Web Hosting

PHP and Common Web Hosting Security Issues

The most common security lapses online are usually the result of a faulty or lazy programmer that has left some sort of loophole somewhere. Most of the time, these web designers and developers have very little time to finish a project, placing security last on their last of priorities. For this reason many of the sub sequential errors are not discovered until they have resulted in serious security lapses for the end user or their network.

PHP

One particular programming language that is becoming increasingly popular amongst newer developers is PHP. PHP is perhaps the easiest programming language to use, and therefore often the most erroneously misused by inexperienced web programmers. PHP’s ease of use and minimal learning curve make it an optimal opportunity for any novice web developer to create software that is potentially insecure.

Insecure Web Applications

In the past hackers would infiltrate a network using any means possible, including using phishing techniques, identity theft, and any other method to compromise the security of a server or operating system. Now, the main focus has shifted to infiltrating the administrative interface of a website to gain access to online databases and server files.

The easiest way for most hackers to do this is to find a way in through one of many loopholes that exists in the site’s web applications. Web applications make the webmasters job easier and more convenient, however like many other tools that increase convenience, web applications come at a price.

Hiring Your Own Programmers

Since web applications have direct access to your site’s administrative functions, these web applications can be taken advantage of for nefarious purposes, and used to access your website’s control panel. This could prove to be disastrous, especially if you run an online business. For this reason it is best to avoid any new web applications that are built by unreliable sources. If you are planning on using a web application with a busy business website, you may want to hire a personal qualified developer to assist you in creating some custom web applications.

An Introduction to Linux Web Hosting – Linux Vs. Windows Web Hosting

Searching for web hosting companies will return a variety of results, displaying the various types of web hosting plans available. You may have done this before and encountered a few Linux web hosting plans. I am sure most of your are familiar with the Linux operating system, but for those of you who are not, Linux is the leading alternative to the Windows operating system, and is used by many companies around the world. Developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991, Linux is a Unix-like operating system that was originally meant to replace the Minux operating system. Linux is considered an open source operating system, as each user receives a source code with their copy of the operating system. Linux comes in different “flavors” such as RedHat and Ubuntu.

LAMP

All Linux web hosting plans include the LAMP software bundle. LAMP stands for Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP/Perl/Python. Apache is a widely used open-source, multi-platform web server. Most Linux hosting plans use Apache servers. MySQL is a database that provides multiple users access to several online databases that are used to comprise the data of a website or network of websites. Any webmaster trying to utilize advanced website design of any kind will need a database of some sort.

PHP/Perl/Python

PHP/Perl/Python are all programming languages used in the production of advanced web applications. Almost all Linux web hosting solutions support PHP, while Perl and Python are not fully supported by all web hosting service providers. In fact, few web hosting companies actually provide support for the Perl and Python languages.

Linux Hosting Vs Windows Hosting

Without knowing the difference it can be a difficult decision to choose between Windows and Linux -based web hosting. The fact is, there is no major visual difference between the two on the surface, and most average users would not even notice the difference at first glance. However, there are some fundamental differences between the two that could affect your ultimate decision. For example, if you’re planning on using any Microsoft applications and programming tools likes Visual C++, Frontpage, or ASP.Net, then you may want to consider Windows-based web hosting.

Security and Performance

As far as security is concerned, Linux web hosting is considered to be safer than Windows-based web hosting. Therefore users can expect greater reliability and more uptime when using a Linux  hosting service. Linux servers can also run for a very long time without the need for a reboot, whereas Windows servers need to reboot after almost every upgrade.  Performance-wise Windows and Linux are neck and neck and there is no considerable difference.

Price

The most noticeable difference between the two for the average consumer is price. Linux web hosting is generally cheaper than Windows web hosting. If you are looking for a cheap deal on web hosting combined with reliability then you should consider Linux web hosting. If you absolutely need Microsoft application functionality, then perhaps Windows-based web hosting would be best for you.

