Choosing the Right Type of UK Web Hosting Service

It can be quite confusing for beginners of opening up a website in the UK. Others may find it easy, especially if they are going for the easiest route – just go for what is best recommended for beginners. However, UK web hosting packages designed for beginners are not always suited for beginners because they are usually designed for small to medium sized websites. It is because of this reason that new websites must first consider its needs so that it will be easy to choose the type of web host later on. We do know that it’s not easy to find the best web hosting UK based provider, researching which host to go with can take a lot of time and effort, but at least by the end of it, you would have learned a LOT!

Free vs. Paid

The websites that get established automatically without paying a cent? That’s free hosting! Many new website owners in the United Kingdom go for free web hosting, especially if they are still trying out the online environment whether it will work or not. This is perfect for website owners that are trying out the environment online and will just upgrade their hosting if ever they want to push through it.

The main advantage of a free hosting is of course the free offer. Some even offer free email services. Free hosting is highly recommended for personal or family websites. Professionals websites, on the other hand, must go with the paid hosting service. The reason is that the features are too limited and it may hamper the progress of the website when it increases traffic.

  • Here are the disadvantages of free hosting service:
  • There are ads placed by the hosting site. You cannot remove it.
  • Additions of software are limited
  • Technical support may or may not be offered
  • Security is not as robust as the paid ones
  • There are rarely any chances for you to expand or even move your files. If there is, it is highly likely limited
  • Limited storage capacity
  • Limited bandwidth

Shared hosting

This hosting type is the most popular choice among small to medium sized website owners. While it is recommended for businesses, it can also be used for personal websites. Most shared hosting are run by Linux platform, although some of them offer the Windows option, too. However, this is usually provided at a higher rate. Most packages of this hosting type are scalable, so you get to start with the most basic plan they offer and upgrade when your needs increase.

Shared hosting is the most affordable of all hosting types, except free hosting. Most shared hosting companies in the UK offer a variety of add-on tools and programs that will aid in optimizing your site. This will make the website more dynamic and efficient, too.

However, there are also disadvantages to using shared hosting. You get to share the same space as other websites since all of you are on a single server. This makes it less secure. However, it depends on the level of security that the hosting company has implemented. Other things include restrictions on the kind of software to use or the file types allowed to be uploaded.

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Dedicated hosting

This hosting type is where your website is exclusively using a single server all by itself. The main advantage of this hosting type is that you have the server all to yourself. However, this is an option well suited for websites with very high traffic. It is a good option for those who have grown a lot and will need a lot of space, storage, and bandwidth.

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Browser Compatibility: Part 2

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Does not alter appearance and functionality:

One of the main features of a successful website is its appearance. Websites that are well-designed but not optimised for browser compatibility may have altered or skewed appearance in different browsers. It may also affect their functionality. Browser compatibility makes it possible for the site to remain the same on different platforms.

Saves Time and Resources:

If not for browser compatibility, the web designer would have had to create different variations of the same website. Keeping in mind the fact that configuration of a website changes with different operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Macintosh, etc, various editions of the same browsers, mobile platforms, and tablet platforms as well.

Improves Search Engine Ranking:

When a website is optimised, visibility of the website increases across the web. Availability on every platform also makes it easy to access. These result in high visitor count. All these factors are crucial for search engine indexing.

Retaining Customers and Business:

Every user / customer does not use the same browser as used by the designer. A potential customer can access the website from any browser. If the website appears incorrect or does not function properly the customer won’t use or access the website again for business. For this problem, some of the websites display the message on the website homepage stating the best browser to be used with the specified website.

Process of Browser Compatibility:

It is not feasible for a website or a webpage to be compatible with all existing browsers, but creating a web page that is compatible with most of the famous browsers can be done.

Browser Compatibility can be achieved by following these steps:

  1. Site Validation: It’s a process of verifying whether the website or web page affirm the standards and regulations of different browsers. It also identifies problems in the web page.
  1. After validation, we can use any of the compatibility tools available to optimise the site.

