Top Rounded Section

Choosing a good web host and the right hosting package for you

Posted: September 30th, 2009

web-hosting-advice

So you’ve got your new website built and it’s ready to go live. Now you need to host it somewhere so that it can actually be viewed by users on the Internet. But how do you know which company to put your site with? After all there are literally thousands to choose from. We’ve put together a list of features and things to consider when choosing the right host and the right hosting package for your website.

Choosing your web hosting company

There are several factors to consider when choosing a web hosting company, the most important of which we’ve listed below.

  • How reliable is their service? It’s no good having a website if the server it’s hosted on keeps going down. You need to look at the level of service guarantee offered by the hosting company. No company can say for certainty that they are able to offer a 100% uptime guarantee, but a good company will be able to offer (and more importantly deliver) a 99.9% uptime guarantee for your site.
  • Technical support - This is extremely important. No matter what there will be a time when everyone, experts and non-IT experts alike will need to contact their hosting company for some sort of techincal support. A company that doesn’t provide good techinical support is no good at all. You should look at the different methods available for obtaining technical support from your web hosts. At the very least they should provide email and telephone support and a good company will also provide further levels of support on top of that for businesses and organisations that require a higher response rate than normal.
  • What limits do they place on web traffic? - something that non-technical people may overlook is the fact that a lot of web hosting companies charge extra for sites that have a lot of web traffic. Your hosting may have been cost effective when you set it up but if you’re getting additional bills each month because your website is generating more traffic than your current host allows it may be costly in the long-run. Make sure you read all the details of the hosting package that you’re purchasing so that you know what your limits are before your site goes live. You should also be aware that not all web hosting companies place limits on web traffic.
  • Which server type should you choose Windows or Linux? – the answer to this questions is pretty straightforward. If your website uses PHP coding then you should choose a linux server, if you’re using classic ASP or ASP.NET then you will need a windows server. Your web designer should also confirm this with you if they’re arranging hosting for you.

Choosing the right hosting package for you

You will find that a web hosting provider has several different packages available so you should be able to find one that’s right for your site. The list below details some of the factors you should consider about your own website when choosing your hosting package:

  • How large is your site in terms of number of pages? - larger sites need more web space than smaller sites
  • How many visitors do you estimate your site will receive on a monthly basis? – remember those web traffic limits we’ve talked about previously? Now’s the time to check out exactly what limits (if any) will be imposed. The higher your number of visitors, the more web traffic your site will generate
  • How often will your site be updated? – again look at the web traffic limitations when factoring in site updates as changes you make to the site when uploading new files will be counted as web traffic
  • Are you using a content management system? - if so you will need to look at a hosting package that provides database support such as MySQL and PHP Scripting. Cheap and cheerful hosting packages will not allow you to do this.
  • Does your site use video or audio files? – If you’re using a lot of multimedia files within your site you will need to ensure that your hosting package provides enough space on the server for all of your files. You may even want to look at hosting packages that offer unlimited web space in some cases.
  • How many email addresses will you be requiring? – this can quite often be overlooked and it’s an important factor to consider. You don’t want to be paying £25 – £50 each time you want a new email account adding to your domain. Make sure you double check the number of email accounts the hosting package you’re choosing provides so that you don’t get caught out by further charges later on.

All of the above questions will determine the type of hosting package you will need. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the site and the more often it is updated, the higher the grade of hosting package you will require.

So what can I do if I’m not happy with my current hosting company?

Firstly, don’t worry. It’s entirely possible to change hosting companies. You should consider all of the points above when choosing your new web host. As always it’s adviseable to read customer testimonials, or even better speak to people that you know who have a website and ask them for an account of their experiences with their current host.

We’ve helped out lots of people that have approached us as they were not happy with either the price they were paying with their hosting company, or the level of service they were receiveing. They asked us to find them a new and better service and we were able to do just that often providing more features for a lot less money.

If you need any help, feel free to ask us

Should you wish to find out more information about the hosting packages that we provide for clients please visit our web  hosting page. We can offer unlimited web hosting with unlimted emails and a free .co.uk domain name for £75 per year. Or if you simply want some information, but are not looking to buy right now please feel free to leave a comment on this blog or contact us directly.

Thank you for reading.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Web hosting | 7 Comments »

Help in choosing a good web designer, what to look for, ask and expect

Posted: September 23rd, 2009

Getting your business on the web is very important. If you’re not doing it your competitors will be. However, not everyone is an IT expert and some people may feel intimidated or afraid to dip their toes into the online world. Choosing a good web designer is imperative, but what should you look for in a design company? Are you getting the right advice or are they simply preying on your lack of knowledge and bumping up the price?

We’ve compiled a list of points below that will help you in choosing a good web designer/design company.

Blindfolded businessman, not knowing what he's choosing

Look at testimonials on the designer’s own website

Customer testimonials will give you a good inidication of the level of service received by other clients from the designer or company you’re thinking of approaching to build your website for you. A good web design company will have several testimonials from a range of clients and will keep them up-to-date. If the testimonials are all from 5 years ago you may want to dig a little further.

