25 Things To Do Before Launching Your First Website

 

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  • 5:53 am
Paul Wheeler
Latest posts by Paul Wheeler (see all)

Wearing too many hats launching your first website?

Everybody may have done it, but that doesn’t mean it’s always that easy especially when you’re doing it all the first time. Launching a website can get a little too taxing when it’s for your business, your profession, or your personal brand. However, it’s still something you should be able to do right- even for the first time.

It might be good to hire a pro or ask a friend for help, but it pays to know how to do it yourself. After all, once you launched your website, you should also be able to maintain and sustain it.

This is why I’ve come up with this first website launch checklist to guide you.

What To Do Before Launching Your First Website

When you launch your first website, a good strategy is key. This will help you build a good foundation to run it successfully without paying too much or wasting your time and budget. But what if you don’t even know the key ingredients that make up a good website launch strategy? Here’s what you should do:

1. Choose Your Web Hosting Service

The first item on your checklist should be finding the right web host. Your website is a collection of files, and hosting is the only way to make it work. Hosting these files on a web server allows anyone to connect to the server via the internet.

Hosting firms rent you space on their servers, so you don’t have to maintain a server. Here are the major considerations when choosing a hosting service for your website:

  • Uptime-The term refers to how often the website is up and running. If it’s down, people will not access it-it becomes useless.
  • Site speed-Your target audience will not stay on a website that takes a long time to load, and Google ranks a faster site higher on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
  • Customer service-How the hosting company responds to customer queries is critical. You must get expert support when you have a web hosting problem.

2. Choose the Right Domain Name

Your domain name is another critical component of your first website. It will make or break you, so choose a domain name that works for you or your business.

The domain name is vital because:

  • It’s the first impression your visitors see. The perfect name makes a lasting and positive impression while a bad one will send visitors running.
  • While Exact Match Domains (EMDs) are unnecessary, keywords in the domain name will help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking.
  • It defines your brand and can help increase recognition.

Here’s how to choose the right domain name:

  • Use the most familiar domain name extensions that are also easier to remember, including .com, .net, and .org
  • Use creative and brandable names that visitors will use to find, remember, and share your site
  • Google recommends short domain names because they are easier to remember
  • Make sure it’s easy for visitors to type and pronounce the domain name
  • Don’t use numbers and hyphens in the name
  • Check if the name is trademarked
  • Domain name generators, such as Wordoid and DomainHole, can help when you’re stuck

Remember to register your domain name. Some web hosts let you create and register a new domain name during the setup process.

3. Select a CMS

Remember your website is a list of files on a hosting server. You can edit the files every time you need to make a change to the site. But this would be a pain.

A Content Management System (CMS) lets you edit the website from the domain itself. The system allows customization of the layout, content, posts, and pages. You also have access to settings and easy-to-use website templates that change how your site looks on the fly.

Popular CMS products on the market include:

  • WordPress
  • Joomla
  • Drupal

4. Choose Your Brand’s Identity

Branding is the sum total of your identity, including visual elements and personality-like characteristics. Presenting these qualities coherently and consistently makes recognizing your products and communications (online and offline) easier. Plus, the more acquainted they become with your brand, the more loyal followers and visitors will be.

Starting a new website with solid branding offers a foundation for all your other customer relations, PR, advertising, and marketing strategies.

Critical components of your brands to consider before you launch the website are:

  • The logo and its variations
  • Colors you’ll use in individual pages, subsections, and navigation
  • The primary typeface you choose to use
  • Image styles you select
  • Voice
  • Graphic elements

5. Add and Check Your Content for Errors

Many new website owners struggle with what to say on their sites. While you have the basic Contact Us and About Us pages, what else can you say? That’s where you develop a website content plan.

The content plan is a strategy that governs the content you publish on the site. It ensures your content addresses the needs of your audience, is cohesive, and is on-brand. Your content is what attracts traffic to your website or makes them turn away.

Whether you have an interview, product review, or news article, make sure it’s well written. Problems with sentence structure, spelling, and grammar give readers the impression you don’t pay attention to your content or don’t care about your service delivery.

Plus, misspellings can dampen the message, so be thorough when spell-checking. Proofreading also ensures you don’t create a negative impression of your products or services. If you need help to elevate your blog or website content, consider bringing professional help.

6. Keep Title and Content Formatting Consistent

Consistency gives style to your website. Use sub-headers to separate different portions of your content to improve readability and boost your SEO. Adopt the same format across your titles too.

7. Include Relevant CTAs

A Call To Action (CTA) is a critical web page aspect. The link or signpost tells your visitors what to do next. Without a clear CTA, readers will struggle to purchase a product or sign up for a service. A digital marketing agency can help you craft the perfect CTA.

Plus, a non-working CTA is frustrating for your visitors. Ensure all your CTAs are working and linked correctly before launching your website. Also, carry out some A/B tests to choose the best text, design, and color for CTAs.

8. Add Alt Text for Images

Alternative (alt) text help with web accessibility for screen readers. This way, visually impaired web visitors can “see” the picture. Plus, your users will see the text if the image doesn’t load for some reason.

Alt text also helps with your SEO. The tag offers context to the image, so search engine crawlers know what it is and index it appropriately.

9. Check Image, Video, and Audio Files

Videos and pictures are necessary website elements. They help improve the visitor experience while increasing on-page time (time on page). Make sure everything is where it should be and working properly.

10. Confirm Plugin Compatibility

Make sure the plugins or modules on your site are compatible with each other before launch. The many third-party plugins mean that some don’t get along.

You may have issues between a plugin and a theme or with other plugins. If experiencing compatibility issues, start with deactivating your most recent plugin installed. Check your site to identify if the missing features are now working. Otherwise, install another plugin to check for compatibility problems.

11. Check for Technical SEO Errors

Carry out a technical SEO audit for possible errors. The task involves optimizations that make your new website easy to crawl and index by search engines.

Some steps in the audit include ensuring all meta titles and descriptions are unique and each page has a purpose tied to the relevant keyword. Also, ensure content on each page is unique and crawlable.

The audit makes it easy for search engines to crawl your site and gives it a fair shot at appearing in search results. Technical SEO errors can cause you to lose valuable organic traffic and potential clients.

12. Confirm Site Design is Cohesive

The design needs to be reflective of your plan and cohesive. You don’t want inconsistent images and formatting.

Your website design review checklist should include:

  • Ensuring the headers, content, format, fonts, and layout of each page are consistent
  • Checking the font styles, colors, navigation, leading, spacing, and line height are consistent throughout the website
  • Double check image optimization and compression for the web
  • Purchasing licenses for each image if you’re using stock imagery

13. Ensure Legal Compliance

Internet law can be confusing. Each industry has a set of laws and regulations to follow, so make sure your site complies with them.

Some things to look out for include:

  • Adding a “Terms of Service” page explaining your services and privacy policies, especially if you’re running an e-commerce online business
  • Ensuring you purchase all images, fonts, plugins, and codes used on the website
  • Informing website users of the use of cookies, which is a requirement in some countries
  • Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance

14. Configure Site Permalink Structure

You’ve probably run into sites with complex URLs that include numbers, dates, and letters. Such URLs are unmemorable and unwieldy, so choose a permalink structure that makes sense.

For example, yourwebsite.com/blog/my-latest-blog

The structure is memorable and gives your readers more information.

15. Create and Link to Your Social Media Profiles

Successful websites maintain a healthy social media presence. Make your profiles active by publishing new content often, engaging with followers, and generating some “buzz.”

Start building your website’s social presence from day one. But you figure out the best platforms that fit your content before starting. For instance, an Instagram account might not work best for a business consulting firm, but a presence on LinkedIn and Twitter is a good idea.

After creating the profiles, add the social icons to the site. Each button should have a “share” function to entice users to click and share their social media profiles.

16. Set Copyright Date

Joomla and WordPress automatically adjust the copyright date to the current year. The date shows visitors that your site is active.

Web visitors ignore neglected websites and an old copyright date is a giveaway sign of abandonment. The date can also affect SEO ranking, so make sure it’s current.

17. Test Website User Experience

Ensure visitors to your new website don’t leave by testing the User Experience (UX). All internal and external links should be working, the buttons link to the right pages, navigation is easy to understand, and each page leads users to where you want.

Examine your website from a new visitor’s viewpoint. Ensure all photos load well, the design renders as expected, and the content is easy to read. Handle any issues that come up quickly and before launching.

18. Provide Security

Do you know that 30,000 websites are hacked daily worldwide? The hackers present a major problem for your new website.

Consider installing an anti-spam solution to protect your site as its popularity grows. Place a “security” checkmark on your site using services such as Sucuri or Netsparker. The services help protect your website against malware, DDoS attacks, and data breaches.

Installing an SSL certificate is a must for any website. Otherwise, browsers will qualify the site as dangerous. The SSL certificate also helps improve your SEO because it is a Google ranking factor since 2014.

19. Integrate and Verify Analytics

Website analytics offer information about visitors to your website. Information includes demographic data, behavior, and traffic. These tools, such as Google Analytics, give you insights into where the site visitors are coming from and what they do.

Check the analytics are running smoothly. Data for the first few months after launching your website will prove invaluable. However, it will take time before the analytics tool starts collecting valuable information-but it helps to have it up and running from the beginning.

20. Submit Sitemap and Request Indexing

Launching your site will not matter much if it doesn’t appear in search results. Log in to the Google Search Console and submit a new XML sitemap to guarantee you appear on the largest search engine.

21. Make Backups

Website backups are a lifesaver. Make a recent backup of your site so you can restore it if the worst happens.

There are many ways to make a backup of your website. You have an option to copy and download the files, use a third-party tool, or utilize the web host tools.

Web hosts offering a backup solution by default are the best choice. You’ll not worry about the configuration of anything and restoration of the site takes only a few clicks. But don’t overlook the importance of having a third-party solution for extra protection.

22. Confirm Conversion Path Works Perfectly

For an e-commerce site, you must double-check the conversion path features are functional. This means thank you messages, payment processing processes, and contact forms are working correctly before the website launch.

23. Stage Your Website

Set up a staging site before launching your new website. The staging site holds an exact copy of all site files on a private server for preparing and proofing content and making code changes before going live.

Staging sites offer an easy place to make edits and play around, so you won’t crash your website or mess something up.

Afterward, sync the templates and content between your live site and staging environment using the CMS. Many CMS products have a staging environment built in, allowing for the creation of a preview URL of the entire website.

24. Ensure the Website is Responsive

People do many things on their phones today, and ignoring this fact may alienate a lot of traffic from your website.

Users using smartphones and tablets don’t have a mouse cursor and instead use touch to interact with objects on the screen. Ensure your site design has things like icons, menus, and paragraph structures that accommodate smaller display areas and less precise touch interfaces.

The design should account for mobile devices and PC too. Experts recommend testing a new website on as many devices and browsers as possible before launch day.

25. Promote Your Site

Now’s the fun part of promoting your new website!

However, remember you are competing with 2 billion other sites on the internet, so make some noise. A few ways to promote your new site include:

  • Make sure your SEO strategy is up to speed by using authoritative content and relevant keywords
  • Investing in paid ads for the short term to increase your organic results
  • Using your existing customer database to send out emails informing the network of a new site launch
  • Announcing the website launch on all social media channels, such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter

Creating a buzz around your new website launch and brand is critical. Marketing and promoting your site increases brand awareness and traffic, increasing the number of potential new visitors you get.

Top Website Hosting for First-Time Website Owners

Finding the right hosting provider when setting up a website for the first can be overwhelming. However, simplicity is the key.

You want web hosting that offers an easy-to-navigate control panel and plans that come with essentials such as an SSL certificate and a domain to make life easier. Because not everyone has the patience or time to review the entire hosting service market, here are four providers offering a fuss-free and excellent experience for non-technical people.

SiteGround -Best Customer Support

SiteGround is another popular web host with a top-rated reputation. The host offers a custom-built beginner-friendly dashboard, a simple onboarding process, and excellent support.

However, SiteGround is pricier than Bluehost, but they make up for this increase with the best support in the hosting world.

The best features that make SiteGround beginner-friendly include:

  • An easy-to-use setup wizard that will help you launch your first site
  • Free email hosting for branded communication
  • Pre-installed WordPress and WooCommerce that saves the hassle of learning how to install them
  • Automatic WordPress updates and backups
  • Excellent 24/7 customer support via online tickets, live chat, and phone
  • Multiple hosting plans to accommodate the needs of a growing website
  • Many super-fast servers that make your website faster and let you choose where your data is hosted

InMotion Hosting -Best for Reliability

InMotion ranks highly because of exceptional technical support, an extensive list of plans with top features, and powerful and reliable performance. The host is an excellent choice if you’re creating the first website for your small to medium-size business.

Some features that make InMotion Hosting an excellent service for beginners include:

  • A developer-friendly platform that offers web developers the tools they require when your website grows
  • Improved infrastructure for fast website load times
  • Access to additional services, such as website design, at reasonable prices
  • Free domain registration, SSL, and up to 10 email addresses
  • An excellent choice for websites with visitors primarily in the United States

InterServer -Best for Site Security

InterServer offers customers a free website builder, the perfect add-on for a beginner looking for the extra thing over the standard hosting package. The host servers never overload, which ensures your new website gets the ultimate speed and loading time boost. Customers also get free migrations from other hosts, while InterShield protects you from viruses and intrusion.

Some features that make InterServer hosting an excellent beginner option include:

  • The host allows registering your new domain within its environment
  • Global caching ensures your website runs faster and guarantees 99.9% uptime
  • A price-lock guarantee ensures you don’t get charged more for a renewal if you are on a tight budget
  • Unlimited transfer and data storage without attracting higher charges
  • A user-friendly site builder, known as SitePad
  • Free SSL certificates and weekly automatic backups

Takeaways

Your first website requires great content, hard work, and this website checklist. Launching your site is no simple task, but this checklist can help streamline the process and ensure you don’t make some common mistakes when building.

However, getting your website up and running will not make you an overnight success, but it’s the first step up to success. Keep learning and testing to realize progress.

While researching the best hosting service for your first website, it’s important you know the options available. Start by researching the best web hosting providers today!

    • Is Free Web Hosting A Bad Idea?

     

    Our independent research projects and impartial reviews are funded in part by affiliate commissions, at no extra cost to our readers.

    • 4:48 am
    Paul Wheeler
    Latest posts by Paul Wheeler (see all)

    Without a web hosting service provider, it’s impossible to make any website go live. Every website requires a hosting environment, or a secure “nest” where it can be indexed, crawled, and found by users.

    The trouble is: if you’re on a budget or need to cut costs, web hosting might not be in the cards for now. In this case, free web hosting could be a valid option.

    (As you can see, I often step on eggshells when talking about this type of service. You’ll understand why.)

    There are plenty of web hosting providers offering plans and services either at no cost or for dirt-cheap prices. For website owners who are either on a tight budget or “learning the ropes” with a brand new site, those can be a fantastic option. However, most free web hosting providers will only set them up for bigger problems in the future.

    In this article, I’ll explain more about why you should be careful when choosing such providers.

    Is Free Web Hosting Safe? And Do Services Really Offer It?

    Yes, some services offer free website hosting either as a starting plan or a free-forever plan. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it usually is.

    free web hosting

    In business, almost everything that is “completely free” is a conduit to the real thing, whether that’s a premium plan or a demo. And as the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. So, if your goal is to make more money…then forget free.

    Besides, website owners often choose to upgrade their plans when free options become too limited in features and storage space. Of course, pricing plans and features will vary among services – so you should take your business’s needs into consideration when upgrading your plan.

    As for safety, how safe is free web hosting? In short, it depends. If you choose a reliable platform and follow security best practices, you’ll have no reason to worry. But all in all, if safety is a priority, it’s always best to pay a small monthly fee to host your website.

    The Pros and Cons of Free Web Hosting

    While there are far more cons than pros to free web hosting, let’s be objective and evaluate both.

    free web hosting

    Pro: Well, It’s Free

    It’s true that a lot of paid web hosting plans don’t offer a free trial. It’s okay – it might not be what you need, anyway. You might just be trying to learn how the platform works, how to customize it, or if it’s worth it. There’s no need to pay a dime for that, unless you need to use features and templates that are only available in premium packages.

    Pro: It Gives You an Idea of What Premium Packages Can Offer

    If you’re happy with a free hosting package, you’ll be able to see what the paid versions have in store for you. You can test the waters before diving in and avoid a potential waste of time, money, plus the hassles associated with those.

    Con: You May Not Get the Full Experience

    TechRadar has recently compiled an objective list of free website hosting services. In their own words, “none of the free website hosting providers that passed our test could measure up to even the cheapest paid-for service on the market when measuring the quality of the product or its features.”

    Plus, their research found that only eight out of a whopping 18 providers delivered everything a website owner needs to run a website. So, sadly, you shouldn’t expect the world from free web hosting.

    Pro: Some Providers Offer SSL Certificates at No Cost

    SSL, short for Secure Sockets Layer, refers to site encryption (converting plain text into code) for securing website data. That’s what makes HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) sites into HTTPS – in which “S” means “secure.” SSL protects the information that’s transferred between your website and whoever’s browsing it. This protection is essential, as any personal information that hasn’t been encrypted can be easily seen and stolen by cyber attackers.

    In addition, Google rankings disfavor non-secure websites, particularly if these sites request visitor information through cookies. Therefore, it goes beyond a matter of choice at this point.

    To authenticate that encryption, website owners must have an SSL certificate available. Thankfully, providers like GoogieHost offer those certificates, along with hosting, for free.

    In general, if you eventually choose to pay for a hosting plan, you’ll be covered by HTTPS URLs and SSL certificates by default.

    Con: No Free Domain

    Which of the following looks more reliable?

    Google.com

    Or…

    Google.mybeautifulgooglewebsite.com?

    I thought so.

    While that was an exaggerated example, free web hosting services will usually provide you with a subdomain like the one shown above. Yes, they’re often customizable, but most of them look unprofessional and too long. This gives people a hard time typing, and doesn’t perform too well in search engine rankings.

    Unlike memorable and trustworthy URLs, a lot of subdomains are unattractive enough to chase customers away.

    Con: Not a Lot of Server Space

    Some free website hosting platforms offer very, very limited server space. Everything is limited: website speed, performance, and content storage. That’s because the amount of space available on your site will dictate how much data you can include in it – be it code, text, or images.

    The more space your website fills up, the slower its performance, and the higher the stress.

    Con: It May Not Be the Best Option For Larger Companies or Enterprises

    Unless you’re a personal blogger, a beginner, a dabbler, or a brand new company, a free website hosting platform isn’t a great option for you.

    When all you want is to use a website for practice or to create something personal, free is fine. But wanting to grow a business is another story. An online business can’t be successful without a website. And in this case, a free website and no website are the same thing.

    Best Free Web Hosting Providers

    If you’d still like to host your website for free, these are the best 100% free and almost free web hosting providers – as far as free goes.

    IONOS

    IONOS plans start at $0.50 a month. That’s practically free. You’ll get a free domain for an entire year, a free professional email, as well as 24/7 support. It’s the fastest hosting provider in the US, and therefore the perfect option if you’re prioritizing loading time (and want a thumbs-up from Google).

    Here’s what else you’ll get:

    • 25 GB storage space
    • Up to 99.99% network uptime
    • Free domain
    • Unlimited hostable websites

    SiteGround

    Recommended by WordPress.org, SiteGround offers web hosting plans that cost the same as your average Starbucks drink. Their system administration is available around the clock, so your website will stay secure, fast, and credible. Speaking of fast: thanks to their custom scripting language, your website can load up to 30% faster.

    Here’s what else you’ll get:

    • 10 GB storage space (for the StartUp Plan)
    • Free SSL
    • Managed WordPress
    • Customer support available 24/7

    BuildYourSite

    BuiltYourSite makes website hosting as easy as its name sounds. Their affordable solutions have everything you need to grow your online business, even if you’ve never hosted a website before. Besides offering fully responsive “built-for-you” designs, their team offers a strategic approach to the site building process. Whatever you’re selling, they’ll make it look great.

    Here’s what else you’ll get:

    • 25 GB storage space (for the Starter Plan)
    • “Point-n-Click” easy website builder
    • Up to 5 web pages
    • Custom logo designer

    WordPress

    WordPress is the world’s most popular site builder for a reason: it’s fantastic for beginners who aren’t tech-savvy. From blogs to eCommerce websites, a WordPress free plan helps you with almost everything you need to create a stellar website. It’s fully free to download and customize – unless you want other perks such as a .com domain name and unlimited access to plugins, for instance.

    Here’s what else you’ll get:

    • 3GB storage space
    • 10,000 monthly visitors
    • Unlimited free sites
    • 100 Free themes

    Hostinger/000webhost

    000webhost is the child of web hosting provider Hostinger, which provides free shared web hosting. In essence, shared hosting allows multiple websites to share one single server. This solution usually limits the amount of server resources each user will have. But if you’re looking for 100% free service, this will do the trick.

    The team at Hostinger created 000webhost for those who find typical hosting prices expensive. Note that even if you end up choosing a paid plan, it might become “free” if you have cashback. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

    Here’s what else you’ll get:

    • 300 MB storage space
    • 6GB monthly traffic
    • Up to 99% network uptime
    • Zyro’s drag-and-drop website builder

    All That Said…Here’s Why You Should Be Careful With FreeWeb Hosting

    Care goes beyond just safety. If you own a business, you need to care about offering the best possible experience for your visitors.

    If you have a small project in the works that requires an “okay” website, or you’re just running a small blog that doesn’t need a lot of traffic, you’ll be okay. But that’s not the case for most of us who need to sell products and connect with customers.

    Free web hosting will give you…

    • Little to no customer support. Forget detailed, done-with-you tech support. If you need handheld assistance to set up your website, you shouldn’t expect that 24/7. In fact, that kind of support is a profitable differentiator for several companies, so doing it for free would be foolish.
    • Limits, limits, limits. As we’ve mentioned earlier, free hosting is mostly limited in every aspect. Exceed those limits, and your operations will slow down. With paid hosting, you won’t be restricted by failing servers, ugly subdomains, and low storage space. To be honest, being able to run your own website without any trouble is kind of priceless.
    • Little to no safety. Without the HTTPS protocol, any data shared between you and your visitor (like names, emails, and card details) won’t be encrypted. If a data leak ever occurs because of that, your business is to blame. Don’t expect a clean reputation after that.
    • Fewer sales. As a result of all this, your website will underperform and be less trustworthy. This, in turn, may end up preventing them from staying on your site and completing the buyer’s journey.

    My Verdict on Free Web Hosting

    I’d advise you to hold back from free web hosting whenever possible. Especially if you’re serious about building a credible, lucrative website.

    There are website hosting plans starting at as little as two dollars a month – nothing that will break the bank for you. Those plans may include everything from free professional domains to top-performing website speed, which could give you a massive return on your investment.

    With that in mind, consider affordable hosting plans before going for a free one. I promise it’ll be worth it.

    • iPower Hosting Review

     

    Last updated March 6, 2020

    Company Profile

     

    iPower is a popular and reliable American web hosting service. The company is dedicated to providing comprehensive and simple website hosting solutions for small and mid-sized business organizations all over the world.  It is worth noting that the company owns 2 state-of-the-art and reliable data centers in Boston. These web centers boast 24/7 security, superior hardware, redundant power systems, as well as top-notch load balancing technology, all working to serve more than one million users throughout the globe.  

     

    Did you know that iPower is also an eco-friendly website hosting company? The company was founded in 2001 and is excellent for businesses of all sizes. Note that because of its tempting and reliable web offers, included tools, features, and applications, iPower has now become a leading company in the web hosting industry, which is remarkable. It is worth noting that iPower also promises to provide customers with security, reliability, and availability.

     

    You will also be glad to know that the company focuses on small business operations and individual clients that can make the most of their unlimited web hosting plans. Did you know that iPower hosts websites in over 150 countries? And this puts the company among the top hosts in the web hosting industry. Note that this alone speaks to the web host’s popularity as well as customer satisfaction.

    Plans and Pricing

     

    The great thing is that iPower has a number of amazing website hosting plans that you can choose from, allowing you to choose the hosting plan that is most suitable for you. iPower knows and understands that one hosting plan cannot meet the needs of all users. This is because different sites need different features.  

    It is worth noting that each plan that the company provides has all the basic website hosting features that your business will need for any kind of website. However, the Pro Plan is excellent as it offers additional features for professionals. iPower offers 3 shared hosting plans.

     

    The Starter Plan

     

     This plan renews at $5.95 a month for a one-year term. This hosting plan is the most affordable of the three; however, note that it is limited to one domain, one e-mail account, and one MySQL database. Also, note that bandwidth and disk space are limited to 250 GB and 5 GB, respectively. ShopSite is not available with this plan.

     

    The Pro Plan

     

    This plan will cost you $10.99 a month for a one-year term. The best thing is that the company offers it at a deeply discounted price for the first term, and it also includes unlimited disk space, domains, and bandwidth, which is excellent.  

     

    IPower’s Pro Plan–their most popular one–is ripe with features including unlimited disc space, 1 free personalized domain name, and unlimited domains allowed. If you are looking to start an e-commerce website on iPower, they also offer ShopSite Starter (with up to fifteen products), AgoraCart, Paypal shopping cart integration, and osCommerce–all powerful tools to help get your business up and running. If you need a little more incentive to boost your business, iPower also offers a $100 Google Adwords bonus and $100 Microsoft Advertising credit. These little perks could drive more traffic to your site.

     

    The Pro Plus Plan

     

     This plan renews at $12.99 a month for a one-year term. The plan provides you with all the amazing features and gives you unlimited e-mail accounts and 3 free domain names. The Pro Plus Plan also includes a valuable upgrade to ShopSite Plus (fifty products).

     

    If you are interested in e-commerce functionality, keep in mind that SSL certificates are available with all 3 shared plans. They come at an additional cost of $59.95 a year. It is worth noting that dedicated IP addresses aren’t available with iPower shared plans. If you are looking to take advantage of the most affordable website hosting price, then you will need to sign up for a minimum of 12 months.

     

    Sitebuilder Support

     

    Like most other web hosting companies, iPower also offers tools for easily building your website. This includes a drag & drop site builder or you can choose from professional-looking templates. You also get 24/7 live support via chat or a phone call if you get stuck creating your website or have any other pressing issues. 

    Customer Support


    It is no secret that when you are a small business owner running your own site, you certainly need access to reliable and round the clock customer support whenever you need it. This is why assessing a web hosting provider’s level of customer service should be an essential consideration when choosing a web host.

    You will be happy to know that most of the support documentation from iPower is geared toward beginners and individuals who are new to website building and hosting. It is worth noting that support is offered via live e-mail and chat forms, an online ticketing system, and US-only phone numbers.

     

    iPower’s e-mail support is extremely fast and reliable. However, note that sometimes issues have to go back and forth a couple of times before they are fully resolved. This may be because the company outsources its customer support.

    You can also benefit from a knowledge base. iPower has done a great job of compiling a large and comprehensive searchable database of answers to several common questions.

     

    Keep in mind that unlike a standard FAQ-style help and support center, you won’t have to find the relevant questions and answers by scrolling your screen. Instead, you just have to type a few simple keywords, and then the search will return all the pertinent questions and answers!

     

    Free Domain Names

     

    iPower is also attractive as it includes free domains with both Pro as well as Pro Plus plans. You may know that a domain name can increase the price of your site considerably. Unfortunately, you will not get a free domain with the company’s Starter plan. However, the web host can sell you a domain for $10.99 per year, which is a nice offer.

     

    Money-back Policy

     

    Did you know that iPower is dedicated to providing the best hosting services to its customers? However, anyone looking for a reliable and trusted web host will not be able to rely on claims and promises alone. This is why iPower gives you an opportunity to try their service offering without any risks. So, you can go ahead and test the waters!

     

    And if the company does not meet all your hosting needs, all you have to do is simply cancel your account. You have to cancel within the first thirty days, and the web host will refund your fees, which is convenient.

    However, it is worth noting that iPower’s standard thirty-day money-back guarantee is applicable to all their web hosting plans, except its add-on services, such as domains. 

     

    Easy to Use vDeck Control Panel

     

    You will be happy to know that iPower leverages the vDeck control panel. You can use it to access loads of amazing tools in order to improve the performance and look of your site. However, note that it is a customized control panel that may take some getting used to. This is especially true if you previously used cPanel.

    The best thing is that vDeck has an easy and intuitive interface, with some useful shortcuts. You will find them at the top of the page, helping you navigate to various sections.

     

    You can use the control panel to set up customized e-mail accounts, enable various e-commerce options as well as install CMS. And if you need some help, you can easily log a support ticket. You can also request instant chat easily from the control panel.

     

    Security and E-Commerce Tools

     

    iPower is also attractive as it offers you a handful of reliable security add-ons. This includes SiteLock Basic, which performs daily scans in order to check for malware as well as other vulnerabilities. It will cost you $14.95 a year.

     

    SiteLock Professional is another amazing security feature. It automatically removes malware and costs $39.95 per year. You can also use a Secure Socket Layer certificate to secure your online transactions.

     

    You will have to install Weebly’s e-commerce element in order to sell services or products. Note that it is billed for twelve months in advance. This is why you will have to pay $35.88 in order to set up shop. You will be happy to know that it uses the same Weebly drag-and-drop website builder that many people use to create their websites, so there is no steep learning curve, which is excellent. Note that when you initially add a product, you will be prompted to select either PayPal or Google Checkout.

    Verdict

     

    There is no doubt that iPower is a great choice for people who are new to the web hosting industry. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a blogger, or owner of a mid-sized business, you will have many options to choose from. Note that it works well with WordPress, which makes it easy and quick to post blogs and other content.

     

    The custom and simple control panel will be a relief for many people; however, the lack of international telephone numbers could be an issue for customers who are not in the US. The best thing is that iPower is backed by an influential hosting provider. This is why the chances of having a serious issue are likely to be quite slim.  

    Likes

     

    • Reliable WordPress hosting plans
    • Plenty of free add-ons
    • Both Linux and Windows-based servers
    • Thirty-day money-back guarantee

    Dislikes

     

    • No uptime guarantee
    • Lacks reseller or cloud hosting
    • Increase in domain prices after first 12 months

    iPower is a reasonable and decent mid-level website hosting service, and it works well for VPS, shared, dedicated, and WordPress plans. Also, it features a quality site builder and incredibly helpful customer service. This is why, in terms of reliability, value, features, and support, iPower certainly earns high marks..

     

    Go to iPower Hosting and take the first step to build your website and achieve you next goal. 

      Go to iPower >>

    Inmotion Hosting Review


    Last updated March 6, 2020

    InMotion web hosting has packages and plans to suit just about any personal and business needs. Also, they can adapt their services based on your changing needs as your business or website grows. In fact, upgrading your web hosting account is easy and your website stays live during the process.



    Industry Leading Uptime


    If you’re looking for a reliable connection, InMotion invests in the latest technology like Smart Routing™ to maintain 99.999% network uptime. This means your website will rarely, if ever, be offline.


    Are you new to making a website? Are you ready for that steep learning curve or would you rather get everything set up quick and easy? One of the services InMotion offers is building your WordPress website in 2 days for just under a hundred dollars. 


    Of course, if you got the DIY bug and want to construct the website on your own–that’s fine too. If you run into any snags, you can always connect with the Live 24/7 customer support. InMotion also offers tools like a 1-click app installer and drag & drop website builder to get you set up without all that complicated computer coding and language.


    But maybe you know a little about coding. Or you want to completely customize the look of your website? InMotion has a commitment to open-source programs like WordPress, Joomla, and b2evolution among others.  


    We all know how important online security is these days. InMotion offers a Free SSL certificate and other security measures to protect your website and the customers that come to it.



    Painless Site Migration


    If you have had a bad experince with a web hosting service and are currently searching for a better solution, Inmotion offers ‘Hassle-free Migration’ of your site to their servers.  This really takes the head-ache out of switching services.

    Long-standing Customer Support Excellence


    How reliable is InMotion? They have an A+ Rating with the Better Business Bureau, which means excellent business performance and integrity. In addition, CNET has given InMotion a top-rated status for 16 years now.


    If you are looking for a reliable web hosting company focusing on customer service, InMotion is a reasonably priced option for both new and established websites.

     

     

    Go to Inmotion hosting and learn more about how they can be a valuable partner in your success!

      Go to InMotion >>

    Understanding the Importance of BBB Rating and Accreditation

     

    Our independent research projects and impartial reviews are funded in part by affiliate commissions, at no extra cost to our readers.

    • 7:03 am

    Why Is BBB Rating and Accreditation Important?

    Small business owners and entrepreneurs have a wide variety of obligations, ranging from product development and marketing solutions to customer service experience and hiring practices.

    As such, they may bypass smaller recommendations like Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation. Yet, the small business community needs to acknowledge the importance of BBB rating and accreditation.

    At the very least, BBB accreditation can develop greater customer trust in your company. All of our reviews of website hosting providers have an A rating from the BBB. Keep reading to learn about the importance of BBB accreditation and rating as well as how to get accredited.

    What Is the Purpose of the Better Business Bureau?

    The general purpose of the Better Business Bureau is to remain neutral and help develop responsible practices among businesses, help consumers find critical information when making purchasing decisions, and reconcile disagreements between customers and business owners.

    This neutral marketplace provides a space where consumers and businesses “can trust each other.” Furthermore, BBB holds a directory of more than 5 million businesses and a search tool that customers can use to research a particular company.

    Customers can leave reviews about a company as well as file complaints. Companies can respond to complaints, and BBB provides arbitration and mediation services in such cases.

    Using a 17-point scale, BBB grades or rates businesses from an A+ to an F rating. Furthermore, the Better Business Bureau provides a BBB accreditation seal to companies that have gone through the accreditation process. This can help your company bring in more customers and build trust with the public.

    Once your business is accredited, you’ll need to pay an annual fee and renew the accreditation process yearly. There are specific advantages that BBB accreditation provides, including particular marketing or advertising guarantees. We delve further into the benefits of BBB accreditation below.

    The Benefits of BBB Accreditation

    You will find that the benefits of BBB accreditation to small business owners include:

    • Becoming a more competitive company in your industry
    • Building consumer trust
    • Improving company reputation through a slightly higher BBB rating
    • Gaining more resources and knowledge on how to run a business successfully
    • Strengthening your online visibility

    Being a BBB accredited business will help you remain competitive in your market. With only about 3 percent of all companies containing the BBB accreditation, they are more able to stand out as a reliable and trustworthy company. You’ll find that the Better Business Bureau is highly associated with trust, which is why being a BBB accredited business will help build consumer trust. Business owners can add their BBB accreditation seal to their website and their brick-and-mortar store. If you are an accredited business, you may see your BBB rating increase merely due to the accreditation. The accreditation process allows the Better Business Bureau to examine a company better and potentially give it a higher rating, which will improve a company’s reputation. Furthermore, BBB provides small business owners with webinars, educational materials, and newsletters to help them learn how to run a successful business. Lastly, a business will have its Better Business Bureau accreditation reported on the BBB website, which should boost its online visibility. A company can add videos, images, and essential information to its profile on the BBB website. As a BBB accredited business owner, you may even have leads sent to your sales department.

    The Benefits of BBB Rating

    You will find that the benefits of a BBB rating align with some of the advantages of having your business receive BBB accreditation.

    Companies that have high BBB ratings will gain more trust in their market. These businesses will have greater consumer and public trust than a company with a low BBB rating.

    These ratings generally benefit business practices, as companies are more likely to improve customer service to boost their ratings. The entire business community benefits from BBB ratings, as more than 5.4 million businesses have received ratings on the BBB website.

    Customers will benefit from a BBB rating because, even if they file a consumer complaint, they will have the backing of the Better Business Bureau to resolve a dispute with a business.

    The BBB rating ranges from an A+ to an F. Many factors can make or break the BBB rating, including years in operation, history of complaints, pricing/business transparency, marketing practices, and licensing.

    Customers often look for a BBB rating to determine if a business will treat them fairly or whether they’ve received numerous complaints in the past. Consumers also look for companies with superior price transparency. As such, a positive BBB rating can significantly help small business owners.

    Next, we discuss understanding the importance of BBB rating and accreditation.

    The Importance of BBB Accreditation: Why You Should Run a BBB Accredited Business

    The reasons for running a BBB accredited business involve a wide variety of advantages. For example, when your company receives accreditation, you will have a company profile available on the BBB website.

    Your rating, services/products, and hours of operation are visible to customers on this profile. You can also add videos, images, and even coupons to this profile.

    You can also display your BBB accreditation seal or BBB logo on your company website, product packaging, store’s front door, and more. Furthermore, you’ll gain more customers with this accreditation since consumers can search for your business on the BBB website.

    You’ll even receive a monthly analytics report from the Better Business Bureau regarding how your company is doing on their website. Furthermore, your customers can obtain price quotes directly from the Better Business Bureau before referring to your sales specialists.

    As an accredited business, you will receive savings on various programs such as shipping costs or merchant credit card processing.

    Furthermore, by joining the BBB accreditation program, your company leaders will have access to webinar training sessions and educational materials to learn how to run a productive business. You’ll also receive information to avoid scams targeting businesses.

    All of these reasons show exactly why you should obtain BBB accreditation for your business. Next, we help you figure out how to become a BBB accredited business owner.

    How to Become a BBB Accredited Business Owner

    To receive Better Business Bureau accreditation, you must first determine if your company is eligible for accreditation. Has your business been in operation for at least six months? Do you have all the licensing requirements necessary for your business to operate?

    You also need to avoid government ethics violations, which will prohibit your business from becoming BBB accredited. If you sell products or services online, you’ll need to have a privacy policy in place as well as secure tech systems.

    Next, you’ll need to comply with government regulations and contractual responsibilities.

    Once you know that you are eligible, you can apply online or call your local BBB office. You can also email your local chapter for more information and application instructions.

    You’ll need to provide key information to BBB, such as the number of employees, business name, address, and more. Then, the Better Business Bureau will review your company using a public records check and other documentation. You may even undergo a phone interview.

    It can take up to three weeks to review an application. Once you have been approved, you’ll need to pay a fee known as accreditation dues. These are the simple steps you’ll need to follow to get your business accredited.

    BBB Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    What Should I Do If I Receive a BBB Complaint From a Customer?

    If you receive a customer complaint on the BBB website, the first thing to do is speak with the BBB Dispute Resolution Counselor. An unresolved complaint will only hurt your company.

    This counselor will help the two parties resolve their conflict in a way that is acceptable to both the customer and the business. The Better Business Bureau reviews complaints, forwards correspondence between the two parties, offers solutions, and even provides mediation and arbitration services.

    What Is the BBB Ratings System?

    The BBB rating system ranges from an A+ to an F scale. The overall grade that a company receives shows how trustworthy it is and how confident the BBB is in its operation. A superior BBB rating also indicates how well a company makes a good faith effort in resolving consumer complaints.

    What Are the Factors Used to Create a Company Rating?

    Some of the factors that the Better Business Bureau uses to create a company rating include:

    • The length of time a company has been in business
    • The competency licensing of the company
    • The number of complaints filed against the business
    • The number of unresolved complaints
    • The number of significant complaints
    • Advertising problems found
    • Whether the business has a BBB accreditation
    • Whether the business saw its accreditation status removed

    Are BBB Accredited Businesses Ensured a Higher Rating than Non-Accredited Businesses?

    Many factors go into creating a high BBB rating for a business. As such, a BBB accredited business is not guaranteed a higher rating than a company that is not accredited.

    However, if your company does have BBB accreditation, you will receive more points in this area of the rating system. You’ll also need superior results in the other areas to obtain a high BBB rating.

    Latest posts by Amy Geldean (see all)

    • 8 Reasons How Speed Affects Your Website’s Traffic And Sales

     

    Our independent research projects and impartial reviews are funded in part by affiliate commissions, at no extra cost to our readers.

    • 7:26 am
    Paul Wheeler
    Latest posts by Paul Wheeler (see all)

    Getting people to visit your site is only a small part of the equation for success.

    If you want to engage customers, let alone, convert them, the first thing you need to secure is your site’s speed. If users aren’t able to use your site or they click away out of frustration because of its slow page load time, you’re bound to a lifetime of bounce rates and good-for-nothing marketing campaigns. On top of this, there are many other problems you’re likely to face with a slow site.

    Everybody says your website should be fast. But what are the risks of a slow-moving site? Let’s look more closely at why website speed is important to your overall website success.

    How Website Speed Affects Traffic And Sales

    Online users seek the fastest way to get things done in today’s world. A site that loads faster becomes highly desirable. As website owners, ensuring users will have the best experience on our website is not only ideal but expected.

    The truth is that slow website speed affects our traffic level and bounce rate. People who encounter a slow website get frustrated and are more likely to leave your site rather than read your content or be enticed by your links or ads.

    We want to keep users engaged and coming back. But if we don’t prioritize speed, our visitors will bounce off our site instead of returning to it.

    how website speed affects traffic and sales

    1. Website Speed Is the First Impression You Ever Make

    Your website’s speed is the first impression you make on potential customers. If your site is slow, they’ll likely move on to a competitor’s site that loads faster. Worse yet, if their internet connection is spotty or their computer has low processing power, they may not be able to view any of your content at all. 

    Strive to make your visitors feel welcome and appreciated by allowing them to experience your entire site without any issues and in a time that doesn’t feel like forever. 

    2. Users Want Speed!

    The Internet is much more than just information retrieval. It’s also a potent tool that you can use to promote your business or organization in many ways. But no matter what your goal may be, you need visitors first. However, users are more likely to abandon a website if it takes longer to load.  

    In 2018, Google found that a half-second increase in load time leads to a 20% increase in bounce rate. A similar study showed that it takes up to 3 seconds for most people looking at SERPs on mobile devices to tap on a result before they abandon their search.

    With this in mind, optimizing your website speed and ensuring you know what types of content slow down your site the most so you can keep them at bay.

    3. Enhances User Experience

    When your website loads quickly and works the way that users expect, it enhances the overall user experience. Most users have a specific goal when they come to your site. Maybe they’re looking for a specific fact, a specific product or they want to read the entire page. You want your users to be able to accomplish the goal they had when they came to your page. 

    Waiting for each section to load can be frustrating. If the website doesn’t function as it should because it’s too slow, it can become difficult to find information or navigate the page. Sometimes, a slow-loading page can also slow down the user’s computer because there are too many ads and pop-ups, which wastes the user’s time. 

    When a user experiences frustration with your site’s usability, they’re likely to move on to a different site with a better user experience. 

    4. Increases Dwell Time

    Users will likely click away if a website takes too long to load or is difficult to navigate because it’s slow. Having a slow website speed increases your bounce rate, which is the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. 

    Not everyone is going to stay on your site or click on multiple pages, but having a high bounce rate means that your website is probably not doing what it was created to do.

    What type of bounce rate should you aim for?

    • 26%-40% is an excellent bounce rate
    • 41%-55% is an average bounce rate
    • 56%-70% is an above-average bounce rate
    • 70%+ is a very negative bounce rate for most sites 

    A high bounce rate above 56% should be alarming for businesses because it indicates that people aren’t staying on your site because they’re either not finding what they want or they’re frustrated by your website speed.

    5. It Boosts Page Views

    Users perceive faster sites as being more professional and trustworthy. Slower sites give off the impression that you don’t care about what you’re selling or who you’re talking to, leading some users to go elsewhere.

    The faster your website loads, the more often people will load it and see your content. Faster websites also encourage people to stay on the site longer by making them feel like they are browsing quickly. Users will want to explore other pages of your site because the loading time feels shorter.

    6. It Helps Your Search Engine Ranking 

    Most sites rely on getting page traffic from keyword searches rather than advertisements for the majority of users to their site. Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of ensuring that people searching for specific keywords find your site at the top of their search results. However, if your site is too slow, you won’t rank as high in search results.

    Google places a high priority on the speed of websites when ranking sites.  A faster website means better search engine rankings and more traffic. Your page speed directly affects your Speed Index in Google, which affects your page ranking. However, your website speed can also indirectly affect your page ranking because a slow site will have a higher bounce rate and lower dwell time, which lead to lower page rankings. 

    A slower website means more people are likely to visit other sites, making your site’s traffic drop and its ranking fall on search engine results pages. 

    7. Impacts on PPC and Social Ads 

    Website speed is a significant factor in the success of your online campaigns, including your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) and social media advertising. Getting potential customers to your site is only the first step for a successful ad campaign. If your website loads slowly, potential customers are likely to click away before buying your product. 

    A slow website also means that your ads are less likely to be served to potential customers in the first place. Facebook, for example, has gradually rolled out updates to its news feed algorithm that sorts what users see, emphasizing website speed for a better user experience. 

    In addition, a slow website can negatively impact your quality score, increasing your costs per click and decreasing your ad’s visibility.

    8. Improves Conversion Rate

    A fast website creates a good user experience, encouraging people to stay on your site and keep coming back. If you want the best chance of success for your business, you must invest in the design, functionality, and content of your website. 

    When people spend too much time on your site, they are more likely to get frustrated and leave without taking action or even registering their interest in your product or service. Ensuring that your web pages load quickly will positively impact your conversion rates.

    Ways How You Can Speed Up Your Website

    As we’ve established, speed matters, and you should always consider it when you’re building a new website or looking to revamp an old one. Implement these crucial tips to improve your website’s speed and overall functionality.

    1. Choose the Right Web Hosting 

    Hosting is one of the most critical factors in website speed. Shared hosting is the most popular option but also the slowest.  If you choose a shared hosting plan, your site will share resources with other sites on the same server. 

    This approach can lead to slower speeds, especially during peak traffic times. If your site doesn’t need intense power, then shared hosting will work fine for you. You can always upgrade later on when needed.

    A better choice for speed is to choose a VPS or dedicated server. This option will give you more control over your resources and can help improve website speed. It may be worth paying for a higher-end option for businesses that need their websites to be fast. 

    Any delay can hurt revenue and customer satisfaction levels if you’re running an eCommerce site that relies heavily on online transactions and customer interactions. In this case, investing in premium web hosting services might be well worth the cost.

    When choosing a web host, consider the needs for your site, the ability to upgrade your server, host refund policies, and most importantly, your budget.

    2. Optimize and Compress Your Images

    Optimizing and compressing your images can be done in several ways. You can use online tools like ImageOptim or TinyPNG. Optimizing your images means they are quicker to load on your site, meaning visitors don’t have to wait as long for them to appear on their screen. 

    Plus, if you use an optimization service, you’ll save disk space on your server because the images will take up less space. 

    3. Enable Browser Caching

    When users visit your website, their browser stores or caches specific files from your site on their computer, these cached files load your pages faster the next time they visit. However, when you update your site with new content, those changes won’t be reflected in the cache and may cause users to wait for freshly updated content. 

    That’s why it’s essential to clear out old cache files periodically so that users don’t get outdated content when they revisit your site. The best way to do this is by disabling browser caching via HTTP headers.

    4. Reduce External Scripts

    Scripts are often responsible for slowing down a website, so you can speed up your website by reducing the number of scripts.  If possible, try to use one external script and load it at the bottom of the page or make sure it is as small as possible to reduce its impact on loading time.

    If this is not an option for you, disable scripts to see if there is any improvement in loading time with just HTML and CSS on your site. You can also eliminate external scripts by rewriting them in JavaScript rather than including them from external sources.

    5. Minify CSS and Javascript Files

    To minify a CSS or JavaScript file, you need to remove all the unnecessary characters from the code without changing its functionality manually or using a tool like YUI Compressor. 

    Minifying your CSS and JavaScript files can help reduce page load times and improve your website’s overall performance. If you use them, always cache them in either an HTML tag at the top of your webpage or with expired headers for better performance. 

    6. Leverage a Content Delivery Network (Cdn)

    A content delivery network (CDN) is an extensive distributed system of servers deployed in multiple data centers across the globe. The primary purpose of a CDN is to deliver content to end users with high availability and performance. 

    When you leverage a CDN, you distribute your website’s static assets closer to your visitors, improving page load times for those who use your site from regions close to the location of these assets.

    The ultimate goal when choosing where to locate your CDN is to ensure lower latency times for end-users while delivering an optimal experience without geographical restrictions. Most CDNs also offer other services, such as TLS termination, which speeds up websites via encryption.

    7. Reduce Redirects

    A redirect happens when a user clicks on a link that takes them to a different URL than the one they originally intended to visit. It usually occurs when the original URL has been changed or is no longer active. 

    The problem with this is that every time someone visits your site, their browser will have to send a request for the new URL and wait for an answer before displaying any content. Redirects also make it difficult for crawlers like Google bots to find all of your pages. Reduce redirects by editing your .htaccess file and eliminating redirects from any unnecessary pages.

    8. Use Asynchronous Loading for CSS and Javascript Files

    When a web page has to load both CSS and JavaScript files, it can slow down the loading process. But if you use asynchronous loading, the browser can load both types of files simultaneously, making your website load faster and improving the user experience. It also saves bandwidth because the browser downloads fewer data. 

    A best practice is to load external scripts asynchronously by adding this code to your HTML head: async attribute on script tags and defer=defer on link tags. Make sure that only one blocking request gets sent at a time from your server. Don’t allow parallel requests from AJAX or JS frameworks like Angular or ReactJS. 

    9. Limit the Number of Plugins You Use on Your Site

    Every plugin adds code to your site and can slow it down. So only use the essential plugins. If you’re unsure if a plugin is necessary, ask yourself if you could accomplish the same thing with a few lines of code. 

    For example, you might be able to add social media sharing buttons using just HTML instead of installing a new plugin.  Or you might be able to have comments disabled on your blog post without installing a comment plugin. 

    10. Lessen Server Response Time

    Lessen server response time by optimizing your server for performance, using a content delivery network, and caching static content. Optimizing your server for performance means ensuring the correct configuration and that you are using the right type of hosting. A content delivery network can help speed up your website by delivering content from servers closer to the user’s location.

    11. Test Website Performance

    Test your website’s performance regularly to identify and fix any problems that could slow it down. A page speed test is one of the best ways to test your site.

    The Google PageSpeed Insights tool offers suggestions for fixing any potential issues. You can also use tools like GTmetrix or Pingdom to give you an overall score and guide your improvement. Improvements include content optimization, load time optimization, caching, and server-side optimization.

    Best Web Hosting for Upgrading Website Speed

    Web hosting platforms house and maintain files to make your site available on the internet. Here, we highlight the best web hosting providers for your business.

    WP Engine Logo

    WP Engine is a WordPress-specific hosting company that offers various plans to make your site run faster. The company has many developers who create software programs for site customization and safety. WP Engine also provides a content delivery network with its higher-tier plans.


    InMotion

    InMotion Hosting delivers fast, reliable hosting services that will keep your website running by providing 24/7 U.S.-based customer support. The platform guarantees complete network and power uptime. The company has a 9.7 A+ BBB rating and ensures 30-day and PriceLock guarantees.


    Bluehost is one of the most popular hosting providers on the market. They provide various services, including managed WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, shared hosting, and more. One of the things that makes Bluehost so popular is its commitment to providing fast and reliable service.

    To Wrap It Up

    Speed affects your website’s search engine ranking, conversion rate, and user experience. Several ways to speed up your website include optimizing your code, using a content delivery network, and reducing the size of your images. All of which are supported by a good web host.

    Taking the time to improve your website’s speed will pay off in the long run. Just remember that a website’s speed can only be achieved through using proper web hosting. See our full list and reviews of some of the top website hosting providers that compete for speed and performance.

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    • 12 Useful Tips on How To Speed Up Your Mobile Site

     

    Our independent research projects and impartial reviews are funded in part by affiliate commissions, at no extra cost to our readers.

    • 6:52 am
    Paul Wheeler
    Latest posts by Paul Wheeler (see all)

    Every website visitor seems to be in a race against time.

    In fact, 79% of these visitors won’t return to a slow site page. This is why loading speed is crucial and should be prioritized.

    Accessing a mobile site that throws roadblocks at you everywhere can be frustrating. The website takes forever to load, finding the item you are searching for takes all the time, the checkout process becomes impossible, and you end up wasting time without anything good coming out of it.

    how to speed up mobile site

    If you’ve ever been there, you understand the need for a sustainable website. Page speed is at the heart of mobile search engine optimization (SEO). Poorly loading site speed affects the mobile user experience and the brand’s bottom line.

    A one-second delay can cost up to 20% of conversion, and many companies are missing out on this point. To optimize the mobile experience, companies need to implement quick steps that can result in big wins. Let’s address the importance of meeting society’s mobile site speed needs.

    Why Is Mobile Site Speed Important?

    The importance of mobile site speed cannot be emphasized enough, especially for the site’s success. Here are some of the reasons why your site should be fast.

    Keeps Users Coming Back

    Visitors may bear with poor performance once, but what guarantees they’ll keep doing that? No one wants to wait for a page to load for far too long in the online world.

    Three or more seconds of loading time will force your site visitors to jump ship.

    Reducing the mobile site loading time increases the number of visitors sticking to the site and, therefore, conversion increases. Visitors can’t go back to a page that reminds them of poor performance.

    Research shows that 79% of dissatisfied users never return to slow-loading sites. But, these customers will visit a high-performing site repeatedly to save time.

    Improves Website SEO Ranking

    Google operates with an obsession with speed and considers positive load speed as a crucial ranking factor for every product on the web.

    Still, Google emphasizes the adherence to content quality and relevancy besides the urgent need for speed.

    Therefore, the web pages of a website must load fast for it to rank high in search engines. Higher Google rankings translate to a shoot in organic traffic which is the backbone for successful businesses online.

    Conversions

    Once the customers stop returning to the low-page, low-speed site, there is a high possibility of a loss of revenue.

    This applies commonly to eCommerce websites whereby a few seconds of delay results in a decrease of up to 7% conversion.

    Any business shouldn’t compromise on the website’s speed to become successful online. Creating a lasting impression on customers is an advantage and needs to be on the list of every website’s priorities.

    AdWords Quality Score

    Page speed is essential in AdWords Quality score, but unfortunately, many businesses don’t pay attention to this. In that event, they spend money and time creating website pages with low or no conversions.

    Your website should pull up quickly when a visitor clicks on your ad to prevent Google crawlers from thinking that your page is not good enough to rank well.

    Your quality score increases the faster your page loads. But, on the other hand, a good page speed reduces your ad expense.

    This means that the better the speed, the lesser the ad expense, and the better the quality score.

    12 Tips on How To Speed Up Mobile Site

    how to speed up mobile site

    While website speed is important, many might find it hard to achieve the desired speeds without the help of a professional. However, we’ve put together 12 tips on how to speed up your site.

    1. Evaluate Your Website Speed

    First of all, you need to test the speed of your site to be sure of how it performs for the users. If your mobile site speed is perfect, there is no need to worry.

    But If the site is slow and loads for longer than you thought, know that both Google and your target audience think it isn’t good enough. This means that you are already losing traffic to the website.

    It would be best if you took action immediately after you notice that your site is performing poorly to ensure that no visitor doesn’t slip off your website.

    Improving your site performance increases the number of visitors that sticks to your page and therefore increases the conversion rate.

    2. Keep the Web Design Simple

    A website design matters a lot when it comes to loading speed. So instead of having a complicated yet slower website, reduce the weight and make it simple, to the point, and helpful.

    Heavier websites are slower in most cases and may compromise the user experience and impact your brand negatively in the end.

    Society wants something lighter and straightforward with an intelligible design that loads faster on mobile devices.

    3. Perfect Your Mobile Search Engine Optimization

    Page speed is paramount in mobile SEO and should alert web admins who still have poorly performing mobile sites.

    In addition, the Google mobile-first index uses mobile sites as the basis for search listings and rankings. This motivates website owners to perfect the speed on their sites to help rank well on the Google mobile-first index.

    4. Combine Files Where You Can

    You can combine files like CSS and java scripts where possible. If possible, compress CSS and Javascript files into a single file. Consider having one site-wide CSS for every page and one template-specific CSS.

    Do the same for Javascript. Use the same file name and location to reference these files and cache them accordingly to be more helpful.

    5. Organize the Java Scripts and the Cascading Style Sheets

    CSS and JS have positive or negative effects on your website speed performance. JS mainly gives your website animation and interactivity, which enriches the user experience.

    But, content should always come first, particularly for mobile site users who view your site actively.

    Let your java script come after CSS to allow your pages to load speedily. CSS prevents Flash of Unstyled Content (FOUC) when your page content shows up without style info.

    6. Minimize the Redirects

    Redirects are useful in terms of user experience and SEO. However, overuse of redirects slows down your site.

    When a visitor clicks on a link without a document, the server has to go straight to the mother page to retrieve the document. If you have many redirects, the server has to visit the mother page on each file on your website.

    This process can take a few more seconds before the page in question loads up, and the user will be nowhere to be found.

    So reduce your redirects and do away with the unnecessary ones. This gives your website less work to do, so the faster it will run.

    7. Use Fewer or Compressed Images

    While good Images play a crucial role in any website, including the SEO benefits, too many of them can be counterproductive.

    Web admins might think many images on a site aren’t a big deal, but they slow down the site.

    Images are demanding and occupy a lot of space on the website. The solution here is to keep down the images. Still, you can decide to compress the images by reducing their sizes without compromising their quality.

    Compression of images will reduce the amount of time a site takes to load. Similarly, search engine bots will crawl to index your site faster than before.

    8. Use Browser Caching

    Browser caching is one of the methods for site speed optimization that has a practical impact. A site loads while fetching resources and loading all the page elements before taking the coding infrastructure and HTML5.

    This process happens when every visitor is on your site and takes a lot of effort and time.

    Browser caching keeps a record of the already loaded resources, so they don’t reload anymore in the future. So when someone lands on your page again, logos, videos, and images won’t reload again.

    9. Minimize the Space of Your Site’s HTML Code

    The space that HTML code takes on your site contributes a lot to the site’s loading speed.

    To increase the speed, minify the site’s code script. HTML minification means reducing or removing the unneeded and unwanted code, thus improving the page speed.

    Generally, minifying HTML means formatting the code, fixing the code, shortening the code when possible, or removing unused bits of code.

    You can later remove the extra line breaks and spaces manually or through the help of an automated tool.

    10. Minimize Website Response Time

    We’ve discussed keeping your code clean and in order, but the site’s loading speed doesn’t solely depend on that. Your web-server response time is also a significant factor.

    If the web server takes time to capture data from your customers’ browsers, your website speed will also be slow. On top of that, memory starvation or slow database queries can affect your website’s loading speed.