Selecting an SEO-Oriented Web Hosting Plan

Search engine optimization is perhaps the most important aspect of marketing your site and building a substantial visitor base which converts to sales in the long run. All other traffic generation pales in comparison to search engine optimization, as the results of successful SEO tactics can be seen years later. Properly creating a website with search engine optimization in mind is a very difficult process that involves many different practices. In fact, many people even hire SEO experts to assist them in creating a website that is guaranteed to rank well in the search engines. Even after spending thousands of dollars on search engine optimization techniques, many business owners find that their efforts were in vain.

How SEO Efforts Fail

The main cause of most failed SEO attempts is the lack of continual SEO. In other words, SEO requires patience, and it can take months before you see the results of your work. Therefore it is crucial to maintain a certain set of strategies for a prolonged period of time to see if they actually work or not. Simply executing a few strategies and then switching to a different strategy the next day is not going to help you determine what works and what doesn’t. Instead of placing all of this burden on themselves, many website owners rely upon tools to facilitate the search engine optimization process. Perhaps the most fundamental tool needed for a proper SEO is a competent web hosting plan. The following information will help you select a hosing plan that will improve your sites search engine optimization.

Web Hosting SEO

When selecting a web hosting package it is important to look for plans that offer control panels and other tools that have specific features geared towards continual SEO. These services are designed to improve the page rank of your website by formatting the coding of your website in a search engine friendly manner. These services often include open source control panels and content management systems that allow for instant expandability with web applications that are designed to enhance the SEO efforts of the website owner. An example of the SEO-oriented features of such automatically place SEO-friendly title tags and meta tags on each page.

Web Applications

Another way you can use your web hosting plan for search engine optimization is through the endless selection of web applications that can be used to extend the capabilities of your hosting control panel. There are literally thousands of these applications, designed specifically to increase the search engine optimization efforts of your website quickly and easily. An example of such an application would be one that automatically retrieves backlinks for your site by posting all of your site posts to various social bookmarking sites simultaneously. As your site gains more exposure from these social bookmarking sites, people will begin linking back to your site, which will eventually improve the search engine ranking of your site. This is just one example of the many web applications that can be added to your web hosting control panel to improve your SEO efforts.

Selecting a Suitable eCommerce Plan – Key Features

Everyday more business owners are taking their brick and mortar businesses to the internet for maximum exposure and increased profits. Many of them are under the impression that running an online business will be extremely simple, however this is not the case, especially when initially entering the online marketplace. Maintaining an online business is relatively simple compared to a storefront, however setting up an online business with very little experience can be a challenging task in and of itself.

Beginning an online Business

With a brick and mortar business, the main challenges presented involve initial investments, whereas the establishment of an online business requires less investment and more decision making. In the online world, decisions are the biggest investments you’ll make. As soon as you begin your first online endeavor the decisions and question asking begins – What do I want the website to look like? How am I going to list the products? In which way am I going to market the products? All of these obvious question com to mind fairly quickly, however the novice will often overlook one fundamental question – Which eCommerce web hosting solution am I going to use? Comparing the following attributes will help you make that crucial decision.

Security

The single most important attribute an eCommerce solution can have is security. When dealing with credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and other sensitive information online on a daily business, it is absolutely imperative to secure this info. The internet is a very dangerous place, crawling with hackers and cyber criminals looking to steal anything they can get their hand son. To prevent yourself from becoming the victim, you’ll want to make sure your eCommerce plan offers top-of-the-line encryption services such as SSL, as well as fully functional firewalls and anti-virus programs that scan your web applications.

Reliability

The next factor to consider would be reliability. Running an online business is all about providing customer convenience. In fact, the main reason why consumers choose to shop online rather than go to the store is convenience. Offering your customers maximum convenience means providing a stable and convenient website. If your eCommerce hosting plan is unreliable, then your site will be plagued with crashes and poor performance on a regular basis. Make sure you look for packages with unlimited features, such as unlimited bandwidth and server space. Customer reviews will also help you decide which plan would be the most reliable.

Support

Another attribute that is closely related to reliability is support. Users that are just beginning an online business will need a competent support staff ready to handle their problems at all times. As an online business owner, you’ll inevitably face many problems as you learn the ins and out of eCommerce. To simplify this learning experience you’ll need a good support staff by your side. Make sure the service you choose offers 24 hour support, and can be contacted in a variety of ways. Perhaps the best way to gauge the support capabilities of a company is by reading reviews and calling the support staff yourself.

