Making Money With .CO Domains

You all know that .com domains have been widely used by domainers. Domaining is nothing more than buying a domain name to later sell it for a profit. The one good thing about speculation is that it normally drives the value of just about anything upwards. The earlier you jump in and secure that “golden” domain name the better. You never know what a .CO domain will represent in the near future. Although I am not totally convinced that it will be as valuable as a .COM domain, I am convinced that depending on the domain name that you manage to register, it can be worth plenty  Then, again I have been wrong for several times, so don’t take my word for it. It just seems to be a good investment right now if you are in to these type of things.

Read full story on Home Based Business Resources.

3. What makes a site work successfully?

Its a hotly debated question – “What makes a website work well that will genuinely help your business and attract more customers?”

A well designed website can certainly lead to increased business. By following simple guide-lines, it is possible to create a good-looking website that will really give your business the best chance of being noticed.

For your online presence to really count, your brand needs to exude credibility, confidence and efficiency through your website. A well designed website can certainly leverage your business processes. One can achieve this by blending strong design and content, with seamless functionality, and expert support throughout – with time tested processes.

Web Designing is “a process of conceptualization, planning, modeling, and execution of electronic media delivery via Internet in the form of Markup language suitable for interpretation by Web browser and display as Graphical user interface” (ref- Wikipedia)

Web Design can have a powerful affect. Web Design is important and it must be right! The right design kindles in a website visitor the right perception of your business. It engenders confidence and trust in your business. Success online is vital to the overall strength of your business.

It’s essential that –

In an arena saturated with billions of web pages, it requires innovation and expertise, to represent your brand effectively.

Your site must be easy to navigate and simple to use. If your users and potential customers can’t find what they want, this will undermine your site’s performance, in relation to your business goals.

Your web site should, clearly and concisely, reflect your business, values and products, since your web site is now the first point of contact for a new user or potential customer.

A good and innovative design ensures that the site is memorable and encourages the viewer to explore beyond the home page.

The web functionality and programming should use only standard, compliant, valid coding and also provide an alternative programming, to ensure that your site is viewable in any Browser and at any Screen Resolution.

Most Web design and development companies possess skills in one or the other – rarely both. This is where ImagiNET Ventures web solutions differ, as we understand how to design a website that will most effectively present you, your business or organization, with your products and services.

4. What are the common mistakes of a website?

Lets face it! If visitors get lost or become confused while attempting to surf your website, they might hit the back button, and look for a more user- friendly website. People do not like to think, when it comes to finding their way around websites. Don’t make them tick. You need to plan your website from stage to stage, and make a difference between between a very poor website and a very good website.

Let us now see – what are the pitfalls inherent in designing and setting up a website? You may know some of them already, but by avoiding and correcting them, you can be sure to keep constant flow of visitors entering and re-entering into your portal! The list of most common errors is unending but invaluable for new designers, web developers and content writers – who need a list for their website spot check.

1.Site best viewed:

New designers usually use this “site best viewed” with a disclaimer statement regarding which web browser or screen resolution they designed their site, for best viewing. It does not impress the visitor. Instead, invest in skilfully designed website that renders well in multiple browsers, and in any screen resolution.

2.Shabby lay-out and glaring design:

Some sites are totally unbalanced in their lay-out and overloaded design. The designs do not match the page content and appears misplaced and misfit in the entire scene. Give your pages a pleasing appearance, with just the necessary facts and place your design out-lay with a professional touch. Always take screen shots of designs in different resolutions, before uploading the appropriate one.

3.Horizontal scrolling:

The horizontal scroll makes it extremely difficult to read the content on your site, and often your visitors will lose patience and leave. Check your website in a site resolution viewer. A professional website can be viewed without horizontal scrolling in, both, a smaller and larger screen resolution. User’s find scrolling from the top to the bottom of your pages, more clear to view and easy to read.

4.Free Web Hosting:

This is a common web page mistake you definitely need to avoid. Often business owners claim that the business is “just starting”, and that is why they have not yet moved their site to a domain host. Do not use free web hosting if you want your business to be taken seriously. It reflects on your image and credibility.

To resolve this issue, you must choose and purchase a domain name if you, already, do not have one. You also need to choose a professional domain host. There is no getting around this one. If you want to run a successful online business, you absolutely must have a reliable domain host.

