However, if your site is using shared hosting, your popularity may be a bit too much to handle. Downtime can be disastrous for your business. If the load on your shared hosting becomes too great, that’s just what you’ll get. If no one can view your site because it can’t handle the traffic coming its way, then your popularity is going to suffer.

So how can you keep up with site traffic demands as your company grows? With Cloud Hosting, also called an SSD VPS server.

What is Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting is a bit like a shared garden with separate allocated spaces. Shared hosting is more like a public park. With an SSD VPS, you have an allotted portion of a server that is yours and yours alone. The P in VPS stands for “private” as in, all yours. 

It is still up to you to manage the upkeep. However, no one else will be able to use your resources on your cloud server. Even though the real estate is shared, what’s yours is yours, and no one else has access to it.

When your website uses shared hosting, it’s a bit of a free for all, just like public parks. There may be a great tennis court and a lovely swimming pool in the public park, but reservations are not accepted. With shared website hosting, there is a fixed amount of bandwidth, processing power, memory, and disk space, and whoever needs it at a given time is allowed to take it, while everyone else has to wait until resources become available. When it’s a hot day in summer, everyone in town will be headed straight to the pool; come peak online access times, everyone is on their PC or mobile potentially trying to access your website.

What happens when I outgrow my Cloud Hosting plan?

Another great advantage of running an SSD VPS is that it is scalable: there are more plots available in that shared garden. When you start to outgrow the confines of your SSD VPS, you can upgrade to a larger package with a larger allotment of the virtual server, allowing your website to handle higher traffic during busy periods.

How will I know when it’s time to switch from shared hosting to VPS?

There are a few signs that will tell you switching to the cloud should be at the top of your to-do list. First, as we mentioned above, an increase in site traffic is a prime indicator that your website could use some extra space to stretch. However, specific business needs may also indicate the need for a change.

If your site requires reliability and stability at all times, then you may consider making the switch. There are many types of businesses that fall into this category. Perhaps you host medical records that need to be accessed at any time of day or night to treat patients. In that case, you would need to ensure your data was accessible no matter how many of your customers are trying to access your site.

Cloud hosting has grown more and more popular over the last few years. Let us add a few more reasons to take advantage of SSD VPS to the list.

6 Reasons To Take Advantage Of Cloud Services

The cloud is everywhere: our music, email, files, photos … At every turn, it is there. The cloud supports most of the technological advances that have made our lives so convenient. Even for those who don’t exactly understand how the cloud works, it is apparent that it is necessary, and certainly that it isn’t going anywhere.

To add some clarity to what the cloud is and how SSD VPS hosting works, here are six reasons why you should be using the cloud for your hosting projects:

Data is the future.

Cloud hosting is often used to collect important data that can be used in many different areas of personal and business lives. The Internet of Things represents billions of individual devices uploading data autonomously to connect our world and simplify it. Grocery shopping, health and fitness, and even home heating is becoming smarter and more efficient every day.

Safer is better

SSD VPS and cloud hosting is a safe way to store data, especially when our two-factor authentication method is used. Midphase takes great care to ensure that all of our data is held safely and securely. Our military-grade security measures and unmarked, Tier 4 data centers create a perfect situation for secure data.

It’s inexpensive

Cloud hosting requires no hardware, major purchases, or investment in IT personnel to get started. You can take advantage of our inexpensive packages and be up and running in no time at all, saving you time and money.

Get more from web hosting

Most of the major websites you use every day depend on the cloud for support. This enables companies like Google and Amazon to provide services to the entire world. The cloud’s endless storage and limitless bandwidth make it all possible.

Flexible

You can take the cloud with you anywhere you go. Instant access from any device allows you to retrieve the information you need, just when you need it. Remember only being able to check your email from your home computer? Yeah, let’s not go back to that.

Instantaneous scalability

SSD VPS hosting can be expanded or retracted at any time, within minutes. Your hosting package can grow as your business grows, and you will only pay for what you need. Cloud hosting allows small businesses and individuals to easily increase and decrease depending on their storage requirements.

Fact Or Fiction: 5 Cloud Hosting Myths

Anyone familiar with the world of shared hosting may well have some conceptual gaps in their knowledge of cloud hosting. Shared hosting is easy to understand: there’s a data center somewhere in the world with a server that you lease a portion of. Cloud hosting isn’t quite as simple. 

The intricacies of increased uptime, availability, and reliability confuse many users. From the confusion come myths that many perceive as fact. In this post, we set out to debunk the popular cloud hosting myths to help you understand the ways of the mysterious cloud. You never know, the cloud might be your next destination for superior web hosting.  

Myth #1. Cloud hosting is expensive.

This myth couldn’t be further from the truth. Cloud hosting can be extremely cheap. How much you pay is based entirely on how much you use. Larger systems will cost more than basic website hosting. However, no matter the size of the system you need, we think you will be pleasantly surprised by how affordable cloud hosting packages are.

Myth #2. You have to be a technical genius for cloud hosting.

While it is true that cloud hosting is a little more technical than shared, you don’t have to be any kind of technical genius to host your data in the cloud. This is especially true if you partner with a web host that also offers excellent technical support. For example, at Midphase, our expert technical support staff is available around the clock to help you with all of your tough web hosting questions. Better yet, if you would rather hand the technical tasks to someone else, then our Managed Hosting Services might be exactly what you are looking for.

Myth #3. Cloud hosting is less secure.

The reality of cloud hosting is – as many experts state – that it is more secure than traditional hosting methods. The extra security comes from cloud hosting allowing you to deploy your own operating systems and virtual machine. This enables you to control your own security protocols. Shared hosting has a one-size-fits-all security configuration, but cloud hosting does allow you to design your own.

Myth #4. Cloud hosting is bad for the environment.

Cloud hosting is great for the environment, providing that you partner with a data center that values sustainability. For example, our data centers are set up to be as green as possible with high-efficiency “free air” cooling and heating systems, as well as fully redundant power sources to use a low, consistent level of electricity.

Myth #5. It’s difficult to migrate to cloud hosting.

Migrating to your new cloud hosting platform actually couldn’t be easier. Simply install the control panel you have been using, and move your data over. Our VPS Pro services let you sit back and relax while we do the migrating for you. It’s like moving into a new house, and when you arrive your furniture is already in place, and boxes are all unpacked.

Cloud Storage: How Does It Work?

Putting data in the cloud is a somewhat ambiguous term for offsite storage. But, what does that entail? Let us explain…

As consumers, we are constantly using, sorting, and saving large quantities of data. But where does it all go? Cloud storage has become an increasingly popular method for clearing up space on hard drives and mobile phones, but what exactly does it mean to ‘put it in the cloud’? There aren’t actual data centers stashed above our heads in the literal clouds, so how does cloud storage work?

Cloud storage is a collection of servers that are pooled or combined to store your data and make it more available to you. Because the servers can span many locations and are linked together, cloud hosting can be accessed from anywhere and is scalable enough to grow with any organization.