Browser Compatibility: Part 1

Browser:

Browser is a program that uses a Graphical user interface to interpret HTML pages, used to navigate the World Wide Web. There are more than 100 browsers at present. The most used browsers are Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer.

Browser Compatibility:

  • Most of the browsers use HTML (create web documents), CSS (organise display of HTML elements) and JavaScript (create interactive effects) as their resources.
  • The usage of these resources differs from one browser to other.
  • This means that the same website would look different in different browsers.
  • The idea of optimising websites to match browser standards is known as Browser / Cross Browser compatibility.
  • Browser compatibility can be achieved by validating the site first to ascertain its configuration and then optimise it by choosing from an array of compatibility tools.

How has Web Designing Revolutionized in the past decade?

The internet has gone through lot of changes in the past few years. There has been lot of progress in the technology, programming languages, hardware and software which has seen many improvements in web design as well. Moreover, the increasing demand and expectations on new and advanced features have always been the driving factor for this revolution.

Hardware and Software Expenses:

In the past 10 years, the hardware and software costs have reduced considerably and it’s become affordable for any business or a person to own their own website. Independent websites have provided a great opportunity to reach more people. So it favors the growth of the business.

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Increase in business, Increase in websites:

There has been a very large increase in business especially small-scale businesses that have made a huge impact in the market today. This growth progress had been consistent in the past decade. As we know, any business has to express its ideas in order to attract as many customers as possible. Gone are those days where luring customers was a full-time job and you had to everything possible to find a new customer. Now with websites as the new face of the business, customers can find their way to you rather than the other way around.

Increase of computer and internet utilization:

The boom of computer use has changed how people think and work. If nothing else, internet as the source of first-hand of relevant information has peaked. Everything from basic cooking recipes to huge money transfers, everything can be done from a desk. These days, websites are developed so that they can be accessed from phones as well. Information is available anytime anywhere.

Technology growth makes life easier:

Earlier websites had just static pages programmed in simple HTML. Now we have dynamic and responsive web designs that use advanced technologies. With the inventions like CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) the websites have started to look more impressive and presentable. The time taken to do a particular task online that is the response time has also improved drastically in the past 10 years with the improvements in technology. Everything can be done by a click of a button.

Requirement to get global attention:

Every business wanted to step into the global market and wanted its own space. Business is no longer localized in a shop. Global customers and easy transactions through websites have increased to a great number which in turn increased the competition. To stand out in that tough completion, websites need to be improved and updated frequently. This is one of the main reasons why web design underwent a revolution.

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Introduction of social networking sites:

Social media requires a unique style of website design. Recently it has become a platform to express everything. With the introduction of Facebook, Twitter, etc, internet user have increased. So website design plays a vital role to enhance the presentation and increase the user number. The main function of a social network are sharing and uploading a picture or a video. So the website is designed in a way to facilitate those functions. Users get bored using the same website for a long time. It gets very monotonous. That calls for new and innovative ideas.

Aussie’s Guide: Top 10 Disadvantages Of Websites

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We are so engrossed in the benefits of websites that we often forget what the downsides are. Since the internet came to exist many people have been debating the usefulness of it and the impact it has on our society. Here are Australia’s Top 10 Disadvantages of Websites.

  1. Security

When identity theft is on the rise in Australia secure websites are a must have when collecting funds. Hackers are just modern day thieves. Even with a huge draw for security software accessing and downloading malware to viruses is still a constant worry. Not everything is confidential.

  1. SPAM

With these new security threats on the web many Australians are finding their emails full of spam. No not the kind in the can, the kind from having your information sold by businesses to make more money. It’s annoying and down-right frustrating to be a victim and unsubscribing does not guaranty it will go away.

  1. Lack of Social Interaction

Many times we think with Facebook that we are gaining social interaction, but what about physical social interaction. It is one thing to type messages, but to be in the presence of another person allows us to understand emotional cues and understand how someone is trying to communicate non-verbally to another.

