How to Select a Laptop for your Small Business

February 12, 2011 By 2 Comments

The selection process for choosing a laptop for your small business differs a lot from choosing one for your personal use. When choosing a laptop for personal use people tend to give importance to entertainment aspects of the machine. Such as, how good is the graphics card to play fast action games, how big is the screen size to watch HD movies etc.

Dell-Vostro-V130-Laptop

But, when you are hunting for a laptop for your small business, you should give importance to the following aspects that are crucial to your business success:

Portability

The portability of a laptop is a very important criteria that you need to look at when buying a laptop for business use. As a small business owner you are always on the go. This means you need to have a machine that is light and easy to carry around. Laptops that are sized from 13 – 14 inches are great for portability. For example, look at the brand new Dell Vostro V130.

Processing Power

Business users need plenty of processing power to run applications and multitask. For example, you might be crunching numbers on an Excel Spreadsheet, speaking to a colleague via Skype and creating a presentation on PowerPoint. As of February 2011, you should consider getting an Intel i3 or i5 processor. Look for at least 4GB of memory so that you can run Widows 7 without any performance hitches.

Reliability

Most laptop manufactures have different range of models. For example, one range might be targeted at the Student Market and another range for the Entertainment Market and another Range for the Professional Market. For example, Lenovo IdeaPad is for the Entertainment Market while the Lenovo ThinkPad is for the Professional Market. The models meant for the Processional Market are more robust and constructed with better quality materials. This means they are more expensive than the laptops meant for the Consumer Market. But, it is worth paying the extra dollars because the professional range laptop gives you a better user experience and is more reliable. Some popular laptop ranges for Small Business include Fujitsu LifeBook, HP ProBook, Dell Vostro, Lenovo Think Pad etc.

Battery Life

A laptop is pretty useless if you are unable to operate it for an extended period on battery power. You should consider getting a 6 cell battery and ensure that your laptop could be used for at least 4 – 6 hours on battery power. Smaller laptops tend to perform better than larger laptops when it comes to conserving power.

Service and Support

Finally, service and support are very important for business users. Go for a model that comes with at least 2 years of warranty. Many manufactures also provide value added services such Online Data Backup and Recovery, Onsite Support etc.

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How to Choose a Web Host for your Small Business Website

April 18, 2010 By 2 Comments

To choose the best web hosting service for your small business website, you need to first determine your web hosting requirements. For example, the hosting requirements for a law firm will be different to that of an online store selling handmade jewelry. The law firm would not need support for an ecommerce site where as the online jewelry store will definitely need support for an electronic store front. The online jewelry store also needs more space and bandwidth because users of such a website will be browsing through a lot of pictures of jewelry and ornaments.

The following are some questions that you need to ask to choose the right web hosting plan for your small business:

  • Are you launching a brand new website?
  • How much traffic are you expecting for your website?
  • Is your website content heavy? Do you have multimedia content such as Pictures and Videos?
  • What kind of software tools will be used to build your website? WordPress Blog? Ecommerce Shopping Cart?

In the following section we’ll look at the main features that you need to look for in a web hosting package.

1. Hosting Type

Web Hosting companies provide customers with different hosting options. The most common hosting solution for a small business website is either Shared Hosting or Virtual Private Server Hosting. In Shared Hosing your website will reside on a computer that host many other websites. Your website will share the same IP address as other websites in that computer. In a Virtual Private Server setup, your website will share the computer with few other websites. While your website shares the same physical computer with other websites, your website will have its own operating system and IP address.

For many small businesses Shared Hosting works just fine. In case Shared Hosting is not adequate for the traffic you receive, you could move to a Virtual Private Server setup. If the traffic volume is really high, then you may have to consider a Dedicated Server for your website. For information on different types of hosting, read my post titled Types of Web Hosting Solutions.