Creating a Website With Joomla CMS

Creating a professional looking website from scratch often isn’t easy, especially if you’re trying to do it with very little experience in internet technology. However with the advent of content management systems like Joomla, even novice users now have the ability to create a site that will give their online business the credibility needed to establish a substantial client base. Even people that already have a website of their own can benefit from the Joomla CMS system, as it can be used to modify and improve the overall appearance and functionality of the original website.

Preparing For The Creation of a New Website

Although Joomla will help you create your site, you’ll need to have a game plan to begin with. It is a good idea to brainstorm and determine exactly what you want from your site. Consider not only your own needs, but also the wants and needs of your targeted audience. Once you know what your goals are, it will be a lot easier to develop a website that is specifically designed around your business. You can use this information to ascertain what web applications would be beneficial to your content management systems. For example, if you know that the majority of your visitors are looking for multimedia content, then it would be wise to install a multimedia application that could aid in the process of uploading, editing and organizing gall of your site’s media.

Populating Your Site With Useful Content

Once you’ve finished the site’s design and you have a game plan, you’ll need to add content to the site, or transfer the content from your old site. If you are just using Joomla to redesign your site then you do not have to worry about this step, as the design process in Joomla will not affect the content that is currently on your site. If you do not have any content to work with then you have several options. You can write the content or you may have the content written for you.

If you are considering re-spun content, such as using web applications to collect, add and revise content may be beneficial for autobloggers, it generally is not a good idea if you’re trying to build long term success with your site. If you want to win in the long run then you’ll need to have original content on your site. If you are not a great writer, then you can hire writers on one of the many freelancing forums found online. Most of these writers have feedback that will let you make the right decision when buying content for your site. Once you have possession of the content you can upload it directly into the Joomla CMS, and the content management system will upload the articles for you depending on your preferences. You can choose to upload content on a scheduled basis, to give your visitors something new everyday, or you can upload the content all at once. Joomla users also have the ability to assign passwords to their writer’s so they can log in and upload the work themselves upon completion.

Maintaining Your Site With Joomla

Since Joomla is an open source software, there are new developments for it being created on a daily basis. In fact, anyone with interest has the ability to create an application that is compatible with Joomla. Due to it;s ever expanding nature, the operation and functionality of Joomla is something that you will be learning and improving upon throughout your time as a webmaster. While you’ll be able to learn the basic functions within a matter of days, it may take months before you truly realize the power  this CMS can give you. Joomla is more than a software that brings convenience, it also brings profit, as it improves the overall quality of your website.

The Cost of a Domain Name – Registering Your Domain

The face of every online business is the domain name, which is ultimately responsible for embedding the identity of your website into the minds of your visitors, thus providing repeat traffic and eventually sales. Although owning a domain name is absolutely imperative, it is surprisingly cheap to buy a domain name. However, there are many domain registrars that claim to sell cheap domain names and charge a lot more than advertised.

Domain Name Cost

The cost of a domain name is largely dependent upon the nature of the domain. Buying a standard .info domain could cost you less than $1, however registering a .com domain with private registration and certified ownership could cost around $20-$30 depending on the registrar. The key to buying a good domain name is not price, as any domain speculation expert would tell you – it’s quality that matters. Purchasing a top level premium domain name will do more for your business in one month than any .info domain name could do in 5 years. However buying such a domain could cost thousands of dollars depending on the name and who owns it at the time. If you are in the process of registering a domain, then the following information may prove to be useful.

Assessing Your Needs

Choosing the right domain name for your website will depend upon your needs as a website owner. If you are planing on starting a reputable professional business, then you’ll need nothing but the best. Online business owners should set their goals towards premium .com domains. Such a domain should only cost around $10-$20. If you find a service that offers .com domain names for $10, make sure there are not setup fees which could bring the price back up to about $20. If your planning on starting a personal blog for fun, you should consider a .me, .info or .cc domain name. These domain names usually cost less than $5 a piece.

