The Unbiased And Updated Guide To Selecting The Right Hosting Company

by Matt Janaway, owner of Outreachly.uk

Are you concerned about the speed of your website? There are many site owners who never even consider speed and uptime as factors for achieving more traffic and conversion. The truth is that the thousands of dollars that you’re investing into online branding and marketing can burn to ashes right before your eyes if your website takes too long to load or is unavailable. This can happen when you trust the wrong hosting company with your web property.

Unfortunately, most of the articles and reviews that you come across appear to be written by people who are being paid by hosting companies. But even if you succeed in choosing the right hosting, you never know when a perfectly good server goes bad because it outsold its capacity or started some upgrades. Eventualities aside, there’s a lot you can do to make sure you don’t have to go through the trouble of having to migrate your domain to another host from time to time. Take a few minutes to go through the following completely neutral and unbiased checklist to help you select the right hosting company the first time.

Step #1: Know Your Needs.

There’s no need to buy a canon if all you want to do is hunt sparrows. On the other hand, an air-gun won’t be a good choice for shooting elephants. You should know what kind of website you’re building, what types of applications and versions of software you need, and what your visitor volumes are likely to be.

Shared Hosting: Shared hosting is a good place to start if you’re not looking to become the next Amazon. Well, maybe that’s an over-exaggeration, but if you’re building a brochure website with less than 20 pages and expect less than 50 visitors at any time, shared hosting is for you.

VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting: It’s a step above shared hosting and is suitable if your requirements are outgrowing shared hosting. VPS is generally used by companies that deal with resource heavy applications and secured data.

Dedicated Hosting: As the name depicts, dedicated hosting gives you access to your own server with all its resources. You should buy dedicated hosting if you are in fact looking to become the next Amazon! Dedicated hosting can be a little more complicated when compared with shared and VPS hosting, here’s a handy guide with some tips.

Step #2: Compare Server Uptimes.

Imagine the frustration you’ll face if your site is regularly offline during rush hours. In order to avoid losing money and sleep, take some time to compare the uptime records of the providers you’re considering. Fortunately, there are tools and resources available for that.

• Netcraft Hosting Provider Performance Monitor provides a regularly updated record of 40 web-hosting companies
• PC Magazine publishes a credible list of top web hosting services, along with reviews
• Finally, you can track your server with one of the uptime monitoring tools, such as UptimerRobot, which allows you to monitor uptimes for up to 50 sites.

Step #3: Check Hosting Server Speed.

You can easily find out your page speed after you’ve hosted your website, but it would be too late. So there must be a way to check it before you decide to host with a particular provider. Your site speed will depend upon, among other factors, the bandwidth or resources that your provider assigns to your website. Almost all hosting plans come with unlimited hosting these days, which is another way of saying, “We’ll assign resources depending upon the traffic we have at a particular time.”

• Luckily, tools like Pickuphost allow you to perform a speed test on dozens of famous hosting providers
• There are also several updated lists available comparing the performance of the best hosting companies
• You can use services like WhoIsHostingThis to find out where your competitors are hosting, perform a speed test on their websites, and try to determine their hosting quality

The last one is more of a finger-in-the-wind method, which might work. You should remember that the speed does not depend on the hosting quality alone, but on a number of other factors too.

Step #4: Check their Server Location.

Evidence exists that your hosting IP address can affect your SEO and traffic from Google, particularly if your users are concentrated in a specific geo-location/country. Therefore, it’s important for local businesses to get hosting nearest to their target market. Before you decide to host with a particular provider, you must ask them the geo-location of the server/host, and confirm that it’s located in your country.

Fluctuation in traffic when the hosting location was shifted back and forth between UK and US (Source)

If you are a local/geo-specific business, but need to host your website in another country due to any reason, you may need to set the international targeting in WMA to your target country. Make sure you keep a close eye on Analytics to see if changing the international targeting and/or host location has an effect on your traffic.

Step #5: Check Renewal Prices.