2. Guaranteed Uptimes

Your web hosting provider should provide you with guaranteed uptimes. Uptimes are usually indicated in percentages, for example, 99.5% or 99.9%. Web hosting companies have different ways to calculate the uptimes. Many hosting companies calculate this number for their advantage. For example, a hosting company might exclude scheduled maintenance from the downtime. The information on how uptimes are calculated is usually buried  in the fine print. Therefore the uptime % is not a great indicator of the service provided. But still it is important that you find a hosting company that provides some form of commitments to maintain uptimes. Instead of relying on the uptime information provided by the web hosting company, you should check uptime information published by independent review sites. The best way to find the reliability of a web host is to ask people who use it. TechThinker.com is hosted at HostGator and I am very happy with HostGator’s uptime. According to the site WebHostingStuff.com, HostGator has an uptime percentage of 99.99%.

3. Disk Space and Bandwidth

Nowadays almost all web hosting companies provide ample bandwidth and disk storage space. Bandwidth refers to the total amount of data that can be downloaded from your website on a monthly basis. Disk space refers to the amount of hard disk storage that is allocated to your website on the server computer. In order to exceed a bandwidth of 20GB a typical website should attract around 200,000 visitors per month!

4. Level of Technical Support Provided

Support is a very essential component of a good web hosting package. Make sure your web host provides 24/7 support 365 days of the year. Ensure that the web hosting company you choose provides phone support manned by actual people (instead of automated systems). Many times you can resolve an issue if there is proper documentation. Make sure your web hosting company has good support information and FAQs on their website. Some companies also provide customer support using Internet chat services. A chat based support system is very handy when you want to share a lot of information. For example, you can easily cut and paste the error message. But, reading out the error via the phone might be frustrating and time consuming.

5. cPanel Support

Most web host packages come preinstalled with a Graphical Administration Tool that can be used to perform various tasks. cPanel is the most common and popular admin tool. With cPanel you can do a number of tasks with ease. Example of such tasks include installing a WordPress blog, backing up your website data, displaying web statistics and logs etc. Therefore it is important that you choose a web hosting package that comes preinstalled with cPanel. Another benefit of cPanel is that it allows you to easily transfer your website from one web hosting company to another web hosting company (provided both companies support cPanel).

6.Total Number of Domains Supported

Some hosting packages only allow you to use one single domain name. If the package does not allow multiple domain names then you can only host a single website on that domain. For example, the HostGator’s Hatchling Package does not support multiple domain names where as HostGator’s Baby Package does support multiple domains. If you plan to create new websites in the future under a sub domain, make sure that the package provides support for sub domains as well. For example, a sub domain will look like the following: smallbusiness.techthinker.com.

7. Linux vs. Windows Hosting

Unless your website is built using Microsoft software technologies (such as Active Server Pages) it is highly recommended that you choose a Linux operating system based web hosting package. Linux servers are generally more faster and secured than Microsoft Windows servers. They also have other benefits such as the ability to to create .htaccess file to give custom instructions to your web site.

8. Price & Payment Options

If you want a Shared Hosting package you should be able to get a good plan for about $10 a month. For a Virtual Private Server Hosting expect to spend anywhere from $25 to $50 monthly. If the price offered by the web hosting company is really cheap beware about the quality of the service they provide. Having said that it does not always mean a cheap price means poor quality.

Look for a web host who is willing to provide you with flexible payment options. Make sure that you are not locked into a contract. While by locking into a contract you may be able to get some discount, it will be hard to leave the web hosting company if you are not satisfied with the level of service provided.

9. Reseller Hosting?

Resellers buy hosting packages in bulk from a large web hosting company and then provide you a web hosting service. Resellers usually do not have direct access to all computer systems. Therefore in case of an issue they might have to contact the actual hosting company to get it resolved. Sometimes a reseller is able to provide you a better price than the actual web hosting company. Resellers are able to provide you a better price by stacking many websites into a single machine. Doing this might slow down the performance of your website.

10. Datacenter Close to Your Audience

It is best that you choose a web host that has the data center closer to your audience. For example, if you are from Australia and majority of your customers are from the United States, it makes sense to choose a web host from the US, instead of choosing an Australian based web hosting company.

Do you have any other tips for choosing a web host? Please feel free to share them in the comments section.

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How to Save Money on Printing

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

save_money_printing

In addition to being bad for the environment, printing documents costs a lot of resources and money for most businesses. In this post I give you 12 tips to implement a cost effective printing strategy for your company.