5.Appalling Images

Don’t allow your visitor view badly shaped or terribly cropped images and missing graphics files. Optimize your images, using the best height and width. Keep your files in the best formats – j peg for Photographs and gif for artwork.

6.Blaring and ghastly color schemes:

Avoid using ghastly and loud colors that does not match your website concept and mission. Although your text may be easy to read, overly-bright colors distracts and repels the reader away from your site’s purpose. Your designs must reflect class and designer quality, with state-of-the-art designs and pleasantly eye-catching color schemes for your web pages.

7.Slow loading:

If your page does not download rapidly, visitors will quickly move on to find another site. Take action now to reduce the “weight” of your pages . Each image on your site must be correctly sized and optimized for web use. Keep your pages lean and fast for the visitor to move on quickly, with interest.

8.Spell check:

Always spell check the text , keeping it free of grammatical error, punctuations and spelling mistakes. Without spell check, the site looks amateurish and shabby.

9.Ineffective Text Content:

A major mistake is to fill the pages with long text, without any headings and sub-headings. Do not cram your web pages with loaded decorative words and hi-funda text. Readers do not have time to fill their heads with all details.

Make your text more effective. Keep your text simple, crisp and to-the-point. Use decorative words in the right context. Your language should spell clarity, consistency and coherence in content, style, structure and font. The pages should be easy to read and simple to understand, with a smooth flow. The fonts should be rightly used, with appropriate side-headings and the text need to be phrased in short paragraphs, giving a pleasing feel to the reader.

Your website must provide a clear message with a goal-oriented direction, setting you apart from your competitors. Your content should easily answer his question – “what’s in it for me?” The reader must be able to identify with your write-up and find you as his ‘partner’ for addressing his solutions.

10. Absence of an Email Subscription Form:

This critical aspect is often neglected by most website owners. It is very important to have a lead generation for your website via Email subscription form, for optimal business returns. Having a mailing list gives you several advantages like maintaining a visitors list who allow you to contact them, build a relationship, and establish yourself as an expert for solving their problems.

11.Using a weak message ‘join my newsletter’:

Your content , design layout and solutions should be so user-friendly such that it compels the reader to subscribe your mailing list. Do not use a weak message like – “join my free newsletter”. The reader would wonder “Why?” and “If I subscribe, will you give me a bonus, or a free gift instantly, as soon as I join?” If your design and text work impresses the reader for availing your services, you would automatically get email subscriptions for a membership, from your visitors. It speaks on your credibility.

12.No Contact Information – Just giving your email id and the web address is not sufficient for your readers – who may be prospective clients. Keep your detailed contact information easy to find and easy to read. Inclusion of a site-map works wonders for your business.

13.Advertising – Advertisements provide huge revenue but it should be placed skilfully and with reference to the current times. Appropriate advertisements should be placed – reflecting the different verticals of your business. Do not overload your page with ads, especially the big flashy banners. Well placed, well designed ads are okay, if you don’t overload the page.

14. Prices –. Don’t waste your time, hoping you will get email inquiries on your prices. The moment a visitor sees your product or services, his prime question will be “what is the price of this item?” Do not keep the visitor guessing the price; it will give him an opportunity to jump into another website where the price is mentioned and you may end up losing a prospective customer. You need to include a price with the item description, if you sell something.

15.Under Construction – Avoid having a “closed – under construction” or “yet to open” website. Give your visitors atleast a single page of content, with a notice – when the whole site will be open.

16.Music: Include a soft and soothing music or that which is relevant to the content. Do not include music, if it is not needed. Music should not be out-of-control and keep the control buttons easy-to-use. Music can turn one’s mind on but at the same time put your mood off, if it is not rightly timed, controlled and soft.

The list of common mistakes are innumerable. The above general tips gives you an idea of what to avoid and how to resolve. By keeping your website design in good shape and ensuring your web content writing is in good taste, you will find more people visiting and enjoying your website!

About The Author: Vignesh Rajendran has a very principled, hard-working, calm, friendly, intuitive and focused personality, with a sharp business acumen.

In order to succeed in today’s world, you must have an Internet presence. More and more people log on to the internet everyday; there are billions of users world-wide and there are several reasons why one needs a web site. A website is a powerful first impression. Placing your business on the World Wide Web, gives your business the potential for global exposure, no matter the size of your business – be it large or small; singular or multi-national. To have your own website gives your business invaluable advantages, which is illustrated in the answer to the next question, viz-a-viz:

2. How can a website be useful?

Website help you leverage web services for streamlining data transfer to and from your organization.

