U.S. NetworX

And now for something completely different…

Enough serious and topical discussions; it’s time for a laugh. Our topic this time? The top 10 signs and warnings your hosting company won’t be around next year.

1. The CEO’s email ends in @gmail.com, @aol.com, or an ISP’s domain, like @comcast.net or @bellsouth.net
2. Their website has an animated stick figure wielding a shovel with the words “Under Construction!” blinking under it.
3. You get a popup that suggests you download the company’s official screensaver.
4. Their contact page doesn’t work and the phone number has been disconnected.
5. You see a note that the website was “Optimized for Internet Explorer version X, at Y by Z resolution.”
6. They swear up and down you’ll have unlimited disk space and/or bandwidth.
7. They recommend adding a publicly viewable counter to your site design so you can track visitors.
8. Once you load their website, music auto-plays. And it’s probably unlicensed.
9. The English language isn’t their primary tongue. Or secondary, for that matter.
10. They have a MySpace page.

Necessity is the mother of invention.  That’s what recently went through my mind as a co-worker at USNX talked about our challenging economic times, and the need of some small businesses to pay for their website in installments.  He stated what we all know, that more and more consumers are turning to the web when looking for products and services, and business owners realize they need to improve their web presence if they want to remain competitive and continue to grow.

Therefore, over the next few days we researched financing options, and were sorely disappointed by what we found.  Tight credit, minimal options, unattractive terms.

So we decided to invent our own website leasing plan.  Our goal was to make it as simple and easy as possible, by offering terms as long as 48 months, with no downpayment.  With the USNX leasing plan, our clients can get quick approval, conserve their cash, gain possible tax advantages, and preserve their business credit.

I met with a company yesterday who told me a horror story of the time that their server crashed with all of their accounting and historical information on it.  They were doing tape backups every week, but guess what?  When the tapes were accessed, nothing was on them!  They were able to get some files back to the tune of $11,000 dollars, but most of the information was corrupted and completely unusable.

In a world of earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, fires and more, I urge everybody -  BACKUP YOUR INFORMATION, preferably in a secure data center.  Most of us have experienced that horrible dismay of realizing not only has your computer crashed, but you haven’t backed up in months.  Imagine if that happened to your entire organization’s information!

Do yourself a favor now, TODAY – double-check your backup processes.  If they are insufficient, contact your hosting company immediately to get this resolved.  Your entire company’s information could be wiped out in a matter of minutes.

Why?

I have been in this business for a while, and I regularly run into this statement.  These are the questions I ask and the answers I get:

Question:  Did you put your website address on all of your marketing material and advertising campaigns?

Answer:  No

Questions:  Did you put your website address on your business cards (to me, this is a given, but…)

Answer:  No

Question:  Did you market your website to search engines?

Answer:  No

Question:  Did you keep your site updated with fresh information on a regular basis?

Answer:  No

Question:  Did you ask people who contacted you how they heard about you?

Answer:  No

I think you’re getting my drift.  If you build a website, no, they will not come.  But if you promote it properly, keep it updated with useful information, and actually refer people to it; then, yes, they will.

Some ideas to consider:

1.  Put your website address on that billboard or television commercial that you spent a fortune on.

2.  Put your website address on your voicemail, answering machine, automated attendant message, etc.

3.  Make sure your email address and your website address match.  I cringe when I see somebody who has a website using an @aol.com or @yahoo.com email address for their professional email.

4.  Put your website address in the signature line of your email message.

5.  Ask a qualified professional how to optimize your site to search engines.  It’s worth the effort and cost, I assure you.

6.  Keep updated information on your website.  If a visitor sees outdated material, chances are, they will never be back.

7.  Ask people how they heard about you.  This is valuable information, especially if you are promoting your business through various media.

These things are not difficult to do, but definitely necessary.  So, if your website isn’t working for you, now you know why.

In light of recent economic occurrences (we’re in a recession — or not, depending on who you listen to), it’s understandable to keep a tighter rein on the company funds.  However, don’t sacrifice cost-efficient ways to promote your business, i.e.  your website.  Now, I know I am in the web business, but the facts speak for themselves:

1.  An e-commerce site is waaaaayyyyy more affordable than a brick and mortar store.

2.  Why spend a fortune for an ad in a magazine or newspaper or a television commercial that only a few people will see a limited amount of times, when you can have a website that is available globally 24-7?

3.  Yellow Page ads?  You’re still doing those?  What happens if your ad gets printed wrong (happened to us!)  They’re not going to print a retraction, you know.  You’re stuck with it a whole year.  If you’re going to advertise in the Yellow Pages, at least do it online!

4.  How many of you store owners are working at midnight?  Okay, maybe some of you.  But with an e-commerce store, you can sell while you sleep.  If you’re like me, you work in your sleep anyway, might as well get something out of it.

5.  How many of you that have websites have a way to edit the content?  If you don’t, then call your web developer today.  Talk about an inexpensive way to promote your company – just a little bit of your time.

These are just a few facts.  I’ll add more as I think of them.  And, if you have some cost-saving tips of your own, shoot us an email or give us a call!  I’ll post them on our blog!