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Expanding Your Business Online

The invention and eventual widespread use of the Internet has forced businesses to recognize the necessity of having a little corner of their own on the World Wide Web. Keeping these websites active requires a website hosting service, and there are many types to choose from. More and more individuals, however, are realizing that dedicated servers are the way to go. Different servers will benefit separate companies, but after fully understanding hosting services and specific dedicated servers, many business owners opt for the dedicated server route.

Expand-Online — Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seoplanter/7460436606/

Important Aspects of a Website

There are several factors that can make or break a website hosting service. Some of the most important considerations when choosing a type of hosting service are uptime, security, speed and reliability. Free hosting companies are cheap, but all of the aforementioned important factors are seriously lacking in these free options. Shared servers are better than free servers, but since the server in question is being used by multiple companies, the speed and reliability can often be compromised.

Some business owners also opt to host their own servers, but this leaves them susceptible to huge drawbacks if their server crashes. The sad fact of the matter is that a business owner will have to be a full-on computer and networking expert to run their own server. Luckily, dedicated servers avoid many of the issues related to self-hosting and the gamut of other server types.

Benefits of Dedicated Servers

As already mentioned, dedicated servers solve many of the issues that other server types leave wide open. Dedicated servers, for instance, have only one website on them. This means that lax security on another website that shares the same server will never affect the website on a dedicated server.

In addition, dedicated hosting services ensure that all space on a server is dedicated to that one site. This means that large amounts of traffic visiting another website on the server won’t cause any downtime issues for the website. Also, shared servers have an inherent constraint on space. Dedicated servers, on the other hand, have plenty of space for the website that it’s hosting. This means that if a business owner decides to expand their website, it’s extremely simple.

Managed vs. Unmanaged Dedicated Servers

Many business owners are left with the tough decision of choosing between managed and unmanaged dedicated servers. They both have their own advantages, but for companies that are still growing, unmanaged hosting services are likely their best option. Managed dedicated servers come prepackaged with certain attributes. Security capabilities, for instance, are chosen by the company hosting a managed server. Unfortunately, these can sometimes provide too much or too little security for a website, but this problem doesn’t exist for unmanaged servers.

Unmanaged servers still have the basic infrastructure support that managed hosting services provide, but business owners with unmanaged servers can pick and choose exactly what they need and only pay for those features. They can expand these features at any time, but while waiting for this need to arise, they can definitely save money. Businesses can even choose their own easy to manage control panel and companies like www.roboshift.com sell full cPanel licenses at a cheaper price than they can get when buying direct from the manufacturer.

In addition, business owners can use the exact programs and procedures that they want on unmanaged servers. This means that they can upload their own control panels or the exact right amount of security. The options are almost limitless, and the unmanaged tag keeps the price reasonable.

Selecting the right type of server is absolutely essential for any business owner who hopes to run a successful online campaign. In fact, the lack of a great Internet presence can sometimes be detrimental enough to cause a company to fail. Luckily, dedicated servers allow individuals to get reliable service for their website, and unmanaged servers give them incredible leeway over how their website operates and how much it costs. Understanding all of these things is essential for every company, group or organization out there.

About the Author: Researcher Shelby Warden writes articles to help businesses compete in a digital world. www.RoboShift.com is an authorized cPanel partner that sells the full range of external cPanel licenses at low prices and backs them up with their friendly customer service and support. cPanel/WebHostManager is the leading web hosting control panel used by Web Hosting companies and Internet Service Providers.

Launching Your Own Digital Start-Up

Digital businesses are the buzzword today. These are not brick-and-mortar businesses; in fact, these are computers and Internet entities. The creation of a digital business is not very difficult, and requires far less money than a land-based or traditional business. However, like everything new, it requires careful planning and preparation.

Good Idea

Begin with a good idea, and then expand upon it. There should be clarity on what the business is all about, what is it going to sell or do, and what are the aims and goals of the business. The conceptual process is probably the most important part of any business; since, it lays the groundwork for all that shall come later.

Domain Name

Register a domain name which represents the name of the business. It should be easy to remember and easy to access. Registration of a domain name also gives email ID’s and, in some cases, websites are also part of the package. As in a traditional start-up business, the name should reflect the aim or purpose of the company.

digital business tips

Website

The most important aspect of a digital business is its website. It is the face and the office of the company and it is the first point of contact for the clients. An error-free and well-designed website is the biggest asset a digital business can have. It is equivalent to having the best manufacturing facility a company can afford. Navigation through the website should be easy, the content should be clear and crisp, and all contact information should be clearly marked. The images should reflect exactly what the company is selling, or offering to the clients. In a traditional start-up, the office or factory is the productive space; and in a digital start-up, the computer replaces the factory or the office. A digital start-up is not limited by the location; it can be conducted from anywhere defying geographical boundaries.