1. Think Twice Before You Print

Before printing a document think twice. Ask your self the following questions: Do I really need a hardcopy? Can I only print a few selected pages as opposed to the whole document? Can I take notes on a notepad instead of the printed document?

2. Print Multiple Pages

Most printers allow you to print more than one page of information on a single sheet of paper (for example, 2 pages side by side). In some printers you also have the option to print on both sides of the paper.

3. Scan Documents

Sometimes we only have a hard copy of a document. In order to distribute the document we take photo copies. By scanning documents you can eliminate the need for photocopying. When an document is in electronic format it is easy to store and share the document.

4. Print in Black and White

Printing in color is more expensive than printing in black and white. Only use color when it is absolutely required.

5. Select the Right Printer

Before you buy a printer find out what is its printing cost per page. If you have multiple printers at your company, choose the most cost effective printer from high volume printing jobs.

6. Draft Printing

Many times we take printouts for personal use. If the document is not a client facing document then you can print your document in low quality draft format. You can set print quality of a document by right clicking on your printer’s icon under Control Panel.

7. Multiple Paper Trays

If your printer has multiple paper trays then you can load low quality paper into one tray and high quality paper in the second tray. Most internal documents can be printed using the low quality paper tray.

8. Setup Multiple Printers on your PC

It is always advisable to set multiple instances of the same printer with different configurations. For example, if your printer is Called HP LaserJet 4000, you can create a printer called “HP 4000 Draft Quality” and “HP 4000 Fine Quality” on your PC. When printing internal documents you can choose “HP 4000 Draft Quality”  and when you print documents for your clients you can choose “HP 4000 Fine Quality”. The benefit of using two printer setup is that you do not have to change print settings each time you submit a document for printing.

10. Proof Read & Preview

Before printing a document, proof read it and preview the page. This way you will know how your printouts will exactly turn up.  By eliminating errors you are reduce the need for reprints.

11. Print to File

Many times we print a document because we may not have the software to view the document on another PC. By printing the document directly to a file (such as PDF) you will be able to use the document for later reference. For example, when you submit any document to the Primo PDF print driver the document is converted into a PDF file.

12. Use Graphics Responsibly

When creating a document use graphics responsibly. For example, if you create a cover page with a black background and white text you are going to waste a lot of ink on the cover page.

Do you have any additional tips to save money on printing? Please share them below.

Shop at Amazon.com for Your Printing Needs

 

Photo Credit: smil’s photostream

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Top 5 Reasons Why Customers Ignore Your Website

March 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Many small business owners and entrepreneurs are often disappointed by the fact that their website does not bring new clients and business opportunities as they would like. If you are one them then you need to figure out why your website is not attracting new clients and prospects. Here are my top 5 reasons why customers leave your website very quickly. As you read these points think about whether your website has any of these symptoms.

1. Brochure Like Website

Many business owners make the mistake of designing their website like a sales brochure. The website has terrific graphs and pictures of cool looking people. But the site seriously lack quality content. Websites that fall under this category often has a couple of pages of information about the business along with contact information. Because your website lacks quality textual information, search engines are not going to bring you any organic traffic. Gone are the days when a user judged a website based on the quality of graphics. Nowadays more and more users are looking for quality content. Customers are looking for advice and information to solve their problems. Therefore it is very important to focus on writing good content.

2. Outdated

Clients love websites that are regularly updated. By updating your website periodically, you are telling your customers that you are very active in your industry. If the last update date on your web pages are few years old, people will assume that you are not active in your industry.

3. Broken Website

Make sure that your website loads and displays properly on all major browsers. You have to make sure that your website works well in Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, Opera and Safari.

4. Too Slow to Load

If your website takes a long time to load then people are more likely to leave your site without checking it. Slow loading website can also harm your SEO rankings. Select a good webhost. It is worth the investment.

5. Not User Friendly

Your website should be user-friendly in terms of navigation, accessibility and  readability. It is important that you put yourself in your customers shoe and look at the website for their needs and requirements. Spend sometime with your website developer in nailing out the exact requirements for your site. Avoid technical jargon and pay close attention to the language used in your website. Do not leave these important decisions to the web developer.