Have a look at examples of the work done by the designer and actually vist their client sites.

Any decent design company or designer will have a portfolio of their work displayed on their website. You should take a look at these and, rather than just viewing them on the design company’s site, actually visit the websites themselves. We’ve seen instances where client sites look great on the designer’s own site because they’re simply displaying an image, however, upon visitng the actual website it looked nothing like the screen shot shown off by the designer.

The site may even have missing images or text that overlaps itself if it’s not been coded in the correct way. Don’t take the designer’s word for it, have a look for yourself.

Call the designer/design company – see how easy they are to get hold of

Customer service is very important. Sure, it’s great when your website is up and running with no problems, but what happens if something goes wrong? You need to be able to get in touch with support from the design company who built your site. That’s why it’s a good idea to attempt to contact them randomly a few times to see how responsive they are. Do you have to wade through several telephone menus before speaking to someone? Were they helpful when you did speak to them? Have they replied to your emails and if so did you understand what they were saying or was it simply techno jargon that left you feeling like you needed more help?

All of these things should be considered along with the other points mentioned above.

Arrange a face-to-face meeting with the designer

Face to face meetings allow you to get a ‘feel’ for the type of service you’ll be receiving. A good design company will always be willing to visit you at your own premises at a time that’s convenient to you. They should also be willing to allow you to visit them if you want to see their base of operations.

During this meeting a good designer will assess your level of techinical expertise and then converse with you in a way that you can understand, clearly explaining things to you in layman terms if necessary. You should never leave a meeting feeling like you were intimidated or you don’t really know what you’re getting yourself in to. The designer is there to meet your needs, not their own.

Find out about other services that may be useful to you

Besides building a nice new website for you most design companies and designers can also provide other services ranging from printed work to email and web hosting. Take a look at the designer’s website and see what other services they provide. A good design company/designer will be only too pleased to assist you in other areas besides building your site for you.

What happens once your website is finished?

This is a very important point to consider. You don’t want to get involved with someone or an organisation that don’t want to know you once they’ve finished the initial project unless you’re prepared to spend more money with them. You want a relationship with your designer, not a quick flirt. You need to feel confident that should you have any questions or things you need clarifying, your designer will be there for you to answer them.

As recently as a few days ago we were speaking with a client who had purchased a domain name for his company several months ago but wasn’t able to get hold of anyone who could help him out with transferring it to a new host. They simply never returned his calls or answered his emails. I’m pleased to say that we’ve managed to help him out with this situation now and he’s happy again and has now moved his design projects over to us as well.

Final thoughts

If you follow the guidelines above you should feel more confident in choosing who you give your hard earned money to when you’re having your website built. If you would like any further information or advice about this or any other aspect of web design, web hosting, domain name registration or transfer please feel free to contact us

We are Yellow Circle Web Solutions Limited  based in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire and we provide web design, development and hosting services.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Web Design | 3 Comments »

The importance of keeping your web browsers up-to-date

Posted: September 16th, 2009

modern-web-browser-logos

Over the last few years we’ve visited a wide diversity of clients and completed a large range of different web projects. When talking to clients we always try to assertain their current level of computer knowledge and then talk to them on that level so that they understand what we’re saying and where we’re coming from. One thing we’ve noticed over time is that some clients are either still using old, outdated versions of web browsers or, in an even worse case scenario, weren’t even aware that updated versions were available.

Reasons you should you keep your browser up-to-date?

There are  many reasons that you should keep your web browser up-to-date and we’ve listed some of the more important ones below.

  • Security issues (very important) – older browsers tend to have more security vunerabilities than newer ones as development is no longer on-going for that particular version. That means that if a hacker finds a security hole in the older version of the browser then that hole will not be patched as the developers don’t support it any more, therefore the security hole remains and your details and system may be at risk as a result of it. Of course, you should always ensure that you have good anti-virus and firewall software installed on your PC too, before you go online.
  • Modern websites may not display properly (very important) – a good web developer will provide alternate coding for older browsers if their client requires it. However, some of the more modern websites contain visual effects and layouts that may not be supported by an old version of a web browser and the pages may not display properly to customers and users viewing your site if the developer hasn’t accouted for this. We always ask clients about the different browser versions their site needs to support before we write a single line of code for a project. You should be aware that not everyone does this and just because your site looks correct to you, it may not do to other people viewing it. Always encourage your users to upgrade to a modern web browser to ensure they’re safe and your site is being presented in the correct way.
  • You may be missing out on great browsing features – newer versions of web browsers usually contain some new features that will simply never be found in the older versions. These features may be something like in-built rss feeds, or browsing in privacy options, plus a whole range of others. Basically you’re missing out on a better web experience if you’re still using an old program.
  • All of the popular web browsers are free to download and use – there is absolutely no charge at all. You can protect yourself online, see web pages as they’re meant to be viewed and take advantage of better features all at no cost to you.

