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What To Look For When Choosing Your Web Host

Anyone that has looked in to setting up a website knows that there is just more than saying, “I want a website.”

First, you must decide what type of website you want for your business. For instance, do you need a portal for customers to login and buy merchandise or check for new information regarding an invoice? That kind of website is called a dynamic website because the information keeps changing and usually requires lots of time from the webmaster to keep the website managed.

Then there are the websites that just act like a billboard to help promote your business to people. These sites will usually include a lot of the sales and marketing information from your company’s brochures.

The next step, after deciding what type of website your company needs, is choosing a domain name. This can be the trickiest part of putting your company online. Domain names are the “real estate” of the Internet – you can’t publish a website without a domain name. And, the reason I say it is tricky is that most of the good names are already registered.

Tech Experts can help you in choosing a good domain name, and register it for you as part of your hosting service. A tip, though: Make sure your domain name ends in “.com” – any of the other domain endings, like “.biz” and even “.net” are like the second class citizens of the Internet.

Here are some things to consider when you’re choosing a hosting company.

Reliability
Reliability is one of the most important factors in web hosting. If the hosting company doesn’t have great reliability you can find yourself losing lots of customers because of downtime. Most companies will advertise 99% uptime which is good but a better hosting company will offer a refund in time or in cash for downtime if they go under 99%.

Location
Location is another factor to consider. If your website is hosted in another country you will find that people will have a very slow response from the website due to the time it takes for the information to transfer to the destination. When choosing the location, try to stick with one in the same country as your target audience.

Data transfer speed
Data transfer speed refers to how quickly pages load and the rate at which other information on your Web site is accessed by visitors. Ask about data transfer statistics, and have the company show you how the speed they provide will be adequate for your needs.

Hard drive space
Hard drive space is something that is closely related to data transfer. Most businesses won’t need more than 10mb of storage space for their website, but be sure you have the option to increase space if needed. If you plan to store users and picture on the website you will need to plan in the future to have extra hard drive space. You’ll use more bandwidth as your visitor counts goes up.

The control panel
The control panel for a web site is where you go to make minor administrative changes to the site. For example, you would use the control panel to add new e-mail users to your service. Make sure the company you select has an easy to use control panel.

E-mail service
E-mail service is the next consideration. Some hosting companies provide email support and will allow you to create 1 or even unlimited amount of email accounts. Email accounts are usually always setup through the control panel you have chosen to use. You will want to make sure that the hosting company provides spam filtering services, too. The last thing you want to do is spend your time deleting hundreds of junk mails.

If you keep these things in mind, you’ll have an idea what you need and you will be able to start comparing web hosting providers. Here is my advice: Always remember, you get what you pay for. Do not expect a $5/month provider to have better support compared to a company like Tech Experts that charges a fair price and provides you with excellent service.

If you have questions about web hosting or having a web site set up for your company, please e-mail me at cbogedain@expertsmi.com.

 

Computer Slowing Down? Try A Memory Upgrade!

I just turned a little older, and as anyone my age can attest, the first thing to go is your “memory.”

It is no different with your computer. I recently upgraded our workstations here at Tech Experts, from 1gb of RAM to 2gb, and I could not believe the difference in the way our stations run. Programs that I use on a daily basis run unbelievably fast.

I’ve been asked over the years, “What exactly is RAM?” RAM (Random Access Memory) is the temporary working memory that the Windows operating system, programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel, and documents use when your computer is running.

Don’t confuse RAM with hard drive storage, which is where all your files are stashed. For years, processors and software have been growing increasingly RAM-hungry. Even just a year ago, 512mb was considered enough. We started out at 1gb, and upgraded to 2gb in our stations, which seems to be the “sweet spot” for Windows XP.

If you are working in Word, have a couple of websites open in Internet Explorer, and Outlook is open for your e-mail, inside your computer, each of your programs is competing for RAM. Windows is juggling which program gets priority at a given moment.

If you don’t have enough RAM, Windows will use the hard drive as virtual memory. The problem is, though, that swapping programs back and forth between RAM and your hard drive is much less efficient than keeping everything in RAM.

If your system seems sluggish and you notice lots of hard drive activity, chances are good that adding RAM memory will rev your system up. Programs that you run in a business environment need to process information RIGHT NOW. That’s why we’re recommending all of our clients upgrade to 2gb of RAM in their workstations. The speed improvement is incredible!

