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.

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.

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!