Pros and Cons of Website Features: It Ain’t All Good, Ya Know

'Slinger Gives You The Skinny on Site Features

There are pros and cons to every feature you add to your site, so before you put up that blog and sign up for Adsense, consider these positive and negatives to the most popular site features.

You just registered your domain name. You’re one step closer to that dream of your own website and finally, financial freedom. But now what? Well, if you’ve signed on with a good web host (one who values your site’s success because it ultimately means the web hosting company’s success) you’ve got a box full of goodies to play with in designing your website.

You don’t need a pricey site designer. But you do have to decide on what your website will display and which features will be left out. There are lots of options which means lots of decisions – and there are pros and cons to each one.

A Secure Checkout
Pros: If you sell a product or service, and you accept payment over the web, you don’t have a choice. You must have a secure checkout with SSL encryption to ensure that sensitive personal information isn’t snared by a bad guy. The alternative is to use PayPal or some other payment service but the more payment options you offer, the more your offerings will move out of the warehouse.

Cons: Cost, for one. If your web host doesn’t provide free checkout software, like osCommerce, it could cost you a bundle. On the other hand, people want to pay with credit cards as long as they believe the transaction is secure.

Also, opening a merchant account – one that allows you to accept credit card orders – is going to cost you – sign-up fees, per charge fees and a percentage of every sale, so if you’re operating on tightrope margins, these additional percentages may mean the difference between a viable business and one that shuts down after three weeks.

Web hosts should offer free checkout software. And, a premium service will let your site piggyback on the host’s SSL certificate, saving time and money.

A Blog
Pros: Blogs are great for keeping a site fresh with new content. A closed blog (one in which posts are limited to your control) is easiest to maintain. They’re also useful for a couple of other reasons. First, it’s easy to post new content when you have a blog module as part of your site’s infrastructure so you can update daily with a couple of clicks.

Blogs also create site communities. Once a reader begins a thread, others follow the lead and in no time, you’ll discover the same people conducting conversations and debate on your blog. These are visitors who return to your site often. A very good thing.

Finally, blog software should come free as part of your tool kit. If it doesn’t, look for another web host that does offer freebies by the pound at a reasonable price. They’re out there.

Cons: Conversely, if you allow visiting readers to leave comments to your posts, maintenance may become a problem. There’s always some foul-mouthed, trouble-maker who stirs up more interest in his online antics than the topic at hand. As the boss of the blog, you can block these distractions, but that doesn’t eliminate the need to monitor threads. You want an active blog but you also have to maintain it with regular posts and constant oversight of readers’ comments. This means part of your day will be used up in editorial duties, a real con.

Google AdWords
Pros: There are thousands of site owners who create websites for no other reason than to generate PPC (pay-per-click) revenues. They put up a little content, stuff each page with AdWords skyscrapers and wait for the money to roll in. And it does. Some of these site owners see $200 – $300 a month in click-through revenue per site, and if they maintain 10 such sites, it starts to add up to some real “walkin’ ‘round” money.

AdWords is a simple, easy-to-manage way to monetize a new site quickly. You only pay when search engine users click on your link so you’re not wasting money.

Cons: I don’t care how well designed a website is, AdWords – those cheesy little blue links on the top, bottom or side of a web page, diminish the perception of quality in the mind of the visitor. And as we’ve said many times in this blog, on the W3 perception is reality.

If your law firm maintains a website (and it should) you want to project a professional, positive image, not the Lionel Hutz “I Can’t Believe It’s A Law Firm” image.

Another con: click fraud. A competitor can just click on your AdWords link and have all of her friends do the same for five minutes a day. Your AdWords budget gets eaten up by black hat tactics and there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. If you can prove click fraud, Google will give you credit, but it’s up to you to prove the fraud. Google get’s paid whether the click is licit or a scam.

Affiliate Links
Pros: A great way to make cash fast. Affiliates are companies into which you enter agreements. You agree to display the mother company’s logo and link on your site and, in return, you receive payment based on the number of visitors to your site who click on the link and perform some action. For example, put up an eBay link and collect $35 a head plus a nickel for each bid one of your referrals places.

Get a couple of hundred eBay buyers placing bids everyday and that money can add nicely to your site’s revenue stream. Also a great way to monetize a site quickly.

Cons: Same dealeo as Google AdWords. If you access a site jam packed with affiliate links, it doesn’t add much to the process of building visitor trust. The site looks cluttered and cheap.