  1. No Face-To-Face Customer Service

It is such a drag to be on a website and you have a basic question about the material of a shirt. Sadly, there is no one there for a quick answer. Heck, you cannot even feel the texture of the material until it comes in the mail!

  1. Unverified Information

It can be embarrassing to get the wrong information, especially since the internet is full of untrusted news sources and gossip always floating around. Knowing what sites to trust and what information is correct is a huge disadvantage especially to students and news agencies.

  1. Pornography

Pornography is all over the websites in advertisements and this can create an issue with parents and many people who do not wish to see. This is one of the biggest disadvantages to websites especially with no regulation.

  1. Contribution To Poor Health

Playing games online for hours on end or constantly browsing the web creates a very sedentary life. The lack of movement can cause many issues especially carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral neuropathy and eye issues.

  1. Difficulties in Shopping

It is so hard to shop online sometimes. Lacking the ability to use our senses makes the job very difficult to make accurate judgement on purchases.

  1. Unreliable Internet Services

Internet services can make it difficult in general to get to your internet banking or bill pay when your service doesn’t always work or is very slow. Constant calls to your provider can be very time consuming.

  1. Social Media Posts

This is the biggest disadvantage when using the internet and websites. When you make posts or write anything on a public forum it will always be there for people to see. Your opinions and likes are all recorded and if you offend someone it could spell trouble for your relationship and for your job.

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Web Developing Tips and Tricks

web-developmentWhenever you start something new, whether it’s a project for a company or business, you have a plan. This is the most important element of web developing. Knowing how everything will look like from the start matters, as this initial plan will act as your guideline towards creating the final product. Not many people understand that before you do something, you think about it, and create an image in your head, anticipating how you will conduct your actions. For example, if you’re sitting on a couch in your room and want to get a glass of water, you think about getting up first by pushing your body from the couch with your hands, then walking to the sink, avoiding every obstacle to get to your destination. So you need to be mindful of your surroundings. In this case, it means being aware of your competition and the market itself.

Enable Caching.

http-protocolThe first thing that comes to mind when caching comes to mind is HTTP protocol. Not only that you will increase responsiveness and the performance on the same hardware but you will also decrease network costs. There are many benefits that come with application and memory caches as they speed up services.

The goal here is to minimize the network traffic and increase the responsiveness of the system as a whole.

Fuse Social Media Sharing on Blog, News, Press Releases and Downloadable Resources.

Include everything in your advertising strategy. This includes any form or advertisement you can find including direct approach like emailing, reaching out to your local newspapers and going even further by including downloadable content as a mean to make your work visible. Think about how any information can travel and implement that way of thinking in your strategy. Many businesses create partnerships with telephone companies and use their group of customers to get something beneficial to both parties. And although many will disagree with this approach, regarding it as to direct and invasive, it definitely has results to show.

Better Visibility Means more Traffic.

Effective use of SEO doesn’t involve only catchy headlines as we have learned so far. In many cases it means that you should reinvent you approach and redesign it in order to get a bigger audience. Starting from scratch and doing it all over may be tiring and stressful but if it provides better results, it’s definitely worth it. Invest in SEO research and spend some time figuring how to implement this approach in order to eventually increase your sales and budget. Knowledge is power, and learning all you can about this topic will be beneficial to both you and everyone in your company.

This should be your first step in web development process. You can’t expect to offer something using many forms of advertisement if in the end your audience isn’t satisfied with the content they are seeing once they finally get to it. The most important tip is to learn all you can, and then let all that knowledge set in so you can get fresh ideas with the newfound knowledge.

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Step by step instructions to improve your Web Developing Skills

Understanding how web development works is no easy task. There are many topics that you need to cover in order to fit all the pieces together and create working elements that will eventually result in creating a finished product. It all start as an idea. How to create something that will attract people in your line of business. You need to think from the angle of your customers. What is it that they need? What services they will find most valuable for their work? One of the most important elements of web development is SEO. Making a website visible takes a lot of effort and time. But essentially if you have all the pieces of the puzzle and a vision how that picture should look, it all comes down to putting the pieces together.

