Guide on the factors that will be essential while building a brand new website

Mainly people who are planning to build a website for the first time often look out for options that will help them build a website easily and perfectly. But unfortunately, there is no single answer for that because it basically depends on the aspect of the business and the actual requirements. There are many web building tools that can help your website look professional and elegant. There are tons of website tools on the market so it’s not going to be an easy task for the first timer to choose the right website builder software tools. In this post, I will be showing some options for your website with the positive and negatives and the benefits of each approach.

Do it yourself Web Builder – Option 1

If you are going for Do it yourself methods then you have to look out for building tools, this will help you in providing the basic tools. So here you have to only pay for the hosting of the website.

People who are tight on budget then this is the best choice for them and its just going to be basics task. Basically, everything is template based so it will easy to carry out the basic task. You can add content, create pages, add your own brand logo, add images, link social media pages and you can also do the basic SEO stuff.

So all these basic features are included which is enough to get your website working. For starters, it is a great solution but if you are planning for a long-term deal then you will need in future some profession website builder tools.

Readymade Templates – Option 2   

Now in this, we are looking for ready template option so basically, we are looking at the content management system. These are going to be like Joomla or Wordpress where you get it free with the hosting plan. Wordpress and Joomla are the most popular tools in the market where such content management system software are called open-source software. But if your website is more of an e-commerce platform then you should opt for Prestashop for E-commerce websites.

If you want to keep the cost down then you should get a readymade template which is going to cost $50 to $60. The quality is excellent and you can customize it according to your brand or industry. Now if you are a website builder then you can also find a builder template. Readymade templates are mobile friendly which is a huge advantage and has a very responsive design. One thing you have to be attentive about is that there are some tools that come with the images so don’t use those images that you have the right to use.

Now, this method is little complex so this won’t be the preferred choice for the beginners.  In this, you will need to have some hands-on practice so that you know what you are doing because if you are building a website then for sure you want to attain perfection. If you don’t have basic knowledge then you hire a website designer to help you with this or you also opt for a freelance designer. Upwork and Guru offer excellent freelancer so you can find the right designer for your website. Now Wordpress is a common and popular tool so when you choosing a designer you will be not incurring too much of cost. But if you are using Drupal and Joomla then there will be some increase in price. Wordpress is a great tool and it best for future use as well. If you are hiring a designer then you have to pay $500 to $750 and for an e-commerce website then you have to pay $1000 to $1500 depending on your requirements.

Customized Web Design – Option 3   

Now if you are looking for custom design then it is still recommended to use Wordpress and for E-commerce website then use Prestashop, Magento, and WooCommerce. You can run a design competition on the website like 99 designs and choose the best one or you can opt for a local web designer. When the design will be ready then you will need an experienced developer for HTML usage so that to make it responsive. Now for this, you have to pay $1500 for a basic website but for an E-commerce website, you will need to pay $3500 depending on the requirement.

After all the designing and setting up is done then you will need to host your website which won’t cost you much. Hosting your website will make your website more responsive and it will help your website play a larger role in Search Engine Optimization.

How important is a Firewall for your Dedicated Server and how to apply it?

Firewall is one of the most effective types of security measure to implement to keep all the viruses far from the web application or the servers. Well, this software is complex but it is essential to know how to work and how to set them up. The firewall will remove or stop any unwanted connections to the website and it is very essential to have a firewall because of the website being under constant attach where Firewall can be one of the best defenses. 

Intro – Firewall:-

Firewall blocks unwanted access to your website or server where your current work also won’t get disrupted. It is usually required practically for everyone who has a website or a server. 

Blocking:

Blocking the server doesn’t mean that no one will be able to access it but you can set up the Firewall by specifying as to what kind of users can view your website which will be then identified by their IP addresses. So by configuring this setting, the firewall will block the websites that can be a huge threat to the website. 

Minimize threat:

Most of the server store sensitive information that includes password, documents and email addresses. There are hackers who are on the lookout to see the vulnerability in the website so that they can steal such valuable information. In a server, all the information are encrypted but just to make extra sure a firewall is the best option.