Making Memory

Not everyone who stores information on the cloud has to rent a server from a web host to do so. Many services available online like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon, and Evernote offer small sections of a cloud server to store your notes, images, and anything else that may be taking up space on your smartphone or tablet. Odds are that you are using cloud storage at this very moment, whether you know it or not.

Let’s Get Technical

Cloud storage depends on high-speed internet to transfer data to and from the computers requesting information. This information (data) amounts to just about everything you can think of: email, social media, images, text documents, and even all of the awesome cat videos we all can’t get enough of. Businesses have also found cloud storage to be an inexpensive and valuable choice for storing sensitive information, as well as everyday information that may need a backup.   

Cloud servers are essentially large clusters of computers that are stored in mass quantities in data centers. The data centers are designed to optimize server capabilities with intense levels of security, temperature control, and large generators to cover electricity in the event of a power outage, and are strategically placed in areas of the world that rarely see natural disasters. Creating data centers with all of these amenities keeps the servers online for longer so as not to disturb the owner of the servers and their connectivity.

A Slice of the Pie

The beautiful thing about cloud storage is that it is scalable, meaning that you can rent as much or as little storage space as necessary for that particular project. Many businesses choose to rent large servers and resell the extra room to other businesses, while others only set up as much space as they need themselves. Not everyone uses a web hosting company to store their data, but those who do have less of a burden because of technical support teams and less risk of technical difficulties. Information that is stored on the cloud is accessible from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection, while homemade servers do not.

The post Is Cloud Hosting The Right Choice For You? appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

Even if you aren’t conducting business over the web you still need a reputable site for prospective clients to browse. The operative norm for investigating is no longer asking a friend unless your friend is Google.

Search and you shall find…

In most situations, a Google or Bing search will give customers the necessary information to make a choice when researching a product or service. If your company doesn’t appear when customers look for the products and services you are providing, you can assume that they won’t investigate your brand any further or find you at all.  

A web presence can help you create a brand that represents trust and availability for your customers, allowing you to manage your own reputation and provide instant support for your business. Not only must your website please your website traffic, but search engines as well. A major component of search engine page ranking (SERP) is how quickly your web pages load, an important aspect of SEO that we will address later in this article.

But first, let’s begin with 5 must-haves to help you get started online to provide superior service, a stellar reputation, and an instant connection with your clients:

A great domain name with corresponding email addresses

Nothing negates a successful business reputation like a long, overdone domain name or an email address that ends in yahoo.com or gmail.com. To appear as an established business, you must offer a short, easy to remember domain name with a matching email address as a contact option.

If you are having a hard time finding the perfect .com, consider registering a gTLD, or generic top-level domain. These new web address ending options allow businesses and individuals to stray from the over-registered .com, .org, or .net. With over 700 options to choose from, you are bound to find the perfect web address for your business. Find the perfect domain name for your business here.

An attractive and functioning website

How your website looks is almost as important as how it performs. Your website should be simple, inviting, and crystal clear. If you would like to see a list of characteristics that aren’t part of a great website visit The World’s Worst Website Ever. They offer a list of over 60 ‘don’ts’ to help you on your way to website success.

When you build your website, make sure that the path towards the final destination (also known as a call to action) is very clear. By including very few distractions, you can ensure that your website visitor’s journey ends with a desirable outcome — such as signing up for a newsletter or purchasing your product. Including too many options will confuse visitors and end unfavorably.   

A fully mobile-optimized site 

For a website to keep pace with Google and other search engines, it must be fully optimized for your mobile. Failure to do so can drop your search engine rankings while discouraging site visitors from spending any time viewing your website. More and more people are choosing a tablet or smartphone to surf the web, and if they come across a website that doesn’t accommodate their screen, it is almost guaranteed that they will quickly turn to a website that can.    

A practical ecommerce strategy 

Creating a realistic ecommerce strategy to take a path that best suits your specific industry. If you aren’t quite sure which ecommerce road is best, take some time to fully research the market and discover what is working for other businesses in your field.

You will want to have your ecommerce strategy in mind from the beginning. This is because the ecommerce portion of your site will need to meet certain specifications before you get started. You will also want to research different security tactics to make sure that your clients feel secure while using your site. We recommend an SSL certificate and a partnership with a malware protector like SiteLock to meet all of your security needs.

Speedy site delivery

The average website visitor will click away if a website hasn’t loaded within three seconds. This gives the average website owner just three seconds to make a great first impression. There are many tricks of the trade that can help your website load efficiently, but without a web host that makes speed a priority, you can only do so much.

By partnering with a reliable web host like Midphase, your site visitors will enjoy our top-of-the-range hardware and amazing infrastructure. You and your customers can enjoy quick load times and less downtime while we work behind the scenes to make sure that your website is always at top-notch performance.

5 Ways To Speed Up Your Website

Beyond choosing an optimal web host, there are additional steps that you can take to make sure that your website is matching the load time expectations of your website visitors. According to Sean Work, Minister of Propaganda at KISSmetrics, “47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less,” said Sean Work, Minister of Propaganda.

Thus, no matter how great your web design, impatient visitors will not wait around for slow-loading pages. Yahoo Developer Network reports that 80% of users’ time is spent on the front-end, further amplifying the requirement for faster loading websites. Which just goes to show that the speed of your website is just as important as the content.

You can test your website speed with a helpful website like Pingdom Website Speed Test. Once you know your web page loading speed, here are five methods, which you may find helpful in boosting site speed.

Minimize HTTP Requests

HTTP requests are important for load testing. Visitors use browsers to visit your website which creates an HTTP request on the server, where the server responds to each request. Each CSS stylesheet, script, flash component, or image adds to a new HTTP request which impacts site speed. So, the fewer requests, the faster the page loads. By combining all scripts into a single script and merging all CSS into a solitary stylesheet translates into precious gains in speed.

Content Compression

Data compression plays a major role in website load times and is a standard feature in modern browsers. However, browsers can’t compress all content so it’s still important web developers and designers take necessary steps to compress their content. “Uncompressed content hurts all users,” said Arvind Jain, Engineering Director and Jason Glasgow, Staff Software Engineer, Google.

“For bandwidth-constrained users, it takes longer just to transfer the additional bits. For broadband connections, even though the bits are transferred quickly, it takes several round trips between client and server before the two can communicate at the highest possible speed.”

There are four main reasons why uncompressed data occurs:

• Anti-virus software
• Browser bugs
• Web proxies
• Misconfigured web servers

Make sure you ask your web developer or web designer to modify the necessary scripts to speed up your site’s loading time. “Simply put, GZIP compression works by finding similar strings within a text file, and replacing those strings temporarily to make the overall file size smaller,” said Kevin Khaw and Eric Higgins, Google Webmasters.