Create a Responsive Website.

Technology has evolved exponentially since the first appearance of the computer, and the invention of the Internet pushed us even further. Nowadays there are many electronic devices that can connect to the Internet. This includes phones, tablets, and mobile computers or laptops. So when creating a web site, you need to think about every group of customers that you can reach to. The fact that your website looks amazing when you visit it from your computer doesn’t mean that it looks as appealing to mobile and tablet users. So what you obviously need to create are some minor adjustments and add a couple of more hours of work to your team of designers.

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Think of it this way: you go to a restaurant and ask for a menu. In this menu, everything is where it should be. Courses are separated into groups the prices have their own place, and everything is pleasant to the eye with high readability. The structure of this menu should be the same on their website. So that if you want to order online you won’t spend much time choosing what you want for dinner. The same rule is applied to making your content available for more than just computer. Although you can’t expect to create the same structure of a website for a phone and tablet, you need to make it pleasant to the eye. If your customers don’t spend more than five seconds on your website once they open it, you’ve lost them forever. They will most likely look for similar services on other websites.

search-engine-optimizationSo what you need to do, if you want a successful business, is to keep your attention to SEO or search engine optimization. Not only that you will increase web traffic on your website but you will also increase the number of potential customers.

Keep Pages as Simple as Possible.

Nobody wants to see a chaotic content, with a complicated arrangement of elements on your website. So keep things simple. Create an idea of how it should look like and leave some blank spots for the elements that you might or might not add later. This way you can focus on the important stuff and elements, and you won’t overcrowd your structure with various elements that provide seemingly useful functions. Create a sketch if it helps so that you can have a picture of how it should look like before you even start developing it. Simplicity is the key. Your customers should be able to easily learn, pick or order the things that you offer on your website. Whether this is information, service or product that you’re offering.

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How important is Design in any form of Web Development?

Creating eye-catching elements is extremely important for web development. As websites and pages become more appealing, it starts to attract more visitors, which leads to increasing the traffic. Increasing web traffic is important because all those visitors are potential customers. It is like enhancing the interior of a store so that it catches the eye of random person that passes by and eventually lures them in.

So what’s new in web development in 2016?

web-development2There isn’t much that changed, except few details, but those details are exactly what creative web developers are trying to work on. Any innovative approach on web development that designers contribute to or developers directly help create is valuable in web development business. This is why many companies that understand the importance of marketing and advertising invest money and time in the web developing research. How key elements on a future website will behave and how they will look like to a potential customer of their services is designer’s top priority.

And if you ever thought that web design is a simple rearrangement of elements on a website, changing themes and enhancing visuals -- you’re dead wrong. It takes much more than that to construct a website. From sketching to adjusting functions to finally releasing the product it takes time and effort. And even when a website is finished, designers release versions that still have to be modified.

A different Approach on Web Development.

Whenever you notice that your competition is doing better than you in advertising their services, you immediately start working on an idea to regain the lead in this never-ending race for progress. Your analytics will most certainly start monitoring their strategy and try to use it and implement it in your own. But the real goal here is to be unique and create ideas without taking any tips from others. You should be glad that they’ve created this small step and surpassed you as it only pushes you to be more thorough and dedicated to your work.  So instead of desperately trying to beat them, fueled by jealousy and greed, turn a new page in your book and star over.

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Know How to Motivate your Team.

You’re all probably familiar with the stick and carrot approach on motivation? The idea is, as the name suggest, to reward your workers with something beneficial to them whenever they are doing a good job. Whenever you see an increase of the percentage of sales or any other form of visible progress, it’s important to let them know that you appreciate their work. The stick is more or less self-explanatory in this situation, but it doesn’t mean that you should start firing people and deducting their salaries whenever they’ve done something wrong. Instead of spreading fear and negative energy trough your offices, remember that they are your colleagues no matter what your position is. This doesn’t mean that your punishment should be light. You need to send a message, a message that they will understand.