Easy to use:

Content Management System and Hosting providers offer the option to configure specific types of firewalls on the website or server.

Implementation of Firewall on a Server or Website:-

When it comes Firewall there are many options for setting up the firewall but we will be focusing on the easiest method which is based on IP tables and advanced policy firewalls. 

IP Tables Configuration:

IP tables allow you to deny or grant access to specific IP address or services. This will give you the full control over everything that goes out and in your server including the Secure Shell and Transmission connections. This is mostly preferred for those who like to utilize the command line. If you are on Virtual Private Server or the Dedicated Server then you should have iptables program which usually comes by default with Linux distributions. Review first that it doesn’t have any rules configured by default. 

To check the review you have to type iptables –L on the console. 
After doing this three sets of chains or rule will be shown which will be incoming, outgoing and forwarding packets and the line should end with ACCEPT. 

But if you have to add a new rule to a particular chain then use this command iptables –A INPUT –p tcp –dport 7822 –j ACCEPT. 
By doing this you will enable the incoming TCP connections via port 7822 which is commonly used by SSH. 

You can add another rule which will enable the incoming TCP connection via port 80 (HTTP) type: iptables –I INPUT –p tcp –m tcp –dport 80 –j ACCEPT. 
Port 80 is commonly used for the servers to migrate information since the HTTP protocol is still in use. 

But if you set up the secure sockets layer certificate for the website then you need to also enable access via port 443. 
To enable access via port 443 type: iptables –I INPUT –p tcp –m tcp –dport 443 –j ACCEPT. 

Use this command: iptables –I INPUT rulenum –s ‘IP address goes here’ –j DROP to block specified IP address from accessing your server. The Drop Rule will send the signal to the server to block all type of connection from the specified IP address.

You can click here to know more command that can be utilized with the program

Advanced Policy Firewall:

Advanced Policy Firewall is an alternative method for the people who are not a big fan of the command line. With this method, you can configure a firewall using the simple text editor. But for this, you will also require a particular program which isn’t included in most of the Linux distributions. Now anyway you have to use the command line for configuration but the process will be simple. Follow the instruction here and once you are done try the following method down below. 

/etc/apf/conf.apf

You can use any text editor of your choice but the process will remain the same. For Vim user you can use this command. 

VI /etc/apf/conf.apf .

SET_MONOKERN=”0”
HELPER_SSH_PORT=”22”
IG_TCP_CPORTS=”22”

The above values are default configuration but you will need to change them so that the firewall is effective. Change the SET_MONOKERN to 1to enable the program to be installed and not as the package so that it can perform the task. You will also need to change value HELPER_SSH_PORT to 7822 which is the default for SSH connections and then add the TCP ports you want to enable. 

IG_TCP_CPORTS=”80, 7822, 443”

This will enable the connections via HTTPS, HTTP, and SSH. After this save the changes to the conf.apf file and start the APF program utilizing this command.

Apf - -start

Firewall is very essential when you are trying to stop attacks on your local computer and also on your website. Your website will be under attack even though if you are not aware of it, therefore, it is important to implement a Firewall. Now depending on your hosting plan you can use two type of firewalls on the website which is IP table firewalls and Advanced Policy Firewalls. 

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Getting Spam calls and messages after registering your domain name? Here is how you can stop it!

Now when you have a business you try to look ways to bring out your services or products to the world. Online business is the latest trend in the market where many businesses are opting to go for online retailing.  So to create that kind of online presence you will first need to have a website and a domain name.

Once the initial stage of getting an online business presence is completed you can then start making strategies to grow your business. You can connect with your customers and reach your potential customers which will ultimately help your business grow more productively.

After registering your website with a domain name you must be still getting spam calls and messages if Yes then you are not the only one. You must be receiving messages that include deals and offers from other services which are basically like getting a lot of calls from people who are telling you to opt for credit cards or loans!

It creates a lot of problems for the website owner by slowing their business productivity and chances of loss of privacy. Now you must be thinking that your domain registrar is the main culprit behind this but it is actually not.