HTTP Caching

Web pages load faster on repetitive visits if the resources come from the cache. Caches are local copies of static website files that rarely change. “When a browser can reuse a local copy, it saves the time to set up a connection as well as the time to download,” according to Steve Lamm, Engineer on Web Performance at Google. He continues, “The key to making the cache work effectively is HTTP caching headers, which are sent by the webserver to specify how long a resource is valid and when it last changed.”

Deploy WordPress Caching Plugins

Specifically when speeding up a WordPress website, changes in appearance and function are inevitable. If you are running a WordPress website or blog, install cache plugins to optimize the performance and speed. By doing so you can provide a better user experience.

With several from which to choose, here are a few tried and tested plugins to consider:

• Total Cache
• Super Cache
• Smush.it
• Optimize

Total Cache is highly recommended for WordPress blogs. Some report Total Cache increasing site speed by up to 10 times.

Put Stylesheet at the Top

“While researching performance at Yahoo!, we discovered that moving stylesheets to the document HEAD makes pages appear to be loading faster,” according to Yahoo developers. “This is because putting stylesheets in the HEAD allows the page to render progressively.”

Web pages with massive amounts of content should implement this method. Remember, the internet is a two-way connection. No matter how fast your server loads, you also need to consider your visitors’ internet connection. Always consider your visitors’ experience when they visit your site. Your search engine result will show you better results.

Conclusion

For a fast website that pleases search engines, your priorities should begin with an excellent web host like Midphase. Secondly, a terrific website builder or platform like WordPress to help you build and manage your website. Third, inexpensive, professional domain and email addresses are a must. Finally, expert 24-hour support will help you solve your hosting issues and answer any questions you may have.

Luckily, when it comes to expert products, services, and support, Midphase has everything you need. Get started today!

The post Boost Your Website Speed And Your SEO Value With These Helpful Tips appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

It’s easy to understand. Every website we visit requires us to log in, even if there really isn’t any sensitive information to protect. We will forgive some terrible passwords as long as there’s no financial information to protect. But you should consider the ramifications of your Facebook profile or your banking information getting into the wrong hands. 

When personal information is at stake, we should all have a perfect 25 character password memorized. Sadly this isn’t the case…  

To be sure that you have a healthy, uncrackable password, you can start by checking below at these 25 terrible passwords. If you see your password anywhere on this list, please be sure to change it immediately. Additionally, see our tips below for staying safe online. 

25 Terrible Passwords

The top ten terrible passwords shouldn’t be too surprising. There are the goto quick clicks that have become cliches in the world of data security. 

1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. 12345
6. 123456789
7. football
8. 1234
9. 1234567
10. baseball

It’s easy to love the number 11 worst password. It is just begging for data corruption. If any of the following passwords look familiar to you – keep reading for helpful security tips to keep your data secure. 

1. welcome
2. 1234567890
3. abc123
4. 111111
5. 1qaz2wsx
6. dragon
7. master
8. monkey
9. letmein
10. login

And the final five terrible passwords. While not as horrific as the top ten, these five are still not safe for your personal information. 

1. princess
2. qwertyuiop
3. solo
4. passw0rd
5. starwars

Passwords like the above are obscenely easy to crack leaving your valuable information open to hackers, spammers, and identity thieves. Midphase takes security very seriously, going as far as to insist that our clients use a two-factor authentication personal identification number (PIN) to make any changes to a hosting account.

How to stay safe online

To be sure that your information is kept safe, we recommend taking the following steps:

Change your passwords every 6 months

Six months is recommended at the very least. Many of your platforms will have you change your passwords much more often. 

Be long-winded when creating new passwords

Create passwords that are unique phrases and that are as long as the password allows. For example, ‘TheWhiteHorseSaysMoo’ is infinitely better than ‘horse1234’.

Keep track of them

Use a password manager like LastPass to keep track of all of your passwords if you feel you might forget them. Just be sure to keep track of your master password! 

Let technology do the work

Take advantage of password generators, like the ones featured in LastPass and other password managers, for sensitive information like bank account numbers or anywhere your social security number appears.

Use two-factor authentication

2FA is especially important when there is financial information involved like Amazon, eBay, or other ecommerce websites. 

Be vigilant

Keep security in mind whenever you open email, give out personal information, or shop online. Look for an SSL Certificate (a green padlock in the URL line) before making purchases or divulging information.

Install an SSL Certificate

Consider SSL Certificates as a top method to lock down your administration screens on Joomla and WordPress websites. These are a relatively inexpensive way to prevent cybercriminals from compromising your accounts.

An SSL Certificate is really just a digital certificate verifying your identity. Without an SSL Certificate, your visitors will get a warning message in their web browser. With shared SSL you use your hosting companies SSL Certificate, however with private SSL you must purchase your own SSL Certificate. It essentially allows data to be passed between our server and other computers in a secure encrypted format.

You can add an SSL Certificate to Midphase platforms quickly and easily giving your sites extra layers or protection. But what if you need more? Below you can find additional security information for your small business website to keep you and your customers safe. 

Are you safe from malware?

We hear about it almost every day: another major business is facing data corruption due to inadequate cybersecurity protection. No person or organization is immune to the dangers of cybercrime, just as no person or organization is completely secure. So what’s a small- to medium-sized business to do in the face of cybercrime?

Cybersecurity is the state of being protected from malicious entities that could access, corrupt, or harm your systems, including websites. Efforts to promote cybersecurity include secure passwords, careful monitoring of authorized users, SSL Certificates, firewalls, and malware detection and removal.

As a website owner, it’s important that you are paying attention to your cybersecurity efforts. This is especially true for ecommerce website owners who regularly handle customers’ sensitive data. Malware can easily worm its way into your systems to steal passwords, personal information, and even take your website offline.

What is malware?

Malware is a catch-all term for any piece of software designed to corrupt, damage, or disable another system. Malware includes worms, spyware, ransomware, adware, popups, browser hijacking, code injecting, and more. The list of types of malware is endless. Every day malware is sent around the web searching out its next victim. Learn more about the various types of malware below:

Keyloggers

Keyloggers are malware that monitors every key you tap on your computer. Not very critical when writing an email to your uncle, but can be damaging when logging into your bank account.

Trojan horses

This type of malware pretends to be part of useful software downloaded for a purpose. However, hiding inside is malicious code waiting to damage your system.

Spyware

Like keyloggers, spyware tracks your movements but it also tracks the websites visited, software used, and people contacted.

Adware

Adware sets up shop inside a website or application to present users with ads during use. If you’ve ever “won a free iPad” then you have experience with adware.

Worms

Worms are designed to spread through networks to infect as many systems as possible. Like viruses, they can distribute infected files or software build to corrupt your system.

Ransomware

This type of malware has made headlines recently. Ransomware steals your information or locks you out of a system, and then charges you a ransom to restore your systems. In most cases, even if the money is paid users are rarely restored.

How can I protect my website?