More negative news: each one of those affiliate links takes up space that could be used to sell your products or services.

And finally, each one of those affiliate links is a ticket off your site. With a click, they’re off looking at something on an affiliate site. You may pick up a few bucks a month in affiliate revenue, but you aren’t making the real money you make selling your own goods or services.

One suggestion: As we said, affiliates do generate cash and fast, so if you’re runnin’ on empty, add affiliate links to a single page with a navigation link labeled “Our Partners,” “Our Favorites,” or “Our Picks.”

Pictures and Other Images
Pros: Pictures sell more than words. Online buyers want to see what they’re paying for and, yes, one good product picture is worth a thousand words. So you will sell more with high-quality pictures.

Carts and graphs are useful for providing a lot of information in a small space.

Cons: Unless you own a decent digital camera and unless you know how to dress a set (the place where the product will be shot) and you know that the product should be lit from at least three directions, don’t use product pictures that you take yourself.

Log on to eBay and look at the range of quality of product pictures. Some are ripped from the web so they look okay. But some are nothing more than a front-on flash that blows out the object to a hot white blur floating against a blacked out background. Awful stuff, and not a good selling point.

If you can get product pictures from your wholesaler’s marketing department you’re all set. If not, have those pictures taken by a professional using a hi-resolution camera, lit properly and attractively staged. It’ll cost you some cash but it’s a lot better than using home-grown product pictures that don’t do justice to the product.

Charts and graphs should also be professionally done, unless you know how to create images in Photoshop or some other image manipulation software.

The Choices You Make Now…
…will often determine the short- and long-term success of your site. And remember, your site will evolve. You may start out using AdWords until your site is pulling in enough traffic to make up the lost AdWords revenue. Then, you drop AdWords and…

… your site takes on a much cleaner, more professional look.  

Need more straight talk about building a successful website? Okay, visit me and give me a call. Webwordslinger does it right and at the right price.

Site Owners: Ready To Move Up To A Dedicated Server?

If your on-line biz is bouncing, you need a dedicated server.

Chances are, if you’re like most website owners, you started with a shared hosting program with a web host. In this case, you rent a given amount of disk space and share use of resources, like bandwidth and CPU access, with other shared hosting account holders. In the case of shared hosting, a web host can cram over 1,000 sites on a single box (server). If some of your neighbors are bandwidth hogs, it could mean longer download times and slower response times from your site when interacting with customers.

And customers aren’t a patient bunch. In this day of DSL and cable modems, web users want speed. They expect it, and if you aren’t delivering content fast, some site visitors are going to grow tired of watching that blue line slowly crawl to the right. They’ll click off and go somewhere else to purchase products or services.

Dedicated Servers
Just as the name states. Dedicated service consists of one box, one business. This provides unlimited access to all the server’s assets. No competition for CPU access. When you subscribe to a dedicated hosting program you rent the whole server.

In addition, the host provides an operating system (usually Linux, Windows or some variant), ecommerce software bundles that include site building software, a secure checkout, a database and other site enhancement tools, like blog modules that you can plug in with a couple of clicks on the administrator’s console and, if the host is good, you’ll also get access to 24/7 tech support on a toll-free line. Lesser-quality hosts (that still may charge high monthly hosting fees) provide email-only access to tech support. You, the webmaster, prepare a trouble ticket that’s emailed to tech support (somewhere on this planet, but that’s an assumption) and wait for a response and a fix. When your server is down, your business is down. How long can you afford to be offline?

Who Needs Dedicated Hosting?
Not everyone. That’s why shared hosting is the best option for start-ups. The hosting costs are low, usually less than $7.00 a month, and until your business concept and execution have been proven, don’t spend extra for dedicated hosting services. It’s like driving a thumbtack with a sledgehammer. Overkill.

However, if your site has been up for a while, it’s no doubt changed with the times, with a menu of new features and increased interactivity with visitors. For example, a blog takes up disk space and bandwidth as you and your site community interact. RSS feeds, a fully-customizable content management system and other front store and behind-the curtain features all take up disk space.

And, if you’ve enjoyed retail success online, chances are your product offerings have expanded over time. You’ve added pages to your site, pushing your shared hosting space to the max. Well, a good host will sell you disk space a la carte (by the gigabyte). That’s one way to expand. Or you can take the plunge and sign on for a dedicated server.

Multiple Sites
For many site owners, once they get “the bug” and see that there’s money to be made on the W3, building additional websites takes on greater appeal. If the site owner is clearing $500 a month with one site, 10 sites should deliver a $5,000 return each month. At least in theory.

