Only Newbies Need Managed Hosting: This thought is derived from the idea that paying someone to manage your server for you is somehow a sign of geek weakness: Only those inexperienced enough to run their own server need to hire a company to manage their content. However, this is completely untrue, and can wreck your business model if you’re not careful. The idea behind managed hosting is not to tie over gaps in your experience, but to save you the pain of having to manage the thing yourself. If you’re a large company with more resources than time, it makes all the sense in the world to outsource control of your servers. Why bother to fix your car by hand when you can afford to pay someone to do it for you?

Managed Hosting is More Expensive Than a Dedicated Server: Again, this is a classic example of short-sighted thinking. Though you might pay slightly more upfront to create a managed server, in the long run opting for this service will save you a boatload in cash. Because your server is managed by professionals that will keep your server ship-shape, you avoid the need to hire a team of server masters, or an army of tech soldiers. This means less crunch on your payroll, as well as fewer financial headaches when something goes wrong server-side.

My Software Choice is Too Limited With Managed Hosting: This common myth shows a lack of research into the modern market. To be competitive, web hosts have to support a wide variety of consumer-desired softwares, likely including the one you’re after. Before writing off managed hosting based on a lack of software, take a look at some of the more popular hosts: You may be surprised by what you find.

Related posts:

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• When Do You Need Manged Web Hosting?
• The Difference Between Managed Hosting and Colocation Hosting
• Can You Handle a Dedicated Server?
• Bursting Five Managed Hosting Misconceptions
• Hosting Considerations for E-commerce
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For many business owners, finding the most suitable backup options for their specific needs and organization can be a nightmare, without first knowing the basics, and inner workings that go in to the various options that are available to them. Thus, it goes without saying, that proper research and homework should be the first step any organization makes when even beginning to consider what type of service they want to use to protect their valuable data with. In the modern day world of IT, being in charge of backing up data generally implies two main tasks in particular: backup administrations and operations. A backup operator is in charge of completing daily tasks, such as ejecting tapes from a library and replacing them with scratch tapes or ensuring that all backups have been completed.

The most common types of backup services available include a full backup, differential backup and incremental backup. Other types may include cloud backup services, reverse incremental, mirroring, synthetic full backups, and continuous data protection. Virtual tape libraries also gained some traction in recent years due to an absence of new software and little reconfiguration required. However, this is not the best option for everybody.

Testing Backups

Testing and configuration is all too frequently the main missing link when it comes to making backups. Far too often, a company will take the time to back up their data with cloud backup services or other available options, only to find out that there was something wrong with the configuration. Backup reporting tools are designed specifically to analyze backups and report back on them, and these can help as a preventive measure to faulty backup recovery.

Such tools have evolved in recent years, so many now include additional analysis features, including trending features, in order to provide better planning for growth in backing up data – this is a valuable asset for companies who back their data onto tape, as well as to disk media.

Security for Data Backup

Whenever data backup enters the mainstream news, it often features stories regarding data breaches, and security holes. Thus, it is also very important to keep up to date with the latest solutions for backup security that are available at the time. Storage administrators are more frequently relying on tape encryption as a means of protecting highly sensitive data. Using encryption can affect the backup process in a number of different ways, depending on whether it is done with a host, tape, or appliance based scheme.

The question of how, where and when encryption should be employed is best only answered after first answering the most critical question: Why are you encrypting data?

VMware Backup and Data Protection

Data protection has been changing, and this is due in part to VMware virtualization. However, though there are a number of benefits provided by VMware, there still exist numerous challenges of backup and recovery services that must be addressed. In addition to being a costly and time consuming type of backup service to manage, desktops can create data recovery and security vulnerabilities as they are arguably one of the least protected assets of IT.

Virtual machine backup has always been a bit of an issue when it comes to backup administrators. However, VMware vSphere has offered a number of improvements for backup and recovery.