 

Raise IT Security Measures And Lower Your Stress

Updating Your Network Security Protects Your Valuable Data

Simplify. Prevent problems. Do it right, not over. These are just a few of the phrases among the most popular published in “Stress Reducing Tips” articles. But, how do you achieve these goals?

Take a look at your IT security measures first. Protecting your information systems from unauthorized use, disruption or destruction can help you reduce the number of stressful incidents that may arise as a result of a vulnerability. How can you decide what level of security is right for your organization?

Dive into a threat and risk analysis.
We can work with you to review the current security mechanisms and determine what needs to be protected. The level of security necessary for your business is largely reliant on the possible threats. If you have many employees, you may have a greater interest in user account changes versus a small dental practice whose chief concern is confidentiality.

Take advantage of our Free Network Audit and learn about the current options available for firewalls, controlled accessibility, anti-virus, spam filtering and much more.

Take time to develop a plan. Listen to employee feedback, analyze your current operations and review key points for development within your company in order to simplify business processes and protect your company data.

Think of the future.
Is your organization in growth mode or are you looking to stabilize your current position? Many clients come to us with only a few changes and end up with many things they would like completed to help increase security, increase efficiency, decrease operating costs or prepare for the future.

Prevent problems.
Security is everyone’s responsibility. According to Datapro Research, the most common causes of damage are: Terrorism, 3%; water, 10%; technical sabotage, 10%; dishonest people, 10%; fire, 15%; and, finally, human error, 52%. Unfortunately, 81% of this damage is caused by current employees.

You could install the most elaborate security and computer protection systems available, but if passwords are written on sticky notes and stuck to computer monitors in the office, or saved in Word documents, we cannot guarantee security.

New threats and vulnerabilities emerge everyday that can endanger your company. Take a preventive approach to managing your information systems with reliable security measures and proper staff training.

Firewalls and virus protection must be current. If you don’t know if these measures are in place, we can help you identify current software installed and enable or update them if necessary. A good anti-virus or firewall solution will automatically update itself as new updates are available.

Spam filtering is essential and can solve many e-mail problems that plague your inbox. Everyday spammers find new ways to get into e-mail inboxes. A lot of spam is simply unwanted advertising that is just annoying and takes up space. Some, though, are used to transmit viruses, adware or spyware that can eventually infect your entire network.

Eight Steps To Prepare For Business Disruptions

Summer Storms, Crazy Weather Highlight Need To Be Prepared

With the crazy weather we’ve been experiencing the past few weeks, now is the perfect time for your business to put together a basic disaster planning and recovery plan.

Here are some key points to consider:

1. Prevention costs less than recovery, and it’s faster.
When a disaster occurs, one of the first questions asked after the smoke clears (or the debris is cleared) is how it could have been avoided. That’s the prevention component – and the issue for most businesses is when they want to answer that question, and how much they are willing to spend to avoid a major disruption to their business.

2. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Our professional recommendation is to spread “vital” operations across more than one location if at all possible. Full backups should be performed every business day, and stored off site. The key thing here is, backups must be tested – this means you need to frequently pick random backup sets and attempt to restore from them.  In far too many cases, data that was thought to be securely backed up couldn’t be accessed when the chips were down.

3. When disaster strikes, the first thing to go haywire is the plan.
Your business should review the disaster plan for adequacy (are you covering all the bases) and currency (has the plan been updated to match your new technology?). Special attention should be paid to new systems and processes that weren’t in place in the business when the initial plan was developed.

4. When disaster strikes, your competitors will notice.
If your company doesn’t maintain market presence and reputation after a disaster, the absence can create a vacuum in the market place. This being the case, competitors will step up to fill that void.

5. Remember the four “P”s of disaster planning – People, property, priorities and planning!
Your company’s security plans should be up to date, including how to contact local fire, police and rescue departments. Some examples of questions to answer in your disaster document: Do you have a written crisis management plan? Has it been tested recently? Do you know when to call in authorities, and who has the authority to make the decision? How are visitors and vendors controlled in your building? Do your security procedures reflect what you really expect employees will do?

6. Tailor your business continuity spending to real threats and key priorities.
Recent events have made us think of terrorism as a major threat, but for small businesses like ours, there are more pressing and diverse threats. Things such as employee or non-employee workplace violence, cyber threats (including computer viruses and denial of service attacks), electrical disruptions, tornadoes or other storm related damages are, for most businesses, much more appropriate threats to invest in remediation efforts against.

7. Successful recovery is like a recipe – everything has to come together at the right time.
Your business should also consider asking critical vendors about their plans and capabilities to deal with emergencies. Relying on one or more critical vendors to keep your business going could be dangerous because a crisis that affects them could spill over to your company if they’re unable to provide goods or services.