Most of the hosting providers offer cheaper prices for first-time signup. It’s only at the time of renewal that many people find out they are required to pay double or more than what they paid first time. Make sure you know what you’re signing up for.

Step #6: Check Basic Hosting Features.

Almost all major hosting companies provide all essential features these days. However, you should reconfirm that your hosting provider offers contemporary features including:

1. Secure site certification
2. Malware and spam protection
3. Auto Script Installer, .HTaccess, SSI, FTP access, mySQL
4. An easy to use hosting control panel such as cPanel , Plesk, or vDeck (preferably cPanel)
5. Multiple domain hosting—so that you don’t have to pay extra if you need to host more domains on the same hosting
6. Site backup—your provider must provide regular site backups and offer the functionality to easily make site backups through the control panel
7. Easy site builder—in case you need it
8. Email @yourdomain—a standard feature with any paid hosting
9. Ecommerce features—Online store and selling tools, SSL certification, dedicated IP, and one-click shopping cart software installation (for ecommerce websites)
10. Money back guarantee (in case you’re not satisfied)
11. Support for Google Analytics, Adwords, site map, site search, etc.
12. Ability to upgrade to VPN or dedicated hosting
13. Reputation and history of doing good business
14. Multiple server locations to ensure that your data and your site are protected

Looks like there’s a lot to check in this step, but your job becomes easy because these features are pretty much the industry standard these days. You won’t be missing any of these features unless you’re buying your hosting from an obscure upstart based in India or Africa.

Step #7: Check their Customer Support.

Regardless of how carefully you select your hosting company, issues are bound to happen. And when they do, you need excellent customer support to get them resolved in minimum time. Personally, I would prefer a hosting company that provides 24/7 live chat support. Phone support can often be frustrating because you might need to wait and press different buttons for a long time before you can actually speak to a human.

Conclusion.

Your hosting quality affects your site’s performance, and consequently, the user experience it offers to your customers. Choosing your hosting company without due diligence can result in loss of customers, reputation, and sleep. Make sure you do everything you can to select the hosting company that will complement your marketing, SEO and conversion optimization efforts by providing blistering speeds and 100% uptime. Google now use speed as a ranking factor so make sure you don’t miss out.

 

Matt Janaway, owner of Outreachly.uk is a digital and online entrepreneur and marketer, specialising in the retail and eCommerce arena. He has built, purchased, optimised and sold in excess of 10 eCommerce businesses with multi-million pound revenues and is now heading a team project optimising 30 websites with over 20,000 products.

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4 Events That Make Refinancing A Good Idea

There are particular times that it’s a good idea to consider refinancing your home, whether you’ve been considering it or not. When market rates are ideal or there are offers by banks looking to attract new customers with low interest rates with lock-in periods, you could save a bundle if you act at the right time. On the other hand, there are also times when it’s an ill advised idea to refinance, if only because you potentially could be missing out on benefits and better market rates that pop up after the fact.

Here are four events to watch for that make refinancing your home a great idea:

1. Necessity.

This is the first and most obvious reason for refinancing a home loan. While there are plenty of benefits to be had, especially as market rates become more competitive, sometimes you struggle with your mortgage payments. Maybe you lost your job or some other unexpected event has befallen you. Either way, refinancing can save you a lot of money. Your first step should be to log onto Property Guru to refinance a home loan and explore what kind of packages are out there, and what you can afford. Most likely you’ll find something quickly that matches your budget and needs, since there are a lot of different plans being offered right now.

2. The Rates are Right.

The difference between re-pricing and refinancing according to Money Smart is:

• Re-pricing: You’re staying with your current lender but switching to a different package
• Refinancing: You’re switching banks completely

There are different perks and drawbacks to both of these options. You’ll need to make sure you’re not already in a lock-in period for your current mortgage, and also that the options available meet your needs. The two different types of interest rates known as floating or fixed make a huge difference in how much you’ll pay in interest over the life of the loan, but also impact the different benefits you’ll receive (or not) from market fluctuations. Basically, a floating interest rate means it’s variable, and goes up and down with the state of the Singaporean real estate market. It’s at the whims of the SIBOR. A fixed rate, which you’ll usually pay a little more for, is when your interest rate is guaranteed to stay at a particular percentage. This provides more security, but you also miss out on lower rates when the market does well. Homeowners and real estate investors have different reasons for opting to go with these options, but if you’re ready to refinance, it’s an important aspect to consider.