Data Deduplication

The technology known as data deduplication is perhaps one of the hottest topics with regard to backup services in today’s world. However, though global data deduplication offers many advantages, there still remain many different myths and misconceptions that surround data deduplication. There exist several different sorts of data deduplication technologies, which means it can be a bit difficult to figure out which one is the best suited for your particular organization.

Many backup administrators wind up so focused with backing up data that they lose sight of how important recovery is. After all, your backups do not mean anything if you cannot recover them – the same is true with deduped data. This means you must focus on having a good recovery setup whether you intend to go with data deduplication or not.

Online Data Backup

One popular alternative to tape-based backup is online data backup. There are numerous online cloud backup providers that allow companies to store their data online to avoid physical damage that could come with tapes used for backup; after all, tapes are a good means for backing up your library until the tapes are damaged along with your servers. Cloud services take this into consideration, storing them elsewhere and even allowing them to be accessed anywhere with the proper authorization.

Though a relatively new idea, there are a number of well-known companies which provide such services, like Box, Amazon, and Mozy.

As a final note, before you jump to any conclusions and make up your mind on what is the right type of backup and recovery system for your business, do make sure that you have done the proper research, and have at the very least consulted with a few third party sources, to know what you are getting into before it is too late to change your mind.

A guest post by: Gaelen Hallenbeck

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To have any sort of dominance on the World Wide Web for just a year or two is amazing.  That is what makes the run that the Apache Web Server has had all the more breathtaking.  They first hit the top spot in web server technology in early 1996.  They haven’t given it up since.

They did come close recently, though.  Microsoft finally took their gloves off and put real effort into their web server technology.  This resulted in a surge in Microsoft web hosting that, at its peak, gave it a third of all web hosting serve technologies in 2008, just a step behind Apache.

So close, yet…

That surge ran out of fuel, though.  By the time of its November 2011 web server survey, Netcraft showed that Apache’s share of web server software was back up to a dominant 65% of all web sites.  Microsoft had fallen back down to just over 15%, and even Google so far is stuck in low also-ran single digits.  Relative newcomer nginx was third with about 8%.

So why is this dominance so pervasive?  What is it about the Apache web server that gives it such an unshakable place in the web hosting world?  Is there any indication that this will change any time soon?

The flexibility of modules – especially open source modules

Through the use of modules, which are essentially plugins to the Apache web server, the web host is able to configure Apache to their specifications.  These modules allow smooth cooperation with other applications, including other web hosting software packages.  Several dozen modules have been released by the Apache Software Foundation, and several dozen more have been developed independently.

This hints at the thing that gives these modules that bit of extra power: Apache is open-source.  This leads to the usual benefits that attend all open-source packages: individual flexibility, expansiveness of user support, rapid development and bug tracking and fixing, high efficiency, and so forth.

High portability

Another benefit to Apache’s open source nature is that it has been developed for a wide variety of operating systems.  Naturally it works on just about every major UNIX and Linux variant.  But it has also been ported over to Windows, Mac OS, AmigaOS, OS/2, and a few others that you’ve probably never even heard of.  This alone should make it clear why, until they change their philosophy, Windows Server 2008 and whatever variants follow won’t even have a prayer at competing.  It is even available in 10 spoken languages.

Other advantages

• Cost: We could have probably put this into the list of open-source advantages above, but it deserves reiteration in its own right.  In addition to all of the obvious advantages that this entails, consider this also: this makes the barrier to entry so low that anyone so dedicated can run a web hosting service from their basement (Indeed, a lot of people do.  Well, some of them probably use other rooms as well).
• Specific features: There are a few nicely built-in advantages to the Apache web server that only adds to the above list.  Load balancing is one, which is why most Apache web hosts guarantee such high uptime percentages.  Virtual hosts, meaning the ability to create subdomain.domain.com, is another, and a very popular one.
• Security: Again, this almost goes without saying.  It bears asking though: 20 years into the World Wide Web, how many major Apache security incidents can you name?  Can anyone name any at all?  With some software packages and operating systems all but assuming that break-ins will happen, this is no mean feat.