Financial Software

The second most important part of a digital start-up firm is the quality of the financial software being used. All transactions should be securely routed, and the client should be able to make payments easily with a single click of the mouse. Credit card processors and payment platforms should be an inherent part of the financial software. This should be arranged much before the first sale goes through. Any glitches can lead to the loss of good customers, and also monetary losses.

Communication Strategy

Keeping in touch with customers has now become very easy due to the various online platforms. Social media, email newsletters, and websites – all these have made the world move closer, but it has also enhanced the need for excellent communication strategies. Attention spans have become shorter; hence, information needs to be condensed into fewer words and presented in a crisp manner. There has to be quick interaction with the clients, the response times need to be much shorter than they would be for traditional businesses and since there is no personal interaction, the written words should be satisfactory.

About the Author: This article is written by James Bentham.

Image: renjith krishnan

Opening An Online Business Store

Internet has significantly revolutionized the way of doing business by introducing more efficient and simpler ways of trading. The virtues introduced include expansion of market, payment simplification and real time transactions amongst others. These features have consequently created numerous chances for different forms of online businesses. Amongst the best and successful online businesses include a makeup and cosmetics store. The popularity of this kind of business is mainly because nowadays there are many people who buy makeup and cosmetics online since they do not live near where their favorite boutique or a beauty shop is located. But there are several requirements and guidelines in which this kind of businesses needs to follow so as to start and run successfully.

online store — How to start an online business

Opening an online business store requires one to have an internet connectable gadget such as a computer. This is the primary requirement because it’s what will be used to market, take orders and sell the products. Furthermore, it is advisable to use a comprehensive ecommerce internet services which provides template designing, processes payments, shopping carts and edit web pages amongst others. This eliminates the necessity of subscribing to many subscribers for services which would have otherwise been provided by just a single or a few service providers.

It is paramount to obtain the relevant permit and license before starting the business even though the business will be operating online. This is because different regions have diverse regulation and they also needs to account for every trading activities in the relevant authorities jurisdiction. Amongst the probable documents that might be needed include; use tax permit, assumed name certificate and employer identification number amongst others. It is paramount to obtain these documents before the business officially commences so as avoid surprises and closure due to non compliance.

Starting a successful online store also requires ample preparation in marketing. The best marketing channels include starting promotional blogs and opening related social networking accounts amongst others. The blogs and accounts should have links where visitors can be directed to the website in which to find the products on sale. To entice the visitors, they can be offered discounts and offers if they visit the website or if they purchase a product.

The business also requires that the products be readily available where they can be delivered to the customer immediately they make their order. This is important because the first impression in such businesses is significant in creating a customer base. Thus a delay or a failure in delivery can give the business a negative image. This can be achieved through several alternatives including opening wholesale accounts with distributors. This is especially helpful to those who do not make the products on their own, instead they buys from companies and other manufacturers. Consequently, opening a wholesale account ensure that the products can be delivered even with short notices. The products should be packed and braded in a way that customer can identify them with the online business.

About the Author: This post is written by Maya Zajacko.

Image: ernohannik / Flickr

Reasons Why People Don’t Buy From a Website

Even if you have a lot of traffic coming to your site, these visitors might not be doing what you want them to on your site. Whether that’s buying a product or filling in an enquiry form, these visitors aren’t converting. Often, website owners will look at this problem and decide what they need is more visitors coming to the site, rather than making the most of the potential customers that are leaving. This can be expensive, especially when you’ve got the potential customers visiting already – you just have to appeal to them a bit more.

This is all about conversion rate optimisation, which can help you get the most out of the potential customers already coming your way. Below are some tips to consider when looking to optimise your site.

Can you find items easily?

If you look at your site as a customer would, can you find things easily? Finding a certain page should be easy and straightforward. Easy to read sign posts that direct people are necessary. If people can’t find exactly what they’re looking for straight away, they’ll look somewhere else.

However, trying to get every link on every page may make the site look a mess and cause more problems than it solves. As long as the directions are there, it should make sense.

Is the information there?