There are myriad reasons for – How a website can be useful and why you should bring your business online? Some of them are, briefly, mentioned below:

a. Enhanced customer convenience

Your business concern can be more easily and quickly reached, every time a potential or an existing client searches for relevant businesses, products and services over the Internet. Your customers can always keep in touch with you and your business, just by knowing your web site address.

b. Greater reachability of your business profile:

Your business profile can be accessible from anywhere in the world. No other ad medium provides such global coverage. You need not depend on phone book entry or restricted yellow pages and newspaper ad presentations, any longer.

c. Greater possibilities for promoting your business portfolio:

People will not buy your products or services unless they know that they actually exist. You can tell your potential audience much more through a WEBSITE, than you could possibly do via any print advertisements, Yellow Pages listings, or TV/radio commercials. There are no limitations as far as space, time, nationality and residency are concerned. You can say as many things as you want, to as many people as you wish. And your business representation can be as resourceful as is the Internet itself.

d. Efficient low-cost advertising:

Your customers will always be able to obtain thorough up-to-date information about your services or products. Instead of having to rely on randomly aired TV or radio commercials, they can simply browse through your website whenever they like.

e. 24/7 availability:

Website is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It will be your hardest working employee, never getting sick, or taking a holiday. And you can rest assured that your website is always there for you – to answer your customers’ questions or to collect their feedback on your behalf.

f. Time-saving:

Prospective clients can learn about you and your business at any time of the day simply by visiting your website, so you won’t have to be present or involved with the process in any way. Your precious time can be saved and invested in other activities that can increase your profits and further enhance the scope of your business.

g. Cost -cutting:

You can save a lot of money cutting your costs on print ads, brochures, coupons, flyers, specials, newsletters or mailings. What’s more! Its always quick easy and extremely efficient to update real time information on your website; whereas regular renewals of printed materials turn out to be very expensive and time consuming. The fact optimized productivity at minimal cost is more valued in any business and it is possible only through world wide web.

Web services provide a standard way to implement a business function that can also be managed remotely. It employs an effective exchange of information and data-feeds between B2B and B2C portals, information warehouses, news providers, shopping portals like e bay and search engines like Google, MSN, yahoo etc.

Your website must work hard in today’s competitive online environment — attracting visitors, providing a rich user experience and converting them into loyal customers.

About The Author: Vignesh Rajendran has a very principled, hard-working, calm, friendly, intuitive and focused personality, with a sharp business acumen.

You start by creating an auction by clicking the “Sell” tab on the site. You will be led through a series of pages prompting you to tell us a little about the site or domain that you wish to sell. This will include the minimum price at which you wish to start the bidding, the reserve price at which you are willing to sell, and optionally a “Buy It Now” price at which you are willing to end the auction immediately.

At the end of this process, you will be prompted to pay the listing fee. Once you have done this, your auction will begin.

If you’ve provided an enticing description for the item your are selling, and if you have set a fair minimum bid, you can now expect the bids to start rolling in! Stay near your email inbox, though, because some buyers may want to ask questions before bidding.

As the seller, you must accept or reject each bid that is placed on your auction. Once you accept a bid, buyers will no longer be able to place bids less than or equal to that price. You have 72 hours in which to decide how to handle each bid you receive, after which Flippa will reject the bid for you automatically (unless it is a “Buy It Now” bid—these are handled differently).

If you accept a bid greater than or equal to your reserve price, you are legally bound to sell the item to the winning bidder at the end of your auction.

Once the auction has ended, assuming you accepted a winning bid, it’s time to collect payment and hand over the site or domain to the winner. Flippa will send you an email with the winning bidder’s contact details. The details of how you collect payment and how you deliver the item are up to you to negotiate with the winner. Flippa recommends that you work out these details with the seller before accepting a bid.

When your auction ends with a winning bidder, you will also receive an email from Flippa asking you to pay the success fee. You have thirty days to pay this fee after the end of the auction, so you will normally have time to collect payment from the winner before paying this fee.

If you have any questions about the details of selling items on Flippa, feel free to contact support and we’ll do our best to answer them.

Happy selling!

Source: Flippa.com

But this is not true, as the domain age has nothing to do with the ranking they achieve is less time or more time. It depends upon the link profile and the manner in which it is developed. However old sites have more link profile than newly launched one, for instance site that is 2 years old has larger link profile than those who became online recently.