Many people come across with issues relating to spam calls or messages from unwanted guest after they have registered their domain name. It is very annoying and time wasting so in this article you will learn as to how to eliminate it.

 “Why is it then I am still getting spam calls and messages?”

WHOIS allows people to search for the domain name and view the personal information of the registered user of the domain name. They can see your mail address, contact number, name and other details. There are small businesses or spammers who try to find new domain registrations so that to send business offers to targeted people. The good news is this that you can opt out yourself from this completely.

Opt-Out from WHOIS:

Individual and non-commercial .uk domain names are saved from such spammers because it is already opted out by default from WHOIS. You can’t stop getting your information shared from WHOIS if it is a commercial website, you can only opt out if you are an individual. But there are some instances that even after opting out your details still can be viewed at other sites.

WHOIS Privacy:

You can choose domain privacy to protect your information from getting listed in the WHOIS directory. Many reputed web host provider who offers domain registration provide domain privacy add-on. So when you enable domain privacy then your information is covered up with the generic information which will be difficult for the spammers to get their hands-on on your personal information.

Edit Privacy setting in your email:

You can also configure your email privacy settings that can stop junk mails entering your inbox and it will go straight to spam. You have to just click ‘Action’ on top of the taskbar in Outlook and scroll down to junk email and then you can change the settings from ‘Low’ to ‘Safe List Only’. But there will be chances where your important email from customers or leads can go directly to the junk mail. So, in this case, you also have to check your junk mail to see whether any important mail is forwarded to junk mail or no.

Secure your Website:

Protect your website by putting a firewall on your website so that the hackers can’t access your website to steal your information. Sometimes even though if you have opted out of WHOIS but still your information is leaked out somewhere then the first doubt comes on your website getting hacked. It is better if you put a firewall so that the hackers don’t get a chance to access your important files.

Email Scams:

There are instances where people have given away their information by clicking on the links and providing the information or calling people from the number provided in the email. You will notice some emails that will look as legit as if it is been sent from Amazon, Paypal or google services but in fact, they are fake so it is better not to click any links in the email. Try to find the customer care straight from the Search engine and reason out your problem instead of clicking the links from the email.

When you have a website then you have to keep yourself on the lookout for such potential scams. Fortunately, there are software’s or services that can protect your website from hackers and spammers from accessing your personal information and files such as antivirus, domain privacy, SSLcertificates and much more.

How to recognize the right time to upgrade your hosting plan?

Most of the people who are tight on a budget generally adopt shared hosting plan at the initial stage. Well, if your website is performing well then you will need to upgrade to something better so that you can provide optimum service to your customers. But the twist here is that to figure out when is the best time to make a switch. If you upgrade it too early then you will be wasting money and if you upgrade it too late then the performance of the website will suffer which will then affect the reputation. Hosting Plan with better features will cost you more so it’s better that you make the right decision at the right time so that you don’t suffer a loss. 

Worry not; identifying the right time to upgrade your website is not that hard as you think.

Slow-Loading time:-

It is been observed that websites that take more than 2 seconds falls into slow performing website category. There are website tools where you can analyze your website performance such as Pingdom Tool. A website that takes more than 2 seconds to load then such website bounce rate are supposedly increasingly high which is not a good thing. If your website is poorly optimized where the images are not properly uncompressed and not using the caching solution then this can be one of the reasons for your website to load at slow speed. But even though if your website is optimized but still it is loading slow then your hosting provider might be the reason for provisioning poor performance. It may be that you are using the service that doesn’t provide optimum speed or you must have outgrown the hosting plan.

If you have a basic hosting plan then after sometime when your website will be getting increased traffic then your website won’t be able to handle the increased workload. As the server needs to fulfill multiple requests at the same time the website will take longer time to load which will ultimately affect the visitor’s experience.