If you manage multiple sites, all of which are deep in features (you manage 12 blogs, for instance), it’s time to move to a dedicated server. You can run a number of different domains from one server, expanding your web presence. In fact, if you plan on building more than one website (and why not, it doesn’t cost any more each month), a dedicated server is a must. A simple administrator console will quickly provide access to site data and activity from many different sites.

Site Functionality
Some sites contain 20 or 30 pages of static text and a simple opt-in form. However, for enterprise-grade businesses and web retailers, a dedicated server is a must-have. Many business sites contain hundreds of pages and are employed for a variety of purposes such as email and other inter-department communications.

Remember, you can customize your dedicated server any way you want to best suit your business needs. So, you’ll get much more functionality from a dedicated server – especially important when you’re running a virtual office with employees spread out across the globe, or a company with several brick-and-mortar outlets all delivering data simultaneously.

Data Security
If your database is loaded with sensitive, personal information like customers’ names, addresses and credit card numbers, you’ve taken on the responsibility of keeping that data secure from hackers.

Using a dedicated server, you can install your own security software and hardware – multiple layers of security on top of the security the web host provides as part of its service to you.

Managed or Unmanaged Hosting?
Dedicated hosting is offered in two formats: managed and unmanaged.

With unmanaged, dedicated hosting you’re responsible for the whole shebang. So, you and your team are responsible for everything – from the installation of your customized database to the creation of customer service responders. You do it all.

The advantage of unmanaged dedicated hosting is cost savings. Since the web host doesn’t do any hand holding (except for routine trouble-shooting) you’ll pay less for an unmanaged, dedicated server. However, either you’ll have to study up on site construction and connectivity to an ever-growing web, or pay some design guru to build the site to meet your company’s needs.

Also, with unmanaged hosting you’re responsible for your server security. It’s your anti-virus software, your hard-wired firewall, your everything.

Managed dedicated hosting puts you in partnership with the web host. You work with the host techs to come up with business solutions. If you’re employing your dedicated server in a variety of ways, services have to be synced up. Storage space has to be configured and managed so inter-office emails remain secure in transit. Hackers love dedicated servers because they know that these online businesses house hacker gold – personal information and lots of it.

Managed dedicated hosting also delivers managed database services for the most popular database platforms, i.e. Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft, etc. With managed services, you’ll also receive customized, configured security that syncs up with the box’s server-side software.

Managed dedicated hosting is also necessary to create multiple, “virtual servers” for different business functions that may or may not include interaction with clients and customers. Working in tandem with the host’s on-site team of networking professionals, you’ll create the superstructure of your online business – communications, data collection and collation, accounts management, inventory management and all of the other functions of a busy and growing company.

Shopping for a Dedicated Web Host
If you opt for unmanaged dedicated hosting, you will save money. However, you should compare disk space allotted, CPU speed and other apples-to-apples comparisons to get the most for your hosting costs. It’s a simple calculation of: features + cost = value.

However, if you envision an expanding business that relies more and more on the web and the Internet ( they’re two different things) to conduct daily operations, you will pay more for managed service but the price you pay for that extra attention will deliver a site that functions as you envision.

Before you sign an agreement with any web host, contact the business solutions professionals on staff. Discuss your current needs and needs going forward and get a feel for how the team adapts to your thinking.

As in any business, including the web hosting business, the client or customer is always right. So look for input from professionals and follow good advice when you get it, but make sure the managed services team at a prospective host is prepared to solve your online business needs – from site migration to multi-purpose server apps – to your specifications.

Once you find the right team, with the right attitude and the understanding that their success is dependent on your site’s ability to meet all of your business objectives, you’re not just getting a dedicated server, you’re getting experience and peace of mind that your site will be right, right out of the gate.

Domain Slamming: Who REALLY Owns Your Website?

 

It seems there are always people out to scam you.

Anybody getting tired of this avatar?

 

 

 

 

 

Remember phone slamming? It  showed up in the late ‘90s. Without you even knowing it, your telephone carrier could be changed and you could be charged exorbitant fees. And there wasn’t anything you could do about it.

 

Phone Slamming

There were several variations of this scam going around. In one variation, the unknowing victim would receive a telephone call from his or her telephone company customer service rep. Problem was, it wasn’t really from their phone carriers. The call actually came from a “representative” of a competitive phone company.