Private Registration?

Another determining factor in the overall price of the domain will be private registration. Private registration is a service that hides the information of the domain name owner from the WHOIS database. The WHOIS database is a publicly accessible database that anyone can use for free to find the  information on a domain owner. All of the information you give to your domain registrar will be on public display at all times, for anyone to see. If you’re going to build a website that represents your currently established physical storefront, then having this information may be desirable. However, if you provided personal information to your domain registrar such as your home address, then you may want to consider private domain registration.

Domain Name Protection and Automatic Renewal

Another service that may increase the cost of a domain name is domain name protection and automatic renewal. This service prevents you from losing your domain name by accidentally forgetting to renew it. It also keeps hacker from stealing your domain by notifying you when any changes are made to the account. With some domain registrars this service is free, however other may charge an initial fee of about $5-$10 for this service.

Selecting a Control Panel – Crucial Attributes to Compare

Building a website is often a fairly difficult process for novice users, there are a lot of decisions to make before the process can even begin, and perhaps one of the most difficult decisions to make is which control panel is going to be used. Since control panels are included with web hosting packages, the decision will largely be based on which hosting company you choose. However, one of the primary factors when choosing a hosting provider is the control panel provided by the company.

Control panels are by far one of the most important components in the website production and maintenance process, so it is important to know what you’re looking for when selecting your control panel. For this reason we’ve compiled a short list of the most important attributes that absolutely must be compared during the selection process. The following aspects should not be overlooked when deciding which control panel would best suite your needs.

User-Friendliness

The most important attribute a control panel can have us usability. Regardless of how many fancy features the control panel has, if the user cannot use these features then they are worthless, Therefore it is important to consider your skill level in the website management field, and research the simplicity of  all prospective control panels before deciding on your final choice. Many control panels are designed for different purposes, some for business and some for casual websites. It is important to remember that the simplicity of the software should hold precedence over the amount of features it offers, especially for novice users.

Appearance

Another factor that will greatly determine your ability to use the control panel effectively is the look and feel of the user interface. This aspect contributes greatly to the aforementioned attribute of usability, and should not be overlooked. For this reason, considering an open source control panel with modifiable themes may be advisable.

Flexibility

Once you’ve narrowed your list down to a few control panels that are easy to use and visually appealing, then you’ll want to start comparing the various options offered by the software. Having a plethora of options available for website management is crucial in the long term, especially as your site expands and the traffic increases. Therefore it is important to make sure the control panel has key features such as effective database management, email access management, and FTP account management.

Platform

Before selecting a control panel, make sure it is compatible with your operating system and your server environment. Failing to carry out this simple step could result in a lot of unnecessary hassle. If you frequently use various platforms then you may want to choose a control panel that has cross compatibility, like Plesk.

Performance

Last but most definitely not least, is performance. Even with a long list of features, a control panel must be able to carry out those features efficiently without slowing down. If the control panel is slow in the least bit, your productivity will suffer. In regards to performance, it is important to make sure you read plenty of user reviews before deciding upon a particular control panel.

How to Prevent Spam Attacks – Protecting Your Inbox

Spam is by far the most annoying concept in existence on the internet, aggravating thousands of webmasters and contributing to the defacing of just as many websites on a daily basis. Spam wastes time, money, server space, and energy, by clogging up email boxes, and even worse, cluttering the comments sections of nearly every unsecured blog. Spam is like the prank phone call of the internet, and in order to stop it, you’ll need to take a few measures that will prevent spammers form accessing the information they need.

Email Privacy

Perhaps the most common form of spam is email spam, which reduces your productivity by populating your inbox with unwanted spam posts. To avoid the aggravation associated with email spam, you should consider keeping your email private at any expense. That means you should not post your email address on forums, chat rooms, blogs, websites, or any other venues that can be publicly viewed by spammers. If you absolutely must to display your email address publicly online, then consider writing it without the @ symbol. For example – nospamexampleemailaddress at exampleemail dot com. The reasoning behind this is actually quite simple; spammers usually use programs that automatically search the web and scrape lists of email addresses by searching for @ symbols. Writing your email address in the above format is a great way to prevent spammers form finding your email address automatically.