What are the competitors up to?

All of this said, all empires eventually end.  One can certainly not expect either Microsoft or Google to just roll over and play dead.  So what are they doing instead?

Microsoft released this year Windows Home Server 2011, the latest in its own attempts to bring web hosting server technologies to home PCs (reference the basement web host above).  Unfortunately, they shot themselves in the foot right from the start.  Microsoft’s Home Server technology, starting from 2007, had included a feature called “Drive Extender”.  This enabled a few key server abilities, namely multi-disk redundancy, a single folder name space, and the ability to extend storage to any type of hard disk in any combination.

Thus, it was with astonished incredulity from its user base that Microsoft suddenly removed this service, as it was considered one of the server’s main selling points.  The outcry resulted in Microsoft promising to utilize RAID technology instead.  This, however, has not much placated the masses, and third parties have worked to fill the vacuum.  In short: don’t look to Microsoft’s fortunes in this area turning around any time soon.

And the others?

Google, to put it shortly, doesn’t look yet to be really putting that much effort into this yet.  Their focus seems to be using web server technology to serve its own needs.  Granted, these needs are growing with leaps and bounds, but it doesn’t look to be that of all-purpose web hosting anytime soon.

Nginx is the more interesting case.  Most of its market share has been achieved in the last 3 years.  There are specific reasons for this.  nginx can support up to 10,000 simultaneous connections and MP4 streaming.

A hardening monopoly

Nginx has still not yet achieved the broad respect that Apache has.  Then again, it itself is an Apache fork, meaning that most of the former’s advantages are already built into it.  Though that being the case, some would say there’s no point really considering it a “competitor” so much.  Combined, these two own ¾ of the market share, and growing.

In short, as amazing as it may seem, it appears that one of the main parameters of what makes the World Wide Web function, the underlying web hosting technology, is something that is not only not going to change anytime soon but, unless some really meteor of a competitor comes in out of nowhere, is going to solidify even harder.  In a world where technologies change on an almost hourly basis, this is an astounding statement.

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This means that you can’t settle for it being on your home machine: it’s good to have it the server right in front of you, but you don’t have the resources to make sure that, for example, the power always stays on, or the network never, ever hiccups.  You also wouldn’t mind an expert at the wheels if something seriously goes wrong.

Where to begin?

In a literal sense that is the first question you want to ask.  Before you go anywhere with any prospective host, you need to ask them whether or not they will host this kind of server.  Even if you are on your own machine, some hosts won’t allow this for reasons ranging from network stability to security.  Contact them and get a solid answer.  Make sure you get a guarantee that they will try to give you warning if, for some reason, they can no longer host you.

The next thing you want to do is get your own machine.  For this type of service even a Virtual Private Server isn’t good enough.  You run the possibility of using resources like mad, to the point that you shouldn’t be surprised if you need more than one machine.   For the most part forget about using any type of cloud services as well.  Even if you’re permitted to, you run the risk of racking up a fortune in service-hour fees.  If you must use the cloud, keep it to something that you’re not going to use every few seconds, like nightly backups of data.

Make sure that you hop your server up right from the start with all of the juice it will need.  Get your RAM, your dual or quad-core CPU, and whatever else you need.  Even if you choose to start low, make sure that you have room to expand easily.

Finally, depending on a lot of factors related to your game’s popularity, you might want managed service.  This all depends, though, on precisely what “managed” means from them.  This brings us to the next point.

Get the right services

If you are running some type of 24/7 game, then you need a 24/7 service to match that.  If your machine crashes, your players are not going to want to hear that they have to wait until 9AM for someone to reboot it.  Make sure that round-the-clock service is available for your machine.