The best way to protect your website from malware is to employ safe internet habits and to add malware detection and removal services to your web hosting account. Midphase has partnered with SiteLock to offer cybersecurity to our clients.

SiteLock will scan your computer for any nasties that may be lurking and will quickly remove anything found. Once complete, you will receive a full report of SiteLock’s activity as well as notification should your website become compromised. SiteLock scanning begins instantly. Sitelock is always on and will automatically prevent attacks.

Learn more about SiteLock protection at Midphase.com.

How to add SiteLock to your CHI account:

To add SiteLock to your hosting account, log into your CHI account with your username and password. You can also visit our SiteLock web page. Choose from three SiteLock packages: Basic, Premium, or Enterprise. Add your choice to your shopping cart. Next, enter the necessary information about your account and finish the checkout process. Once complete, you can start to enjoy the benefits of SiteLock protection in minutes. In just a few clicks, you can stop malware in its tracks.

The post 25 Terrible Passwords & How To Stay Safe Online appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

What is web hosting? And why do you need it?

Web hosting is the business of providing storage space and access for websites. But what does that really mean? Let’s break down some of the technical jargon around what we do for our clients in a way that anyone can understand.

Supplying the World Wide Web

A major portion of the world is now connected to the internet. Many of us interact with it every day. We contact one another or access information that would otherwise be difficult to find. Can you remember life before Google? It may be difficult. The information on the web is stored on millions of websites around the world. Each of these sites is composed of data – like text or images. Data is stored on a physical computer somewhere, most likely at a data center.

Sites like Google.com or Facebook.com don’t just float in the air for us to send and retrieve information. Cloud computing actually happens on solid ground. The information accessed when visiting these sites is recorded on hundreds (if not thousands) of computers known as servers. These servers are connected by a network. The data we request is delivered – via routers – to our devices.

For example, you turn on your computer and open your web browser (Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc). When the web browser opens, you type in Midphase.com and press ‘enter’. At that second, a request leaves your computer and heads to your internet provider who searches through IP addresses (the numerical representation of a domain name) to find the IP associated with Midphase.com. Once found, the request will retrieve the data you are requesting from a server in our data center that manages Midphase.com.

All of the data comes together to display the Midphase.com website. It is waiting on a server for citizens of the web to access 24 hours a day. Without the server holding the data, Midphase.com would not work. Instead, those sending requests to our IP would receive an error message stating that the site cannot be reached.

How is data stored?

The way data is stored and served across the network can change, depending on the demands of the website or application that a server supports. The three types of hosting that Midphase offers are on shared servers, dedicated servers, and VPS or cloud servers.

Shared Servers

Shared hosting is one server that stores data from many different users. It is a cheap and reliable way to host a website. The hosting is fully managed by our technical support team. For those who are looking to host small personal or business pages and for those who are new to the world of web hosting, shared is an excellent way to go.

Dedicated Servers

Dedicated hosting is one server that is dedicated to a single user and they also allow users to have complete control over how the server is configured. Since all of the resources on the server belong to one user, that user benefits from improved data transfer speeds (bandwidth) and increased storage space. It is helpful to have some technical knowledge before hosting a dedicated server but is not essential.

VPS or Cloud Servers

Cloud hosting is made up of multiple servers working together to provide more power and redundancy, meaning that if there is a problem with an individual server’s hardware another server can pick up the load, and service will not skip a beat. VPS or cloud hosting is flexible and affordable, allowing users to quickly and easily add more or less storage depending on what is needed.

Why Do You Need Web Hosting?

In a nutshell, you need web hosting if you are looking to run any personal or professional website. Blogs, online retail stores, and any other web pages need a web host to keep them up and running.

Web hosting from Midphase is cost-effective, reliable, and offers around the clock technical support, taking the stress out of trying to host sites yourself. Having our experts on hand day or night makes hosting your site a breeze, and allows you the time you need to worry about the important stuff.

So, let’s get back to dedicated hosting. If you are looking for total control and security, then a dedicated server is exactly what you are looking for. Dedicated hosting can be beneficial for a myriad of reasons including the following…

Reliability

The beauty of dedicated server hosting is that you don’t have to worry about other websites using up all your bandwidth when you need it most. In case you don’t speak ‘techish’, you can find out the definition of bandwidth in the glossary at the end of this article. When you have a dedicated server, you also don’t have to worry about other businesses on that server sapping all the resources. Therefore,  dedicated server hosting makes server crashes much more unlikely and gives your site the ability to offer reliable service to large volumes of traffic while offering things like video streaming and high-quality images at the same time.

Flexibility

When you don’t have to share a server you’re able to enjoy a lot more flexibility. With dedicated server hosting, you can manage the configuration of the server. This means you have more control as your business grows and flourishes without having to worry about whether or not a shared server is going to be able to accommodate your changing needs.

Ability to Customize

With dedicated server hosting, you can manage the configuration of the server. Need one to act solely as a mail server? No problem. Want one to manage a database? OK. The way your dedicated server works is your prerogative.

Security

A certain level of security comes with dedicated server hosting. No one else has access to your server except for you and the web hosting company. Shared servers are also less likely to be PCI compliant than dedicated servers – see the glossary for a rundown of what this means.

Performance

Just as dedicated server hosting offers more reliability, it also offers higher performance levels for similar reasons. If you tend to post lots of photos or video clips you will require plenty of bandwidth. You might also find yourself experiencing a lot of traffic from regular visitors. Your traffic doesn’t want to sit and wait while your website pages slowly load. Dedicated hosting helps your site runs smoothly and pages load with ease. This means that your visitors are a lot more likely to frequent your site.

You still may have some questions about what exactly a dedicated server is in the physical sense. Many of our clients are interested in exactly what their server looks like and where it is housed. Rather than understanding servers as a concept, they want to know what happens behind the scenes. 

Look behind the scenes of web hosting

Midphase customers are often online store experts and web design heroes. But how much consideration do you have for what goes on beyond your CHI account? Following the many cords and cables back to the heart of the operation – the data center – we can see the wheels turning, a sight that few of our clients ever witness.

Unless you consider yourself something of a technical expert, you might not understand what goes on behind the closed doors of a data center. In fact, even self-professed technical experts might not understand every nook and cranny of a server. While we can’t exactly dive into the more complex concepts in a blog post, we can definitely scratch the surface of the basic components that are at work behind the scenes, keeping your data safe and available. Let’s get started…

The power behind the website

Whether you have shared, dedicated, or virtual private servers, they are all supported by a physical machine. The only difference between these primary types of web hosting is how much or how many parts of a machine you have access to. No matter what type of hosting you have, your data is tied to a physical machine in a data center somewhere in the world.

Our data centers take care of the power, cooling, network, and security of your physical machine to ensure that it is up and running around the clock. Within each of these data centers are thousands of individual physical machines. Each belongs entirely or partly to a client of Midphase. Within these physical machines are basic components, much like your own personal computer, but with some extra features that can turn a Clark Kent machine into a Superman machine.