Conclusion

It is extremely important that you give your website a soul. You do not have to spend thousands of dollars to build a quality website. But you need to give your time and closely work with your developers to make sure that the website truly reflects the nature of your business. Your developer might be an expert in web design, but she may not necessarily be an expert in your industry.

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8 Things YOU may not know about Google!

February 14, 2010 By 6 Comments

google_logo_van_gogh

1. One Million

This is the number of job applications that Google receives each year! This is a staggering number considering that Google currently employs only 20,000!

2. Whiteboards

At Google offices whiteboards can be found at many places. The whiteboards are there for Googlers to share their ideas and to visualize concepts.

3. Paperless

Google employees use their laptops to take notes during meetings. By taking notes directly on the computer it is easy to share it with others.

[Read more...]

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Who will win the mobile war?

February 6, 2010 By 2 Comments

smart_phones

The delivery of rich content on mobile devices is arguably the next big thing in the evolution of the Internet. 10 years ago many would have dismissed the idea of accessing the web using their cell phones. But today more and more people are accessing the web using mobile devices. The battle for the mobile platform market has already started.

Today, there are 6 prominent mobile platforms in the industry, each fiercely competing with each other.

1. Symbian

Symbian is the platform promoted by Nokia. Recently the Symbian Foundation, along with a new version of the software, made the platform fully open and free. Currently, Symbian has the largest share in the market. But in recent years Symbian has been gradually losing this share. Symbian’s future is less promising because the Symbian OS has aged and doesn’t provide a rich UI (User Interface) experience compared with other platforms such as iPhone and Android. Since Symbian has a large market share (around 40%) it will continue to be a dominant player for few years, until competition eats its share eventually.

[Read more...]

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17 Tools to Secure a Great Domain Name

October 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In this post I look at 17 Tools and Websites that can help you with your domain name hunt. For tips and guidelines on choosing a good domain name please read my previous post titled “18 Tips for Choosing a Good Domain Name”.

1. Instant Domain Search

instant_domain_search

Instant Domain Search (IDS) allows you to check the availability of a domain name as you type it (letter by letter) in real time. This tool can be used to search .com, .net and .org domains. IDS is very fast compared with other real time search tools.

2. Domize

domize

Domize supports real time name search. Using Domize you can search .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info and .us domain names. One nice feature of Domize is that it provides a history of what you type, allowing you to check the availability of many names all in once. 

3. Ajax Who Is

ajax_who_is

Very similar to Instant Domain Search, but, supports other Top Level Domains (TLDs) such as .ca.

4. Psychic Who Is

psychic_who_is

Psychic Who Is is another real time search service that provides name suggestions as you keep on typing (see above picture).

5. Domains Bot

domains-bot

Another real time search tool similar to Domize. Based on my experience Domains Bot is pretty slow to use.

6. Bust-A-Name

bust_a_name

At Bust-A-Name you can enter your keywords and the system will show you with different domain name combinations that are available for registration. Bust-A-Name also provides the ability to add suffixes and prefixes, look for plural version of a name and the ability to drop the last vowel (example Flicker –> FlickR).

7. Dot-O-Mator

dot-o-mator

I really like the way Dot-o-Mator generate domain names. First you pick a keyword and then you select an ending word. In the screen shot above I picked “Tech” as my first word and “Experts” as my ending word. Dot-o-Mator will generate possible domain names using synonyms for the ending word. In the above example it suggested names such as TechPro, TechSage etc.

8. MakeWords

 make-words

MakeWords has a rich set of features to combine keywords and generate domain names.

9. Xona Domain Name Hacks

xona-domain-hacks

Domain Hacks are domain names that are created in combination with a Top Level Domain. Example includes “del.icio.us” and “inter.net”. Xona domain name hacks allows you to create an unconventional domain name. I personally do not like a hacked domain name primarily because it is hard to type and is confusing.

11. GoDrops

godrops

GoDrops is a cool service that shows dropping domain names in real time on a daily basis. During the drop a chatting service allows you to chat about the domain names that are currently being dropped!

