Choosing Your Web Host

These days, there are so many web hosting companies out there. All of them offer roughly the same options, but what makes a great web host? The indirect answer is that it depends on your needs. The purpose of this article is not to discuss the aspects of most hosting plans, but to discuss what you should be looking for.

The Name of the Game: Customer Service

Since most hosting companies provide the same hosting options, the more important topic is customer service. It's easy to throw together a few servers, get a dedicated connection, add some more hardware, design a web site, and call yourself a web host. Buy what's behind that web site?

It doesn't matter if you're a new to web hosting or if you're a seasoned professional, everyone needs to contact technical support sometime. A good web host will offer a "knowledge base" or "frequently asked questions" on their web site to give answers to the most common questions. This is helpful for you because you don't have to pick up the phone or email tech support if your question is there.

If you're question is not covered on the web site, a good web host will have multiple ways for you to contact them. The most common form of communication is email or telephone. The downside of email support is that it can take time to get your questions answered. If you're new to web hosting, putting your question into words could be a problem in itself. Tech support by phone is usually quickest, but it also has it quirks. After calling the toll free number, you have to press 1, then 3, then 2, and then have to hold for the next available representative. If you're lucky, the person that answers the phone speaks coherent English and actually has a clue about their services. A new form of tech support is "live support" where the company will have an icon on their site for you to click that will open an instant messenger window. This is great because you get to talk with the representative in real time without making the phone call. You still have to put your question into words, but at least they can help you clarify you problem.

To test their customer service, spend some time navigating their support web site. If it seems to be lacking, move on to the next host. Do some research on the web to see if there are any complaints against the company. There are many forums on the internet dedicated to that subject. Check out there links: http://www.webmaster-talk.com/.You can also try to giving their toll free number a call to ask questions. Get a feel for what their company is like over the phone.

Another Solution

If you are using a web designer for your project, check to see if they offer hosting. They probably offer the same packages that the bigger companies offer at close to the same price. The biggest difference should be the customer service. Because most web design firms are small companies, you should get personal service that is catered to your needs. At my firm we offer hosting exclusively to our clients. The difference we provide is that when you email us, we guarantee a response within one hour. If you call our office, a real person will answer the phone. In a saturated market such as web hosting, giving the best service to the client is the only way to do business.

7 Tips to Spice Up Your Flash Banner Design

An attractive and effective banner design in Flash will help in enhancing the CTRs or click through rates. Once the CTR is increased, there will be more sales, and therefore more revenues. For increasing the CTRs, ensure that your banner animations are quickly downloadable. If you want to spice up your Flash banner design, it is imperative that you get it designed by a professional Flash design company.

Here are some tips to design your Flash banner:

Use of Colors in Banner When you are designing a banner, exercise caution while choosing colors. This is especially significant if you are targeting a specific country. Say for instance, if you are using black to design your banner, be careful to target web users in the United States. This is because black is regarded as the color of mourning in the U.S. On the other hand, red denotes warning and danger in some countries. You should be careful with the use of red in your banner design. Add Animations If you are feeling like adding animation to your banner ads, then use it wisely. Animations should entice your visitors and not annoy them. There are certain guidelines that you should follow while including banner animations. Let's have a look at them: Use Vibrant Colors - If you want to increase CTRs, you should use vibrant colors like yellow, blue or green. In case you wish to use red, then use it in moderation. Include a Call-to-Action Button - You can also increase your CTR by adding call-to-action buttons like 'Submit' or 'Click Here'. You can design these buttons using attractive graphics so that web users are tempted to click on them. Animation Should not Loop Continuously - Make sure that your animation doesn't loop incessantly. It will annoy your visitors more than pleasing them. It should loop not more than 7-8 times. Also ensure that you keep the most significant message on the last frame. Restrained Animation - Adding animations to your Flash banner doesn't imply that you over do it. It should be restrained to grab the attention of your visitors, and not too high flying to mess the design of the web page you are advertising on. Place the Message in the First Frame - Online users have little patience. They will generally not wait for a long time for the banner animation to load. Therefore, your designer should place the message in the first frame, if your banner takes a long time to load. Design Should Blend with the Page The banner design should blend with the rest of the web page. It should not be so flamboyant to scream out the message, "CLICK, CLICK, CLICK". This will irritate your visitors as they will have a feeling that things are being imposed on them. Instead, your banner design should gel with the rest of the page. Banner Should Link to an Informative Page It is information that web users look for. If visitors click on your banner, they expect to be directed to a page that provides the information they are looking for. Therefore, you should link the banner to a page that has information. Include the word 'Free' You should always include the word 'Free' in your Flash banner to increase the CTR. The word free tempts users to download something without cost. You can offer a free demo game for enhanced response! You can also offer some benefits like SEO. Short, Crisp Message Your banner messages should be simple, lucid and short. This will make your banner more focused. Update Banners Frequently Your banner should be updated every two weeks. Banners that are updated on a regular basis have higher CTRs.

I would suggest that you test your Flash banner for some time to see the results. Results imply higher CTRs and increased sales. If you stick to the above mentioned tips, you will experience better CTRs.

Mistakes to Avoid in your eBay Auctions

Online auctions continue to grow in popularity as an easy and efficient way to make money on everything from unwanted household items to rare and expensive collectables and even to bulky items like cars.

Log on to eBay and you will see countless auctions on any item you can imagine. As eBay auctions grow in popularity, it becomes harder to make money with your auction because it often gets buried or overlooked with all the competing auctions in the same category. Therefore, to make money on your auction, it is important to set your auction apart and avoid common eBay auction mistakes. Here are 3 important mistakes that you must take note of:

1. Wrong product category or product category not specific enough. As it is relatively simple and inexpensive to auction an item, many sellers simply do not put in enough effort researching the market. The result is the auctions are put up in the wrong category. This would be tantamount to pitching your deal to the wrong market.

However, if you are marketing your product in traditional channels and paying money for your promotions, you are likely to do a lot more research and legwork. If you want to earn a serious income, then you should not treat your eBay auctions any differently.

To research, find the best eBay category to put your product auction in. If you are selling coins, eBay shoppers do not have the time to search all 38,000 plus auctions put up under the category of coins. You need to define your product category as specific as possible. You will then target the true eBay shoppers that are likely to be interested in your auction.

2. A blurred or ugly looking image. Be sure your eBay auction has a clear professional looking image. Pay heed to the saying "A picture speaks a thousand words". Also, don't forget to ensure that your image file size is not too large. If the image takes minutes to download, the typical eBay shopper is bound to skip your auction.

3. Incomplete and unclear product description. Be sure to give a detailed and precise description for your eBay auction item. For instance, you can give exact dimensions of the product or give specific details about the condition of the second hand item. An incomplete or unclear description is not likely to attract bidders for your item.

All in all, the best exercise I can suggest is to visit your eBay auction and honestly ask yourself if you would be even tempted to put in a bid for this product.

If the answer is no or even probably not, then change it. If you are passionate about your auction and take the time to make it professional, your auction is likely to stand out. Make the effort to do it right and you are likely to have successful auctions.