Choosing Blog Software: User-friendly or Tech-Savvy?

So you’ve decided to jump on the blog bandwagon. What’s next? There are several blogging service options out there. Identifying your needs will determine which service is best for you.

First of all there are two main types of blogging services: hosted and self-install. With hosted, the blog software is ready to use; all that’s needed is to signup. Self-install is what its name says it is; a blogging software that you will install yourself after you’ve found a web hosting service. Now we’re ready to discuss the pros and cons of several popular blogging services.

Blogger is a hosted service which is free. You may already be familiar with it because it’s one of the long-established services and has many users. It’s simple to use and easy to setup, but is limited in its customization and performance. For casual users of a personal blog, this is the perfect choice. If you’re looking to become a professional blogger, however, this is not the software to use.

WordPress is another free service but which offers much more customization. It offers both free hosted service and a one-click self-install to add to your own host. WordPress can also support larger groups of users and third-party plugins. This makes it a popular software for professionals.

Typepad is a relatively inexpensive blog software that offers three options: Basic, Plus, and Pro. Of course the monthly fee increases as the features sets get better with each plan upgrade. More serious bloggers that are happy with the blog template are the most common Typepad users. Customization is an option but is not for the non-tech savvy.

Blogware is another low-cost option. It is sold through resellers, and different resellers offer varying prices and packages, so make sure to check your options before choosing a plan. With Blogware there are also a few ways to change the look of your site without editing the templates, but major changes will not be easy to make.

Expression Engine is a blogging software as well as a management system. It includes options for creating image galleries, mailing lists, and other extras. Naturally this kind of quality and ease of use software comes at a heftier price than some of the other options, but you’ll be virtually limitless to what you can do.

Movable type offers the most possibilities for customization, but without a price. It is both difficult to set-up and use and one of the more expensive services. Changing just the smallest feature of your blog template requires an entire re-build of your blog each time. If you want to do some major customization with your blog and you’re up to the technical challenge, this may be the software for you.

Now, what are you waiting for? Whether you’re a casual or professional blogger, tech-savvy or computer illiterate, there’s a blogging service out there for you to become part of the blogging phenomenon. Start a blog today.

Web Hosting Companies: The Price War

If you’ve ever wondered how shared web hosts can afford their steadily decreasing monthly fees, then you’re not alone. In an industry with standardized feature sets, price is one of the only features that can be changed to attract new customers. But with monthly fees already down to as low as $7.00, can hosts afford to drop any further? And if you’re a potential customer, how do you select the best web host for you with such similar features for the same price amongst the thousands of hosts out there?

First, remember that there are still some web hosting companies out there that are not aiming for the low-cost customer. The key features every new customer is looking for are price, bandwidth, features, reliability, and support. In the beginning, however, hosts only focused on space, bandwidth, and features. As technology developed to support unlimited bandwidth and storage, web hosts were forced to look for other ways to compete. One of those new areas was technical support. Only the larger hosting centers are able to support toll-free, 24/7 support centers. Calling a potential host during peak hours may be a quick way of determining their capabilities and overall advantage as a host. However as the industry’s evolved, most hosts are aware that this standard is necessary nowadays to be successful.

Second, hosts can only focus on certain areas. A cursory glance at the front page of a potential host should be all it takes to determine which areas it promotes as strengths. Again, the services are pretty similar, which is why shared hosts are being forced into a price war. While in the short run, such a war is great for customers, eventually reducing monthly fees as a strategy will not be possible.

Third, ask the hosting company how they can afford offering their users such a low monthly cost. The answer in most cases will be that without setup fees, such low prices can only be afforded if customers have a long-life span with the host. Web hosts depend upon customer longevity as well as loyalty. Most hosts only need their clients to stick with them for a year or more to make it worth it. Even more cost effective are the clients who purchase additional accounts, leaving older accounts dormant, using few resources.

Finally, where does this leave the customer? The price wars are only intensifying as hosts drop their prices lower and lower. But how will it all end? As hosting continues to evolve with the up-and-coming technology, the “new” feature or service will be found and offered by aggressive marketing before the rest of the competition finds it. That is one way the price wars may end, if only temporarily. Of one thing we’re certain is that dropping rates and rising features can only be good for the customer. If you’ve been waiting for the “right time” to get your own website, it’s now.

Create Successful Business Website

Congratulation, you finely decided to upgrade your business with a website. This is really important step which can take your business to a new level structurally and financially.

1. Well built and properly advertised website can bring you hundreds of new customers who wouldn't have heard about your business otherwise.

2. Most of people do not search for services on yellow pages no more but open Google , Yahoo, MSN, etc. Therefore your presence on the net is a very important strategy to earn new clients.

3. Website is your face when it comes to clients who arrive to you via the net. If your website is well built, even if you are a small business owner, clients will be more willing to work with you.

Now that we understand the importance of a good, reliable website for a business, let's go over some basic steps to make sure your website will be a success story:

Determine your budget:

Website building can cost you nothing or cost you thousands of dollars. I think that the best site is the one which benefit will excel its cost. Therefore every business owner must determine his appropriate budget .

Some companies offer absolutely free websites. There are some advantages and some disadvantages in such a website. The first and the biggest advantage is the zero cost. If your website turns out useless , you don't lose any money. The main disadvantages of free websites are usually the limited storage space (which means you can't build a large website) and limited bandwidth (if many users enter your site at once, it might become slow or even unavailable).

If you have a large sum of money to put on your web site, you may go to a custom Web Design firm. They will usually offer you two or three unique design sketches which they embed in their Content Management System and a directions about how to enter your content into it. The problem about this option is it's high cost.

There is no second chance to create a first impression:

Design is naturally one of the most important aspects in website success. Website design must represent your business as a prosperous, impressive and trustworthy therefore there is no place to disregard it.

Quality content:

In order to be found in search engines and attract serious visitors you must fill your website with high quality content. We suggest you enter information about yourself , your business and products. Professional articles and further information from your field of interest might add more value to the website and present you as an expert in your field.

Keeping in touch:

Once you have earned clients you better keep in touch with them. There are number of fast and cost effective ways to do so:

1.By mail. Today spam mail is a felony, but once a customer signed up at your website and gave his agreement to receive your e-mails, you should keep in touch with him , informing him about new products, services and sales.

2. By SMS. If your business is very dynamic you might use the SMS technology to keep in touch with your clients at real time.

3. Keep in touch with your clients by blogs and forums where you can offer them technical support