12. Pool

pool

Pool.com publishes a daily list of all expiring domains around the world. In addition at pool.com you can take part in Domain Auctions and Back Order domains that are going to expire soon.

13. Archive.org

archive

Archive.org’s WayBack Machine is the best place to find what type of content was hosted on a domain in the past. It is a good idea to check that the domain you are going to register did not contain any inappropriate content in the past.

14. Google Banned Domain Name Checker

banned-domain-names-checker

If you are going to buy a domain name that is already registered, it is a good idea to check whether Google has banned this domain in the past (due to spamming and fraud). By using the Banned Domain Name Checker you ensure you invest only in good domains which did not offend Google in the past.

15. DN Forum

dn-forum

DN Forum is the largest forum on the web that is dedicated to domain names. This forum is very active and is viewed by thousands of users. DN Forum is a great place to get all types of advice on domain names and to buy or sell domain names.

16. NamePros

namespro

Another popular domain name discussion forum.

17. DN Hour

dnhour

DN Hour is a service that lets you submit news related to domain names. Each news item is ranked by the DN Hour user community.

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Types of Web Hosting Solutions

September 21, 2009 By 1 Comment

web_hosting_solutions 

Free Hosting

With this type of hosting you do not pay any money for the service. Most of the Free Hosting solutions in the market are less reliable compared to a paid hosting service.  Since the service is offered free the hosting company has Terms and Conditions which do not always serve in your best interest. Some Free Hosting services require you to display ads and some are designed as a marketing tool (or bait) to upgrade you to a paid hosting package. I do not recommend Free Hosting service if you are serious about your online venture. I only recommend Free Hosting services for projects that are in Testing or Prototyping phase.

Self Hosting

Self Hosting refers to hosting your website at home on your own computer.  Personally I do not recommend this option either. First of all, you have to spend time setting up and maintaining your web server.  This time and effort could be well spent on developing your online business. Secondly, you should have good working knowledge of web servers and networking. Other common problems with self hosting include problems such as maintaining consistent speed and uptimes. Unless you are a techie who really wants to have full control of your web server, do not consider self hosting as a viable solution to your Internet business.

Shared Hosting

This is the most common and popular choice of hosting for a new website that has a low volume of traffic. In shared hosting your website is hosted on a computer along side with many other websites, thus the name Shared Hosting. Your website has to share resources with other websites on the same computer. Nowadays you can get a decent Shared Hosting service for around 5$ – 10$ a month. Cheaper services tend to put more web sites on a single computer while quality services tries to keep this number down in order to maintain good performance and customer satisfaction.

In Shared Hosting your website shares the IP address of the computer with other websites. Sharing the same IP address can pose you with some problems.  For example, if another person’s website on the same computer is involved in email spamming, Spam Blocking Software might block all emails from that IP address. As a result your outgoing emails could end up in the spam folder.

Dedicated Hosting or Dedicated Server

Dedicated Hosting is the Lamborghinis of Web Hosting solutions. Dedicated Hosting is suitable for major online businesses and stores. In Dedicated Hosting you have exclusive access to the entire computer and its resources. You do not share the computer with others. Dedicated Hosting is expensive and only justified if your website attracts a very large volume of traffic. Dedicated Hosting comes in two flavors: Managed and Unmanaged. In Managed Dedicated Hosting the hosting company takes cares of the administration of the server. In an Unmanaged operation the hosting company leases the server to you and you are responsible for the maintenance of the computer. This gives you more control over the computer. In the Unmanaged option the hosting company is only providing you the infrastructure support. Dedicated Hosting Packages are priced from $100 – $500 a month.

Virtual Private Server

Is your website too big to be hosted on a Shared Hosting and not big enough to justify the use of Dedicated server? If this is the case then a Virtual Private Server based hosting might be the solution for you. Mid size companies and websites that have a good volume of traffic can consider a Virtual Private Server hosting. In this hosting solution you  get your own virtual server. A number of virtual servers can use the same physical computer.