Google has three primary aspects which they take into account when they scan the links that point to your website. The search engine also sees the number of links that points back to your web pages, hence number does counts. Apart from quantity search engines also see quality of these back links. Even the domain authority that points to your site is seen, the page links that are working and relevancy of your web content is also scanned by search engine bots.

Diversity of the link profile is also seen, things like whether you are getting links from many domains or just few ones is observed. The time period of links that are actively pointing towards your website is seen by the Google. The longer the duration, stronger it would get. Such factors are totally against spamming, therefore those interested in building high quality links through spamming will not benefit as much they desire.

You can constitute that link profile, its quantity, quality and maturity is what that matters for domain name success. If all the above aspects are done in correct manner than you are surely going to get higher ranking. Sometimes company name is used in URL, which is very good idea. It makes for the visitors to find your website easily on world wide web thus increasing chances for huge visitor base.

As far as SEO is concerned, it has to be done in certain way that carries out regular maintenance of the site visibility and web traffic.

by Alan Smith

Utilize the forums

As I’ve said in previous posts, the importance of domaining forums in the domain industry are vital and serve as a great resource for beginners and professional domainers alike. Whether you are looking for some honest appraisal opinions or asking questions that only another domainer would know the answer to, the domain forums are there to assist. 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, this constant stream of domain information has shaped many beginner domainers into today’s greatest professional domainers. If you’re not a member of a domain forum you should greatly consider joining one today.

Are you a domainer or a domain developer?

Are you buying domains for quick profit sales? Are you buying domains for the long-term traffic revenue? Are you buying domains to develop and birth new traffic? Whether you choose to do one or all three, you must come to terms and clarify a solid game plan when it comes to your domain investments. It’s reasonably okay to have a few domains being developed but your overall strategy needs to take shape and be narrowed down to a specific objective. Developing a domain name takes time, effort and more time, but the possible payoffs are always huge. Buying domain names in bulk for quick sales is also profitable but relies more on a constant sales initiative to be successful. Either way, you need a tactical approach on how you want to market your domains.

Dissect your portfolio

I once spoke to a guy who boasted a domain portfolio of over 3000 names. After hearing how he was considering selling a few of his “best” domains, I offered to peruse the list and maybe assist with finding some end users that might be potential buyers. He agreed and the next day he sent me a list of about 1000 of his best domains that he was willing to sell. To my surprise over 90% of them were, in my humble opinion, not worth much more than the reg fee. I contacted him back and explained that I was only to find about 75-100 names that could possibly be decent sales. He was stunned. He declined and stated that my appraisal was not correct and thanked me for my time. 3 days laters, I received an email from the exact same guy asking for assistance in selling the 75-100 domain names I previously found in his list. Seems that during those 3 days, he spoke to a few other domainers and received the same appraisal and evaluation of his so called “best” domains. This guy thought since his domains contained popular words like gamble, casino, sex and technology that it automatically made his domains super valuable. What he didn’t consider was the multiple hyphens and terrible combinations of typos and keywords. Don’t be the domainer with a huge list of terrible domains just to brag about how large your portfolio is. Trim your “extra” domains and streamline by selling or trading and use the profit for investing in quality names that are earmarked for immediate revenue or immediate development. Be proud of the overall quality of your portfolio and not just the number of domains it contains.

Know your rep

I amazed on how many people I encounter that in the domain industry that have no idea who their representatives are for such companies as Sedo, Moniker, Go Daddy and other big domain powerhouses. The representatives of such companies exist to assist their members who utilize their services and are hands-down the quickest and easiest way to get something resolved if you feel a mistake has been made. If you have domains either parked or offered for sale with a domain company, I highly suggest sending a quick email to find out who your representative is and do you best to maintain a professional and courteous relationship with them. It’s easier to ask assistance from someone whom you know and knows you than it is to ask a complete stranger. And don’t forget to vote for your favorite domain rep at next years Domainers Choice Awards.

Stay clear of Trademark Infringements

This should be a no-brainer. Time and time again I see domainers struggle with the headaches caused by trademark infringements and bad faith domain registrations. Not only do most of the trademark claims filed at the WIPO result in the domain being transferred to the appropriate party, but it also indicates that your choice in domains is questionable and therefore proving that you are still purchasing non-quality domain names. Domains that infringe on trademarks are not quality. Ask any lawyer. Save your registration fee and steer clear of legal woes.