8. Regional disasters have a way of mandating priorities you weren’t even aware of.
It is a good idea for your business to look at the immediate area surrounding your facility and perform a risk assessment. Are you near a river, stream, dam or lake?

Focusing on employee safety will pay off during a disaster, since knowledgeable employees are an important key to your company’s recovery plans.

Tips For Handling, Storing, & Disposing Of Confidential Documents

In the past 10 years, over 10,000 new regulations have been placed on the books by local, state and federal agencies pertaining to the handling, storage, and disposal of confidential client, patient, and employee documents.

A few examples are:

  • SEC Rule 17a-4 Electronic Storage of Broker Dealer Records Graham-Leach-Bliley Act
  • Financial Services Modernization Act
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act
  • DOD 5015.2 Department of Defense
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
  • Fair Labor Standards Act
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act
  • Payment Card Industry Data Security (PCI DSS)

No matter how small your business is, you are surely going to be affected by one or more of these new government regulations. Naturally some industries are more regulated, such as financial or medical, but all companies that hold information such as employee social security numbers, credit cards, financial statements (credit applications, bank statements, order forms) fall under these new regulations.

While we cannot cover every single aspect of protecting your company, here are a few tips that will go a long way in making sure you don’t end up fined, sued, or with a bad reputation for not securing your clients information:

Seek professional help. If you think you are holding confidential information that should be secured, ask a qualified attorney who specializes in data confidentiality in your industry about what you must do to meet new government regulations.

Shred all documents that contain confidential information. A good shredder should do a cross cut or diamond cut versus a simple strip shredder to make it more difficult for someone to piece together a shredded document.

If you have to keep a copy of contracts or other documents that contain confidential information, contact a high-security document storage facility like Iron Mountain (ironmountain.com) and they will store your documents in a high-security location.

Keep a fire-proof safe with a lock and key for employee documents you need to keep onsite.

Make sure your offsite backups have 32-bit encryption (ask your provider).

Also make sure the facility where the information is stored is under lock and key with security camera and access-controlled security.

Tired of Dumping Money Into Your Network?

Read On To Discover How You Can Make Those Darn Things Finally Pay Off!

If you ask most business owners why they invest in computers and technology, you will hear things like “to increase employee productivity,” or “to improve customer service” or even to lower operating costs, make information more accessible, and give them a competitive advantage.

But the question is, are the computers in your office actually contributing to your productivity, or do they act as a money-sucking stumbling block to your businesses success?

In this dog-eat-dog world, you cannot afford to have anything slowing you down or interfering with your day to day operations. Especially the tools you rely on in your computer network. If you want to learn how we can help you experience fewer interruptions, problems, and downtime, AND lower the overall costs associated with your computer network, then you’ll want to know about our “Experts Total Support” plan.

This program was designed specifically for small business owners that do not have a full time IT staff taking care of their computer network.

For a small, fixed monthly fee, we will monitor and maintain your computer network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure all systems are running at peak performance. We’ll also make sure critical network maintenance such as security and virus updates, backups, and system optimization happens when it should to avoid bigger, more expensive problems from happening.

Our Free 60 Minute “Technology Tune Up” May (Finally) Make Your Computers Pay Off

To introduce this new program to all of our clients and prospects, we are offering a free, 60-minute “Technology Tune Up” to the first five businesses that contact us this month.

In less than 1 hour, we can come in and examine your computer network, talk to your employees, and provide a very revealing analysis of all the under utilized or overlooked capabilities being wasted in your current computer system. We’ll also look for security loop holes, check your system back ups and virus protection, and look for other hidden problems lurking in the background, waiting to turn into bigger, more expensive disasters.

After doing this analysis, we can not only advise you on how to improve the speed. reliability, and security of  your computer network, but also on ways you can improve your overall office productivity.

Normally we charge $297 for this type of service but we are giving it away FREE as a special promotion this month to demonstrate our “Experts Total Support” plan. To secure your spot, simply call our offices at (734) 457-5000 or e-mail us at info@MyTechExperts.com and we’ll schedule a convenient time for us to come out and conduct this tune up.

No Risk, No Obligation, No Hassles

You will be under zero obligations to do or buy anything if you sign up for a FREE Technology Tune Up. This is just our way of introducing our new network maintenance program to you and we certainly don’t expect everyone to sign up.