3. The Time is Right.

Even if you’re happy with your bank and can afford your mortgage, experts advise that you should review your mortgage for potential refinancing every three years. The real estate market is Singapore is one of the most heavily scrutinized sectors, particularly because of the boom that’s happened in the past decade. It suffered some in the past few years, but is slowly recovering, which means you should strike while the iron is hot. Given that the real estate market does fluctuate so wildly, you need to keep tabs on what’s potentially out there. Keep on top of what your current interest rates are, versus what they could be.

4. You’re Starting A Family.

Inevitably, most homeowners will think about starting a family at some point. If you originally purchased property that’s large enough to accommodate an expansion of your family, then you’re in a good position to refinance since you’ve already put down roots. If you’re looking for security, going with a fixed rate may be in your best interests. On top of that, if you’re looking to have children, you’ll need as much money as you can get. Saving funds from lower interest rates will help you support new additions to your family, and give you a way to plan for the future, especially if you’re looking at a fixed rate. You’ll have a much better idea of exactly what to expect down the road, even if the SIBOR fluctuates wildly.

You should always be looking to save money, even if it takes a little work and trouble to find the best package out there. As a homeowner, your property is collateral and an important part of your financial portfolio. In many people’s cases, it’s the one thing they actually own, and you’ll want to protect your investment. Whether you’re living in the residence that you’ve purchased, or you’re renting it out as a source of income, the real estate sector is closely scrutinized and extremely competitive. This is especially true in Singapore, as new regulations have been passed in 2015 and the SIBOR continues to recover in 2016. It’s a good time to refinance, if only because you can find some extremely attractive packages. Sit down with your financial advisor today to get a handle on what your current mortgage terms are, and see if there’s something better out there you might be missing.

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Take Those First Steps Into Business Like A Pro

Image credit: Goal oriented from Shutterstock

Starting your first ever business is a time that’s packed with excitement and fear in equal measures. Quite frankly, the best way to focus on the first aspect is to remove the latter. And the most effective method to achieve this is through careful planning.

In truth, your business ventures will almost certainly involve a sense of trial and error. However, greater preparations will ensure that you make less mistakes. At a time when many startups fail to make it past year one, this could be the most important element of all.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Do Things Professionally.

When starting a company, you’ll want to keep costs low. However, you cannot afford to cut corners when it comes to vital legal matters.

Registering the business properly is crucial. Similarly, you need to take responsibility for your finances from day one. Failure to do so will only lead to problems later down the line.

Hire Well.

The recruitment process is the most important challenge that you’ll face during those early moments of business. After all, you cannot afford to do everything with one pair of hands. Surrounding yourself with a winning team of employees is vital.

As you are inexperienced in this field, it may be worth using a recruitment specialist. But if your don’t want to take this option, you can make good use of LinkedIn and various job boards to help find the very best people for your business.

Keep Costs Down.

The thought of making big money is the driving force behind your business ventures. Nevertheless, it’s imperative that you appreciate the role of your overheads too. It’s a pretty simple formula, and cutting unnecessary spending will put you in a far stronger position.

There are various elements of the operation that can benefit from cutbacks. One idea we love is to rent cheap cheap office space and then gain a virtual office address to gain the presence of a bigger company. The list of options is almost endless, though. With a little research, you should find the ideal solution.

Think About Transactions.

Brand awareness doesn’t make a profit; conversions do. And one of the best ways to encourage greater sales is to improve the transaction process. Investing in an EPOS system will instantly transform your shop floor to make life easier for the customer and the employee.

 

Likewise, online operations can benefit from incorporating better shopping cart software. Try to accept as many payment types as possible too, as this leaves your business open to a far larger audience.