Auto-renew

Now that your portfolio is streamlined and contains only select domain names, you definitely don’t want to lose or let any of them drop and take a chance of someone else buying you lovely internet real estate. Do yourself a favor and set your domains for auto-renew at your domain register where purchased. It’s a terrible feeling to have someone else scoop up one of your prize domains just because you didn’t or couldn’t find the time to renew the registration. Visit this great article by the Daily Domainer that explains the life-cycle of a domain name and don’t let accidental “drops” happen to you.

Limit the hand regs

Hand regs or hand registrations are domains that are purchased from a publicly available source at a regular registration fee and are either brand new (never been purchased) or have expired and no longer owned by the previous owner. Go Daddy is a domain registrar that is popular with domainers and consistently used for hand regs. The possibility of stumbling along a unregistered domain is always there and the opportunity for someone to register a new domain name that never existed and create value to it is also conceivable, but in essence, most domain names that are hand regged are simply non-researched, impulse purchases that pad a domain portfolio with non-value names. Distinguish yourself as a profitable domainer and limit the amount of hand regs you add to your portfolio. One good way is to wait 24 hours before registering a hand reg domain and then re-evaluating before buying. You may lose a registration every so often but in the long run you will save on unnecessary registration fees and useless domain name ownership.

Stay current with news and sales

To be successful is to be informed. The pulse of the domain industry is constantly evolving and therefore it is beneficial to a domainer to know exactly what is the next potential opportunity or trend being created within our industry. If you buy domain names, you are an investor. If you are an investor, you need to stay current with the news of your investments and other people’s investments. You can do this by monitoring the recent domain sales and news offered by many websites that are specifically geared towards todays domainers. One of my favorite websites is Ron Jackson’s DNJournal. You can find great articles, news and the popular Year To Date domain sales. You need to know what domains are selling, which domains are being bought and how much they are being bought for. Invest time in your investments and reap the rewards. Predicting the next big trend is priceless.

Blog around

Domaining blogs are sprouting up everywhere with domainers eager to share their experiences, setbacks, lessons learned and tips with anyone who wants to listen. We all need to take advantage of this free and useful information by visiting various domain blogs and getting another person’s perspective on our industry. And don’t forget to subscribe to their RSS feeds, if it is offered, and have all this new information sent directly to you to read at your convenience… for free. Subscribe to this blog here.

Diversify with other TLD extensions

While some domainers swear that .com is the only extension worth being bought, there are others, like me, who think it’s absolutely insane to dismiss all other TLD’s and only buy one flavor of domain name. The popularity of .TV and .Mobi and the ongoing success of ccTLD’s has risen and is playing a prominent part in today’s domain marketplace. Generic domains in any of these extensions are being recognized as a highly sought after commodity with no signs of slowing. Familiarize yourself with other TLD’s beside .com, .net and .org and evaluate your domain purchases on a global niche scale the next time you go to buy a domain.

Consider fractional domain ownership

Fractional domain ownership is simply a group of people that own a domain name and share in it’s profits, development and use. There is not one sole owner because it is owned by the entire group. Owning a portion of a high value domain is a great way for a newcomer to the domain industry to begin and understand the ins and outs of professional domaining and share in the profit growth associated with that certain domain. It also allows “regular” domainers to group funds together and own a very premier domain name without one person having to pay the entire purchase price. Look for this trend to boom in 2008.

Optimize your parked pages

Once you buy a domain name, it is up to you whether your domain will contain a fully-functional website that you can customize/adsense or whether you will “park” your domain and allow targeted content to automatically be placed and monetized per visitor. If you choose to park your domains, it’s imperative that you understand how domain parking works and how it can be optimized to bring better results. Sedo is a popular place for domain parking and allows users to see detailed stats and account information for each domain parked on the Sedo network. Revenue is shared with Sedo each time someone clicks on content on one of your parked pages and relies on consistent traffic to be a steady stream of income. Brush up on your domain parking information here.