More specifically, make sure that this service includes everything that you might need.  Some hosts will say that they will respond all night, but by this they mean that they can only answer basic technical questions.  Make sure that they have someone who can be there to hit the button on your machine.  Unmanned data centers are a half-decent substitute.  They will handle basic server reboots, but they won’t handle what will happen if there’s a bug in your kernel and you need some hands on deck to get your server back up and running.

To that point, make sure that if you need to upgrade your server that they can do it as quickly as possible.  Again, 48 hours in the gaming world is something akin to an epoch.  Most hosts typically have, for example, the RAM that you need on hand.  What you want is someone who can install it on a moment’s notice.

Clipping coupons

While on some level you’re probably going to incur some high costs that you aren’t going to be able to do anything about, there are some ways to make sure that your wallet doesn’t get too badly ruptured.

If anything is going to kill your bank account it’s going to be bandwidth.  There are ways that you can minimize this hit.  First, ask your host if they send you warnings if you look like you are going to go over your monthly allotment.  If they don’t do that, make sure you at least have web analytics you can fall back on, and ask for assistance in maybe setting that up to warn you.

You can also ask if throttling is a possibility.  While this may not be too popular with your players, an hour or two of downtime here or there is preferable to getting shut down entirely.  Some will do this network side, others will have the software necessary to do it server side.  Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance in getting this set up.

Also ask your host if they ever sell off unneeded hardware.  Some hosts, to recoup their own costs, will sell off hardware from servers no longer needed at a pittance.  If you let them know that you would like offers sent your way, they will often drop you an email once a new piece of equipment becomes available.

Good managed care can go a long way

A last thing you’ll want to look into goes back to what we said above.  “Managed” care of your server can mean different things to different hosts.  Some go so far as to offer different types of debugging and server optimization.  Some of these could be immensely useful to you.

For this type of care you’ll probably want to go with someone who charges a certain per-hour fee.  While there are many tech workers out there who will gladly take it upon themselves to see what they can do for you out of a combination of go-the-extra-mile customer service and the personal challenge of trying to solve your complex problem, you don’t want to assume either of these.  Charging for this help by the hour gives them all of the incentive they need to find an efficient solution to your problem.

Talk it out

Finally, this is one case in which one you’re setup, it doesn’t hurt every now and then to just drop a note to your host to make sure that everything is OK.  If it is, they’ll say so.  If it isn’t, this is a good way to catch little problems before they become big.  Either way, this will help you to maintain a strong relationship with your hosting provider, and keep the game afoot.

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• Dedicated Server Options: Which Are Worth Considering
• The Truth About Managed Web Hosting
• Data Backup and Recovery Solutions
• The Resurgence of Apache
• A News Rundown About the Great Growing Cloud
• 5 Hosts Running Macintosh Web Servers
• Security Aspects to Watch for in Your Server Logs
• How To Connect To Your Server Using SSH
• How To Deal With A Possible Intruder On Your Server
• Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting

If you’re reading this article, in fact, it’s a good bet that you are familiar first-hand with the fact that Macintosh is still in the desktop market.  You may be wondering if there are any good Macintosh-based web hosts out there for you to call home. Yes, Virginia, there are.  We identify five of them here.

1) MacHighway

“Web Hosting for Mac Users, by Mac Users, since 1997” is their slogan.  It’s hard not to get enticed by that.  It’s even harder still not to notice their low rates: three of their five accounts can be had for under $5/month.  They have a great selection of 6 different content management systems, including TikiWiki and Xoops.  They also go into extensive detail about their efforts to be environmentally responsible.

2) MacHost

MacHost gives you the option of hosting your account on a OS 9, OS X or Apache UNIX server.  These services are available on shared, co-located and dedicated hosting plans.  They are rare in offering as part of their services support on web site design and marketing, as well as technical help.  Do note that while most of these are free there is a fee for some of it.  MacHost has also been online since the mid-90s.

3) MacDock

These guys have put a lot of effort into making themselves not just Mac-hosted but Mac-friendly.  They use a custom-written control panel specifically for Macintosh user accounts.  Their shopping cart package, CartLoom, is also Macintosh-specific.  In fact it appears that they’ve put thought into just about every software package that’s included with their accounts.

