The digital business landscape is a hot topic of debate. Some argue it's the future, while others insist it will never replace traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. The reality lies somewhere in between. While online business will never completely replace physical stores, a strong online presence is crucial for any successful business. E-commerce revenues are already in the billions and continue to grow exponentially. Any business wishing to stay competitive in this new marketplace, including yours, cannot afford to ignore the power of e-commerce.
After registering your domain name, the next crucial step is finding the right hosting company. This decision is as important to your business as choosing the right partner. Even experienced webmasters find this task daunting. This article aims to share insights from personal hosting experiences to make your decision-making process easier.
Reliability is the backbone of your web-based business. A good hosting company should be dependable, with a consistent "up-time" track record. After all, a website is useless if it's down. Your hosting company should operate like the electric company - always there, always working. However, even the most reliable companies need to periodically take the system down for maintenance. Your hosting company should inform its customers in advance and perform that maintenance at off-peak hours to minimize disruption to your web business.
Service is an extremely important, yet often overlooked, factor. Many hosting companies end their relationship with you the moment the server sale is made. This leaves the crucial question, "Okay, I've got a server--now what?" unanswered. Some companies are so controlling that webmasters are discouraged from customizing and managing sites for their clients. Others give you space on a server, but nothing more - you have to configure the server and set up all the back-end functionality manually. A good hosting company, like Virtualis, provides a community of resources throughout the life of your e-business.
The ideal hosting solution also provides easy-to-use web management tools. Virtualis offers tools that are easy enough for a novice to quickly understand, and customizable enough for a webmaster to optimize. One of the incredibly useful tools is the Virtualis Email Manager, which saves a lot of time from manual configuration. You can quickly and easily set up email accounts, set up and remove POPs, create auto-responders, create aliases, and more. Virtualis has 21 tools in all, all of which are totally web-based, allowing for instant accessibility, no matter where you are.
Support is a primary consideration, even for experienced web developers. Questions always arise as you develop sites and add features and/or functionality. The ideal hosting company will be there to assist you along the way, as well as talk you through any rough spots. Make sure that your chosen hosting company offers support 24/7 and offers a variety of means to contact support, such as telephone, email, and web-based access.
"Space" refers to how much server room you will need to store/manage your digital data. How much space you need can be determined by how much content you will post, how much data you will store, and how much traffic you are expecting. Ideally, you should find a company like Virtualis that offers both shared and dedicated servers. That way, you can start small, and expand as your online business grows.
In conclusion, when selecting a hosting company, consider reliability, service, software, support, and space. Choose a "silent partner" who will deliver steady uptime, sophisticated time-saving tools, and supreme customer support. After much personal research, and after consulting my good friend, Jim Daniels, I chose Virtualis. From getting my domain name to finding the right hosting package for my needs, my silent partner, Virtualis, made getting my business online impossibly easy.
Understanding the Intricacies of Ecommerce
Ecommerce is a term that is frequently thrown around in the digital age, but many people are still unsure about how it actually works. This article aims to demystify the world of ecommerce, explaining the key components and how they interact to facilitate online transactions. From merchant accounts to shopping carts and real-time processing, we'll walk you through the ecommerce path and help you understand how to make it work for your business.
The Importance of Taking Time Off: A Personal Reflection on Internet Marketing
This article is a personal reflection on the importance of taking time off, especially for those involved in the demanding world of Internet Marketing. It emphasizes the need to balance work and personal life, and the benefits of recharging one's mental and physical batteries. It also provides advice on how to manage burnout and the importance of prioritizing health and family.
Maximizing the Use of Customer Data in Your Online Business
In the digital age, online businesses have access to a wealth of customer information. However, many fail to utilize this data to its full potential. This article explores how businesses can better use customer information to enhance their marketing strategies and improve customer relations.