How do I update my browser?

So you’ve now decided that using an up-to-date browser is the right thing for you, so how do you go about getting the latest version? Just click the download links below.

Internet Explorer – Download Internet Explorer (PC Only)

Firefox – Download Firefox (available for PC and Mac – this is the browser we recommend you use on PC)

Safari – Download Safari (available for PC and Mac – this is the browser we recommend you use on Mac and it’s usually installed as standard on Macs)

Opera – Download Opera (available for PC and Mac)

If you’re using Windows XP or above then you should ensure that Automatic Updates are turned on so that you always get the latest updates for your machine, including browser updates. If you’re working on a Mac, then you you can use the Software Update feature in the Apple menu to obtain the latest programs.

Final thoughts

We hope that you’ve found this article to be useful. The next time you’re having any web design work done, whether we’re doing it for you or another company is make sure they’re aware of your web browser requirements and build your site accordingly.

Of course by that time you’ll already be using a safe and modern web browser, right?

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in General Posts, Web Browsers | No Comments »

Things you should consider before building your website

Posted: September 9th, 2009

man-sitting-on-hill-thinking
It’s certainly true that a website, when built properly, can help your business massively. Not only is a website a source of information for customers, it can also attract new business enquiries and sales and serve as a 24/7 service.

However, like anything a website needs to be created and maintained in the correct way. To help you to decide what should and should not be included in your website we’ve put together a list of things that you need to consider before deciding that you should have a website built.

Determine the goal of the site

This is the most important thing you need to decide before you even contact a designer to build the site. You need to clearly identify what you want your website to achieve. For example, do you want to sell products online or do you simply want to advertise products? Do you want the site to increase business for you or do you want it to serve as an information source for existing customers?
Once you have your goal you can begin to build a list of sections (links) that you need to include on your site. For example, a home page, a contact page, a products page, a services page etc. Jot them down on paper, a visual representation is far easier to work with than trying to keep it all in your head. These sections will form the building blocks of your site with all other content deriving from them so it’s important you include everything you need to in order for your site to achieve it’s goal.

How often will the site need updating?

Some sites don’t need updating very often at all, whilst others need to be updated every day. You should consider this factor when thinking about your own site.

Who will update the site?
Often if you don’t need to update your site regularly it will be more cost effective to have your site updated by the person/company that built it and will also save you time. However, if you need to update the site regularly then you will benefit from having your site built with a Content Management System (CMS) included. Content Management Systems allow non-technical users to add, edit and delete content from a site quickly and easily. In addition to text content you can often add mulimedia assets such as images, photo galleries and video links to your site too (with no coding knowledge).

Content Management Systems can save you money
Initially a site with a Content Management System included will cost you more money than a site without, but over time it will be more cost effective for you as you won’t have to keep paying interim charges to the site desgin company for updating your site.

Choosing a domain name

A domain name is your website address. It’s the www. bit. It’s something every website needs and it’s important you choose the right one. Most businesses usually use the name of their business as the address, although sometimes this is not possible and so an alternative has to be chosen.

Here are some tips for choosing a good domain name:

  • Don’t choose long names that are too long – as well as being a bind to type in you may also find that fitting the domain name onto your letterheads and other stationary becomes difficult due to the length.
  • Don’t include words that people often mis-spell – an example of this is the word veterinary. I used to mis-spell this all the time until I actually worked within the veterinary industry as a web designer. It would be far better to use the words vet or vets in your domain name
  • Choose a domain that’s right for the markets you sell to – if you only provide services to the uk choose a .co.uk domain name, if you sell internationally then .com is better suited
  • You can have more than one domain name pointing to the same website
  • If someone has a domain name that you really need they may be willing to sell it to you. You can contact them to discuss this matter, just be prepared to pay for it

Choosing a corporate identity for your site with colours

Quite often your company will have it’s own corporate colour scheme and these can be included in the design of your site. If you want to proceed in this manner you should provide your website designer with existing business literature (preferably in some form of electronic format) to enable them to sample the colours and use them in your site. This is a good idea when you want to maintain a consistent look to your branding.

However, sometimes you may need to choose different colours than the ones you use for your business, for example, if the website is a sideline business or you’re expanding the services you’re offering by introducing new products, for example you may be a company that primarily provides bathroom suites, but have decided to branch out into heating products too. In this example you would need a different colour scheme for the website that showcases your heating products than you would on a website that showcases your bathroom suites. You shouldn’t be afraid of allowing your website designer some creative freedom once you’ve decided the time is right for your website to be built. A good web design company will discuss this in-depth with you (and preferably face-to-face) in order to get a good understanding of what you need and will present you with draft designs before agreeing upon a final design.

Final Note

Hopefully you’ll now have a better understanding of the factors you need to consider before you have your website designed and built. We’ll be providing more articles in the future about things to consider once your site is built. Thanks for reading.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »