Introduction:

The importance of support can be explained in form of a small example as depicted here, imagine one is in a business of running a small-medium sized online store that concentrates on affordably prized gift items, and now lets say, it’s Christmas time. Now it is sure that everybody is busy in shopping and the use him/her self will be waiting for this day to come, as it is the time of the year when his/her business really blooms, and with which he/she will get revenue to plan next event or business.

Now imaging a biggest trouble came, say his/her site goes down due to some sort of problems associated with server on 23rd of December, or on Christmas Eve. To make the things worst user is not able to get hosting company as well. Now what will happen? How he/she would react when he/she won?t get such support at this moment of time? Now this explains why prompt support required is.

The above example is just a small example and believe it or not things can even go worst that this. It is a true fact that the quality of support builds the foundation of hosting company. It is the foundation on which the whole building of hosting firm rests. The features like speedy and accurate customer service are rare to be seen, but they are the things, which make one company successful. Along with these features one should take care for performance, Space, Traffic allowed, Features, Cost, and most importantly Customer support.

In order to check the credibility of a hosting company, customer support is considered as a main factor. If a company wants to prove its credibility it has to take care of its technical support at any cost. For a user it?s really important to know if technical support is dependable or not as if anything goes wrong with his/her site, then he/she has to contact the company and cure is only possible if it is directly provided by the hosting company itself.

There are several or rather say almost all companies to claim to offer services like techs working round the clock in their organizations, managing their state-of-the art systems etc. But in reality we know that it is mere a fake trap. Due to excess demand of information technology professionals now days, many web-hosting companies are unable to find employees who are well trained in OS concepts, network technology and control panel specifications

In this article we are giving the brief outlines of the hosting support considerations for the beginners as well as any host who have got high regards for the quality standards of their company.

Right support:

It?s really quite difficult to find perfect support for one?s company. For every web host who gives serious thought to hosting support would be having certain expectation levels regarding the quality of support. It is only if one?s support is marvelous that one can feel relaxed as his/her customers are also going to feel relaxed due to this.

In this context the most important thing to consider is how to provide round the clock support and that too whole year. It is quite often seen that every web host just promises to provide support 24 / 7 and even promises to offer money back guarantee in case he/she is not able to provide that. But in reality such things are rare. So, one should take care to have best support team to offer support round the clock through out the year. One should ensure proper administration and supervision to check the quality as well as the working style of support people.

Cost:

Next parameter to consider is cost. One should consider this point as well, for maintaining cost it is better to have own team of technical experts, or outsourcing to an outsourced hosting support company. One should select support wisely with efficient computations of his/her expenses and profit margin. It is advisable to do calculations in such a way that the quality of support can be kept and simultaneously good profit can also be earned even in the long run. One should keep in mind that due to intense competition in the beginning profits are not much but keeping quality will benefit in the long run as all will be out from the market offering poor services.

In order to control cost, it is not only possible to control it via controlling technical factors but also non technical aspects like sales / billing support and timely administration of servers etc. In order to save cost one can manage the sales / billing issues by his/her own or he/she can avail the services of a fresher. For the server administration, one requires the service of a good system administrator to perform the timely software upgrades, and the other fine tuning aspects of the server in order to make it run smooth. It?s always considered an additional utility to maintain a team of technical experts who are able to perform technical support as well as server administration instead of employing separate teams for the same. Thus the above things can easily reduce cost and no doubt without compromising quality.

What to choose? In-House or Outsourced

Now next important thing to consider is whether it is required to have an in-house team of technicians, or one can outsource support to a support company? There are several people with different opinions on this matter; therefore we are taking both the pros and cons to conclude which one is better.

Pros:

In-House

1) It is possible to have direct interaction with the support staff in person.

2) It is possible to recruit directly the support staff by own.

3) Also local market knowledge and expertise can be known well when it comes to sales and marketing

4) In case of emergency, ready availability-upon-call of in house team.

Outsourced

1) It is cost effective as compared to above.

2) One can concentrate better on his/her own business marketing as anyone else is taking care of technical aspect.

3) Biggest advantage is availability of expertise in specific fields.

4) No problems with the planning of shifts or personnel to manage the 24 / 7 support, as it is now headache of the outsource company.

5) No training cost.

Cons:

In-House

1) Its quite expensive as compared to Outsourced.

2) Burden of personnel management in maintaining an in-house team for support

3) Requirement of dynamism as remedies is to be taken immediately.

Outsourced

1) It is not possible to have direct interaction in person with the support staff.

2) Its important to have accustomed with own support people, as they might keep on changing according to the outsource company’s internal policies.

3) Needs perfection of language (spoken or written)

Conclusion:

To conclude, it is always better to select a good outsourced support firm, that maintains it’s promises and does not comprise on quality instead of employing own separate staff to handle the technical support, sales / billing and server administration.

As per study conducted by the Forrester Research, the current market is an ideal one for the emergence new web hosting companies, currently there is ?positive ? if modest ? growth for Web hosting and managed IT services, at both the enterprise and SMB levels. ?

It is an ideally suited business if one indulges as a web designer or rather IT consultant. This business suits best for small consulting firms. Now the question arises why to ignore such services which several small businesses potentially require? Hosting is a supreme source of revenue on monthly basis.

If one talks about the flourishing sectors of Internet then name of hosting industry will be among one of them. Several corporations such as Yahoo are in the race of providing web hosting services. Anyone who wishes to join this highly profitable business is always welcome and has the right to grab his/her financial share, except when he/she can rightly perform his/her duty.

For a dream web hosting company, one should adopt two tested and wrathful rules as mentioned below:

1. ) The prime aspect of the user should be on offering high-quality services in a two-tiered pricing schedule.

2. ) The user should know about the importance of an automated infrastructure for development of self-sufficient customers. In the case of marketing, it is very important for the user to increase the chances of accurate opportunities.

The facility of automation will not only enhance the self-sufficiency of the client but also will reduce the expenses of the user to a low level. For the purpose of giving level best services, the prime thing which user requires is at least the following processes to be automated:

1. ) Order forms (in case of new customer account set up or existing customer updates),

2. ) Billing system,

3. ) Administration system,

4. ) End-user control panel, and

5. ) Technical support interface.

Order Forms:

It is mandatory that the front end of user?s order form should provide a minimum of the four key functional aspects given below:

a. ) It should ensure the information of domain for registration purposes,

b. ) It should legalize entered results,

c. ) It should provide the facility to process the customer’s credit card or else provide creation of an invoice,

d. ) It should register customer’s information into billing database for the future prospects.

It is must that the backend of the order form must process the domain registration, in case it is required by the customer and should generate the Web hosting account.

Administration System

One should know that the administration system is quite an essential factor in the purpose of managing ordered accounts. The user might require manually adding or eliminating several new domains, change passwords, etc.

End-User Control Panel

If one wants his/her customer should manage his/her account, then an end-user control panel is necessary. At the end, the customers should be in the condition where they can set up their own e-mail accounts, view Website statistics and can manage files etc.

Billing System

Another very important thing is the presence of automated billing system. The billing system should not only perform the functions like making e-mail invoices, charging credit cards, suspend overdue accounts etc, but should also enable user to issue credit or discounts as per requirement.

Technical Support Interface

There is a wrong opinion that technical support interface is merely a system that generates trouble rather it is an effective tech-support interface that automatically generates an FAQ-interface that customers can look out for before submitting trouble tickets. The advantage of these interfaces is that they can reduce technical support requests by a factor of 10.

Not only that, the company with which the user go with offers the option of taking care of technical support on his/her behalf but branded with user?s brand. Thus one can concentrate his/her potential on other parts of his/her business which requires greater attention.

How to maximize good marketing opportunities

If one knows about what platform to use, what packages to offer and set up a tiered pricing schedule and automated systems. So now how one does maximizes good marketing opportunities through new hosting service?

Pay per Click

This facility allows user to reach to a large segment of customers. In this case although one needs not to pay to list his/her site, he/she does pay when a customer clicks on one?s listing and connects to user?s site. Now an important question arises in one?s mind i. e. how does one gets his/her site high on the results lists? One option is user must engage in a bidding war over how much he/she is willing to pay for each person who clicks through to his/her site. Recently the prices of bidding have grown too high, so one needs to act careful. There are cases where one clicks into one?s site but didn?t convert into a new account. Thus, one needs to be sure to just select targeted keywords and not contending with everyone else for the same keywords. It is not at all an easy game, so one should find his/her role.

How to host Directory Sites?

There are plentiful Web sites known as hosting directories that intend to attract Web hosting customers. The utility of these directories lies in the fact that they are an excellent place to advertise, but one needs to be selective in his/her placement. There are several sites offering banner placement, spotlights, search enhancements, and other forms of advertisement. A key tip in this case would be one should always keep in mind that banner ads are considered much better for building brand recognition rather than generating new accounts, so one should advertise based on his/her budget, and should not just focus on his/her expectation for new customers.

How to influence current Client Base?

If one is running an established Web design firm, information portal, or domain registration service, he/she can quickly start marketing to his/her current clients. For him/her its not easy to generate clients as by sending a simple e-mail to his/her current customer base he/she can immediately generate a large number of accounts. Talking about marketing strategies, there are permission-based email marketing services that work best for earning more revenue from one?s current customers and gaining additional customers. Thus, one should try a free trial of one or more of these services to find one that works well for his/her needs.

How to retain customers?

One should always keep in mind that in order to retain his/her customer; one has to develop and offer new products and services and to make them feel better. This will not only help in retaining customers but also to generate additional revenue. But the most important factor is quality should not be compromised as it is in reality a key to success.

In the world of Yahoo web hosting, one can get business quality service as per his/her requirements. Here one can get a variety of equipments ranging from basic design templates, site building tools, authoring tools to advanced PHP scripting. It also provides its customers the facility of MySQL database services.

One can receive 3 chief alternatives in Yahoo Web Hosting Service:

The first choice lies in- Business Starter Yahoo web hosting, providing 50 MG of storage capacity, 20 GB of data transfer along with 10 personal address email accounts. This can act as a nominal cost option for several beginners in the field of business hoping for a nice hosting plan. Equipments for web designing in this option are also quite simple to apply.

The next alternative comes to Business Standard Yahoo web hosting and providing 100 MG of storage capacity, 25 GB of data transfer plus 25 Business Edition email accounts. After going for this option one will have the right to enjoy 24/7 toll free customer care. If one talk about the majority of business plans, this option is quite cost effective.

The third and final option denotes Business Professional Yahoo web hosting and providing 350 MG of storage capacity and 35 GB of data transfer in addition to 35 Business Edition email accounts. After opting this option one will reach to the concern level of 24/7/365 customer support according to user?s web hosting necessities. Charges are quite reasonable in comparison to the facilities provided in this option. Because, it addition to above mentioned features it also provides the facilities of advanced scripting, database and SSL support.

Uptime is the prime plus point of Yahoo web hosting. Providing best servers and hardware one can ever find. Yahoo web hosting is supported by their search engine so downtime is not a common issue in this service. Yahoo web hosting services are linked through superfluous connections so that if one server goes down, another rapidly substitute it making downtime a rare existing factor.

Talking of further merits of Yahoo web hosting, its data center location is quite secure and in a state of the art facility. Yahoo web hosting services constantly monitor their data center around the clock, whole year. This helps in the prevention of hacking attempts and much more.

Thus to conclude one can say that Yahoo web hosting provides best customer service and it is not at all like other hosting services which just make false claims. It is in real sense a boon for the beginners as it provides round the clock, whole year best customer support.

Be Aware That Cheap Options Are Not Always The Best. Choosing the right business web hosting provider is important if one wishes to get the best possible solution. A good provider will enable the business to grow its business by taking advantage of features such as numerous web marketing tools and be able to get advice as well as information from the service provider’s partner sites.

The webmaster or webmasters that create the business web hosting services should be top notch professionals having years of experience in dealing with different ecommerce challenges and, should be able to give specific answers to different business queries. One should also exercise restraint and not jump at cheap web hosting accounts that may look cheap at first but, which require paying extra and thus adds to the costs by having expensive upgrade fees, later on.

Another important aspect one should consider before getting one’s business web hosting solution from a provider is the type of connectivity offered. The Internet backbone should not be just a single link but, must include an intersection of multiple Internet backbones which should ensure high speeds, reliability as well as constant connectivity.

A good business web hosting service will provide features such as hundreds of professionally designed website templates, unlimited tracking of popular ads being clicked on the website as well as provide a forum that will supply and help in sharing information as well as be able to strike deals and, also have access to exact answers and contacts that are required on a daily basis.

There are three web hosting options available and these are shared hosting, UNIX or Windows shared hosting and dedicated servers. The most widely used type of web hosting is shared hosting in which a number of websites are hosted on a single server. On the other hand, UNIX based servers would suit users that do not use more than HTML pages as it works out to be a bit cheaper. However, for those that need to use programming languages called Active Server Pages or need to connect to a database one can consider a Windows server. Finally, dedicated servers are for users that want or need total control of their server and are willing to pay extra for such features from their buiness web hosting service.

When the talk is about small but best business web hosting, there are several aspects one needs to keep in mind. There are several features and choices regarding web hosting in the market, so to get the best; one should denote the best time to soak up useful knowledge regarding it. While selecting best web hosting for one?s small business there is nothing prior to user?s own requirements.

One can divide web sites into three kinds:

1. Personal/Small Business Homepages,

2. E-Commerce, and

3. Information sites.

Selection of web hosting largely depends on type of user?s business. The business may concern to information and small business services. That?s way it is crucial to locate which small business web hosting is best suitable for the user. A user with a small business may not require purchasing costly services as required in large sites. While dealing with a small business huge disk space and bandwidth are not the essential requirements, which is a need in large E-Commerce business sites.

Crucial criteria?s while going for Small Business Web Hosting are given below:

Limitless space, transfer: In several cases, an advertising tactic. One should not forget to verify about the Acceptable Use Policies to forecast about their unlimited plans. One may get negative response on exploiting too much space if he/she does not acquire an upgrade policy.

Setup charges: several small business web hosting services do not disclose their charges regarding services until one deal up that company.

There will be no POP email access to emails. In fact, some small business web hosting services merely offer user access to site’s email accounts.

Perimeter on monthly traffic: few of the small business web hosting services will restrict the user about monthly traffic onto his/her site.

Customer support: a user should get the satisfactory answer of the following questions. Do the hosting service provide fine customer support i. e. 24/7? Does weekend support is included?

Control panel: it is not a prime concern for an experienced webmaster, however, when one talks about new comers a small business web hosting control panel is an obligation.

Does extended commitments are essential while dealing with small business web hosting service? Several times one can move on monthly basis while dealing with a good web hosting service.

Uptime guarantees: one should have a keen sight while investigating about uptime qualifications of a small business web hosting.

FTP transfer limits: some of the small business web hosts have restrictions on FTP assistance to their customers.

There is not one but several other aspects which a user needs to take into account while searching for a small business web hosting. A better output depends on the user?s time devotion to this task. One can easily judge at that period of time, how much appropriate his/her decision is.

With the recent explosion in the availability of website domain name extensions (i.e. .com, .net, .ws, and others) it’s never been easier to register a domain name that is highly descriptive of your website’s subject matter.

For example, if you want to create a website about search engine optimization, it would make sense to use a domain name including the phrase “SEO” or “search optimization” or something similar. However, you can bet that many other people have had the same idea, so “seo.com” is no longer available, nor is “seo.net”, .org, .biz, or any other simple domain name with a top level extension.

Additionally, it’s a fact that most people who are searching on the internet are going to give top priority to websites with top level domain names like .com or .net.

This is simply a matter of these being original suffixes, and the average web surfer believes that they have more credibility and authority.

This is especially important if your website is selling or promoting your business or products, as these factors translate into how trustworthy your website may or may not be in the mind of the web surfer.

To put it simply, A top level domain name extension is one of your strongest sales tools.

Many people believe that the search engines will give more weight to your domain when considering your site for search engine rankings. Keep in mind that there should be a clear relationship between your domain name and website theme to increase your chances of ranking well in search engines.

Here are a couple of tips that may help you to bag that all important top level domain name for your site.

First, try a plural version of your key phrase. So, in the example above, you might check out the availability of top level names using “search-engine-optimizers”, rather than “search-engine-optimizer”.

However, when used on its own, this tactic may be a bit too obvious, and more often than not, when the singular version of a phrase is taken, so is the plural.

This second little trick is far more effective and well worth trying if you are looking for a top level name for your site. The trick is – Numbers.

Not numbers at the beginning of the domain name – that’s already been done to death and you only have to look at a list of expired domains to see how many owners of such addresses just allow them to die. Why? Because they don’t work very well with search engines or with real people – and something like “0000seo.com” just looks wierd.

So that’s not likely to be of much benefit to your site. But numbers in the “body” of the domain name itself, especially the numbers 2 and 4, very possibly will be.

Why?

The number 2 is a simple substitute for the word “to” or “two” and 4 can be read as “for” or “four”.

Now combine that with one other little substitution trick. Take the word “You” and substitute the letter “U”, and finding a good top level domain name that still relates very closely to the site subject matter becomes relatively easier.

Let’s take our SEO example to demonstrate how effective a strategy like this can be. Using all three of the highlighted tricks, try searching for “seo4u.com” or “searchoptimizers4u.com”. Still available? If not, how about “seo4us.com” or “searchoptimizers4me.com”?

Even if all of these are now taken, all you need is a bit of imagination to create a “.com” domain name that relates directly to your subject matter. An easy but effective method of grabbing good a top level domains for your websites.

Choosing the right domain name should be an essential part of any business marketing plan. Here’s why: Every day, 60 million Americans use Internet search engines to find information about everything from health topics to new products, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit research center studying the social effects of the Internet on Americans.

Here’s another reason: Consider the real-life story of Gary Pudles, CEO of AnswerNet, an Inc. 500 company. When registering domain names, Pudles wanted to register the URL for his company’s name, www.answernet.com, but he also wanted to attract customers looking for services under a particular topic: telemarketing. The URL www.telemarketing.com, which today accounts for 20 percent to 30 percent of their Internet referrals.

Before you head to the online registrar, know that you could be in for a shake-down if you don’t know the ropes. Here’s a rundown of the most important things you need to know:

1. Use your business name. That is, of course, if it’s available. If your company is Rocky Mountain Candy, your domain should be “rockymountaincandy.com.” That may seem obvious, but it’s a point worth reiterating. Customers will automatically assume your domain is YourBusinessName.com and type it into a Web browser. If they can’t find it that way, it will make it harder for them to find you.

2. Be prepared for a challenge. By this point in the game, many of the best domain names have been snapped up, years ago. Generic names like cars.com, sex.com or art.com were among the first to go, and are now worth millions of dollars. Unless your company has an extremely unique name, you may be in for lengthy brainstorming sessions with your business partners as you consider alternatives. When Gary Pudles was lining up URLs for his company, he was asked to pay $50,000 for his company’s name (www.answernet.com), which had been registered by another party who instantly realized the value of the domain when Pudles first came calling (Pudles ultimately had his marketing manager call as an individual to buy the domain for $5,000).

3. Always use dot.com. Having a .com at the end of your URL is not only expected for companies, it also indicates a degree of professionalism that extensions such as .org, us, .info, etc. don’t carry, according Jerry West, Director of Marketing for WebMarketingNow.

4. Keep it simple. Shorter names are easier to remember than longer ones. They also lend themselves better to radio and televisions advertisements and are less prone to typing errors. You’ll get tired of repeating “MyOverlyComplexDomainName.com.” Also, avoid dashes and other symbols, as well as obscure acronyms. “Consider how your domain name sounds when you have to read it over the phone to a customer. If you have to explain special characters, abbreviations, or spelling, then you’ve got a problem,” West advises.

5. Register alternatives. Just as Gary Pudles expanded his roster of URLs to include others that potential customers might type in, you should consider the same for your business. Doing so will keep customers from stumbling across a competitor’s website. Most registrars forward secondary domains to your main URL for free.

6. Register your trademarks. If your company makes a hair product called “CurlNGo,” buy the domain name CurlNGo.com (as well as CurlAndGo.com, for that matter).

7. Consider keywords. Buy additional domain names containing keywords that reflect your line of products or services and redirect them to your main site. This will improve your search engine rankings and bring you new customers. When doing online research, users tend to type in generic keywords such as “barbeque restaurant Atlanta” or “hair gel.” To find the best keywords for your line of business, try Overture’s inventory or WordTracker tools.

8. Use it. Let everyone know your URL: Incorporate it into mailers, television spots, business cards, and letterhead. The more you use it, the more people will remember it and visit your site.

9. Don’t lose it. This is the most crucial point of all. If you run a successful business and fail to re-register your domain name on time, chances are good that a prospector will snap it up as soon as it expires. If this happens, you may be forced to buy back your domain at a high price from the domain squatter. To avoid this scenario, register your domain for as long as possible — Network Solutions sells 100-year registrations — and choose to have the registrar automatically renew your domain each year by keeping your credit card information on file.