    Focus on reducing the web server response time to 200ms and below. First, you need to analyze how the website performs and then use the data to fix the existing performance barriers.

    Then, if the need arises, configure the web server or change it completely.

    If you confirm that the host server is the issue, switch to another hosting provider. Move to a server that guarantees better site speed for maximum performance.

    For example, consider a host with an extensive network of servers globally to allow faster distribution of content and faster page speed.

    You can also reduce the resources your web pages require to boost performance.

    11. Keep Check-In and Checkout Processes Short

    Brands fail by making the sign-up and checkout steps too lengthy on their websites. To speed up the site, cut the sign-up process short and include just a few steps.

    The codes you do away with, in this case, lighten the page, making browsing easy and faster.

    The checkout process should also be simple and short. Please keep a record of your returning customers’ details, including their past purchases, to make the process easier for them next time.

    Make the customers’ experience better by implementing online payment methods like Google pay which only take a few steps.

    12. Minimize Use of Custom Fonts

    Custom fonts are great because they make your website look fantastic. But keep them at a minimum and use JS and CSS instead.

    Avoid using them where possible, and if you must, limit their use to the vital areas of your site, such as headings.

    Top Web Hosting Providers To Speed Up Your Site

    Here are the top hosting providers that will come in handy to increase your website speed.

    Bluehost Hosting

    Bluehost hosting gets you all set with a personal or business website for a few bucks monthly. This web hosting provider is ideal for mobile site performance because:

    • They offer regular follow-ups to ensure your mobile site speed is on check
    • They have excellent DEO tools and analytics to track site speed and search rankings
    • 24/7 customer support is available.
    • It is a user-friendly
    • It is affordable with a monthly plan as low as 3 dollars alongside other pocket-friendly options.
    • Bluehost offers various plans you can subscribe to depending on your needs and preferences.
    • You’ll also take home a secure socket layer (certificate) free of charge.

    FatCow Hosting

    FatCow hosting is a popular web hosting provider offering various plans to suit the different mobile site web hosting needs. It is best because:

    • Users don’t need to break the bank as the plans are pocket friendly
    • Tailored to meet all the web hosting needs for small and mid-sized business owners, including mobile websites.
    • 24/7 customer assistance
    • The plans are affordable with shared hosting and domain names.
    • It is a user-friendly platform
    • A free SSL certificate

    FatCow offers other services, such as marketing, email, and eCommerce.

    InMotion Hosting

    Please choose a plan at InMotion hosting and let them adjust your website depending on your needs as you expand your business.

    • The web hosting provider is reliable with a good track record.
    • The web hosting provider incorporates the Smart Routing™ tech to keep your website up and live at all times.
    • Affordable
    • Malware protection
    • Free SSL
    • Every plan comes with a free website builder for easier website creation

    As We Wrap Up

    Are you looking for a sustainable website for your personal or business needs? Or perhaps you want to speed up your eCommerce website loading speed? Check out for reviews for the best web hosting companies today.

    Do in-depth research to help you pick the best there is. Don’t forget to take note of the hosting factors that may affect your mobile site loading speed and Google search rankings.

     

    • Ways To Market Your Restaurant Business (Beyond Social Media)

     

    Our independent research projects and impartial reviews are funded in part by affiliate commissions, at no extra cost to our readers.

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    When you think having great food, a good place, and an awesome Instagram feed are the only things you need to market your restaurant business, think again.

    When all the social media frenzy about your restaurant’s opening has died down, and old customers want to try a new place somewhere, how can you keep customers coming to your restaurant? To attract more patrons and keep your business afloat, you also need to cook and season your marketing strategy right.

    Social media can be an effective way to reach a niche audience and encourage engagement, however, it can only do so much by itself. This is why an overall digital marketing plan should be put in place.

    These tips on how to market restaurant business will require you to incorporate killer marketing strategies (aside from social media) into your daily business operations.

    10 Ways You Can Kick-Start Your Restaurant Marketing Beyond Social Media

    With so many marketing tactics, you can use several at once to attract potential diners and get them through your door more often. Here are ten ways to begin marketing your small restaurant business.

    1. Develop Your Restaurant’s Brand Identity

    Your restaurant’s brand identity is more than just your logo or the design of your menu. It’s the overall feeling your guests get when they dine with you. Creating a solid brand identity starts with having a clear vision for your restaurant. You can develop restaurant marketing materials and strategies that reflect your unique identity.

    The first step in developing your brand identity is figuring out what makes your restaurant stand out from others nearby and focusing on those aspects to build your business strategy.

    how to market restaurant business brand identity

    Does your place have a story to tell? What is the type of atmosphere you want to create?

    There are different brand identities that small restaurants might take into consideration. For example, you could develop your brand identity as an authentic family-owned spot or a contemporary eatery with European influence.

    Depending on your particular concept, integrate it into your marketing campaign by tweaking fonts and logos.

    2. Learn Your Customer Demographics

    Understanding who your target customers are and what they’re looking for in a restaurant is essential. Take some time to research your customer base and learn as much as you can about them. Understanding your customer demographics will help you determine the best marketing strategies to reach them.

    Discover key insights into their current behavior patterns. When you have an idea of your audience, it’ll be easier to tailor messages that resonate with them and get them excited about visiting your restaurant.

    Once you’ve determined your target demographic, it’s time to focus on catering to their needs. Create content that addresses their questions and interests.

    You want these people coming back, so figure out what one problem these individuals need to solve concerning dining out at restaurants. Whether they’re looking for convenience or tasty dishes, offer a solution that caters directly to their needs to become loyal customers.

    3. Invest in High-quality Website Hosting

    To make a great first impression, you must have a high-quality website. Website hosting is the foundation of your website, and it’s essential to choose a host that can provide you with the features and support you need.

    When choosing a website host, you need to prioritize several vital aspects. To begin with, consider reliability. Your website needs to be up and running all day and night. Look for a host with a high uptime guarantee and fast page loading times.

    Consider which features will best suit your restaurant business. It’s also important to compare plans and pricing from multiple companies to find one that meets all of your needs without breaking the bank.

    The last thing you want is to spend time trying to get help from your web hosting company when something goes wrong. Find a company that offers excellent customer service so that you don’t constantly search through forums for solutions.

    4. Create a Restaurant Blog

    A restaurant blog is a great way to connect with your customers and build a rapport with the community. It’s also a great platform to share your story, menu, and culture with the world. A blog can also help drive your website traffic and boost your SEO.

    create a blog for your restaurant business

    Pick a catchy name for your blog and ensure it’s relevant to your brand. Once you’ve settled on a domain name and hosting service, it’s time to set up your blogging platform. Find a blogging platform that’s easy to use and matches your aesthetic.

    The most common restaurant choice is WordPress, which has an extensive selection of plug-ins and templates. These elements allow you to add features like maps, menus, contact forms, reservation booking forms, and more.

    Be sure to choose a theme that looks professional and inviting. It doesn’t need to be overly complicated or technologically advanced. Simplicity works best for restaurant blogs.

    Designate someone with good writing skills as your company blogger so they can write engaging posts that fit your brand voice.

    5. Harness Local SEO

    Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential strategy for all businesses, especially restaurants. When prospective customers search for great sushi, you want them to find your sushi restaurant first. A top position in Google’s rankings means potential customers may select your business over competitors who rank lower.

    The key to successful SEO is indexing your restaurant on Google and other major search engines. Understand what types of searches you want to pop up. Having solid keyword research skills can help you build a foundation for success.

    Optimize your website with descriptive keywords about your restaurant‘s services and products. In addition to the website itself, focus on your social media pages as well as blogs and articles about topics related to dining out or cooking.

    Link out from other relevant pages on your website that include those keywords, and craft a compelling title tag and meta description tag. This approach will give you credibility when it comes time to rank higher in search results.

    6. Enhance Your Email Marketing Efforts

    Email marketing is one of the most compelling and inexpensive ways to reach your target audience. By joining an email database, you can be in contact with potential customers who have already expressed interest in your restaurant.

    Just like any other type of marketing, it’s crucial to have a well-thought-out strategy and a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish. Segment your subscribers based on their interests (i.e., Signature Dish emails) and their level of engagement with your business.

    To start building your list, create an opt-in form on your website or blog that asks for customer information. Ask for permission to send them emails about specials or events at your restaurant, then follow up by sending them relevant messages about your restaurant.

    Once you’ve gathered enough contacts and created segmented lists, use an email drip campaign to automate the process of delivering content to those segments. A drip campaign’s idea is to provide a series of marketing messages automatically.

    7. Optimize Your Landing Page

    Landing page optimization is critical to the success of your marketing efforts. It is your first chance to make a good impression on customers.

    Your landing page offers users an opportunity to engage with your restaurant. They can learn about what you offer, read reviews and testimonials, and find a convenient location near them.

    To optimize your landing page, ensure you include all relevant information like contact information and hours of operation. Add links to directions or reservation forms to guide their decision on whether or not to visit your restaurant.

    The best way to ensure customers will be interested in your food is by highlighting the dishes that entice them most. There are several ways to do this, including taking high-quality photos of your meals, uploading images taken by previous customers if available, or posting mouth-watering videos showing how dishes are prepared and served.

    The more captivating and optimized your landing page, the more likely conversions will occur.

    8. Claim Local Online Listings

    why you should market your restaurant online how to market restaurant business

    Another vital step when marketing your restaurant is to claim your local business listings. Customers use the internet to find restaurants; if you’re not listed, you miss out on valuable business. Make sure you claim every listing for your restaurant, including Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places for Business.

    These sites allow you to control your restaurant‘s information on search engine results pages (SERPs), which can significantly impact where potential customers find you. When optimizing these local business listings, list all your contact information, including your phone number(s) and email address.

    You should also fill out as much relevant information as possible, including your hours of operation. Set up a website link with an SEO-friendly URL. Ideally, your listing will include an introduction or overview of the type of food served at the establishment and its atmosphere, detailed menu offerings, links to social media profiles, and directions from their current location.

    You should also add photos, descriptions, and hours of operation to make your listing as complete as possible. The goal here is to provide potential customers with easy access to the most important content regarding your restaurant.

    9. Get Listed on Restaurant Apps

    Customers are always looking for new restaurants to try, and one way they find them is through restaurant-specific apps. By getting your restaurant listed on popular apps like Yelp and Foursquare, you can make it easy for potential customers to find you and learn more about your business.

     

    Dining apps allow users to rate the food, service, atmosphere, and other aspects of a dining experience. A listing on these sites also gives your restaurant some added exposure as the site will often share posts or articles featuring restaurants with their followers and readers.

    Specialized apps such as OpenTable allow diners to book

    reservations at specific times or even days in advance. Users can simply enter a date, time, and party size to view available tables at your restaurant.

    Other apps will let you post pictures of your food and beverages, share what’s new on your menu, and alert customers about special events like wine tastings or an upcoming live band. To maximize exposure for your business, you’ll want to take advantage of restaurant apps.

    10. Make a Sleek, Functional Online Menu

    An online menu is a great way to show off your dishes and get people excited about coming to your restaurant. Plus, it’s a functional tool that can help you streamline your ordering process.

    Your menu should be easy to read and understand. Use clear fonts with plenty of white space for easy viewing. Include both the dish’s name and the ingredients as well as its price. Ensure you also include when each meal starts serving so customers know how long they have to wait before placing their order.

    Use high-quality photos to illustrate your dishes. Most diners will make up their minds about whether or not they want to eat at your restaurant based on the images you post online.

    You’ll need to provide detailed nutritional information if your restaurant offers vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or other specialty dishes. Find out what dietary analyses are most important for your clientele and ensure you provide all the necessary data.

    Remarketing Your Restaurant Business

    The restaurant business can be challenging, especially when trying to get your business off the ground and make your mark in an established market. Remarketing can help you connect with potential customers in the areas where they live, work, play, and shop so that you are top of mind when they’re ready to eat out or hold an event.

