Designing
Web
Usability
Written
by
the best-known guru
of usability.
Secrets
of
Successful
Web Sites
Siegel
gives
a perfect blueprint of ways to
plan, develop and design websites
that work.
Creating
Killer
Web Sites
Another
enlightening book by
Siegel, which (in my opinion) counts as the "creme de la creme" of
website development books.
Don't
Make
Me Think
If
you read
this book
along with Nielsen's books, and follow their advice,
visitors will
love visiting your
websites.
101
Ways
to Promote
Your Web Site
Once
you
have your website launched,
you want people to
visit. Author Sweeney
is
an expert on
a plethora of ways to accomplish it.
Not as Easy as It Might Seem
Volume
I, Issue 9
ISSN:
1547-7754
February 2004
printable version
Chris
King, Editor
By
subscription only, this monthly e-newsletter will be loaded with short, "down
and dirty" tips
to help you with solving the everchanging and growing puzzle of
the Internet. This e-zine will also serve as a place to ask your questions
and find the answers.
One of the most often asked questions that I receive from clients, others in the throes of having and/or designing a website and even other designers/developers is, “How do I choose an ISP (Internet Server Provider)?” Your ISP is important because this is the company that hosts your website – in other words, provides the location on the Internet where your website lives and resides. If you do a search for “website hosting” you will find 4,600,000 links, and there are close to that many possible hosts.
If you ask a friend or a group of people/companies with websites for a suggested host, you will get as many recommendations as there are those replying. You may also hear “horror stories” about some of the hosts that others swear by. So, how in the world can you ever choose? In this issue’s tips, I am going to outline my thoughts and opinions on ways to make a sensible choice without breaking the bank, but with a happy and prosperous outcome free from disasters.
TIP #1. Consider your purpose and needs.
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We’ve asked this before, but what is the purpose of your website? If it is a personal site for friends and family, then the uptime, size and complexity of features are not as important. You can even use the free personal site that comes with your Internet connection. Some of these include advertisements (like Yahoo), but for a small fee, you can usually have the ads removed.
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If, however, your website portrays your business, you want to make sure that the host chosen is up and running at least 99.9% of the time. When visitors to your site get the “this page cannot be displayed” message, they seldom return and also form the opinion that you and/or your company are not professional.
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If you have a large, complex website or plan to have your website grow into one, then you will want to choose a plan with the features that are important to you.
TIP #2. When choosing a hosting plan, decide or work with your designer/developer to decide what features are most important to you and your website.
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Start by checking how much size is available. Depending upon how many graphics, scripting and content your pages consist of, most plans will provide sufficient space. For example, 250 MB should hold an average of 1,200 pages.
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Will you need e-mail addresses (which I suggest, because every time you send an e-mail, your domain name appears)? Some plans offer unlimited e-mail addresses while others average around 20 to 40.
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How about autoresponders? I love them because you can set up messages to be sent out when someone clicks a specific e-mail address. This is the way I handle my e-newsletter subscriptions. In these days of spam, if someone uses one of those e-mails who isn’t legitimate, they bounce back and I don’t add them to my distribution list.
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What about other features like databases, FrontPage extensions, forums, search engines, shopping carts, etc.? The list can be endless, but there are many features that you will never use – or, as you grow, will you?
TIP #3. Price can vary from as little as $3.00 a month to more than $100 per month, so how do I choose? (Warning: what follows are the opinions I have formed from my experiences with several different hosts!)
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I check to see how long a company has been in business and what corporate backing and rating it receives. Some of the very new hosts may be great, but you don’t want one that comes and goes quickly after you have paid for a year or two of hosting (I never sign up for more than one year at a time).
- I make sure that the host offers an excellent statistics package. It is important to know all about your traffic, and especially important if you are designing for others. Their boards and bosses want to know how well the site is doing.
- If it is a personal site that I use just for hosting sites on which I am working at the time, then I don’t worry as much about the features, but I do want a site with excellent uptime.
- And probably, for me, the most important feature is the amount and professionalism of the technical and customer support. I want to be able to reach a live, polite and knowledgeable person at 3 a.m. in the morning on the weekend, who will solve my problem with ease and pleasure (over a toll free line). Even though most of the hosting companies brag about this feature, many do not follow through to my satisfaction. The only way to find out is to try them.
Choosing a host may be one of the most difficult choices you will make, but the good news is that there are many good ones out there to replace the one that doesn’t work out. Happy hunting!
Remember, send your comments and questions to me at chris@creativekeys.biz. I love to receive feedback and will answer your questions in future e-zines.
If you would like to subscribe to this e-zine and receive five free Internet tips, send an e-mail to subscribe@creativekeys.biz with subscribe in the subject line. If you ever wish to be removed from the mailing list, just send an e-mail to unsubscribe@creativekeys.biz with unsubscribe in the subject line.
Chris King
P.O. Box 221255
Beachwood, Ohio 44122
(216) 991-8428
http://www.creativekeys.biz