4) DogBark

Not every Macintosh web host has “Mac” in their company name.  DogBark puts a fun, personal face on their services.  It’s not every host that tells you that one of their employees has a closet full of capes and another one is well-groomed.  All silly trivia aside, there is an extremely long list of features available to their accounts Advanced and higher.  By “extremely long” we mean 15 different content management systems and 6 different types of Wiki software packages alone.  Each one of these is available for demo.

5) Server Logistics, Inc.

For whatever reason, Macintosh hosts in general seem to lag badly behind their Windows and Linux counterparts in terms of available disk space and bandwidth.  While not still meeting them entirely, Server Logistics, Inc. at least bridges the gap some.  Their Professional account gets you a (comparatively) respectable 10GB of disk space and 250GB/month of bandwidth.  Their accounts come with more than 55 web applications and they also support Quicktime streaming.

Macintosh hosting isn’t dead.  While it may not ever achieve the popularity of other operating systems, these hosts seem secure and professional enough to ensure that anyone who needs this type of hosting will be able to find it for a long time to come.

Related posts:

• The Truth About Managed Web Hosting
• Data Backup and Recovery Solutions
• The Resurgence of Apache
• How to Find a Good Gaming Server Host, and Keep Them
• Security Aspects to Watch for in Your Server Logs
• How To Connect To Your Server Using SSH
• How To Deal With A Possible Intruder On Your Server
• Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting
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Hits to non-existent pages

To scan your logs effectively you need to be able to know the names of the actual pages on your web site without looking, meaning that you also need to know immediately if you are looking at an attempted hit to a non-existent page.  There are a few common pages that you’ll see from someone trying to infiltrate.  “index.php” is one, and no, this won’t accomplish anything on their end if all you have is “index.html”: the “.html” extension does make it a completely separate page.

OK, we’ll then what’s the danger?  Nothing, immediately.  The reason that you’ll see these attempts is that some web design software packages have built-in bugs.  These create pages with vulnerabilities that have predictable names.  These hits are attempts to access those.

One important note about this, though, is that this isn’t always bad news.  Search engine spiders often do the same auto-browsing, but in this case they are looking for pages that contain instructions for the search engine, like “robots.txt.”

Funny URLs

Not “ha ha” funny, either.   There are two things you’re looking for here:

Lots of non-ASCII characters: These can either be control characters or other characters down the character set.  You’ll recognize them by a syntax like “%056”.  Again, these need some script on your end to do something with them (they send unauthorized instructions to said script), but it’s a sign that someone’s trying.

Attempted login information: Password protection is common.  So are people who don’t realize that you need a password other than “password”.  If you see a URL that is long, sent to a .cgi, .php or other executable page, and the URL contains in it what looks like a username/password combo, then that is what it probably is.

What to do

We’ve discussed elsewhere what to do when you see these things.  The quick summary: block the IP addresses you need to, and don’t block any more than that, lest you risk filtering out legitimate traffic.  Also don’t be afraid to ask your web host for an extra set of eyes if there’s something you’re suspicious of: not only do they have more experience, but if there’s an attack affecting multiple users, then they might recognize something about its footprint that you wouldn’t be able to.  This is your web site, your livelihood: there’s nothing wrong with being as secure about it as you want to be.

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“Secure Shell (SSH) is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client (running SSH server and SSH client programs, respectively) — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Shell.”

Regardless of your skill level or knowledgeability, if you’re going to do any serious web mastering with your server, you’ll need to access the server shell at some point. To do this, you’ll need to tunnel commands server-side via SSH. There are several ways to accomplish this, but each operating system treats the process slightly differently. Lucky for you, we’ve got a common way to get at your server via SSH for all three major operating systems. No need to thank us, though: This is by no means a comprehensive methods list, but rather just a quick guide to dipping your toe in the water. For more complex entry methods, hit up the Big-G and google it.

