How important is content to your Web site? I’d say very important and on today’s show I’ll tell you why. Also, have you ever thought of paying a flat fee for a Web hosting account to cover the rest of your life? I’ll let you know where you can make it happen. Add one helping of Martha Stewart and two cups of Web hosting geek, stir well and you’d have the Web Hosting Show, podcast 32 on the air.
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Hello and welcome to the Web Hosting Show, the one and only voice of the Web hosting world. This show is sponsored by the fine folks over at Web Hosting Chat. Web Hosting Chat is your number one place for Web hosting discussions. Who am I? Why I am the man, the myth, the icon of the Web hosting world, Mitch Keeler.
This show is the unofficial handbook to the Web hosting industry. There are a lot of things out there that confuse folks. A lot of things that don’t make very much sense to your normal Joe or Jane on the street. That is where I come in. Here at the Web Hosting Show, I like to make sense of all the jargon and tell you, not from Web hosting guru to person, but from person to person how the industry works. We have news, we have questions answered, we have it all, right here on this show.
I have one heck of a good show for you today, and this Thursday I’ll have a special treat for you as well. Right here on this very podcast we will be speaking with George A. Roberts IV of HostingCon 2006. I’ll be playing a little sample of the interview on the audio version of the show, so make sure you download it.
So do you want to get a hold of me just like George did? All you need to do is drop me an E-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com. I am here to answer any questions you might have or listen to any feedback, comments or complaints you might be harvesting inside you as well.
Now that we have all the formalities out of the way, lets get into some Web hosting news.
Web Hosting Headlines
The Web hosting news and headlines are brought to you by Web Host Magazine & Buyer’s Guide. The Web Host Magazine & Buyer’s Guide is the place to go to get all the latest Web hosting news from around the globe.
CPanelBackup.com Launches Unique Backup Service
cPanelBackup.com, a provider of automated backup solutions, announced today that it has released its line of cPanel backup products, providing low cost, reliable, and remotely hosted backups of cPanel powered websites.
Mitch’s Take: I haven’t tried the tools from CPanelBackup.com yet but I do have to say this idea sounds very promising. One thing that it should do, if everything is managed right is make it easier to move from Web host to Web host, as long as those two Web hosts have cPanel.
SCPanel.net Launches First Ever SHOUTcast Hosting Control Panel
Up until now the far majority of SHOUTcast hosting providers have been forced to setup SHOUTcast servers manually. The account setup, file importation, radio configuration and so forth used to be all programmed by hand through a non-user-friendly SSH console. SCPanel enables SHOUTcast hosting providers to setup new SHOUTcast servers in seconds and manage the accounts with an unprecedented level of control.
Mitch’s Take: Well SHOUTcast used to be a bigger buzzword before podcasting came around. I do have to say though that anything that would make the process easier is a welcomed comfort for sure. A lot of podcast directories are streaming content as well, so maybe SHOUTcast’s future isn’t that dim after all.
94 Percent of Consumers Believe Internet Harmful to Children
According to a recently published survey commissioned by Zone Labs and conducted by Harris Interactive, the vast majority of consumers today believe that the Internet poses a threat to children, especially from online predators and pornography. The survey shows that 94 percent of consumers believe the Internet presents a threat to children. 61 percent cited predators in chat rooms as the biggest threat, with an additional 16 percent citing pornographic websites.
Mitch’s Take: Of course the Internet is going to be harmful to children if you just sit them in front of it and say, “hey, see you in a few hours!”. The Internet can be used as a great learning tool as well. If folks would stop treating their computer and video game systems like baby sitters for their rug rats then I bet it would get a lot less scary.
Do you have some Web hosting news? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Hosting Tip of the Week
Every so often you just need a quick nugget of Web hosting knowledge. The Web hosting tip of the week is brought to you by Mitchelaneous. Mitchelaneous is my own tech news and views Web site, where I tell you what I think about some of the new things coming out of the technology world.
Today I have not just a Web hosting tip, but a search engine optimization tip for you as well. Remember you can always slip more keywords in about your Web site in various places inside the code. Now I am not talking about “keyword stuffing”, that is a bad idea. Dropping in a few more descriptive titles for pictures or links aren’t always a bad idea. In some cases you are making things easier for folks out there.