So what’s the difference between a Virtual Private Server and Shared Hosting? Unlike in Shared Hosting where an IP address is shared with multiple websites, in a Virtual Private Server setup, each server sharing the same physical computer has unique IP addresses and completely different sets of Operating Systems. Virtual Private Server provides increased isolation and protection. Price for Virtual Private Server range from $30 – $ 120 a month.

Grid or Cloud  Hosting

Grid or Cloud Hosting is suitable when your website traffic is highly volatile. For example, if on some days you have very low traffic and on other days you have very large volume of traffic, then Grid or Cloud based hosting could be your choice.

In Grid Hosting a cluster of computers work together to host a website. During low traffic periods few or one computer can handle visitor requests. During heavy traffic periods more computers will support the website. This means you only use computing resources as and when required.

Grid based hosting is highly scalable. In Grid based hosting you only pay for the resources you use allowing you to save money. Grid Hosting prices can range from $10 – $20 a month.

Reseller Hosting

In Reseller Hosting your hosting company will provide you with an account that will allow you to manage hosting services for your clients. In this account, your web hosting company will provide you with special administration features that will allow you to create user accounts for your own clients. This means you act as a mini hosting company. This option is suitable if you want to provide web hosting as a value added service to your clients. For example, if you are a website designer  you can provide hosting services to your clients under Reseller Hosting program.

If you have any questions or doubts please leave a comment.

Photo Credit:  torkildr’s photostream

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Why domain squatters could be back in the game.

January 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In a recent article titled “Squatters Are Screwed; Nobody Cares If Your Domain Has That Hot New Suffix” Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch.com argues that cyber squatters who register domain names with new suffixes (such as “.nyc” and “.me”) are screwed because there will not be much demand for these suffixes.

Jason’s argument is that many people are turning to search engines to find the website they want to access.  For example, searching the website name in Google rather than entering the URL in the web browser.  Therefore, Jason claims that domain suffixes other than .com and .net are not going to be in wide spread use because your domain name is not that relevant for finding the right website.

While I agree with Jason in many aspects, I do find a small contradiction in his argument. If search engines are going to play a vital role in finding a website, the actual domain name will become less relevant.  This is true, but, this also applies to the domain name suffix as well.

In the future when search engines play a dominant role in finding the right website, it will not matter whether you have .com suffix or a .biz suffix.  Therefore in my view, the trend towards using search engines to find websites may lead to greater acceptance of other domain suffixes. I am not predicting that this will happen, but it is just a thought. If this happens the squatters who have registered names under other suffixes could be back in the game!

Personally I feel a short brandable  “.com” domain name is the best choice. While the domain name might become less relevant on the online world, the use of the domain name as a powerful marketing tool will still remain strong in radio, TV and on print.

So what kind of domain name do you prefer? A large or confusing “.com” name? Or a shorter and crisp name with a less popular suffix?

Share your thoughts and opinions.

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Is .me right for me?

April 12, 2008 By 5 Comments
.Me Domains

The independence of the state of Montenegro (from Serbia & Montenegro) on the 3rd of June 2006 resulted in the creation of a new TLD (Top Level Domain) called “.me”, for the new country.

Like the .tv TLD, which is now popular in the entertainment industry, .me has a good potential to become popular among English speaking countries. Consider domain names such as “contact.me”, “remind.me” and “hire.me”, now you know what I mean. The word “me” is also found in many other languages including Spanish.

Recently GoDaddy was given the rights by the Government of Montenegro to manage the .me TLD allowing anyone around the world to register .me domain names.

But you have to wait for some time to secure your dream .me domain. This is because when a new TLD becomes available it is released in 3 stages as follows:

1. Sunrise Period

During the sunrise period any owners of a trade mark can register a domain name with that trademark on it.

2. Landrush Period

During the landrush period everyone can apply for a domain name. Landrush pre-registrations takes place on a First Come First Served basis or using auctions. People who apply during the landrush period pay premium prices for their domain names.

3. General Registration

When general registration commences, everyone can register a domain name for the standard price.

The .me domain roll out schedule can be found at www.buymedomains.com, a blog completely dedicated for .me domains! What do you think about .me domains? Do you think that they will become popular? Or will they flop like .biz? Please share your opinion.

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