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HU Customer Service Tips

November 18th, 2008

Did you know that HostUtopia offers 24/7/365 customer support via email and phone? Well, we do! If you need help with your site, here is all the information you should ever need.

Start by checking out our extensive selection of Online Tutorials and Manuals.

If you can’t find what you are looking for and still need help, use the following information to get in direct contact with one of our Customer Support Technicians:

Online Help Center

Online Support Help Desk : 24/7/365

Live Phone Support

Phone Support: 1-877-303-3786 : 24/7/365

Support Menu:

For the more adventurous and knowledge thirsty individual, we offer the following recommended reading:

We also recommend several books on WordPress, but will post these recommendations at a later time. WordPress 2.7 is scheduled for release in December and will be a major revision. Several publishers have updated manuals in the works and we will make recommendations after having a chance to review them.

Search Engine Optimization Tips

November 11th, 2008

Five internal linking tips that will improve your search engine rankings!

Most search engine spiders do not type into your search boxes and they do not use pull down menus. The following tips will help you to make sure that search engine spiders will index your web pages correctly:

  1. Use simple text links to link to your web pagesMost search engines cannot index fancy Flash or JavaScript menus. Some even have difficulty with image links. If possible, use simple text links to link to your web pages. You can make text links prettier by styling them with CSS.
  2. Your most important pages should not be more than one click away from the index page Web pages that can be accessed with a few clicks from your home page are considered more important than web pages that are buried deep inside your website. It’s easier to get high rankings for these easy to access pages.
  3. Use descriptive link texts

    The text that you use to link to your web pages helps search engines to better understand your content. If you sell shoes on your website, do not use links such as <a href=”page.htm”>Click here</a> but descriptive link texts such as <a href=”page.htm”>business shoes</a>.      

    That makes it easier for search engines to put the page into a context and it will be more likely that the page gets high rankings for the keyword “business shoes”.

  4. Create a sitemap

    A sitemap is a simple web page that contains link to all important pages of your website. You could add a link to your sitemap in the footer of every web page. By doing this, search engines can find all important pages with two clicks.
  5. Check the validity of your HTML codeErrors in the HTML code of your web pages can prevent search engines from indexing your web pages correctly. For example, an HTML error might indicate the end of a web page before the actual content begins. That would mean that search engines would skip the content and any links of that page. You can access the official W3C HTML validator at http://validator.w3.org/.

HostUtopia Search Engine Optimization
and Submissions Plans

 

Protect Yourself From Phishing

October 28th, 2008

What is Phishing?

“Phishing” is when criminals use email, phone and online scams to purposefully and maliciously trick people into sharing information such as passwords, Social Security numbers, account and credit card details. Phishing is Phraud and it is a crime.

Defend Yourself

Educate yourself, your family, and if applicable, your co-workers, clients and business partners on what Information Theft is, and what you can do to protect yourself. No legitimate business or government agency will ever ask for personal information via email or phone unless you initiate the contact. If you receive such a request, DON’T RESPOND.

 

Read the rest of this entry »

Online Tutorials

October 21st, 2008

Did you know that HostUtopia offers free, online tutorials? Well, we do!

We have both video and written online tutorials to help you do it yourself. Whether you are looking to buff up on something specific or just getting started with a new project, we’ve got something for everyone.

ONLINE VIDEO TUTORIALS

  • cPanel Tutorials - Learn how to manage your MHS hosting account.
  • Email Tutorials - Instructions on how to configure various email programs.
  • DNS Tutorials- Learn how to edit your Domain Name Server information at various domain registrars.
  • SohoLaunch Tutorials - Instructions on how to create and manage a website using our online website builder.
  • HU ToolBox Script Installer with cPanel Tutorial - Installing scripts included in the HU ToolBox.
  • ONLINE MANUALS

  • cPanel User Manual
  • WHM User Manual
  • Check out these topics when you have a moment. You might just learn something that could save you time and money!

    Designers Wanted

    October 14th, 2008

    We are updating the Resources Section on our website and plan to add a page dedicated to local web designers in the Vancouver area. If you are a web designer servicing the Vancouver area please complete the following form for consideration of inclusion in the special section. Please pass this onto anyone you feel may be interested.

    1. (required)
    2. (valid email required)
    3. (required)
    4. (required)
     

    WP Contact Forms by MHS

    Preparing Your Website For The Holidays

    October 7th, 2008

    With a crisp chill and the hint of fireplace smoke in the air, this year’s Holiday Season will be upon us sooner than we think. Whether you have a direct sale eCommerce site or a brochure style site advertising your company’s offerings, taking a few moments now to contemplate a plan can pay big dividends. In the spirit of giving, we now present ten tips from our Marketing Department to start you thinking about your Holiday Strategy:

    1. Deck The Halls

    Getting your website in the spirit of the Season can go a long way in keeping shoppers at your site. There’s nothing that says “Shop Here!” like a few well placed decorations on your home page. Go for Warm, Friendly and Inviting.