    By putting effort into these strategies, you’ll develop repeat customers who will reward your efforts with increased profits over time.

    Design a Brand New Logo

    A new logo gives your restaurant business a fresh start. It helps attract new customers and reminds your current client base of the great food and service you offer.

    Developing a new logo can also give you a competitive edge. It will make you stand out from competitors by giving your restaurant a clear identity that differentiates it from other restaurants in the area.

    To get started, develop an original idea for your new logo, basically how you want it to look. Once you have a few designs in mind, show them to friends and family and ask for their opinion.

    Which one do they think is the best? You may even want to ask your customers which design they like. Use the acquired feedback to note the logo which people prefer. Remember, do not copy logos from other businesses.

    Revamp Your Menu

    Revamping your menu gives customers a reason to come back and try something new. Plus, it will allow you to show off your culinary skills.

    For instance, try an all-day breakfast menu. Through this, you might bring in more traffic during the morning hours if you serve breakfast all day long.

    An all-day breakfast menu could make it worth adjusting your kitchen hours to align with when customers are hungry for breakfast foods in the morning.

    Constantly Optimize User Experience

    If your customers do not enjoy their experience at your restaurant, they are not likely to return, making it essential to optimize the user experience at your restaurant constantly.

    To do so, ensure your restaurant’s website is up-to-date and easy to use. Consider utilizing user testing tools to evaluate the pain points of your customer experience when navigating your website.

    It is also advisable to shift to a better web host if your current cloud hosting provider does not offer you quality website optimization services.

    Utilize Paid Ads

    In paid advertising, an ad gets displayed to a client based on the query entered in a search engine. Paid ads are a great way to reach new customers and bring them through your doors. You can target potential customers based on location, age, gender, and preferences.

    Plus, you can control how much you spend on your paid ads for your website, making them a cost-effective way to reach new customers. If you are unsure where to start, use Facebook Ads or Google Adwords.

    Work with Food Bloggers and Social Media Influencers

    Working with food bloggers and influencers who already have an audience interested in food expands your customer base. By working with them, you can tap into that audience, leading to increased traffic for your website.

    There are a couple things to remember when working with food bloggers and influencers. Ensure that the bloggers and influencers you work with are a good fit for your brand. For example, try finding Japanese food bloggers if you serve Japanese cuisine.

    Also, if an influencer approaches you about advertising, negotiate a deal that benefits both parties. You can offer them free food or discounts so long as they share positive reviews about your establishment, encouraging more people to buy your meal.

    Share Positive Press

    Positive press is a meaningful way of marketing your restaurant business. It helps convey an image of your business to customers, which in turn can help increase sales and encourage customer loyalty. The positive press could be in the form of a news release or a review.

    By sharing positive press, you can show potential customers that your restaurant is doing well and is a great place to eat. Be sure to include links to the articles and reviews you share so that users can find them easily.

    When people see all the good things about your restaurant, they’ll be more likely to visit.

    Maintain a Solid Customer Database

    Maintaining a solid customer database lets you track who your customers are, what they like, and how often they come in. As earlier mentioned, use the information acquired from learning your customer demographics to create targeted marketing campaigns.

    restaurant reviews how to market restaurant business

    Make sure to segment customers based on interests, age, and gender for more targeted advertising. Targeting specific demographic segments with a personalized campaign will increase the likelihood of getting noticed and converting them into loyal customers.

    For example, if you notice that a customer comes in every Friday at 7 pm for an hour, it would make sense to send them a text on Thursday with a special offer or discount for their upcoming visit.

    Using loyalty programs, regulars feel appreciated and rewarded for visiting your restaurant often. By deep-diving into customer information, you can better understand your typical customer and then use that knowledge to tailor promotions accordingly.

    Focus On Your Existing Content

    Focusing on your existing content means creating new and innovative dishes that will excite your customers and have them coming back for more. It also means looking at your current marketing efforts and seeing what’s working and what isn’t.

    The key to success in marketing is consistency, so it’s essential to review your current channels and figure out how you can reach more people.

    Achieve this by updating existing blog posts with new information and images and deleting old posts that are no longer relevant. Keep your content fresh and make sure it aligns with current trends so that you can stay relevant in the marketplace.

    Make Performance Analysis an Ongoing Strategy

    Making performance analysis an ongoing strategy means taking a close look at your numbers regularly and making changes where necessary – one of the best ways to do this is to track your sales data over time.

    Monitoring sales data will help you identify trends and determine where to make changes. You might notice that your sales have gone down in a particular month or that certain products aren’t selling as well as others.

    Use these insights to inform decisions about pricing or product selection for future months.

    Promote User-generated Content

    User-generated content can be online product reviews or blog posts made by your customers based on your restaurant. Promoting user-generated content lets potential customers taste what your restaurant is about through existing clients.

    Include testimonials from previous clients on your website so that visitors know how good you are before deciding to visit your establishment in person. Testimonials, customer blogs, and reviews help build trust and loyalty with new website visitors.

    Wrapping Up

    When marketing your restaurant, there is always a way to improve and guarantee that people know about your establishment. Ensure your existing website content is relevant and accurate for an expanded market base.

    A good website can be the key to your restaurant’s success in the long run. However, with poor-quality web hosting, you’re only putting your business in the wrong hands. Trust that our web hosting reviews can guide you in choosing the best website hosting platform for you and your restaurant business.

    • How To Make Your Website Secure in 9 Steps

     

    Our independent research projects and impartial reviews are funded in part by affiliate commissions, at no extra cost to our readers.

    • 10:02 am

    Is your business website safe from a brute force attack? 

    If you’re not sure, then it’s time to take a look at these nine steps that will help make your site secure and protect your business from hackers. 

    There are many things that you can do to keep yourself. In this article, we’ll walk you through the essential aspects of successful website security.

    Importance of Making Your Website Secure

    Truthfully, website security is not only important to protect yourself from getting hacked, but also to protect your customers. 

    Hacking is becoming more common these days, and some of the biggest websites have experienced security problems, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo. 

    Maintaining a secure website will keep your business running smoothly and ensure the safety of all customers.

    Why Do You Need to Make Your Website Secure?

    You need to make your website secure because it will protect your business from hackers and keep the information on your website protected. 

    Not only does this keep your website and business from going down, but it also maintains the trust of employees and customers. In today’s business climate, you must show others that you take privacy and security seriously. 

    Losing control of your website can result in identity theft, lost traffic, and stolen customer data. The net effect of this can become devastating to your long-term business results.

    How to Make Your Website Secure

    Many ways exist that make it possible to keep your website secure. We’ll take you through the various required steps that will help you sleep at night when thinking about your website.

    What Steps Can You Take To Ensure Your Website’s Secure?

    Use these tips to make sure your website remains secure.

    • Run Regular Back-ups
    • Don’t Use Weak Usernames and Passwords
    • Select a Respected CMS
    • Install a Free SSL Certificate
    • Limit Admin Access 
    • Follow Two-Step Authentication
    • Use Spam Filter and CAPTCHA Plug-ins
    • Don’t Use Too Many Add-ons and Plugins
    • Keep Plugins and Themes Updated

    Run Regular Back-ups

    Make sure you’re running regular back-ups as well as offsite backups. 

    This way, if your site does get hacked and you need to wipe it clean or build a new one from scratch, you can restore the old copy. This can save hours and days (and sometimes weeks) of work.

    The website backup process involves taking a copy of your website and storing it in an offsite location. 

    Make sure that you’re not only running back-ups but also making them available to people outside the company, such as IT or web designers who also work on the site. It’s essential for everyone involved with your business to know what you’re doing to maintain a secure website.

    Don’t Use Weak Usernames and Passwords

    One of the most important things to do as a website owner is making sure you’re using strong passwords for all accounts on your website, server, and computer systems. 

    Using the same password over and over again or simply making it easy to guess can leave you vulnerable in several ways.

    Simple ways to create strong passwords include: 

    • Making sure each password is at least 12 characters long
    • Mixing up the letters, numbers, and special characters
    • Using a password that has some sort of personal significance to you, like your favorite color
    • Automatically H=having passwords generated for you

    Limit Password Reuse

    When you’re creating new passwords, make sure that they aren’t reused for multiple accounts. If one website gets hacked, then all of your other accounts are at risk.

    Stay smart in this area and reduce the chances that hackers have access to more than one account with the same password. 

    By having unique passwords for each site, you’re cutting down on potential security risks and keeping your personal information safe from exploitation.

    Use a Password Manager 

    A password manager is a helpful tool you can use to store all of the passwords for each account in one place. It keeps passwords from getting written down somewhere easily accessible by others.

    You can keep track of all your passwords in one place with a password manager, which means you don’t have to try and remember them.

    Password managers help cut down on the risk of security breaches because they store data encrypted through a “master password.” Even if someone gets access, it’s difficult for hackers to decrypt the data.

    Select a Respected CMS

    When choosing your website content management system (CMS), make sure you’re selecting a respected one that’s well-known for its security features. 

    Use companies like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal, for instance. These platforms have existed for a long time, and understand how to deal with security issues.

    Additionally, it’s important to ensure that you’re using the latest version of your CMS and that it’s fully patched with all current updates.

    Install SSL Encryption

    To keep your website secure, make sure you are also running an SSL encryption certificate on every page where customers enter sensitive information. 

    SSL certificates help encrypt data, which sends passwords and credit card numbers securely. The process prevents sensitive data from getting intercepted by someone trying to steal it.

    When you’re ready to install the SSL certificate on your website, make sure that it’s installed correctly and completely. An incomplete installation will lead to an invalid certificate which means hackers can attack right through it without any trouble. An incomplete installation may also cause your website to display incorrectly.

    There are a number of SSL certificate providers out there. Choose one that is reputable and offers exceptional customer service. Many offer discounts on multiple-year purchases rather than just single certificates for each domain name. As well, most website hosts provide a free SSL certificate.

    Limit Admin Access 

    It’s important not to give too many people access to the backend of your website. Doing so can leave you open to attacks on multiple fronts.

    By limiting the number of people with admin access, you’re cutting down on potential security risks. 

    Consider using a third-party service like ManageWP or InfiniteWP to manage multiple websites from one account instead of giving out passwords for individual sites. This will help reduce the risk of passwords getting compromised because you’ll hand them out to fewer people.

    Limit What Users Can Do Behind The Scenes

    You don’t need to give everyone full admin control to your website. Instead, you can limit what they get to do behind the scenes.

    To limit how much people can do from within the backend, you can set up user roles. Instead of giving someone full access when they sign in to the backend through an admin account, it will only allow them to do certain things. For example, they might simply add or edit the content on your site.

    Limiting user access is an excellent method to keep people from accessing areas and features they don’t need access to. The result is greater WordPress security and less stress for you as the website owner.

    Follow Two-Step Authentication

    Two-step authentication is a simple way to add an extra level of security in order to keep your website secure from a DDoS attack. 

    The two-step process means that when you sign into the backend, you’re not only asked for your username and password. Instead, it adds a second layer of protection against security threats. The process typically sends you a code via text message or email so a hacker can’t get access to the site, even if they somehow gained access to your password.

    Two-step authentication is an easy way to add extra security. You can set it up from within the backend of your CMS. There isn’t any need to install special software or programs which could potentially open up a new set of security risks.

    Use Spam Filter and CAPTCHA Plugins

    A spam filter and CAPTCHA plugin help block spam from getting into your website by flagging messages that seem suspicious.

    Both types of plugins add a step when someone wants to post something onto the site. They must enter additional information before anything goes live on the website. An extra layer of security like this helps filter out spam comments and other suspicious content before it can cause problems on the site.

    The CAPTCHA plug-in works by having a pop-up appear when a user wants to post something. It asks them to type in characters from an image. The process helps filter out bots and ensures only humans can leave their thoughts as a comment or response. 

    Spam filters work by checking incoming comments or messages against a database of spam words. Filters help block out any unwanted content.