When potential customers have found the page they’re looking on, they’re going to need some information on what they’re looking at. Whether it’s a product or service, the attached description could decide whether they buy from you or someone else.

The description should contain enough information so that a potential customer can decide if it’s right for them, as well as being written in high quality, detailed enough to cover everything and completely unique.

Online, you don’t have the ability to hold an item like you do in a store. The description needs to replace and recreate that feeling, or you won’t give your customers the confidence to buy from you. High resolution images that customers can zoom on to see the items in detail and technical specifications are really good things that should be included on the page too.

Customers need confidence

When it comes to conversion rate optimisation the first thing you need to assess is if customers have enough confidence in your site. Customers will not part with their credit card details on to a site they can’t completely trust, and they’re quite right too as well. With this in mind, it’s important to make sure that you and your site are doing everything you can to gain the customers trust.

Making your website look professional is the first step. The more professional the site looks, the more trustworthy it’ll come across as. It’s also a good idea to make your contact details as open as possible and to not hide them away or refuse to put them on the site at all. Customers will gain confidence if they know you’re approachable and they’re able to contact you should anything not go according to plan.

This post was written on behalf of Boom Online Marketing the conversion rate optimisation experts

Tips for Internet Startups

While there is a lower threshold these days for starting a business online, it still isn’t as easy as the movies make it out to be. It’s still a business – you’re going to need to consider overhead costs, who to hire, what kind of profit margin you’re looking for – and if these are all things that are over your head – if you’re an “ideas man” (or woman) you’re going to have to find someone you can work with that can translate your vague goals and ideas into actionable metrics and concrete, well-articulated goals.

If you’re just venturing into the world of e-business, what follows is a primer of those things that you are probably going to encounter and have to consider when starting up your internet start-up.

Think Big

There are a few different facets to this concept when applied to internet start-ups. The first angle of interpretation for “thinking big” comes with branding. Branding is an integral part of your long-term strategy and can determine what markets a company eventually enters into, and succeeds, in. Branding is not the red-headed stepchild – it’s not something that you can neglect until after your first product has launched, in fact, having the proper branding and image to project to angel investors or venture capitalists can make or break the success of your first product.

And then there is the “think big” side of the product itself. I mean, look at Google – do you think they would be as successful as they are today if they set out to “organize the information of the United States”? Nope. Their mission is nothing smaller than organizing the worlds information.

Always Innovate

Internet companies never stop innovating, never stop changing or expanding. Google is constantly innovating, adding new product lines (and cutting them out if they fail). And just in the nature of the internet, there is always a greater user base, and more features that you are able to add as you proactively respond to the customer. Look at Twitter – their offering is pretty straightforward – 140 character social status updates, but what their interface encompasses keeps expanding – from picture and video integration to new profile layouts – they always strive for a better product.

When you’re starting an internet company, be wary of the lures of monetization and hubris. A product is never the best that it can be, and while you don’t want to fall the other direction and not release a product until it’s absolutely perfect, you never want to stop making a product better, either.

Be Social

Funny we talked about Twitter in the previous section, because probably one of the most important things that a start-up can do is get the word out – and in the internet, “word of mouth” is the social sphere – Twitter, Facebook, Google+, oh my!

While these can be a time suck, getting involved can be quite key for getting the word out about your product, and creating a loyal base of early-adopter users (and actually listening to what they have to say).

Don’t Forget There is a World Outside of Google

While you may be an internet start-up, don’t forget about traditional marketing either! While it may be less relevant for you if you don’t also have a brick-and-mortar store, neglecting other forms of advertisements is probably just as silly. GoDaddy just had a Superbowl advertisement, and they don’t have a brick-and-mortar store – they exist entirely in the cyber sphere.

You are going to want to analyze your business model and your competition and see what arenas could be most profitable for you in terms of reach. At this point in your business life cycle it may not be practical to move beyond your internet sphere, but don’t neglect traditional marketing, either.

Stay Organized

You may be the “ideas man” with grand plans, but how are you going to execute them? Do you have some sort of integrated software, or a bunch of different software programs that will help you keep your ducks (and your money) in line? Are you always late to meetings? If you really are dedicated to making your business work, that’s going to have to change – or you’re going to have to hire someone to stay organized for you, manage all your invoices and paperwork, time clocks and facilities (even if it’s just your home office).

Sarah Stevens is a writer who works most often with a company that makes sure that your company is kept running smoothly with asset management software – and she hope that if this article inspires you to create the next big thing you’ll offer her a finder’s fee!