First, check how much traffic your hosting plan can handle because there are some of the hosting providers who provide information as to how much traffic will be supported according to the hosting plan. Contact your support team once the basic hosting plan wears out so that you can upgrade to an enhanced hosting plan. You need to also keep an eye on your traffic to see how much traffic your hosting plan is able to handle so you to analyze all this information you can use Google Analytics to help you better in finding the flaws.

Better Features and Functions:-

Now if your hosting provider is not at fault and if your website is optimized properly then your website requires an upgrade to the hosting plan that offers more features and options. The most expensive hosting plans offer better features but there are also web host providers that offer better features at a reasonable rate. When you opt for a Right and expensive hosting provider then your website will be able to handle more traffic and you will also be able to unlock many exciting features.

Regular Backup solution:

If your website provider offers this plan then you are at a bonus because you will be future proofing your website against any error or issue that may arise later.

Full control over the server:

Shared Hosting doesn’t provide much flexibility so you won’t be able to customize the settings according to your requirements but if you are a system administrator or a developer then you will get full control over the server.

Multiple website Support:

There are host providers that provision web host plans for only one website but if you go for the expensive hosting plan then you can use more than one website with a single server.

Content Delivery System:

Use the Content Delivery System to remove some workload over the servers so basically it will optimize your website and overall server performance.

Website Speed does impact your SEO and here is you how can optimize it

Website’s Search engine Optimization (SEO) can be impacted by many reasons such as using the right keywords that can help you get more eyes on your website. Your website can also be affected by the loading time so if your website is loading at the expected time which is 3 or 5 seconds then the website is optimized but if the loading time is more then it will influence your website performance. 

The loading time on your website will determine the search engine rankings so a website that loads in just a couple of seconds will be ranked higher compared to the other website that doesn’t load faster. In this article, you will understand ways that will affect the user experience and how the loading time can impact your SEO strategy and how to improvise. 
  
User experience affected by the loading time of the website:-

As the internet is getting improvised with greater speed and scalability now users don’t like waiting on any website to load and even you must have jumped on to other websites if the website that you are trying to see is loading slow. In this generation everyone wants the website to load faster and the service provided them should be faster. People have now less patience for the websites that take time to load and thus the reputation of the website is in ruins.

If the website is slow then the user will not even end up checking out the content and if it is an E-commerce website then the purchasing will be also at a low rate. Websites that have higher bounce rates then such websites need to find the weak link so to eliminate it out of the website. Website who have higher bounce rate contribute to the poor user experience. 

A website that takes more than 2 seconds to load are in more chances to get higher bounce rate so lower the loading time is, the better will be user’s experience. You can check here to see your website loading time and performance. Enter your URL and then test it to check how long it takes for your website to load and it will also give you tips on how to improve the website. 

SEO getting impacted by the loading time:-

Yes, the loading time can impact your SEO because even the Google has made it clear that the website’s ranking will be determined by the loading time of the website but it is not clear that how much impact it will make. Moz had made a study to see how the website speed will impact the search engine results by assembling 100,000 top results for random search queries and then tested time to see how much these websites were optimized. But surprisingly they didn’t find any correlation and found that Google was using Time to the First byte to determine the search results. So basically it is the time between the website’s server and the connection attempt made. So the website’s TTFB will be affected by two main variables which is visitor’s internet speed by seeing how much time it takes to establish a connection to the server and the server’s performance as to how much time it takes for the server to process the request and how much time it takes to answer. Now you can’t depend on the visitor’s internet speed so to improve the TFFB is improve your overall performance of the server. 

Tips for optimizing the Website’s TTFB for better Search Engine results:-

When it comes to improving the website loading time then there are a lot of ways to do that but with TTFB there is a lot of limitation as to improvising the speed of the website because it is greatly influenced by the server’s performance. 

Web Host pays more attention to the performance:

Look out for hosting provider that majors in delivering great performance to the website. Not all the web host services are equal so find those web hosts that will cater to your website requirements. 

Content Delivery Network:-

Content Delivery Network is the data centers which are all over the globe where you can store the cached copies of the website so that when someone tries to access your website then the nearest data center will reach them.  So this will create less strain on your servers and provision better loading time of the website for your users and visitors. 