Go Online.

Even if your startup is an exclusively offline selling platform, it can benefit greatly from gaining an online presence. Using localised SEO can help you gain visibility on Google, which can lead to a sharp traffic increase. After all, most people will use the internet to locate nearby businesses when they’re in need of a specific item.

Meanwhile, social media offers a great platform to cast your nets further afield without spending a fortune. Whether you’re selling online or not, embracing the internet is a must.

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6 Things Your Business Should Promote This Year

 

Nothing is gained by trying to promote everything. That only ends up confusing the marketing message. It is important that one promotes the right things.

Here are the six areas your business should promote this year:

1. Customer Satisfaction.

When on stage at an Apple event, Tim Cook likes to promote the insanely high customer satisfaction ratings they get every year, far outpacing competitors. They are a good company to study because they only have so much time to spare in a presentation and so much more to brag about than most other companies. It is instructive to see what they promote during such times.

The same principle is at work in the positive reviews of Crest Financial. This is another fast-growing company with very high customer satisfaction ratings. People will be more inclined to give your business a chance if they know that others who tried it were satisfied with your products and services. If your customers love what you do, let their testimonies speak for you.

2. Easy Financing.

One of the most frustrating customer experiences is being lured into a store, only to realize there is nothing there that she can afford. She will either walk away with something she isn’t really happy with or nothing at all. Either way, they will leave frustrated rather than satisfied. With something like retailer financing through Crest Financial, your hard-working customers can walk away feeling good about their experience, rather than feeling rejected by a faceless financing company.

3. Quality.

Constant pandering to low-price shoppers gets tiresome, both to you and the customer. You want a customer who is after something more than the lowest price. And customers who can’t always spend top-dollar still want to buy quality products. Once you have easy financing in place, focus on quality products that will look great, work well, and be trouble-free for a long time. Quality is a sustainable business model. The race to the bottom is not.

4. Value.

How much did you pay and did you get your money’s worth are two very different questions. One has only to do with price. The other has to do with value. It does not matter how much a person pays for an item, as long as she gets what she pays for.

Good value for the dollar is getting exactly what you paid for. Great value for the dollar is the feeling of getting more than what you paid for. It is possible to impart this feeling without actually losing money on the transaction. By going above and beyond the call of duty, you can do a lot to make the customer feel special. Figure out your value proposition and promote it.

5. Data Security.

Retailers have developed a nasty habit of asking for a lot more information than they need to complete the transaction. All that unnecessary data becomes the stuff of the next data breach. Adding insult to injury, it also becomes the stuff of the next spam campaign.

Selling customer information to third-party partners is more despicable than placing the information under lax security. Customers are aware of both threats to their data, and will rightfully punish companies that breach their trust. Do not collect data you don’t need. Do not use customer data as a side business.

6. Make It Right.

Somewhere between manufacturing and retail, things have a way of going wrong. As the retailer, the vast majority of those things are not your fault, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are the only part of the sales chain to which the customer has access. Their problem is your problem. You have to make it right.

Don’t force them to go through a tedious process to have a product repaired, exchanged, or refunded. Make sure they know they can come to you, and that you will always have their back. Things are going to go wrong. You become a villain or a hero based on what happens next. Be the kind of company that will always make it right and promote that fact.

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7 Essential Steps Your Web Host Provider Should Be Taking To Secure Your Website

If you cannot afford, or do not have the skill-set to run, a dedicated private server, then the chances are that you are using web hosting in your business. There is nothing wrong with this, as they both have their advantages. However, they do come with some security problems for a business, particularly any business involved in finance. Last year we had the Dridex virus that enabled millions to be stolen by hackers from bank accounts, and who knows what this year will bring. Therefore, it is important that you know that your web host is taking steps to ensure your site and their server is secure.

Here we are going to look at ways that can be possible:

Knowledge is Power.

The power to control users that is. A web host should be checking the identity of all users; by doing so the web hosts will deter hackers from registering to use their service. This is a simple but effective policy, and one that does not take much time to implement. IP addresses and locations can also be checked as a further measure.

