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How to Find Web Hosting Services For Joomla

admin — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 13:18:08 +0000

Open source software programs have created quite a buzz in the last few years. Much of this is down to the fact that they are free so you don’t have to spend a penny to purchase the script or the software. Another benefit of choosing open source software is that you have hundreds of dedicated developers who toil for hours to improve the performance of these programs.

Among the more popular open source programs is CMS or content management system which is used to control web content and Joomla happens to be one of the most attractive CMS. Without a CMS, you would have to enlist the help of a web designer each time you would need to update the site design or add new content to it. The flexibility of Joomla has won it accolades from all over the world. However, first time website owners often find the task of choosing a hosting service for this specific type of website quite trying. So here are a few tips on what to look for in a web host for Jooma.

Contrary to popular perception, you don’t need to have a special web hosting plan for it; however, you will simply need to choose a service that is Joomla friendly. It is not unusual to find most web hosting service providers offering Joomla hosting accounts for a monthly fee. You may be charged from ?10 to ?50 depending on the hosting company and the package you choose, but this is a relatively low price given the significant benefits of using a powerful CMS like the one on offer here. While most webmasters and hosting sites favour Joomla; there are some hosting providers that opt for Drupal.

When choosing a Joomla compatible hosting plan, ensure that it is a Cpanel hosting account with support for PHP and My SQL. You can install Joomla from within the control panel and most hosting service providers will get your account up and running within 24 hours of purchasing their service. You may also want to look at web hosting companies that let you download the core Joomla software.

Ideally, you should choose a company that offers free software templates. Even though price is a constraint that will impact your purchasing decision; the primary factor should be the type of features and bonuses being offered by the hosting company. The design of the templates, the selection of such programs and the version of Joomla that is being offered should also be considered when buying a hosting plan.

The cyber world is overflowing with free or low cost templates, but you may find these to be sorely lacking in quality. While some of these programs are available for as low as ?20 others may be quite expensive at a few hundred pounds so you may end up saving quite a bit by choosing a hosting company that offers free templates. The service packs and the support provided by the hosting company are also crucial factors. It is recommended that you choose a company that not only offers support on their services but also offers Joomla support.

Finally, even though SEO is not a key aspect, most website owners will have to invest in search engine optimisation efforts in the long run. After all, if people are not going to see your site, it’s as bad as not owning a website altogether. Some hosting companies offer SEO for free or at very low rates; while some other hosting providers offer a combination of SEO and program optimised servers. This can prove tremendously valuable and such companies should definitely be considered.
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Applying E-Commerce Features at Your Web Host

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 11:44:13 +0000

E-commerce is another added service by web hosting nowadays. It is a website where transaction could take place. For this kind of website, hosting companies will have to provide some specific features. Firstly, there must be the shopping cart. There are many types of shopping cart that you can choose from. The more popular one that is being used a lot is Fantastico because it enables user to install shopping cart with a click. Two of the examples available are the osCommerce and the Agora shopping cart.

After having the shopping cart, the next thing you need is the SSL to make transaction a safe thing to do. As there are many credit card fraud going on today, security is utmost important for people who comes to the website. Having SSL will give you customers the added confidence. They will feel more secure when purchasing anything from your website online.

With security matters done, the next thing to have is enough space and bandwidth to allow as many customers as possible in your website. This is very important so that online shoppers will not face any errors while surfing or making payment in your website. Unlimited bandwidth is a must so that your website will be working perfectly even if you are overloaded with surfers browsing through the items in your website. If the online shopper keeps on facing problems while surfing, you would end up losing these customers. It could be worse if that particular customer spreads the word around about his experience with your website. Therefore, a perfect running website is very important.

In addition, the reliability of the website is a factor that we must consider. Servers must work fine at all time providing a 99.5% uptime all time. Surfers might go to your website at anytime. So, your website must be ready for them. For an example, customers who have just purchase something and went back to the website to check but could get to the website. It would be a horrible experience for that customer. They might think that they were cheated. This issue must be prevented to give customers the assurance of shopping at your website.

When deciding to get a web hosting for you shopping website, the price will depend on the scale of your business. A medium or small business can easily survive with a shared hosting while a larger company can get their own hosting for just 7$ a month. As for the function, it is very important that you can upload files or links to your website. To do that, you will need the FTP feature. With FTP, all that can be done easily.

Another thing to look out for is the technical support. This is very important if you are not very good with computer technically. So, you will have to depend on the technical support offered by the hosting company Therefore, you have to choose one that can solve your technical problem any time when they arise.

In conclusion, get a website depending on your needs. Remember all the important factors mentioned above when making your choice and you should have no problem at all. Do a research on the company you choose so that you won’t fall into some sort of scam and end up being cheated.

WordPress Or Blogger – Which One Is For You?

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:31:10 +0000

Blogging was originally people writing their thoughts and experiences and sharing them with the world. This was kind of a personal journal made available for any one to read. It has not been too long since blogging has become an easy and effective way to create a website.

Using the blogging platform has become the choice for many websites today Why? First of all, you do not need to learn HTML. All blogging is done in WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) format. This makes it very easy for the newbie to get a website up and running. The second popular reason for the use of the blogging platform is that it is free. You can create a site full of content, links, ads, without hiring a web designer and paying out big bucks.

If using a blogging platform is your decision, you then must decide which one is best for you. The most popular ones are Blogger and WordPress. How to decide?

Both Blogger and WordPress are free to use. Both are self hosted. In other words, your site is hosted by whichever platform you choose. What does that mean? Your URL will be *http://www.yourblogname.blogger.com* or the same with wordpress.com. This is fine if you are really just blogging.

However, if you want your site to appear more professional, you might want to consider hosting your site with a web host. Many are available with different levels of plans. You should be able to find something for about $10 per month.

Only WordPress allows you to host your site somewhere else. Blogger does not have that advantage. For this reason, my preference is WordPress. By hosting with another company, I am given the opportunity to create the site just the way I want. Hosting with Blogger or WordPress has limitations. You can only do what they will allow.

That means you are limited with themes, plugins, and other ways you might want to optimize your site. And on this WordPress platform that you self host, you can create a journal, a sales page, a squeeze page, a thank you page, or just about anything you like. For full control over your site, consider choosing WordPress.