Update your WHOIS information

The WHOIS database is sort of like a directory of purchased domain names that contains the owner’s contact information, purchase date and expiration of a certain domain. One use of this information is being able to contact a domain owner and inquire about purchasing the domain. Without the correct information in the WHOis database, a potential buyer may not be able to contact the current owner and allow an offer to be placed. Contact your domain registrars and make sure your WHOis information is current and correct. If you opt not to be contacted by potential buyers, you may consider using a service that purchases domains for it’s clients and keeps their information private. There is also an option to pay an additional fee at some domain registrars for private domain registration.

Contact more end users

So you have a great domain name that is considered gold in a certain industry. Great job. Now, if you have decided not to develop it and simply want to profit from a sale, I highly suggest contacting an end user. What’s and end user? An end user is someone who would use the domain name specifically for creating brand recognition in a certain industry. Here’s an example: Adam owns organicdogfood.com and Bob owns an organic dog food company in Texas but uses the domain BobsSuperGoodOrganicDogFood.com. Adam contacts Bob and offers a shorter, brandable and easier to remember domain name that can increase Bob’s exposure on the internet for people searching for organic dogfood. Adam has just contacted a possible end user. A domain name can usually be sold to an end user for more since it is valued more by the actual user of the domain instead of a regular domain buyer.

Change your views on the domain industry

Are there still opportunities to be successful in today’s domain industry? Yes.
Is there still time to take advantage of the booming domain sales? Yes.
Is it still possible for a domain newbie to come in and thrive even with a small initial investment. Yes.

Article by: Rudy Hernandez is the chief domain blogger at LogistikLabs.com. Rudy has been an integral part of the domain industry since 1999.

Trying to identify a web host can be a very daunting task especially when there are so many available nowadays and all of them promise one thing or another. Hence, it is crucial that before you jump in, you do your own homework or research for selecting the most appropriate web hosting company for your website.

With the changing trend of technology, web hosts are also changing. Most of them provide various services in addition to their basic ones. Say if you are running an e-commerce website, then of course you need high end security and a medium through which you can manage your web content efficiently. There are many tools that facilitate this, however if your web hosting service is not reliable then you can miss out on serious revenues and prospective clients.

Once you have determined and identified what web hosting services you require for your online business, it is then time to enlist certain web hosting features and options you must consider. You can find below some of the most important aspects of web hosting:

Disk space and bandwidth

You should know how much space your website would need and approximate data it will generate. When we talk about disk space, well, it’s actually the amount of storage assigned to you by the web hosting provider. The bandwidth is the amount of traffic that is allowed to access and leave your website. In case your website has a lot of graphics then you would require higher storage area and greater bandwidth.

Programming tools and the OS

You need to be sure that your website is uploaded through secure servers using the latest Operating System. Most web hosts run on a UNIX based operating system, usually Linux or BSD. For the running of various web applications you would require ASP, .NET, MS SQL, SBS and for these you need a Window based host.

Pricing Aspect

You need to compare pricing before you finalize a web hosting service. Some may provide you better services but at low pricing. It’s not always true that the best hosting services are always the most expensive. Do your research and then finalize.

Support, Security, Guaranteed uptime and Backups

Security and backups are two very important aspects that you need to consider. You should always choose a web hosting service with reliable telephone support. Some also offer 24/7 support through local or toll-free numbers. In case you are running an ecommerce website then security is one aspect that you just cannot discard. Your web hosting service provider should be such that they can monitor things round the clock and ensure no unwanted intruder can hack your site. After all it’s your website and it is really worth looking into this aspect of web hosting.

This original article is the property of Web Hosting Geeks (http://webhostinggeeks.com). Web Hosting Geeks provides independent customer and webmaster reviews of top 10 web hosting providers. Top web hosting reviews, best web hosting awards, web host rating, web hosting articles and more.

Recommended by WordPress, here is what they have to say:

There are hundreds of thousands of web hosts out there, the vast majority of which meet the WordPress minimum requirements, and choosing one from the crowd can be a chore. Just like flowers need the right environment to grow, WordPress works best when it’s in a rich hosting environment.

We’ve dealt with more hosts than you can imagine; in our opinion, the hosts below represent one of the best and brightest of the hosting world.

BlueHost:

“WordPress Auto-Install — new WordPress updates are made available within 24 hours! Unlimited disk storage, Unlimited monthly data transfer, host unlimited domains on 1 account, 1 free domain name for as long as you host with BlueHost, 2500 POP / WebMail addresses, 50 MySQL databases, free control panel, free Fantastico, free SimpleScripts, 24/7 network monitoring, 99% uptime guarantee, mirrored storage backups, no hidden fees, voted best support in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008!”