Preventing Contact Form Attacks

Another way spammers can access your business email is through the “Contact Us” form on your website. If you have a contact form enabled on your website, you’ll need to make sure you have security measures in place to prevent spammers from using bots to repeatedly send emails through your contact form. Spammers love using this method to exploit business inboxes, because most contact forms only require a few simple fields to be filled out, such as name, email address, and subject. To prevent spam attacks from automated bots through your contact form, you’ll need to require the use of a Captcha form, which only a valid human could fill out.

Captcha

The Captcha test is is an entry field that is used to prevent hackers from exploiting sites with automated programs. If you have ever created an email account, then you have probably seen a Captcha form before. Captcha basically generates an image complete with a variety of letters and characters, and then requires the user to input the information on the screen. In the early days o Captcha, the images generated were simple, and as hackers adjusted to these Captcha images, the developers had to increase the difficulty of these images. The modern versions of the Captcha system consist of two to three words and are very difficult to circumvent.

Conclusion

Although spam is a common problem and is not going to disappear any time soon, there are measures that can be taken to keep spammers from targeting your email. The first step in preventing spam would be following the recommendations above and using common sense when it comes to distributing your business email address. If you’re still having trouble with spam attacks from more determined individuals like your competitors, then you may want to employ the services of a spam blocking program.

SEO Keywords: Keyword Density vs. Keyword Placement

The importance of keyword usage in search engine optimization definitely cannot be ignored, however many people don’t realize the proper way to use keywords, and therefore place unnecessary efforts on frivolous attempts that often prove to be unsuccessful. Failing at an SEO attempt is a very frustrating experience, because many times there is a lot of hard work and invested money involved. By the time you realize your plan is not working, all of the time of the money is gone and you are left wondering what went wrong.

Simply finding the right keywords and then loading your site with them is not going to get you anywhere. In order for your site to flourish, you’ll need the perfect balance between keyword density and keyword placement. But ultimately, which one is more important, density or placement?

Keyword Density

Search engines use web bots called crawlers to index your website’s information. In the process all of the keywords on your site are also indexed. The amount of keywords per the amount of content on your website is called keyword density. Keyword density is calculated in terms of percentage, for example:  5 keywords in a 500 word article would be a keyword density of 1%. While there is no exact standard for the amount of keyword density that should be used, there is a general frame that helps many people reach success. Most people find that using a total site keyword density of about 1%-5% is a great way to boost organic search engine listings.

So how do you do you decide how how high or how low the keyword density should be? The answer to this is directly related to the niche your site specializes in, and which keywords you are targeting. If your keyword is a very popular one, then you may want to go for a keyword density closer to the 4%-5% range. If you have a less popular keyword, then you may want to aim lower. Overall the best way to use keyword density is to start high, at around the 5% range, and then gradually go lower until you find a peak area. It should be noted however that optimal keyword density without proper placement is useless.

Keyword Placement

Keyword placement refers to the placement of the keywords throughout your site, both within the content and design of the website. Placing keywords in the right places plays a crucial role in proper search engine optimization. Search engine optimization experts recommend placing keywords within the first and last 25 words of each piece of content. Keywords should also be placed in the middle of the content as well, with at least one instance being used per article. It also helps to surround the keyword in other sub-keywords. This will help bring more targeted search to your site. Many people search for products or services and then add more information to the search query that contains another sub-keyword. It is also important to include keywords in the title tags of every page, as well as within meta tags and anchor text.

Conclusion

In regards to which is more important, keyword density or keyword placement; many would agree that keyword placement is essential. The reason why placement is more important than density is because packing a site with keywords is easy, and search engines see this as spamming in some instances. However, packing the site with properly placed keywords is not viewed as spamming by the search engines, and instead is seen as useful content.

Advertising and Marketing with Content Management Systems

Content management systems are web applications that enhance the productivity of your website by aiding in the creation, organization, editing, and publication of content and design. Many of these software are expensive all-inclusive programs that can handle just about any task required. However there are also free open source CMS that are capable of matching the abilities of the paid software with only a few minor adjustments. Regardless of whether you choose a paid software or a free open source CMS, using one will most definitely improve your online business by reducing the amount of time it takes to manage it.

