher of SmallBizBits FREE Home Based Business Newsletter. Subscribe Now and receive a free ebook bonus. Visit http://www.geocities.com/smallbizbits.

Barter or Buying Verse

10 Things You Should Try To Barter For Before Buying

1. Information Products - it could be ebooks, "how to" videos, cassettes, magazines, newsletters, paid e-zines, courses, etc.

2. Advertising Space - it could be banner ads, ezine ads, ebook ads, magazine ads, newspaper ads, tv ads, fax ads, online classified ads, etc.

3. Web Hosting - you could offer a free advertisement for their web hosting service on your site in return for free or discounted hosting.

4. Software - it could be for tax software, web site authoring software, accounting software, newsletter software, graphic design software, etc.

5. Writing/Editing - it could be for web site content, promotional articles, press releases, e-zine articles, promotional ebooks, etc.

6. Accounting/Bookeeping - you could offer a no cost advertisement in exchange for their accounting and booking services

7. Consulting - it could be market consulting, legal consulting, computer/software consulting, business consulting, etc.

8. Copy writing - it could be for brochures, business cards, classified ads, sales letters, product packages, banner ads, promotional products, etc.

9. Merchant Accounts - you could offer no cost insert ads in your product packages in exchange for the option of accepting credit cards.

10. Internet Access - you could offer a no cost pop up ad on your web site in exchange for free or discounted Internet access.

Over 40,000 Free eBooks & Web Books when you visit: http://www.ldpublishing.com.