 

These scammers would ask you for personal information, and once they had that personal information – BAM, they would change your telephone carrier from the one you’d signed up with, to their own company that had a completely new set of Terms of Service (TOS) and much higher prices in general . The victim wouldn’t even know that he’d changed telephone carriers. He didn’t give permission – he was slammed. And for a few years it was a very serious problem.

 

A variation on this theme was to send out real, negotiable checks – actual money in check form. If the receiver cashed the check (who wouldn’t?), they would be slammed, having their phone service switched without their permission and suddenly finding themselves paying astronomical rates to a brand new company.

 

“What happened? And who’s “Tico’s Telephone Company, anyway?” You didn’t have to be big to get into the telephone slamming game because you bought line usage in bulk from the legitimate carriers and sold it at 10 or 20 times what you, the ‘telephone company’ paid for the bulk access to telephone lines.

 

Telephone slamming tended to make customers angry. It certainly wasn’t good for the economy. Consumers couldn’t trust their phone carriers, but the legitimate carriers weren’t all that interested in fixing the problem since they were selling bulk access by the ton – and making a lot of money by the ton.

 

So, laws were passed. Customers could contact their carriers and ask to have a “No Slamming” label put on their account so only the consumer could change carriers. And that pretty much ended the telephone slamming industry.

 

Fast forward a few years. There are no new ideas.

 Domain Slamming

Instead, the bad guys are now slamming domains, moving them from one registrar to another without the knowledge of the domain owner. Surprised? Well, for many domain owners, all kinds of business and personal information is available in WHOIS, the official listing of domain owners: their addresses, company names, telephone numbers – it’s all there for the taking.

 

Here’s how the scam works.

 

Domain Slamming

Have you ever migrated your site from one web host to another? Sure, maybe several times as your site grew. It’s that way for a lot of on-line businesses and domain slammers know this.

 

So what they do is contact you by e-mail telling you that your domain registration is about to expire. Now mind you, this communication is from a scammer, but it looks and sounds legit. Who knows what happens once a registrar lists a new domain? Does that domain always stay with the same registrar? Many site owners wouldn’t have a clue.

 

The e-mail warns that if you don’t take immediate action, you’ll lose your domain name so, naturally, you respond. That’s what most of us do when we get something like that in our inboxes. The prospect of losing your domain name and your on-line venture is downright scary.

 

By responding to the bogus e-mail, you’re not just renewing your domain name. You’ve also been slammed and you now find your domain registrar is a completely different company from your original registrar. And how do these companies make money? Well, first they become your new registrar so they’re making money on the actual registration of your name. But, to add insult to injury, they totally boost your registration fees from $2.95 a year (some web hosts register domain names free) to $29.95. And this charge simply shows up on your credit card and there’s not a thing you can do about it. You’ve been slammed and scammed.

 

And now you’re partnering with a registrar/host that used outright fraud to get your account, so how well do you think they’re going to treat you as a hosting client? By falling for that bogus e-mail (snail mail or telephone call) from an unscrupulous registrar/host, you could be signing up for a three-year, no loophole contract charged to your credit card. You could be paying for services you don’t need and never asked for – at an additional charge, of course.

 

Other nightmarish scenarios? You log on and all of a sudden your site e-mail is “out of order.” Or, you might discover that your domain name has been hijacked and now points to a completely different site. In effect, you’re now invisible on the web.

 

Worse case scenario? The bad guys run the scam for a few months, transfer a few thousand accounts – often without site owners even knowing this – and one day the owners log on and their sites and the web host have disappeared altogether. Now, not only have site owners lost their web sites, they’ve also lost all of their customer and product information contained in the business databases.

 

Destroyed. Years of hard work down the drain – all because your domain was slammed and you got scammed.

 

How to Avoid Domain Slamming

First, a domain is a “property.” With the help of a registrar, your domain is registered and you “own” it just like you own your car or house. And, on the web, digital property has value. It’s up to each site owner (domain registrant) to protect his or her own property since there’s virtually no “police” presence on the web. If you don’t watch out for what’s going on, who will?

 

Second, register with a reputable web host – one that has a track record you can see. It’s been in business for 10 years and you can’t find any complaints on webmaster blogs and forums. Go with a company that has a reputation for trustworthiness.

 

Third, don’t believe your e-mail – at least at face value. Sure, you might receive a notice from your legitimate registrar that your domain name is up for renewal. But how would you know it’s legit? Well, good  hosting companies have toll-free, customer support 24/7 so, pick up the telephone and ask a customer service representative if that e-mail is really from your registrar/host.