How a CMS Aids Your Marketing Campaign

By saving time and money, your CMS will increase your overall ROI, thereby enhancing and expanding your advertising and marketing efforts. The advertisement of your website does not end when the audience reaches your website. Instead, the process of capturing visitors is only beginning once they reach your website. This is why it is important to make sure your website completes your advertising and marketing campaign, by using a good CMS.  The following are a few CMS features that improve the advertising and marketing campaign of your online business:

Enhancing Website Design

After spending your hard earned money on advertisement and marketing, the only way to make the money back is by monetizing your website. Unfortunately, if the design of your website is not professional then all of your advertising dollars are going to waste. A good CMS will aid in the construction and design of your website by fully automating processes that would usually need to be done manually. In fact, you can even contribute to the design of your website offline, as all of your website’s files are stored in a special folder on your computer by the content management system.  Then once you gain access to the internet, you can upload all of the changes you made while offline. Combine this convenience with the simplicity and automation offered by countless predesigned website templates, and it is easy to see why having a CMS is mandatory in online business.

Creating and Formatting Business Material with Ease

While you may already have access to a word processor of your own, you may find it interesting that   every CMS comes with a built in word processor that you can use to create templates for a multitude of purpose. In fact, you can also download predesigned templates online that can be integrated with you CMS very easily. This feature simplifies the process of writing and sending contracts, thank you letters, invitations, inquiries, invoices and any other business document.

Converting Visitors to Buyers Using Standard eCommerce Features

Many online business owner place a great deal of emphasis on the marketing and design of their website, assuming that these two efforts alone will bring them a large return on their investment. However the truth is, the functionality of the website is also a huge factor in converting visitors into sales. You have to remember that most people shop online for one reason; convenience. The convenience of shopping from home is what draws most people to the concept of online shopping. If this convenience is compromised in any way, then the customer will most definitely take their online business elsewhere. Therefore it is crucial to ensure that your website offers easy navigation and simple checkout procedures. A lot of the features that will make your website easy to use are found within your basic ecommerce web hosting solution.

Easy Access to On Demand Products

When a customer comes to your website looking for a specific product, the last thing they want to do is perform a lengthy search to find it. If it takes them longer than five minutes, then you can rest assured they will buy the product from someone else. The best way to solve this problem is to offer a search functionality in your online store. Many commerce web hosting solutions include a search function by default. Before deciding on a specific search function, you may want to investigate the features of the search tool. It would be best to us ea search function that lets customers conduct searches based on a specific set of criteria. If you’re having trouble finding out how to integrate the search function with your website, then you may want to contact customer service.  Make sure the search bar is in plain site, because the last thing you want is a search bar that needs to be searched for!

Be Flexible

If you want to sell products to the largest audience possible, then you’ll want to be flexible with your payment and shipping options. Every payment method that you don’t accept is costing you money in the long term. It is extremely important to offer alternate payment methods such as PayPal or AlertPay, as many of your customers will feel a lot more secure paying you through these programs. You may also want to add a feature that gives your customers the ability to put items on layaway. In the ecommerce market this feature is known as a wishlist. Sometimes customers may not want to purchase something at the moment, but instead would like to be reminded of the item at a later date, like a friend or family member’s birthday. Find out how to install the wishlist feature offered by your web hosting company to give your customers this convenience.

Streamline the Checkout

Many shoppers are discouraged by sites that require them to perform many tasks just to buy a product. After all, they are the one’s paying for the product or service, so they shouldn’t have to do anything more than pay right? Unfortunately, man business owners sabotage a large portion of their sales by asking too much of their customers. For example, some ecommerce sites want you to fill out surveys or confirm information before you can buy something. While this will give you added information about your target audience, it can also cause you to lose a great portion of your targeted audience. Instead of requiring your guests to register before buying, why not use the information given at checkout as their registration info. Many sites combine the checkout with the registration process to make the shopping experience quicker and more convenient for the customer.