Passwords.

Yes, I am going to remind you all again. Change your passwords regularly, and choose a suitable password. You, as a site owner should change yours, as should employees who have access. Even the people who work at the web host itself should be doing this often. This is so simple, yet it is ignored by many and can cause serious problems.

Don’t Mix Accounts.

Free accounts are attacked much more regularly than paid for accounts, so if you use a company that provides both services, make sure they run off separate servers. You are paying for your service so you should not be exposed to the same risks as those using a free service.

Firewall.

If your paid-for service does not come with a firewall as standard, then find another provider. Without a firewall how can your site (and indeed the server) be protected from attacks from outside? The firewall should be robust enough to identify and deny entry to any threats, as well as being flexible enough to enable the blocking of any known IP addresses that have been shown to be unsecure or threatening previously.

Provider Site Checks.

Your provider should be running systematic checks on all the sites they host to ensure there is no threat to other users in the network. It is possible to warn any site owner of a problem, and it should be the websites responsibility to fix the problem once identified. Obviously, such a site would not be allowed back into the network without being fixed. This not such a problem if using a VPS from a company like bestwebhosting.co.uk, as there is more security with a virtual server, but you should still make sure your host is running any possible checks that they can.

SFTP.

If your provider has the option of SFTP, then make sure you have access to it. This will give you a more secure way to transfer files and stop them being altered when being transferred.

Have a Backup.

Make sure that your host backs up any data regularly; at least once every 24 hours. This will minimize the effect that hackers may have on your data and, though you may lose some, most of it should be retrievable.

Every website owner should be concerned about security, but financial sites have a duty to care for their client’s data. Make sure your web host is playing its part too

 

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Ways In Which You Can Help Your Employees Further Their Career

As much as employees must take charge of their own career and not rely solely on their organisation that they are with in order to further their work aspirations, there are ways in which business owners can help individual employees mould their career path and help them become better at their job and more confident in their role, which will directly affect their task output and result in a happier and more successful company overall.

If you are in a senior management position, or running your own small business, here are some ways in which you can help your employees find their career niche – a win-win situation for everyone:

External Studying opportunities.

Investing in each and every one of your employees can only lead to company success! Whether you are offering extra ACCA courses in Singapore for one employee, or a digital marketing course opportunity for another, offering external courses to people working in the company shows them that you are happy to invest in their future in order to upskill them to the best of their ability. Some companies utilise external courses as a part of their reviews or even rewards system, as sometimes these courses can cost an additional fee. Talk to your employee or team member about their work interests, and together come up with some external studying ideas and plans. There is an online course for just about everything, and it is within your (and their) reach.

Management training.

Not everyone wants to be a manager – it might not be the perfect role for everyone. However, offering a compact version of management training might help those who are not sure on how to progress from say a midlevel job role to a senior management job role. It will therefore give everyone in the company an equal opportunity to understand the various intricacies of being a manager – from how to hire someone to how to deal with performance management and oversee a team, as well as how to dismiss someone if need be. Management training is essential for everyone working at your business, as skills learned during these sessions are valuable.

Personality based workshops.

For some, these personality trait workshops might not seem too obvious to the naked eye when it comes to upskilling your employees. However, understanding your own personality will help you understand how your personality fits or does not fit with others, therefore helping you communicate better in the workplace. These sessions also tend to aid employees with their general people skills – letting them understand how to interact with others in the workplace and therefore increasing their confidence. Popular workshops include the well-known and widely Briggs Myers System, which uses the theory of psychological types of behaviour in order to understand perceptions of others.

Hiring Internally.

Many business owners tend to move directly to hiring outside of their organisation in order to locate and utilise the skills that they are looking for. They might however, have the perfect person within their company that is ideal for the role, but has not yet spoken up about wanting to take on that particular job. Maybe they are not yet confident to say so, or they could not know that the job is right for them yet, or even not know that that particular job is being advertised in the company. Opening up the job specification internally could bring about the opportunity to interview some great talent, and there are many benefits to hiring internally (such as no need for initial integration sessions or general company training). 