There you go. The features are so extensive it is difficult to mention all of them here. If you are interested and yet to be convinced, you can find here, more about BlueHost Webhosting Solutions

Let me explain. Yes, ICANN understands how emotionally traumatic and financially disastrous it can be to lose your domain due to registrar error or your own poor bookkeeping. To paraphrase what was once so famously said, “They feel your pain.” And ICANN has made proposals to alleviate this trauma. Evidence of this can be found at the ICANN website under the heading “Life Cycle Of A Typical gTLD (generic Top Level Domain; i.e., Com, Net, Org, etc.). There you will find this clever illustration made up of several arrows demonstrating the life cycle of one of the above mentioned TLDs.

One of the arrows has the title-in large print-Auto-Renew Grace Period. “Great!” you think. But under this title in small print is the kicker (0-45days). In other words that Grace Period is just as long as the entity controlling the domain wants it to be. It can be as long as a month and a half-which strikes me as a bit much-or as short as zip (a bit little). And guess what, Mr. Mrs. and Ms. Registrant, that controlling entity isn’t you.

But don’t worry, you should know in advance what the policy of your Registrar is regarding the length of the Auto-Renew Grace Period under his aegis. After all, the RAA (Registration Accreditation Agreement), the controlling agreement between ICANN and the registrars, says that the Registrar should clearly state on its website its auto-renewal policy. I fear the determinative word here is “should.” I’m no lawyer but I don’t think “should” is a synonym for “will.” In my experience that information is usually on the website somewhere-but not exactly front-and-center. So if you’re not sure, ask. Better yet watch your domains closely and don’t let them expire. Now let me ask you again, “How long is your Auto-Renewal Grace Period?”

Article written by Mike Nardine

What is Managed Hosting?

Simply put, dedicated hosting services, a dedicated server, or managed hosting is a type of Internet hosting in which the client pays for use of a server that will not be shared with anyone. Unlike shared hosting, organizations enjoy full control over the server(s), including choice of operating system, hardware, etc. A complete managed hosting solution usually includes server administration provided by the hosting company. Dedicated servers are most often housed in data centres, which provide redundant power sources and HVAC systems. Managed hosting service providers are typically also responsible for your network, devices, operating system and application infrastructure components.

The Benefits of Managed Hosting There are several benefits to managed hosting. Below we will examine three of the most valuable benefits of using a managed hosting service.

Greater Value Managed hosting can in most cases provide greater value by increasing the cost efficiency of the entire process. Service providers have fully trained experts readily available and there is no need for you to invest in education and training as you may have to do with your own staff in order to get them to the level of efficiency that service providers already have. Thus managed hosting allows you to focus on your core business, rather than spending extra time and resources managing your technical infrastructure. Furthermore, there is a cost advantage with managed hosting. Because service providers distribute the cost and amount of available bandwidth among several clients, they are able to offer better prices on bandwidth and services than the client would be able to obtain n their own. The cost savings available to users of managed hosting solutions include not having to invest in.

Better Responsiveness Managed hosting provides better responsiveness by guaranteeing 24-hour service and building in many layers of support and contingency planning. Because it is the core business of managed hosting service providers to proactively manage and optimize resources, they are in a much better position to conduct effective risk management and provide timely and efficient responsiveness to any unexpected issues. Because they know what they are doing, service providers provide better case management than internal IT staff could hope to achieve. Furthermore, because a large part of their business is customer service, most managed hosting companies pride themselves on quick response times and expedient solutions.

More Features Investing in managed hosting often buys you even more than you bargained for. Many managed hosting services include an array of features that provide even greater value than the solution itself. Some of these features are invaluable for a company that relies heavily upon technology infrastructure but does not have the time or resources to consider all the ‘extras’ that work towards optimizing the company’s network. Some of the features commonly included or at least available with managed hosting are:

On-going management, optimization and technical support – Customer portals with user-friendly reporting functionality – Online trouble-ticketing – Risk assessment and management services – Data back-up and disaster recovery services – Managed firewall, VPN and intrusion detection services – Content strategies for web optimization – Content delivery services

For the reasons detailed above and many others, managed hosting is simply the wisest and most comprehensive solution for companies with complex operations and business processes. Though some of the features listed may vary from provider to provider, a good managed hosting service will provide great value.

This article provided by A. Nutt