I don’t believe you should stuff each one with too many keywords though. Remember, that you must keep the title or the alt tags relevant to what they are describing. So how do you find the correct balance? That much is still up to personal opinion for the most part. Here is an example of how I would handle a situation though.
Say you have your Web site logo at the top of the Web page. Instead of just putting “Logo” in as the alt text for the image, try putting, “MyWebsite.com – Your Home for Stuff I Like!”. This way you get a few more keywords into there that you might not get a place to mention anywhere else. To search engine spiders, text is text and they can’t really tell the difference.
So look over your own Web site and decide if you could use a little sprucing up when it comes to alt and title tags. Just remember to do so responsibly.
Do you have a Web hosting tip you’d like to share? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and who knows? It could be included on the very next edition of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Hosting Deals and Steals
The Web Hosting Show’s Hosting Deals and Steals are brought to you each and every week by AllHostingDeals.com. AllHostingDeals.com is your number one place to find Web hosting offers too good to be true.
This week’s hosting deal comes from Globat Web Hosting. They are offering:
Hosting with 7500 MB web space, 100 GB data transfer, 7,500 POP e-mail accounts, 24-hour FTP and control panel access, web based e-mail, MS FrontPage 2002, Flash, MySQL, PHP4, PERL5, SSI, web statistics, tutorials and much more!
What does it all cost? How is $9.95 sound to your wallet or purse? I’d say that is one heck of a good deal!
Have a Web hosting deal or offer that is too good to be true? E-mail me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll tell the folks about it on the next Web Hosting Show podcast.
Mitch’s Hosting Talking Points
All of my Web hosting thoughts, views and ideas are brought to you by Data Center Talk. Data Center Talk is the best set of forums on the Earth about the world of Web hosting data centers.
Can You Buy Web Hosting for Life?
You can pay $299 for a lifetime of Web hosting. Anytime I hear a Web hosting company selling “Web hosting for life” it always alarms me a little. No mater who the company is and no mater who you are, you have to remember one simple rule. Even if everything works and everything is legit, you are not buying Web hosting for your lifetime. You are buying Web hosting for the company’s lifetime.
The Web hosting company making the offer this time around is Brinkster. To give them credit, it sounds like they are doing everything right and by the book. Here is one thing I found in the terms of service though that was interesting:
This offer is only available for new accounts. The term shall be for either the lifetime of the individual or sixty (60) years, whichever length of time is shorter. Corporate entities, trusts, and organizations may not participate in this offer. If such a party signs up for this promotion, this offer will be null and void without any refund or credit due by Brinkster.
Who uses a Web host that long though? I mean, sure we are all searching for the Web host that is right for us, but getting yourself tied up with a Web hosting account for life might not be the right way to go. In my opinion, you should sign up for the shortest time period possible (usually by the month) and after a year or so, if you are still happy with that Web host, then go ahead and sign up for a longer contracted period.
The folks at Brinkster are free to come onto the show and try to sell me on the idea, but right now I can’t say I’d jump in on it with both feet unless you were sure you were going to be happy with Brinkster’s hosting quality.
Content is Key to Web Site Success
No matter how flashy or great your Web site looks, if you don’t have good content you are in a boat without a paddle. I can not count the times that I have said that content is key to a Web site’s success. Too many times to count. There are other things you should know about your Web site’s content though that you may have not thought about before.
The second thing to remember is to make every single word count on your Web page. Don’t fill your Web site with a lot of fluff and hardly any substance at all. The one reason why people visit a Web site is to get information. Where is your information? If somebody has to ask that about you, then you might worry more about adding more content and less about other things on the Web site.
The third thing to get down is that spell checker is your best friend. As a writer, you’d probably expect that I have a great mastery of the human language. Not so. The funny thing is that I love to write, but I am the world’s worst speller. That is when your friend and mine, the spell checker comes into play. Now I no longer have to sound like a total idiot when I am writing about something I feel strongly about. Well, okay I might still sound like an idiot from time to time. As least I spelled it right though.