 

Finally, check your credit card charges. Have monthly fees increased without explanation? Is there a huge expense for the re-registration of your domain name? Is there a new company billing you? All good signs that your domain has been slammed.

 

It’s up to you to protect what’s yours – what you’ve paid for. And the best way to do that is to go with a reputable registrar – one interested in protecting your e-commerce property. One that will alert you if another company is trying to slam you. A company that will tag your account with a “Do Not Touch” sign to protect against scammers. And one that will automatically renew your domain so you don’t even have to think about it.

 

It’s not a new scam. In fact, it’s an old one, just updated to on-line technology. So, watch yourself and keep track of who your registrar is. And, if you even suspect that someone is trying to slam your domain, contact your registrar immediately.

Site Security: How Safe Is Your Business

Webwordslinger is a Helium.com Premier Author.

Redundant layers of security are the norm in the corporate realm, but we regularly read that this university, this credit card company or this retail store data has been hacked and is now floating out there in the Ethernet. So, what’s a small business to do? A sole proprietor or a two-man dog-and-pony? How can they assure security?

The Number One Source of Hacker Attacks Is Some One You Know
Yeah, it’s not some 15-year-old in Bora Bora trying to access your MySpace account. The most likely threat is an angry business partner or sub-contractor or, sad to say, a spouse, a kid or your friendly Uncle Bob who comes over every Saturday to balance accounts.

Cures: Limit access to your business computer. It should not be a part of the home computer network. It should be a separate and distinct work station, password protected, off limits to anyone.

Bulk up your passwords, especially when keeping those who know you out. Forget Fluffy 909. An irate spouse’ll figure cat + birthday = password. Use signs, symbols and numbers to create passwords that can’t be defeated by someone you know.

Then There are the War Drivers, War Chalkers, Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, Key Logger Software and Zombie Computer Armies.

War drivers cruise industrial parks looking for leakage from an office network. All they need is a laptop, an antenna and networking software and they become a part of the office gang.

And all of that other nasty hacker-crap is out there. What can you do?

Protect your work station data and back it up automatically with an outboard hard drive.

 

 

Neighborhood kid or your worst business nightmare

 

 

Use a reputable host who maintains multiple layers of security hardware and software. Ask about access to the server room, ask where the servers are located and ask about on-site security. You can get good shared hosting for about $7.00 a month so we’re not talking breaking the bank, here.

Scan everything.
As an online entrepreneur, your inbox is filled every morning with every thing from the 14th penis enlargement spam this week to actual emails from customers and clients. Separating legitimate email from hacker missives isn’t always easy. However, any good email system will scan incoming, but if you have doubts, perform a separate scan on a piece of email before opening.

Use SSL Encryption
First, no savvy computer buyer is going to place an order if the little ‘s’ in ‘https’ is missing from the address bar of a site, and those that do jeopardize their identify, credit and your business

Maintain Your System Security
You don’t have to pay a bunch for site security software – good stuff. There’s even some OSS out there that professionals use. However, none of this software is going to do any good if it’s data and hasn’t been patched in three years

New bugs, viruses, scams and schemes are unleashed upon our sorry selves and there is no web police. It’s the wild, wild web.

Here’s what you want:

• server side security and lots of it

• SSL certification if you’re transmitting personal information.

• An automatic back up system, i.e. an outboard hard drive

• Quality system security software that performs a daily scan in the background and produces a log for review. Keep log data to track attempts by hackers to breach security.

• A separate system, distinct from a home or office network. A stand-alone impervious to ware drivers, war chalkers and other ne’er-do-wells.

• A hands off policy if you work out of a home office.

• Security scan software – software that equips you to scan individual documents for malware.

• Passwords on steroids. Let ‘em break :q##s6gr))1!sz+++. Never gonna happen.

• Finally, stay vigilant. You never know where a security breach will take place and there’s no 100% guarantee that you can make your business impregnable.

But you can sure make it hard on hackers who are more likely to move on to an open door than try to figure out your redundant layers of server- and system-side security.

Finally, what if the ol’ shanty burns down? All the back-up in the world is now a glob of melted plastic.

Cures: Use an sFTP. This is a secure (that’s what the s means), off-site storage service. It costs a few bucks a month but all f your sensitive data is stored of site so if some neighborhood cat burglar walks off with your laptop, you can still access your sensitive data.

It’s your business. protect it.

editor@webwordslinger.com

webwordslinger.com