So what are you waiting for? Call us right now while you’re thinking about it. Remember, we are only giving away five tune ups on a first come, first serve basis so call now while there are spots left!

This offer will expire as soon as we have five companies signed up, or on August 29th. Call today!

Local Community Action Agency Says “Our Network Is Running Better Than Ever Now!”

MCOP Counts on Tech Experts For A Problem-Free Network

Monroe County Opportunity Program (MCOP) is one of Monroe County’s most successful community action agencies, serving thousands of residents every year. The agency relies on Tech Experts to keep their computers and network problem-free.

Founded in 1965, MCOP’s mission is “To enhance the quality of life and reduce the effects of poverty by providing opportunities, services, and collaborating with community agencies to foster self-sufficiency.”

They do this by administering programs such as Homeless Prevention, Homebuyer Rehab, Weatherization, Specialized Transportation, Utility Assistance, Food Programs and assistance for Seniors with lawn mowing, home making, unmet needs and resource advocacy.The agency uses computers and technology extensively on a day to day basis.

“We use Microsoft Office applications for spreadsheets, presentations and word processing,” explained Larry Hansen, MCOP’s fiscal director. “MCOP also uses a specialized software package, designed just for non-profit agencies, for general ledger, payroll accounts payable, etc.”

“Also as a nonprofit serving the low income population, MCOP uses an in-house Client Tracking software program,” Larry continued. “We also access web based systems that are utilized by various agencies within the community. These are communication tools that are required by the government agencies that provide MCOP’s funding.”

When it came time to upgrade MCOP’s network, Technology Experts installed a Microsoft Windows 2003 Server system along with Windows Terminal Services. Terminal Services allows users to connect to the server using thin client terminals, decreasing the need for individual computers on each employee’ desk.

Another advantage of employing a Terminal Services environment is that older computers can be used as clients without slowing down the computing performance of the user, since the applications run on the server instead of on the client stations. “Even though there were many changes that took time to get used to,” Larry said, “the entire process was a success and our network is running better than ever now.”

When asked what MCOP liked most about Tech Experts service, Larry was quick to answer: “The timeliness in responding to our calls for assistance. Help is usually on site the same day and many times within minutes.”

Monroe County Opportunity Program:  1140 South Telegraph Road Monroe, Michigan 48161 (734) 241-2775 www.monroecountyop.org

How to Declare Freedom from Slow Computers, Downtime, Viruses, Hackers, and Computer Problems Finally and Forever!

Are you sick and tired of worrying about the security of your network against the latest spyware, virus, or hacker threat?

Would you like to have peace of mind knowing that your backups are working properly and storing your data in a secure, easy to restore format?

Do you want your network to always be “up” and running fast?

Then we have a service you need to know about…

It’s called our Experts Total Support plan. This program gives you fast, 24-7 computer support, maintenance, and monitoring for one low, fixed monthly rate without any surprises, hidden costs, or the expense of a full time IT staff!

Why Do you Need This?
Having a secure, reliable computer system is no longer a luxury for businesses today. If you can’t access your e-mail, financial information, client database, or other critical data, you’re OUT of business.

Plus, you must keep your data secure from corruption, loss, and theft; if you don’t, it could not only cost you dearly in downtime, but it could also cause your reputation harm when customers find out your network (and their data) has been compromised, stolen, or lost forever.

How Does It Work?
The concept is simple. For a fixed monthly fee, we will monitor and maintain your computer network 24/7, 365 days a year. We will make sure your anti-virus, spyware, and security patches are up to date. We’ll monitor your network for looming problems that could turn into downtime or data loss such as hardware failures and disk space problems.

We’ll also watch your backups to make sure they truly are running and not giving you a false-positive reading, and we’ll constantly optimize the health and overall speed of your network. After all, nothing is more frustrating than a slow computer!

Last (but not least!) we’ll be able to provide remote support through a highly secure Internet connection to provide almost instant support whenever you need it. No more waiting around for a technician to show up!

FREE Network Check gets you Started…
If you want to find out how our Experts Total Support plan can help your business, call us for a FREE Network Health Check. At no charge or obligation, we’ll come onsite and…

  • Look for incorrect network configurations that show up as unexpected downtime, application errors, printers not working, e-mail problems, etc.
  • Assess your current security against data corruption, theft, hardware failures, power outages, computer viruses, worms, hacker attacks, spam, and even employee sabotage.
  • Scan for spyware that is secretly stealing your company’s bandwidth, jeopardizing the speed of your computer system, and embezzling confidential information about your company.
  • Check your data backup system to ensure it is working properly and accurately backing up all of the critical information you NEVER want to lose.
  • Diagnose slow, unstable PCs and perform a quick network “tune up” to make programs load faster.