Even though if your website takes 4 seconds to load but the content is outstanding and the TTFB is speedy enough then the website will rank highly. You need to make sure that your website is overall well optimized instead of just focusing on certain elements because you don’t need your website to be disappointed at other aspects your website lack in. So to improve your Search engine Optimization you will need to decrease the TTFB as much as possible this will be possible by finding a better hosting provider and integrating Content delivery network to your website.  

Guide on How to do Guest blogging for Blog promotion and Referral links

Guest blogging is one of the marketing trends in online marketing that helps in building links and gaining exposure. Guest blogging lets you create a long-term relationship with other bloggers which can be a great source to get legit referral links directed to your website. So in this article, you will be learning about targeted guest blogging techniques and how to look for guest blogging opportunities.

The first for targeted guest blogging you need to first look out for blogs that accept guest blog. 

Search Engine:

You can do a quick Google Search but don’t just type the keyword or the topic just coupled with the word ‘blog’. Make sure that you smartly do a keyword search. You can utilize the search engine operators that will help you find the exact things that you want instead just dodging through unwanted blogs. You can search for keys words such as write for us or write for me or you can also search for guest blog/post with your niche/keyword clubbed with it. 

Twitter:

Twitter also is a great place which can be used to look out for opportunities. Almost all of the bloggers are on twitters and they usually upload their tweet about their recent post. You can search for phrases like “write for us”, “blog for us”, “guest writer”, “guest blogger” and “guest post”. So by doing this, you can definitely find blogs that are open for a guest blog. Twitter can also be used to network with other bloggers by retweeting their post, replying to their post and build up some engagement before you reach out to them about the opportunity.

Programs:

Buzzstream or Buzzsumo is a blogger outreach tool that you can use it for influencing research and pitching. So with this, you will come to know where exactly the popular bloggers are and what exactly they are writing about and at the same time, you can also use an integrated email client and relationship manager so that to rationalize your efforts. There will be some blogs that will be hosting content from other bloggers but won’t have the submission section so that doesn’t mean that you have to avoid such websites. Instead look out for contact us section and send out your pitch via email.

Guest Blogging Pitches:

This is the most important element in guest blogging where you have to deliver a good quality pitch where you tell about your intentions and convince them to accept your guest blog. First, give them introduction about yourself and then proceed with your intentions and as to why your writing should be published. You should then insert a list of topic ideas that you have and why your pitch is relevant to your readers. A word of advice will be that is to keep the email short and sweet and not a two-page story because most of the editors don’t have time to read it and such emails don’t make it successfully. 

It is better to proofread your email before sending them because no matter how good your pitch will be but an email containing grammatical mistakes will be deleted. Your pitch will give an idea to the editor about your writing skills so just make sure that your content is perfect. You can use the email marketing tools to help you give a perfect pitch about your proposal. Don’t engage in bulk email campaign because that will just show that you are not interested in the publication of your post instead you just wanted a link out of your content. Your subject line should be eye-catching and not generic because that will make your pitch potentially engaging. 

Follow their writing Standards:

Now when you are writing your post for guest blogging material just make sure that you write your content according to their standards. There are some bloggers who will provide you some points relating as to how they want their content to be structured or some will just ask you how for your own opinions. The best thing you can do is to read some of their blogs/ post where you will get an idea of their needs and requirements. When you are writing your content include internal links to the site, invite readers to comment and format the post according to their specifications. 

Writer’s Bio:

Most of the guest blogs won’t link your own blog into the text but there is an alternative method where you can get a referral link by creating an author bio. You can write about yourself in the bio and add a link over there so make sure that write it in the third person and give a brief background about the writer and inform the reader how the author can be a service to them. To make a perfect bio you have to keep your target audience in mind and by doing you will build up your fan base and create your credibility which will turn your post personal. Make sure that your bio is more engaging and actionable. 

Guest Blogging is indeed a great way of doing online marketing to increase customers and users into your business. If you used it correctly you will create a large number of fan base for your product or service that will ultimately leverage your business.