Inside the box

Each physical machine is made up of hardware and software, and understanding the difference between these two is pretty easy. Hardware is any part of the machine that you can hold in your hand, and software is the data and applications that exist within the machine to create operating systems and functioning tools. The software you have implemented depends on your specific needs, but the hardware is usually similar in each machine unless specifically designed differently.

The hardware within each machine is composed of the following six primary features:

Motherboard

This is the primary circuit board of a computer, and all other hardware within the machine is routed through this device. Think of the motherboard as the common room to which all other rooms are connected for communications and control of each of the attached portions. A motherboard has connecting ports, called slots, for keyboards, monitors, and mice along with a few extra for anything else that might need to connect or expansions that might come later.

Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)

The BIOS gets to work as soon as you turn a machine on. It contains all the program controls for the autonomic functions needed. The name pretty much says it all. A basic system for input and output functions between the computer’s operating system and other devices attached to the motherboard. The BIOS boots up and checks all the hardware attachments for functionality before it continues with the boot process. It will then manage the data flow between the operating system and other hardware.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

This part of the machine is used to store data for your operating system and application programs. The machine’s processor will access this storage for quick access to important information. RAM is faster for read/write operations compared to other storage methods. Think of RAM as your server’s short term memory, whereas the hard disk drives that we will discuss later act as long term memory.

In a shared hosting environment, RAM can run low quite quickly as each user allocates RAM for their own use. Alternately, in Virtual Private Servers, each user is allocated their own portion of RAM so that each user has a specific amount of RAM available. Dedicated servers allow for much more available RAM due to the fact that the entire server is dedicated to you.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The term ‘central processing unit’, or CPU, encompasses processors and microprocessors. This unit contains all the logic circuitry within the machine. In other words, it keeps all of the instructions and commands and will order the machine to perform certain tasks upon the user’s request. Think of the CPU as the ‘brains’ or the power behind the machine. The more CPU cores your machine has, the more it can ‘think’ and the faster all tasks will be performed.

Hard Disk Drives (HDD)

The hard disk drive is a moving part within the machine. It is the long term memory of the server. Think of it as something like a CD or DVD. An arm extends across a stack of metal disks to magnetically store data on the disk as it spins at high speeds. The larger the HDD the more memory it has for storing files and programs.

Solid State Drives (SSD)

An SSD is more like the flash drives attached to our key chains. Solid State Drives store large amounts of data in a relatively small space without moving parts. They have an array of semiconductor memory organized as a disk drive, but without magnetic storage. SSDs use integrated circuits to store data. The data can quickly and easily be written or retrieved.

If you have more hosting questions, feel free to chat with ur expert support team. We are available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

The post Are You Ready To Upgrade To Dedicated Hosting? appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

From reliability and rapid download speeds to helpful product descriptions and dependable hosting, this blog post will guide you through a list of tips to help you boost your ecommerce conversion rates. First, we consider below ten golden rules underpinning any successful shopping portal…

Top 10 Ecommerce Site Rules for Success:

#1. Reliability

This is number one on our list because an unreliable ecommerce site will inevitably fail, irrespective of its other merits. Optimize loading times by appointing a dependable hosting partner like Midphase, offering a 99.999% Service Level Agreement and flexible hosting options. 

Rigorously beta test the site on numerous web browsers and output devices, checking every page for functionality issues or display errors. Launching a glitchy website isn’t an option in today’s mature marketplace, since customers won’t come back to a portal that hangs or returns 404 errors.

#2. SEO

Search engine optimization comes second only to reliability on the priorities list for an ecommerce site. Build written content around keywords and long tails – multi-word search terms people use to find exactly what they’re looking for through Google and Bing/Yahoo. 

Of course, SEO goes far beyond text. It involves using every piece of HTML in the site’s coding to advertise its contents, from meta tags to a robots.txt file. Good SEO also demands a blog or news page to demonstrate the site is regularly updated, while every photograph requires a detailed caption explaining what it is.

#3. Minimal registration

People often get exasperated when confronted with a lengthy registration page. By contrast, being able to check out as a guest and register later encourages spontaneous purchases. It shouldn’t be necessary to create an account to make a purchase, and every user field needs to justify its presence. 

Ensure people aren’t tricked into being signed up for marketing literature by displaying a prominent tickbox to refuse newsletters or promotional material. If payment details are going to be stored, provide a reassuring description of how data will be protected. Finally, never trap people in checkout functionality, forcing them to close the browser to amend their basket or add more items.

#4. Looks great on any device

A responsive template is pivotal for customers to navigate a site easily on any device, acting as a universal path of least resistance towards the checkout. Top menu bars may need to become hamburger menus, but there’s no excuse for making the mobile experience any less intuitive or simplistic than on a desktop computer. 

#5. Testimonials and reviews. 

Even the most loyal customer has to start somewhere, and what better way to reassure first-time site visitors about integrity and dependability than existing client testimonials and product reviews? 

High-quality items shouldn’t have any problem attracting favorable critiques, and it’s also fine to offer people a small discount or incentive off their next order in exchange for leaving a review. Social media platforms act as unofficial testimonial sites as well, so set up Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts. Respond to any contact within 24 hours, and remember even critical comments can become positive brand adverts with diplomacy and courtesy.

#6. Extensive product information

It’s hard to provide too much information about a product. When people can’t physically touch or smell an item, they rely heavily on photos and descriptive text. Upload pictures from multiple angles in a slideshow, and provide detailed product descriptions in easy-to-read paragraphs. Videos have merit, but ensure they don’t automatically start to play.

#7. A smooth payment portal

Hidden charges and concerns about payment security are the two most common reasons for ecommerce checkout abandonment, so be upfront about postage costs and taxes. Having enticed customers this far, streamline the purchase process with Verified by Visa 2FA and “please wait” messages while transactions go through. 

Offer multiple payment options. Enable people to amend their order, payment, or contact details right up to the point of purchase. Finally, automate concise (yet informative) emails and/or texts to confirm order receipt, dispatch and delivery, making sure the order number and customer services contact details prominently displayed.

#8. Rewards for loyalty

Returning users ought to be able to log in using a simple username and password combination, with cookies saved in their browser and payment details stored securely. Some companies offer discounts on a customer’s first purchase, but the second transaction is the key one for building loyalty. 

Consider discounts for repeat custom or new customer referrals, and integrate one-click repeat orders or an ability to view and re-order past transactions. Occasional “we miss you” emails may bring wandering customers back into the fold, while organic client databases can be used to promote new products or services free of charge.

#9. Filtered navigation

Many sites include dropdown menus where customers can narrow a search by category or attribute, such as size and color. Incorporate customer reviews as a filter, and ensure any reviews section can be searched for using relevant keywords. TripAdvisor does this particularly effectively. Make sure navigation menus inform audiences of exactly where they are in the website hierarchy. Allow selected options to be unclicked rather than having to reload the page with each change, and list the number of items in each subcategory using real-time stock levels.