In the meantime, though, check below for our ways of getting to your server via SSH!

SSH Access For Windows

Windows is complicated, and because of that, we’ll get it out of the way quick. Windows, unlike Linux or Macintosh (which we’ll look at in just a second) is not based on UNIX, and does not come stock with any kind of SSH client. However, there are plenty of utilities out there that will get the job done. Without sending you to a search engine, though, you can use our favorite in the meantime: PuTTY.

This handy application provides a pleasant enough graphical interface from which to get at your server. Just enter the name of the host, then choose SSH as your connection type. If you’d like, you can save the information for further use. Then enter your username and password, and PuTTY should do the rest.

Download PuTTY at http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html.

For Linux

Linux, by nature of its internal coding, is much less of a pain in the derriere. All you have to do is locate your local terminal application (this varies from distro to distro, so look carefully) and then type the following string:

ssh -l your-username yourserver-or-ip.com

For Macintosh

For Mac users, enter the same command as above, only use the native Terminal application, which can be found in your Utilities folder. Easy as pie, right?

Basic SSH Commands

Here is a short list of some of the most common SSH commands.

<command> -h                 # The -h flag provides help on a command
ls                           # List the contents of the current directory
cd <directory or full path>  # Change to that directory or path
cp <source> <destination>    # Copy the source file to the destination
cp -r <source> <destination> # Copy the source directory to the destination directory
mv <source> <destination>    # Move the source file to the destination
mkdir <directory name>       # Create a new directory
pico <file>                  # Edit file in a friendly, easy to use file editor
grep <text> <file>           # Search for text within a file
wget <URI>                   # Download the file at the given URI to the current path
tar -xz -f <file>            # Un-gzip and un-tar the given *.tgz or *.tar.gz file
rm <file>                    # Delete the file
rm -r <directory>            # Delete the directory and all contents
killall <program name>       # Kill all running processes of the program
ps                           # Show running processes
top                          # Show running processes in a graphical frontend
netstat                      # Show all current network connections
du                           # Show disk usage

For more SSH commands check David Coe‘s http://www.sshcommands.co.uk/, an easy to understand list of SSH commands (with examples).

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Did You Forget A User?

Think about it: Did you create a user with this designation, and then forget about it as the seasons rolled by? Perhaps you left a user behind a long time ago with a weak password, or just haven’t seen this user log-in for a while, and are now experiencing an uncomfortable case of deja vu.

Is This An Authorized Robot?

Remember that many of your other servers, such as your database server or your web server, operate within the system as “false” human users. There are also several different services running under the hood that do their jobs in this manner. Before freaking out about a human intruder, check the designation of the “hacker.” If it’s something similar to nobody, noname, sys, or apache, then you’ve not got a problem, just a working robot. If you’re unsure, but think the user might still be a script, do a quick Google search for the user’s name.

 What Are They Doing In There?

The next step is to check what the user is actually doing: Are they running a script or program you’re familiar with? This is where things start to heat up, in a software sense: If the user is running a standard application like Apache, then don’t worry your pretty little head. However, if they’re operating a script you’ve never seen, it’s time to do a bit more digging—you may actually have a real intruder on your hands.

 What To Do If Nothing Else Has Worked

If you’ve come this far, then you might genuinely have an intruder on your server. If so, the root user is the only one with the ability to create new accounts. With that in mind, check your root password and account for changes: Plug-ins and extras you have installed may also grant accidental access to the superuser. You may need to hire a security expert to check out your system, if there’s no obvious infiltration.

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What is Shared Hosting?

Shared hosting is especially meant for small-scale online businesses as it is a type of web hosting that allows more than one client to share a portion of a web server.  Although there are a number of reputable shared hosting providers, such as Web Hosting Hub, Host Gator, and iPage, the fact that your website is not run on an independent server, and thus shares its bandwidth, bandwith intensive websites, or highly trafficked websites often outgrow shared hosting promptly.