Definitive Guide to Managed and Unmanaged Word press Hosting

Have you ever wondered that the level of difference between Managed and Unmanaged Word press hosting! The advantage of the managed hosting is not clearly understood well in general terms so in this article you will get the basic knowledge about managed and Unmanaged word press hosting and understand the advantages clearly. Managed hosting plans delivers more feature than the Unmanaged hosting plans undoubtedly which will ultimately make your work get easily done.

Managed hosting may not be on the checklist of must have but it is really a great choice for your website. If your website is doing really good and needs the power to serve more users then it is better to have a managed word press hosting.

Unmanaged Word press hosting:-

Not all the websites owners have the budget to just go for anything they come across so for them Unmanaged word press hosting is a great option. Now you must be thinking unmanaged word press hosting is a negative term but in fact, it isn’t. You will come across many websites that are unmanaged so such website's owner have the full control over their own website so that they can maintain their word press website security and optimize their performance. It may look like a lot of work but it is just a standard task involved in running day to day activities on the website.

Cheap:

You can stick with your regular hosting plans where you don’t have to spend a lot of money with the fact that you are ready to manage your own website. There are many website owners who go for unmanaged word press hosting because it is cheap and you get the full control over the website.

Control:

When you opt for Managed hosting plans you are restricted for how you are utilizing your server so that the web host can keep everything in balance. If you already know how to run a website then choosing managed host plans will be very annoying because you won’t have the control and freedom to optimize your website.

Access to Control-panel:

With unmanaged WordPress hosting, you will gain control over the c-panel but it won’t be the same with the Managed word press hosting.

When you have an unmanaged hosting you will have more control over the operations over your website and it is cheap compared to managed hosting. But at the same time, you will need to put more efforts when it comes to managing the website and optimizing loading time, backups and much more. If you have already worked on a website before then it will be little tricky for you to use managed hosting plans.

Managed Word press Hosting:-

Managed Word press hosting will take care of your website by making sure that everything is working smoothly. It is more of a luxury service where the hosting provider will take care of all the extra work. If you don’t have time to carry out the website operations then its better if you go for managed word press hosting.  Shared tiers, Dedicated Servers and Virtual Private Server’s are some of the services are offered by the hosting providers for managed Word Press hosting.

Less Maintenance:

Managed hosting plans manages automated backups, constant security scanning, word press updates and so on so basically there will be less maintenance required from your side.

Pay more attention to content creation:

You can focus more on creating more contents for your website and focus on the online marketing which will help you gain more visitors to your website.

Word press Experts:

You can get support staff provided by your Managed Wordpress hosting services that can help you with the technical part of your website.

Extra Features:

There are some web hosts who provide extra services such as extra discount or bonuses or special security features or free access to some premium themes and plugins.

No doubt Managed hosting plans will be expensive for people who are just starting out but also it won’t cut a hole in your pocket. You will not get the full control over your website if you want to tweak your website performance or optimization according to your needs. Managed word press hosting will take care of your website operations but if you are technically savvy then you won’t have much freedom and you will be restricted from making any customization or changes.

If you have an E-commerce website then Managed hosting will be a great option for you because then you can focus on your product improvisation and marketing. Managed Hosting is considered to be a smart investment on your website only on some circumstances.

Well, on the other hand, unmanaged word press hosting can be a good option for people who are on tight budget. Even though if you are not on the tight budget but you have prior knowledge or experience working with the website then you can still stick with the unmanaged hosting plan because there are some who will find managed hosting annoying. Technical savvy wants to have complete control over their website so that they can have the power to tweak stuff on their website according to their needs so managed hosting doesn’t provide the freedom to do so whereas unmanaged hosting offers complete freedom. So I hope that you make the right choice by choosing the right hosting for your website depending on the situation and circumstances.  If you have any questions or any doubt about web hosting then feel free to drop by the comments section.

Hostindia.net offers best services in managed web hosting where you will find the services  that will cater to your needs and requirements of your website.