#10. Unique flourishes

Rolls-Royce are famous for incorporating “power reserve” dials into their cars instead of rev counters, and some ecommerce sites have adopted similarly distinctive flourishes. There are plenty of ways to add character to a website, from mouseover effects to unconventional product descriptions. Add urgency with a “rarity indicator” in lieu of conventional stock levels, and augment studio-based product shots with photos of items being used in the real world.

Now that we’ve covered tips for making your ecommerce website shine, let’s discuss the tools that can help you reach these heights, as well as the tools you would be better off avoiding.

Ecommerce Tools You Should (And Shouldn’t) Use

Ecommerce accounted for less than 20% of retail sales in America last year. That’s a shockingly low figure, especially considering most consumers express a preference for shopping online rather than in-store. Almost everyone has easy access to the internet, yet too few of us feel confident about clicking Buy Now.

Consumer confidence is a key issue. Last year was disastrous for data protection with high-profile thefts from firms like Zynga, Capital One, and Quest Diagnostics. The public is rightly concerned that handing over card details might put them at long-term risk. 

Therefore, it’s imperative for any online retailer to treat checkout and payment processes with the utmost respect, rather than installing an untested WordPress plugin and assuming it’ll be sufficient.

These are some of the ecommerce tools helping to build consumer trust, along with a few that are best avoided…

Payment Gateways

Reassuring consumers about data security is one of the biggest hurdles faced by the ecommerce sector, and digital payment platforms are attempting to resolve this issue. 

PayPal has overcome its phishing nightmares to become a trusted way of making a payment without entering card details. Its arch-rival Stripe offers Apple Pay compatibility without storing consumer data on retail websites, ensuring PCI compliance. Stripe is also easier to manage from a corporate perspective, thanks to superior customer service and a simpler API. 

Website Builders

Given the interactivity and database integration required by ecommerce portals, creating a slick shopping site might seem daunting. You can easily save time, money, and stress by utilizing a website builder like the terrific website building tool offered by Midpahse. Learn more on the Midphase website. 

Marketing and SEO

Even the best ecommerce tools won’t help a site if it isn’t receiving any traffic. Fortunately, an entire industry has evolved around search engine optimisation and digital marketing. It’s possible to track where audiences move their mouse cursors (VWO), optimize pay-per-click ad campaigns (Google Analytics), and track KPIs in one place (Neatly). MailChimp is ideal for email campaigns, Buffer distributes pre-prepared social media updates at specified times, and Hustle provides WordPress-hosted ecommerce sites with targeted ads, pop-ups, and widgets.

WordPress Websites

WordPress offers numerous ecommerce tools among its 53,000 plugins. Some perform a specific function, with Ecommerce Product Catalog incorporating multi-level category selections and customisable tags. Others, like WooCommerce, handle everything from shipping and subscriptions to downloads and discounts. WordPress has become the world’s leading website management tool thanks to its extensive flexibility, but it’s important to check individual plugins on a regular basis. Developers often pull support to older or disrupted plugins, leaving them vulnerable to hacking or at risk of conflicts with newer software.

Ecommerce Tools to Avoid

Be wary of software without any customer reviews – it’s usually either too new to have been real-world tested, or a scam. Don’t use those horrible reCaptcha forms requiring users to identify every photograph containing a traffic sign or house number, since it’s often unclear which photos meet the criteria. Finally, avoid any registration form with more than a dozen fields – you don’t need to know someone’s date of birth or how many kids they have to approve an ecommerce transaction.

With so many different tips, tricks, and tools for your website and inventory, your online store can quickly become overwhelming. Below we’ve gathered helpful ways to organize your online business for maximum creativity and efficiency. 

10 Tips For Organizing Your Ecommerce Business

The life of an entrepreneur is anything but calm. Most small business owners are kept busy from sun up to sundown, trying to squeeze the most out of each minute. The early years of running a small business typically entail being almost constantly short on time, money, and resources.

However, entrepreneurs find that the more organized they can be, the easier their tasks are to complete. So, in our effort to help the busy entrepreneur, below are our favorite ways to stay organized and keep a managed workload.

#1. Task Manager

While configuring a task manager may feel like more trouble than it is worth, you will most likely be pleasantly surprised. Apps and Chrome extensions like ClickUp, Todoist, and Any.Do can help you keep track of your to-do list while also instilling a sense of accomplishment each day.

#2. Professional Email

It can be easy to convince yourself into believing that your Gmail or Yahoo account is fine for your business, but a professional email account dedicated to your business creates a secure place for mailing lists, contacts, and your calendar. Learn more about email hosting today.

#3. SEO Help

Making sure that your website ranks well in search engines can be a full-time job in itself. Take help where you can get it by adding meta tags and updating your website content regularly. For WordPress websites, be sure to download Yoast. 

#4. Password Manager

Nobody has time for lost password forms. Avoid the hassle with a password manager. Our personal favorite is LastPass, but there are many others that will do the trick. Just be sure to safeguard access to your password manager – if you lose that password you may be out of luck.

#5. Virtual Assistant

If you feel like your day-to-day life is bogged down with paperwork and other administrative tasks, consider hiring a Virtual Assistant to help cut down on the time you spend in the office. There’s no sense responding to email all day when you could be out improving your business.

#6. Reliable Security

Don’t let your website security keep you awake at night. Instead, add SiteLock Malware Detection to your Midphase account. Your site will be regularly scanned for nasties, and if any are found, SiteLock can quickly and easily remove them.

#7. Established Goals

Whether you are looking at days, weeks, months, or years, be sure that you know what your goals are and exactly how you will achieve them. Clearly defined goals help you determine if you are on track or if you need to adjust your course.

#8. Multiple User Accounts

Remember that a good rule of thumb is to always create multiple user accounts for software, social media platforms, email, websites, and other digital tools. Your accounts will be more secure and you can place safeguards to prevent human/user errors.  

#9. Social Media Manager

Who has time to tweet six times a day? We don’t, which is why we use a social media manager to do the posting for us. Social media managers let you spend some time creating posts for the tool to post while you are busy working through your other important tasks. We love Falcon, Hootsuite, and Buffer, but any social media manager platform will do the trick.

#10. Keyword Lists

Don’t leave your content, social media, and SEO to chance. Invest some time into a master keyword sheet for easy reference when updating your website, blog, or social media feeds. Keeping up with one keyword list will help you focus your narrative and define your audience.

Now that you are an ecommerce expert, be sure to head to Midphase.com to start building your online store with a web host you can trust. We have the tools, connectivity, and expertise you need to become a success. Best of all, our experts are on hand 24 hours a day to answer questions and give you a helping hand. Get started today!

The post Tips For Boosting Your Ecommerce Conversion Rates appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

Now think: which company would you feel more enthusiastic about giving your business to?