When we’ve finished, we’ll give you a network ‘report card’ that will reveal any weaknesses in your security or trouble spots on your network that could lead to bigger (more expensive) problems.

Normally we charge $297 for this, but if you call during the month of July, we’ll give it to you for FREE as our gift for introducing our Experts Total Support plan. Again, you are not obligated to sign up for this program or pay us anything for this service—but you have to hurry!

To get signed up now, call 734-457-5000 or go online to www.ExpertsTotalSupport.com.

Secrets About your Customers Hidden In your Company’s Website Reports

No matter who hosts your website, it’s almost certain that you have website traffic reporting. These reports can tell you a LOT about your customer and who is visiting your web site IF you know how to read them. Here’s a quick less on how to decipher them…

Hits V. Unique Visitors
Its’ been said that “hits” is short for “How Idiots Track Sales.” That’s because “Total Hits” is a deceptive number: it counts every single graphics file, style sheet, and script a visitor pulls for each page. A single visitor on a single page could easily pull a dozen files or more.

The only number you should watch is “unique visitors” or “unique referrers.” This is your best indicator of how many individual people are actually visiting your site.

If your number of unique visitors is extremely low, you’re probably not marketing your website properly; but it could also be a sign of a technical issue. Occasionally a site is so far off the beaten path that it’s never been indexed by the search engines. Sites built in Flash or that use images instead of text are also difficult for search engines to index and, therefore, will get very low rankings and traffic.

Browsers
Your reports should give you a list of web browsers your clients are using when coming to your site. Most people use a recent version of Internet Explorer, but you may also see Firefox, Safari, or older versions of IE. Bottom line, you need to make sure your site works in all the browsers being used by your visitors.

Exit Page
Have you ever heard the term “website conversion?” It’s a measure of whether a visitor has done what you wanted them to do on your site. A conversion can be a purchase, an enrollment to your company’s e-zine, or a completed “contact us” form.

If the most popular exit pages correspond to your conversion pages, congratulations! If not, take a closer look. Why are people leaving? There may be a technical issue, a bad headline (or no headline), no offer, slow-loading graphics, or confusing copy. Something on this page is making your visitors leave abruptly.

Maybe it’s not clear where they should go next, or how to find out what they need to know. A few departures are expected, but if there’s a trend, you must address it. Experiment with various headlines, offers and designs until you find something more successful.

Keywords and Keyword Phrases
Keywords and keyword phrases are a list of words people type into search engines to find you.

This is very important information to have because it will allow you to further optimize your website to attract customers AND help you when using pay-per-click search engine marketing.

Browse this list regularly. If the words and phrases are not ones aligned with what you sell or whom you sell to, try changing the content on your site to be more targeted and specific.

Errors
Check out the error list from time to time to make sure you aren’t experiencing any technical issues. The most frequent error you’ll find is a “404” code, which means “document not found”—also known as broken links.

Broken links are caused by deleted pages, new page names, or links to other sites that may no longer exist. These errors should be corrected to keep your site current.

Another good tip is to have a custom “404” page that shows up instead of the stock standard “file not found” page that contains your company name, phone number, and a way to report the problem. Your web master can set this up for you.

Sam Walton’s 10 Rules for Building a Phenomenally Successful Business

Sam Walton, the founder of the Wal-Mart chain, had 10 rules for building a business that he adamantly believed in. According to the Wal-Mart website, the following are the principles that have enabled the company to experience more than 40 years of outrageous success:

1. Commit to your business. You have to believe in it more than anyone else. You have to have passion. Love your work and do it the best you can every day.

2. Share your profits with all your associates and treat them as partners. This will make the people who work for you perform beyond your wildest expectations. Behave as a servant leader.

3. Motivate your partners. You have to constantly think of new ways to motivate your partners.

4. Communicate everything you possibly can to your associates. The more they understand, the more they’ll care.

5. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune.

6. Celebrate your success. Have fun. Find humor in your failures. Loosen up.

7. Listen to everyone in your company. And more important, try to get them talking. The ones who really talk to the customers are the ones who really know what’s going on.

8. Exceed your customers’ expectations. Give them what they want–then give ’em a little more.

9. Control your expenses better than your competitors. You can survive a lot of mistakes if you’re efficient.

10. Swim upstream. Ignore the conventional wisdom; find your niche by going another direction.