Write with passion. It is fairly easy to tell when somebody is writing about something they have no clue about. Make sure you cover your topics and interests in the Web pages completely. If you are working on a rather dull Web site, then find a way of making it’s content less dull. After writing it, you should be able to sit back, relax and admire your work. If you feel more like that you are making a mistake than having a job well done, then do it again. Practice makes perfect.
Another topic is I want you to remember is that nobody likes to have to scroll across the page horizontally to read your Web site’s content. Horizontal scrolling on a Web page is a big problem. many folks get turned off by a Web site if they have to move their mouse left and right to get what you are trying to say. Make sure you test your Web site’s layout at a few different resolutions to make sure you are not forcing folks to scroll horizontally to get the information that you have posted.
Other than that, it is up to speculation. If you ever have a problem, there are lots of second hand stores out there that will sell you old school English books for you to do some studying on. Yes, those years and years of English in school will finally pay off. As you might guessed, I wasn’t a very good English student either. I have learned more though out of school than I ever learned in it though.
Last but not least, any good writer will tell you to read more if you want to write more. The more you read of other folks work, the better your own work will become. The reason is you start to develop your own style and content in your own way. You can pick and choose from different methods, and you will become a better writer.
So remember, that your Web site is only as good as the content that is in it.
Web Hosting Show – Halloween Special!
As you know, the 31st of October is Halloween. Halloween this year also falls on a Monday, so I’d like to do something special for my favorite holiday of the year. Maybe I could cover Web hosting horror stories? You tell me. Drop me an E-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and let me know what you think I should do. Next week I might give you a few options and ask for you to start sending me in some content. No mater what though, I can promise you that the Halloween edition of the Web Hosting Show should definitely be a good one. My birthday, October 17 also falls on a Monday. Maybe I can get away with a special birthday boy edition of the podcast? You tell me, mitch@mitchkeeler.com, send me your thoughts!
Do you have a Web hosting topic of discussion you would like to hear me cover on the Web Hosting Show? Then make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Site Design Help, Support and Ideas
All of the Web Hosting Show’s design help is sponsored by BrowseHosts. BrowseHosts is the most comprehensive Web hosting directory out there today.
Speaking of BrowseHosts, their forum has grown rapidly over there! They are up to 2,200 or more registered members. Very impressive indeed.
This week’s Web site that needs some help is Nextbox Hosting Solutions.
First things first, I like the blue and green colors. They go well together and my eyes do not feel like they want to revolt. I like the fact that your made your terms of service easy to find, but I’m not sure if the word “services” tells me that “hey, that is where his Web hosting plans are”. Also, on the “services” page I’d like to see a little more text. Right now you have a few graphics and a few links. Give me some more meat and potatoes on those pages. Give me more information to chew over before I decide to sign up with you.
You might also add a few more pictures to the Web pages as well. The nice lady with the headset on is good for one Web page, but you don’t want her to be on every Web page. You might end up confusing folks as to what page they are really on. For the most part, it looks like you have all your ducks in a row and I wish you the best of luck!
Do you need some help with your Web site design? Would you like me to just let you know what it is you could do to make your Web presence that much better? Make sure you contact me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get your questions answered and your Web site reviewed on the next episode of the Web Hosting Show.
Web Hosting Web Site of the Week
The Web hosting Web site of the week is brought to you by Banners World. Banners World is the number one place to visit to get all your Web site graphics, banners and designs done.
The Web hosting Web site of the week is YourHostSucks.com.
I found Your Host Sucks a long time ago, when I first started in the Web hosting industry. It is a breath of fresh air in a world of review Web sites that all look the same. They do an important service to the world, and they do it well. What is that service? They give us all a place to complain about our Web hosting experiences with one company or another. Sometimes folks just need a place to vent their hosting issues, and Your Host Sucks gives you a place to do just that.
So go check out YourHostSucks.com and let them know that the Web Hosting Show, sent you there.
Do you have a Web site that deserves to be the next Web hosting Web site of the week? Make sure you send it to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll try to get it on the next episode of The Web Hosting Show.
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