In the modern age, there’s often very little to distinguish between competing organizations. Dropshipping has helped to slash operating costs and margins, while anyone can create a stylish WordPress site that looks equally slick on desktop and mobile devices. And while the prospect of same-day drone delivery is not quite offered in all locations, it’s easy to ensure that ecommerce products are delivered promptly and safely. Consequently, customer service is one of the increasingly few ways to distinguish between good and great brands.

Making the difference

Email marketing campaigns are at the forefront of truly effective customer relations. An unsolicited email may be the first time a customer has heard of your brand, and first impressions count. Within a matter of seconds, the recipient will have subconsciously decided whether the sender is professional and friendly, or impersonal and anonymous. And if they decide the latter, this email won’t just be ignored. It may be flagged as spam, damaging the sender’s reputation, and reducing the chance of future messages reaching their intended targets.

One of the most important ways in which email marketing campaigns can avoid such negative connotations concerns branded email accounts. Here at Midphase, we include professional email addresses with every purchase of a website domain. As a result, Midphase customers are able to select specific email addresses (hello@brandname.com, johnsmith@brandname.com, etc).

Why customized email is important:

It instantly identifies the origin of a message.

A customer who’s just placed an order might not associate a Gmail account with their purchase. However, email from sales@brandname.com will immediately be connected to their order or account.

It raises brand awareness.

Every time a consumer sees a brand name, it subliminally reinforces the brand. Email is great for this, particularly when sending out periodic messages about new products or incentives. Customers will gradually start to associate certain brands with particular industries or services.

It’s less likely to fall foul of spam filters.

Any new email account has to build a reputation, and might initially arrive labeled as spam. However, recipient servers are more suspicious of messages from generic senders like Hotmail. A company-branded email establishes a sender reputation quicker.

Choosing a suitable email prefix is another important consideration. It’s fine to have an info@ or sales@ address for general correspondence. However, is this the first impression you really want to create in an email marketing campaign? It’s far better to send messages from a named individual, addressing the recipient directly. Individual emails suggest intimacy and exclusivity and build a connection to subconsciously encouraging people to read on. It’s also advisable for the sender to be a point of contact throughout subsequent customer journeys. This ensures that clients don’t have to communicate with several email accounts in different divisions of the business. That gets old pretty quickly.

Small is beautiful

The other strand of this personalization process involves contacting named individuals one at a time. Having a named recipient in the ‘To’ field immediately creates a sense of identity. Each person won’t know how many other people received the same message, but they’ll know it’s no more specific to them than a billboard or radio advert. Although individual emails take longer to dispatch, they’ll achieve far higher response rates. And automated software tools take the strain out of mass mailings. They can distribute email in response to specific events or when a certain amount of time has elapsed.

More advanced software packages break this down even further. They can send different subject lines or body content to specific audiences. Advanced packages distribute messages at different times of day to suit international audiences, and provide bespoke reminders about unused vouchers or basket items. Because they’re personalized, they tend to achieve far higher read and response rates. And each of these little interactions reinforces the sense of a firm that truly cares about each individual client’s experience.

Making the numbers add up

Any professional email marketing campaign is a significant undertaking, consuming staff resources and requiring considerable planning. Sending messages targeted at individuals (and their unique needs or preferences) helps to ensure optimal response levels, justifying any initial investment. Meanwhile, the added professionalism of a branded email account helps to build trust – and establish a long-term client relationship…

Steps For Building A Money-Making Email Campaign

Professional email remains a crucial tool for creating business relationships and promoting a business online. A successful email campaign can deliver tangible benefits to a company’s bottom line. Open rates for B2C messages stand at around 15%, meaning one in seven recipients on a distribution list will learn about your latest sales offer or marketing campaign. That’s a significant proportion, considering that emails are free to send and easy to distribute in bulk.

Nonetheless, a fruitful, professional email marketing program requires far more than a recipient list. It needs careful staging to achieve optimal results. Below, we consider the various building blocks underpinning any effective email campaign…

Identify your audience

Don’t fire out emails indiscriminately, as this is a surefire way to end up on sender blacklists and have your domain authority undermined. Also, avoid those $20 contact lists promoted by spammers which are populated by dead accounts and people who didn’t consent to share their data. Instead, assemble a custom contact list from previous customers. Providing nobody has been signed up without their consent, most recipients should be fairly receptive. Even so, ensure it only takes a single (and clearly identified) mouse click to unsubscribe.

Set a goal

There’s no benefit from telling people what day of the week it is, or how awesome a firm is. Professional email campaigns are typically used to promote key events, unveil new products or provide additional information. Even if you’re simply trying to encourage lapsed customers to return, a clear purpose is critical. Messages may be transactional, relational or promotional in nature, but they should always inform or encourage an action – or ideally both.

Use existing templates

A plain text email won’t look very enticing, even if its text is absolutely compelling. Instead, use customizable templates from marketing companies who can also handle personalization and audience segmentation. People won’t give you extra business based on email aesthetics alone, but an attractively designed (and readable) template will build positive brand connotations. And a drag-and-drop template is far easier than trying to code in HTML, especially given today’s variety of screen resolutions.

Create compelling text

Even if a message looks sharp and contains a powerful CTA, many people decide whether to read it based on the subject line. This is a balancing act since words like “cheap” and “free” are associated with spam and may push the message into junk folders. Try to convey the campaign’s primary objective in a minimal number of words. “Double discount sale until Sunday” is nicely self-explanatory when coupled with your firm’s name in the From field. As for body copy, keep it short and punchy with two or three-sentence paragraphs. Gentle humor works well, but avoid jargon or slang that could alienate certain audience demographics.

Distribute emails at opportune times

In terms of responses, Tuesday and Saturday have been identified as the best days for B2B and B2C campaigns respectively. Lower open rates on Fridays and higher traffic volumes on Mondays mean that these days should be avoided. Sending messages through the night ensures they’re in recipient inboxes for the peak opening and click-through period, between 10 am and 1 pm.

Analyze the feedback

Don’t assume your work is done when a mass circular has been distributed. It’s only just beginning. Use each email campaign to refine the next one by studying open and response rates alongside forwards and unsubscribe requests. Your sender reputation will change significantly after a mass mailing, which might pose new challenges or present additional opportunities. No campaign is perfect, and there are always new ways to present a message more effectively.

Tips For Maximizing Email Delivery Rates

Email campaigns represent a crucial part of any company’s marketing plans. Huge efforts are rightly invested in developing compelling calls-to-arms and smartphone-friendly message templates, with a growing focus on predictive automation techniques like curated item recommendations based on previous behaviors.

However, these laudable aims will count for little if emails aren’t reaching their intended recipients. The proliferation of global spam continues, with an estimated 53.5%of messages sent worldwide falling into the spam category. And because internet service providers have become increasingly adept at filtering out unwanted mail, unsolicited email delivery rates are falling. It’s harder than ever to ensure corporate communications aren’t blacklisted and binned before they reach consumer inboxes.