If an employee is not sure how to advance their career, this can be discussed and set out in performance reviews, which will help them set career path goals for themselves. This, in addition to your help, will propel them further in their career and contribute even further to your organisation.

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How To Manage Cash Flow For Your Startup Business

by Anand Srinivasan, founder of LeadJoint.com

At the outset, managing the cash flow for your business seems like a no-brainer. It is not too difficult to realize that your expenses should not be more than your income. But things are not this straight-forward in real life. Take the example of a typical agency that provides marketing services to clients. Assume that this agency cumulatively bills its customers $50,000 a month in retainers and spends around $40,000 a month on contractors, debt payment, payroll and office rentals. At first look, this appears to be a healthy business that pockets a neat $10,000 in profit each month.

But things may not be this rosy after all. Mortgage payment, payroll and office rentals are expenses that need to be made each month without fail. However, depending on the payment terms you set with your clients, they may enjoy a net period of anywhere between a week to ninety days to make their payment. In effect, by the time you receive the $50,000 retainers for a month, you may have had to pay over $100,000 in monthly expenses. We have barely scratched the surface when it comes to business operations. The net outflow during any given month is likely to be impacted by other factors like the end of a contract, taxes, holidays and other circumstances.

According to Marcus Roberts, financial advisor and owner of Sydney-based Mirador Wealth, one of the primary reasons startup businesses fold before they gain traction is due to bad cash-flow management. In a brief email interview, Marcus told me that the exponential growth of businesses like Facebook, AirBNB and Uber from small-time start-ups to billion dollar companies has shifted the scales in favor of scalability over sustainability. “Startup founders all see their products as the next Facebook or Uber. It is a good thing to dream big. But by not scaling up in a sustainable manner, these businesses often accumulate too much expenditure without making enough revenue. The result is that the CEOs of these companies end up spending most of their time finding a source for their next funding. When that does not happen, there is no way to pay bills and the companies fold even before they can take off”.

Marcus is not alone in this assessment. In fact, according to a study by Dunn & Bradstreet, nearly 90% of small-business failures is caused by poor cash flow management. In a lot of these cases, the businesses pay their vendors to get their supplies. But then, they often have to wait months before getting paid. How you manage this interim period needs extremely smart planning and financial acumen.

So how does one go about managing cash flow better? Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

Sustainability > Scalability.

There are a lot of businesses where the only way to make money is through economies of scale. In such cases, it sure makes sense to scale up before expecting returns. But in doing this, you need to acknowledge that this is not sustainable, especially given the uncertain nature of business. A better strategy would be to launch a product of value that is not price-sensitive and channel the profits from this business into your low-margin, high volume business. This way, you can tide over uncertainties and have a better hold of your finances even when scaling up.

Audit your expenses.

I recently received a charge-back from a customer who I thought was a loyal customer who I have regularly interacted with for over a year. Turned out, they did not exactly remember signing up for my product and only communicated with me as an industry acquaintance. Auditing your expenses on a monthly basis is absolutely critical to ensure that your expenses are not more than what they should be. If you are in a business with low margins, every dollar counts and can easily add up to be the difference between your business holding up in terms of crisis and folding out.

Common sensible payment terms.

As far as possible, work out payment terms that are consistent. If you have a Net 30 invoice terms with your client, make sure you have a similar arrangement with your vendors as well. This helps you maintain a steady cash flow cycle. Of course, there are fixed monthly expenses like mortgage and payroll that can skew this cycle. As a result, this pointer alone is not sufficient to maintain a healthy cash-flow cycle. But when done in tandem with the other pointers, you can be well on your way to ensure a healthy and sustainable business with strong cash flow management.

 

Anand Srinivasan is the founder of LeadJoint.com, an online lead generation tool for digital marketing agencies. He is also a part-time marketing consultant and has previously worked with some of the most promising Indian startups.

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