Benefits of Shared Hosting

The one obvious benefits associated with shared hosting is its low cost. The cost of web hosting is equally divided among various website owners and hence you pay a lesser amount. This is important for small and middle scale businesses, as budding businesses often need to save money, and shared hosting is certainly affordable.

Drawbacks of Shared Hosting

Website owners who opt for shared hosting often face the issue of security. Your website is not as secure on shared hosting as VPS or dedicated hosting. This makes it prone to hackers. Nevertheless, you can always take a set of precautions to help offset this drawback. Moreover, shared hosting is not as reliable. Your website may suffer downtime at any point. Thus, quality is an important factor that gives VPS or dedicated web hosting an edge over shared web hosting.

Overall, if you are running a big online business, shared hosting is not your cup of tea. It is only meant for relatively less prominent businesses. If you are looking for a reliable hosting company to run your online business you should consider more powerful web hosting solutions.

Don’t forget to check our web hosting awards for the best web hosts!

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Issue #1 – Missing Contact Information 

Perhaps one of the most annoying experiences when visiting a website is not being able to locate the relative contact information.  Whether an e-mail address, physical address, driving directions or a toll-free telephone number, information should be readily available to share with website visitors.  Doing so could potentially mean the difference between a strong sales lead and an actual purchase.  Ideally, contact information should be placed above the fold in a conspicuous location with at least three different methods of contacting the company for various inquiries.

Issue #2 – Slow Server Download Time

In today’s fast-paced world – time equals money.  Ask anyone viewing a website connecting via a 56k modem that takes longer than 10 seconds to download pages and see exactly how long they will wait around for the rest of the site to download at the speed of molasses.

When developing a website, it’s important to keep in mind that every website visitor may not have access to high-speed Internet connections, therefore, it’s always a good idea to keep graphics and data files small so web pages have the ability to download at a much quicker rate.  It’s easy to test the download speed of your website by simply connecting on a 56k modem, and then start your stop watch to determine exactly how long it takes for the entire site to download.

Issue #3 – Usability

Along the lines of efficient webpage download speeds, website visitors also appreciate usability features incorporated into the website.  Features such as skip navigation, title bars, site maps, Contact Us page, driving directions, hours of operation, and so on and so forth goes a long way when accommodating an array of needs for various website visitors seeking pertinent information.

Other useful information that you may consider advertising is product or service guarantees, customer support features, and a website privacy policy.  Although such usability features may not seem much on the grand scheme of the overall website, however, website visitors are sure to appreciate the extra time and devotion spent addressing their individual needs.

Issue #4 – Requiring Website/Newsletter Subscriptions

As a website owner, keeping track of a subscription base is considered a good way to keep website visitors in the loop as to special promotions, discounts and other exclusive offers.  On the other hand, website visitors being prompted to first subscribe to a site or newsletter before actually turning the golden key to access what lies beneath the cyber gates of splendor is a sure bet of turning away the masses of visitors and potential sales leads.  Although some website visitors may not mind subscribing to your website, however, the choice should always be left up to the individual as to whether or not they wish to divulge personal contact information.   Leave the reigns of control in the hands of the website visitors.

Issue #5 – Hassel-Free Checkout

Just as shoppers in a grocery store expect a quick and speedy checkout when purchasing items, online shoppers don’t expect anything less when making an online purchase transaction.  The online storefront should be neat and clutter free, with no more than three or four up-sell items in the attempts of trying to sell a related item a shopper has dropped in the shopping cart.  Shoppers shouldn’t be bombarded with non-relevant items or services just in the hopes of making a sale.  Additionally, all items and services should be described in great detail along with any money back guarantees, preferred payment methods, shipping and handling charges, sales tax, special promotional discounts, return policies, and any other relevant information beneficial to the customer.

Conclusion

With a little thought and consideration when developing your website, it’s simple to implement strategies to help retain website traffic and keep them coming back to visit often!

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