    Using both plugins together is an effective way to keep bots and spammers away from your website. Add them to your website immediately before a hacker uses an automated bot system to gain access to your backend systems.

    Don’t Use Too Many Add-ons and Plugins

    Adding plugins and add-ons to a website is a great way to extend its functionality. 

    However, each plugin that you install on your backend will increase the number of ways for hackers to get into your website.  Don’t go overboard with the number of add-ons that you use. When adding plugins, it’s important to choose ones that are well supported and updated regularly. Check the ratings and reviews for each plugin, so you know it’s a reputable add-on.

    Keep Plugins and Themes Updated

    Keeping everything updated is a simple way to add an extra layer of security to your website. Updating all website functionality helps remove potential vulnerabilities that hackers might try to exploit. 

    Updating plugins, themes, and the CMS will make sure all software in use on the site is up to date. It will ensure there aren’t any security holes that someone can take advantage of.

    Updating WordPress, for example, will help keep all core files patched, which means hackers who find a vulnerability with the software can’t break into your website.

    Look at all the plugins on your website. See if updates exist that you forgot to employ. Do the same for your theme. You need to stay on top of these issues to avoid security threats.

    Conclusion

    Do you now feel better prepared to make your website secure? As your first action step, select the first item from the above list that you need to fix. Get it set up and updated. Then, do the same for each item until you know your website is secure and safe from vulnerabilities.

    Latest posts by nellian (see all)

    • 8 Signs To Know If Your Website Is Hacked And How To Prevent It In The Future

     

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    • 8:49 am
    Paul Wheeler
    Latest posts by Paul Wheeler (see all)

    Think your website is hacked? It takes more than just a gut feeling to know that.

    Whether you’re a business or an individual, a website is one of the best tools you can have nowadays. It’s where you can share content, create services and products, help your business thrive, or provide help to your customers everywhere.

    Running a website for whatever purpose it serves is like having your own store in the virtual space. There will be thieves lurking around waiting for the right moment to steal your data and identity. That’s why you shouldn’t be lax on keeping it secure at all times.

    The Importance of Website Security

    Protecting your personal information and that of your customers is crucial. Website security is a non-negotiable practice for any company on the web. Lacking proper precautions can lead to consequences like a hack or a data breach.

    Hackers can access personal information such as full names, phone numbers, geolocation records, addresses, and financial information with the mere click of a button.

    The threat to our personal online information is higher than ever. The dark web has opened up a market for cybercrime, and the popularity of everything digital is only growing.

    Striking Statistics of Cyber-Security

    According to Forbes, data breaches were at an all-time high in 2021. The numbers significantly grew from 2020 and were only a small amount away from beating the record-breaking single year.

    Studies also predict that ransomware will cost about $265B annually by the year 2031. The attacks are seen to be growing as frequently as every two seconds, with malware technology becoming more advanced.

    Among the biggest leaks were from Facebook, LinkedIn, and Cognyte. A security researcher found a whopping five million reports leaked online from cybersecurity analytics firm, Cognyte.

    These striking statistics are proof of the epidemic proportions of the dangers of poor cyber-security.

    Big Threat To Small Businesses

    Contrary to popular belief, small businesses are not immune to cyber-attacks. According to studies, 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses. Hackers do not discriminate and are simply after any information they can get.

    Another consequence of a data breach is the impact on your company’s reputation. Customers will feel hesitant to do transactions on a site that was previously hacked. If you’re a small starting business, this can hurt your sales and overall site performance.

    8 Signs To Know If Your Website Is Hacked

    If you believe that your website was compromised, you must act quickly. There are various tell-tale signs that your site was hacked.

    8 Signs To Know If Your Website Is Hacked

    1. Browser alerts

    If you’re using Google or any search engine, they would most likely alert you of the attack. Google flags you and warns that the page is infected with malware.

    2. Hosting provider disabled your website

    If your site suddenly turned offline without prior warning, chances are, your website must be hacked. Your web hosting provider monitors website activities and would perform operations once an attack is detected.

    3. Random ads and redirects

    If you’re bombarded with random ads and pop-ups that would start appearing on your website out of nowhere, there’s a good chance your website is hacked. Hackers can also incorporate spammy redirects that can compromise your page’s activity.

    4. Ransomware attack

    This happens when malicious malware encrypts files on your device and restricts you from accessing your website all the same. The hacker then blackmails you to pay them a fee in exchange for giving you access to your site again.

    5. Compromised content

    Another hacking strategy is cloaking keywords or simply ‘cloaking’. When hackers compromise your content, they can create disguised keywords, links, and unfamiliar content on your page. If hackers cloak keywords instead of the whole content, it can be harder to notice at first.

    6. Website speed is down

    Hacking can also lead to site crashes or a significant slowdown of loading. Higher activity in the whole server causes your website to load slower than usual. This might mean that malware might be using your server’s resources.

    7. Traffic spikes on non-existent pages

    Spamvertising happens when hackers use your hacked website to illegally increase their site traffic. They would create links to existing pages or new pages to vandalize your blogs, comment sections, and content with hyperlinks.

    8. Customer complaints

    The worst case is when your customers start notifying you about it. Hackers can break into customers’ information that is stored on your website and server. They might contact your customers through spam emails, or worse, get into their credit card accounts and perform fraudulent transactions.

    Types of Cyberattacks

    Hackers can threaten your privacy with various approaches. Become acquainted with the various forms of cyberattacks to protect your website.

    1. Malware Attack

    A malware attack involves hackers creating a code to hack devices.

    2. Trojan Horse Attack

    This attack is one of the most dangerous types of cyberattacks. Hackers disguise malware as useful software as a means to get them to install it themselves.

    3. Phishing Attack

    This is one of the most common types of cyberattacks. Phishing is a social engineering attack, mainly conducted on email or over the phone. Hackers disguise themselves as trustful sources.

    4. Session Hijack

    A session hijack is another very dangerous form of a cyberattack. The hacker takes control of the internet session and accesses all user information.

    5. AI-Powered Attack

    An AI-Powered attack is a growing threat with the rise of artificial intelligence in the coming years. Hackers use AI to hack into systems and steal personal information.

    10 Ways To Prevent Your Website From Getting Hacked

    Follow the steps to secure your website below to ensure a secure website experience.

    Choose the right web hosting

    Website hosting is important because it is one of the most essential elements that will be the backbone of your entire website experience. Choosing the best website hosting for your website adds an extra layer of protection that can help you secure it from different kinds of cyberattacks.

    There are many elements to consider when selecting a website host. You should consider whether it has malware scanning, firewall protection, and other security measures. You also need to determine if the server used is reliable. Some web hosting providers use advanced security features that aid in keeping your site safe.

    Invest in HTTPS and SSL Certificate

    To ensure a secure internet connection, you should invest in HTTPS for your site. An HTTPS is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) extension with a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) attached to it. HTTPS keeps internet service providers from violating your confidentiality when visiting a page. They cannot see what you visit beyond the top website layer.

    SSLs contain encryption algorithms that provide an extra layer of security. An SSL certificate safeguards personal data by ensuring that, when transferring between two locations, the information is untranslatable. Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a more advanced version with the SSL, providing extra protection.

    HTTPS and SSLs can protect you from man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. This hacking strategy is essentially virtual eavesdropping-MITM attacks are defined as when the hacker gets data sent between two parties. This technology prevents cybercriminals from accessing, changing, or stealing information.

    Choose a secure Content Management System

    A content management system (CMS) helps website owners create and manage content without the need for extensive technical expertise. It also provides a platform for user collaboration. Many CMSs simplify the content creation process by allowing you to insert your content into a simple, easy-to-use interface. A WordPress website is an example of a popular CMS.

    Some platforms are more secure than others, and you must consider the implications of choosing a CMS that is less secure. The source code should be strong, and there should be a solid support team available in the event of a mishap.

    Incorporate security plug-ins

    A security plugin keeps confidential information secure and blocks spam. Plugins are easy to install and act as an extension of your browser. Sufficient security plugins will limit the amount of access that a specific IP address has per minute.

    Security plugins are useful against brute force attacks. A brute force attack is an instance in which a hacker guesses your login information. They can use automation and can crack simple passwords as quickly as within minutes. Hackers can also find a hidden webpage in a brute force attack.

    Plugins are helpful when you are using a CMS. Many CMS platforms have security plugins that are usually free.

    Create strong passwords

    A common mistake that users make is creating weak passwords because they are easier to remember. Passwords should be long and should use a combination of characters, numbers, and letters. Do not use information such as your birthday or pet’s name.

    The most vulnerable victim to a brute force attack is a user with a weak password. Weak passwords can be compromised within minutes.

    You can use a password generator to help you create a secure password. Strong passwords are a simple security measure for your web host.

    Use Content Security Policy (CSP)

    CSP can help protect your site from cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. XSS attacks are a type of injection attack. During an XSS attack, an attacker inserts a malicious script into a website’s content. This allows the cyber-attacker to compromise the user’s interaction. XSS attacks can lead to a user credential hijack and a sensitive data leak.

    There are a few different types of XSS attacks. A stored XXS attack occurs when user information is in a database or log. A reflected XSS attack, the most common type of cross-site scripting, occurs when the malicious injection is reflected off of the server.

    CSPs are considered the most efficient way to prevent XSS attacks. A CSP can prevent XSS attacks by using a whitelist of URLs that the browser can perform JavaScript from.

    Schedule automatic backups

    Automatic backups are a way to ensure that you always have a recent backup in the event of a hack or data breach. It will leave you in a less stressful situation when you are recovering from data loss due to a hack.

    Install antivirus protection

    Antivirus Protection programs have many advantages including protection from viruses and spam. These programs can prevent spyware from infecting your device. Antivirus Protection is not just a necessity for businesses; you should be using this for your devices, as well.

    Use encryption on login pages

    You can encrypt your login pages using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS). Encryption protects personal user data and login information.

    Install a web application firewall (WAF)

    A firewall protects your network from malicious traffic. A firewall is useful in preventing XXS attacks and SQL injections. The three types of web application firewalls are hardware-based, software-based, and cloud-based.

    A Closer Look at Cybersecurity

    Cybersecurity is becoming a more prevalent threat with the innovation of technology and the growth of digital footprints. According to Forbes, businesses have spent about $152.21 billion on cyber security thus far. However, loopholes in network security systems open up businesses to vulnerability to cybercrimes.

    Time metrics play a key role in cybersecurity. Hackers can exploit a weak online presence within seconds, so every moment counts. MTTD, MTTF, MTTR, and MTBF are all performance cybersecurity indicators.

    MTTD, mean time to detect, is how long it takes a business to detect a security threat or incident. MTTF, mean time to failure, is the amount of time that a compromised system can run until failure.

    MTTR, mean time to respond, is how long it takes a business to handle a security threat after identifying it. MTBF, mean time between failures, is calculated by dividing the number of operational hours by the number of failures during that time.

    These metrics determine the effectiveness of a business’s security systems and the performance of the cybercriminals.

    Wrapping it Up

    The process of securing your website can be intimidating, and security vulnerability can lead to grave consequences for businesses. Hackers are a major security threat, and cybersecurity issues are only rising in the coming years with the use of more complex technology.

    It’s important to use an HTTPS and an SSL Certificate to protect your info from MITM attacks. Also install a security plugin as a simple, extra layer of security for your website. Plugins are an easily understood security measure that can protect your system against an issue like a brute force attack. Login attempts from hackers are easily accessible with the use of automated systems.

    Always know that choosing the best web hosting provider is the foundation of your site’s security.

    The Downfall from Data Breaches

    Cyberattacks can drastically damage your brand and your search engine rankings. Customers do not want to provide sensitive information to sites that were previously compromised. Data breaches can lead to revenue loss and damage to your brand’s reputation.

    Protect your website and business while securing your peace of mind by choosing the right web hosting provider to help keep your website from hackers. Find out which is the most sensible option for you using our detailed web hosting reviews.

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