    2. Test your Marketing Ideas Now

    Whatever you are thinking of doing to market your site in the run-up to the Holidays, perform some small-scale tests as soon as possible and monitor the results. Find what works best, and refine it. If search engines are important for your traffic, make sure you put extra effort into your optimization in plenty of time.

    3. Cater for Last Minute Shoppers

    Christmas shoppers fall into two camps: those who buy early and those who buy later, which is generally after the 20th of December. Make clear the last day customers can order for Christmas delivery. Ideally, place this deadline at the top and bottom of every web page.

    4. Make Sure you can Handle the Extra Traffic

    If there is anything worse than having no orders; it’s the frustration of winning the business, then going out of stock. Problems like this produce unhappy customers who won’t be coming back. eCommerce sites typically see a 30% rise in orders in the holiday period. The key thing is to make sure all parts of the business can cope with any increase.

    5. Help Customers who are in a Rush

    Most online shoppers, and particularly Christmas ones, are in a hurry, so you must have a powerful search capability. This should be able to match both by category and by price range. If you don’t already offer expedited shipping, you may want to consider it.

    6. Maximize Sales with Upselling

    Many gifts don’t stand-alone; they need other items to go with them. What’s the use of a Tickle Me Elmo without batteries, or a Wii without games? In the rush of Christmas shopping it’s easy to forget, so explicitly offer related items with your products wherever relevant. You might also suggest other similar gifts to buy, as people buying presents can be susceptible to offers like ‘buy two and get one free’.

    7. Use Seasonal Promotions

    Find creative ideas to support the season of good cheer. If this approach is good enough for Google, it’s good enough for others too. Put likely presents and links to gift packs on your home page, and stock Christmas-themed items. Depending on what you sell, an email or letter to past customers with a special holiday offer might produce a good result.

    8. Advertise January Sales

    Make sure that you have planned your January sales well ahead of time, including working out the appropriate delivery dates. Give your ‘valued shoppers’ who held off at Christmas a chance to clear all that dead stock for you.

    9. Proof Read and Solicit Outside Opinion

    Over time, simple mistakes can become easy to overlook. Take the time to painstakingly check every single page for accuracy. Try asking friends and relatives for constructive critique to get fresh eyes on your site. Ask them to answer questions like ‘Does it read well’, ‘Is it easy to navigate’, ‘Were you able to find items you were looking for’, etc..

    10. Wrap it Up

    Another great service offering for eCommerce sites is gift-wrapping. Although the additional overhead requirement can make this option difficult for some, it can provide a great opportunity to increase margins. Maybe something to consider for next year….

     

     


    OK, yes the icons are pretty corny, but they get the point across and we bet they cause more than a few smiles! Christmas is coming and we all need to do our best at promoting our websites, graphically and in the search engines. If there is anything we can help you with to accomplish your Christmas Sales Goals please let us know.

     

     

     

    Need Christmas Icons for your website? Click Here to auto search Google.

    ~Cheers!

     


    Did you miss last weeks post about Blogging?

     

     

     

     

    Find out more about HU Blogging Tools!

    Blogging

    September 30th, 2008

    What’s in a Blog?

    “Blog” is an abbreviated version of “weblog” which is a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog is a frequently updated, personal website featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.

    Many blogs focus on a particular topic, such as web design, home staging, sports, or mobile technology. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites. Others are more like personal journals, presenting the author’s daily life and thoughts. Read the rest of this entry »

    Protect Yourself!!

    September 23rd, 2008

    You may have heard about some recent high profile email accounts that were broken into by hackers. Although the term ‘hacker’ generally denotes a high level of computer expertise, the recent break-ins were about as low tech as it gets, but incredibly effective nonetheless.

    HOW IT HAPPENS

    When signing up for a new online email account, you are asked a series of questions during the process. One piece of information requested is the ‘Secret Security Question’, which is used to validate who you are in case of a required password reset. Generally, there are some pre-written questions to choose from such as “Your Mother’s Maiden Name”, “Where were you born”, “What High School did you attend”, etc… If you ever need to reset your password for any reason, you simply fill out a web form, answer the question correctly and the email account password is then reset. Read the rest of this entry »

    Introducing the HU ToolBox!

    September 16th, 2008

    You ask for it, you got it!

    Welcome to the HostUtopia ToolBox!

    This incredible collection of add-on and stand-alone applications gives you the flexibility to take your webspace to the next level. Have you ever wanted to run a blog? A ListServ? Want to place a poll or guest book on your site? The HU ToolBox contains tools to do all this and more. Read the rest of this entry »

    Search Engine Optimization - Finding the Top

    September 9th, 2008

    “Having a website is like printing a brochure; but if you don’t buy stamps and mail the brochure, nobody will see it.” ~ Danonymous

    Many small-business owners are facing the fact that simply having a web site is not enough anymore. They need a web site that people can find. Consumers are increasingly using search engines to locate businesses which means a company’s bottom line may depend on landing a premium spot on search result pages.

    Studies show that few people dig more than three pages, and there’s only so much room at the top. Read the rest of this entry »

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