Happily, there are plenty of things companies can do to maximize email delivery rates:

1. Embrace the double opt-in.

Recommended by leading mail handlers like MailChimp, the double opt-in involves more than simply adding a subscriber’s email account into a database. Registering a new address triggers a confirmation email containing a link. This has to be clicked before the user’s IP address and personal details are added to any marketing databases. Double opt-ins prevent accidental signups, confirming that customers really do want to receive your communications. Which matters because…

2. Minimizing spam flags is vital.

Whenever someone receives an unsolicited email, they’re entitled to mark it as spam. This is fed back to the consumer’s ISP, damaging the sender account’s reputation. A double opt-in helps to ensure people won’t label incoming mail as spam, while it’s also important to have an Unsubscribe link prominently displayed in the email’s header, not buried away in a 6pt footer font. After all, recipients rarely unsubscribe if messages are beneficial or interesting…

3. Ensure content is relevant.

That means low spam-scoring subject lines, such as “X reasons to [insert service]” or “Introducing our new [product]”. Relevance involves micro-segmentation of customer databases, targeting specific groups with offers based on purchasing and browsing histories. Algorithmic analysis supports curated recommendations, but only up to a point; a computer wouldn’t differentiate between a Burmese python and a Burmese cat if both were listed as Burmese in a database field.

4. Send messages individually.

The days of Bcc’ing one message to everyone are over. Automated email software dispatches huge numbers of messages one at a time. It’s also possible to track response rates, identifying which link or graphic achieved the highest click-through rate. Statistics like these are useful for optimizing future campaigns, steadily increasing response rates. Email analytics tools also help to ensure spam filters treat the message as genuine, rather than a spurious mass mailing.

5. Maintain hygienic databases.

Database cleansing and automatic deletion in response to unsubscribe requests are unglamorous tasks, but it’s better to have a hundred clean records than a thousand irrelevant or obsolete ones. Quality over quantity is a mantra for 2020, as email moves into its fifth decade. While content remains king, email delivery rates are more crucial than ever in today’s mature online marketplace.

The post Why Personalized, Professional Email Makes All The Difference appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

For roughly a decade now, blogging has been one of the primary methods people have used to build an audience and craft a brand online. Blogging has gone from something people do in their free time after a day at work to a full-time job that often spawns book deals, lifestyle brands, products, and more. Because of these alluring rewards, many people have jumped on the bandwagon and, as a result, the very nature of blogging has changed.

Is blogging dead?

The tech world is filled with people predicting bubbles, and there are a lot of people who will tell you that the blogging bubble is about to burst or that blogging as a concept is dead. So how can that be? Isn’t it the conventional wisdom that creating a blog with keyword-rich content that is valuable to your demographic or users is the best way to drive traffic to your site? 

With so many bloggers and people employing the same content marketing strategy, the internet has simply become saturated with blogs for visitors to keep up and for content to remain meaningful. While there are certainly a few stand-outs and early adopters who are now big-name brands, the chances of starting a new blog tomorrow and it becoming the next-big-thing are lower than they were five to seven years ago.

So what should I do? 

Put simply, build a better blog!

People are still blogging. They write content that a publication is not paying them for on centralized platforms, social media networks, and web pages scattered across the web. The only difference is that they build engaging, attractive, helpful blogs that help readers. Bloggers have also diversified where they put content to encourage readers.

For example, the benefits of platforms like Medium is that there are a bunch of readers in one place, so there is more likelihood that a reader interested in your topic will stumble upon it. In addition, the resurgence of newsletter interest and email marketing help point readers in the right direction. 

Build a better blog!

To be clear: the act of writing original, compelling content has not died. What is changing is the way that content is presented to a reader. Where once things were fragmented and individualized, they are increasingly becoming more centralized.

5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Creating A New Blog

As we determined, the internet is full of blogs, and before you create one, ask yourself these questions to help both you and your readers.

Stop, collaborate and listen

There are blogs written to dissect, discuss and explain just about every topic you can think of. The beauty of the internet is that it allows the world to share information, whether it concerns pets, celebrities or even breath mints. There are millions of successful blogs on the web, but for every successful blog, there are 20 that aren’t doing so well.

Before adding yet another blog to the web, ask yourself a few questions to make sure you are heading in a direction that is good for both you and your potential future readers. By taking a moment to focus your purpose and direction, you can save yourself time and effort later on down the road. 

Readers aren’t going to want to know about each of your business/personal interests. By creating a plan, schedule, and theme you can easily target your audience and increase the number of readers that return to your website after their first visit.

Take a moment to formulate answers to the following questions before you get started for best results on your new blog:

Why am I creating a blog?

If you own a business, the answer to this is easy. Every business should take advantage of the inexpensive benefits that a business blog offers: a blog provides an easy way to boost SEO and help you interact with your clients. Whether you are just looking to provide company news or provide an entertaining news source, a business blog is a great way to expand your reach and develop a brand identity.

If you are looking to create a blog for personal reasons, it’s important that you identify the purpose of your blog. Depending on what you are wishing to express, you will want to spend a few minutes thinking about what you are trying to put out into the world and the results you expect. Some blog creators are looking to make money from blog clicks, while others are simply looking to stay in touch with family and friends. By first identifying your expectations, you can begin to formulate the rest of your blog plans.

What do I want my blog to do?

Similar to the question above, defining exactly what function or role you would like your blog to take on is important as you take the next step towards getting online. The function of your blog can be as small as a private platform for your personal thoughts and as big as increasing sales for your small business.

Knowing what you want your new blog to achieve helps you decide on the tools and web hosting package you choose to use. Almost no traffic doesn’t need a lot of resources or capabilities, but a business blog needs to be prepared for fluctuating visitors throughout the day. Making these decisions early on can help you make informed decisions and save you both time and money.

Who is my audience?

Whenever publishing content live on the internet, it is important to imagine who you think will read it. You need to be sure that you are appealing directly to whoever you want to read your blog. If you are writing for yourself then your job is easy, but if you are targeting a customer base or a specific demographic, then this question might require a bit more thought.

Blogs are terrific platforms for reaching people’s screens. The content is easy to share with others and offers the potential of reaching many people in a short period of time. Developing a large readership requires you to know and understand who will be reading your blog. Is your content entertaining? Does it answer the questions your audience is looking for? Making a plan or sketch of your ideal reader can help you best appeal to the internet users you are looking for.

How will readers find me?

Website traffic can be created through a variety of methods. Search engine optimization allows readers to find you through the use of a search engine. Cultivating SEO can be a tough process, but there are tools available to help make your quest a bit easier. 

You can also create traffic through social media accounts. By creating accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media services and then linking them to your blog, you can create a pathway from news feeds to your door. However, you plan on finding readers, be sure that you have developed a plan that will work for you.

How do I choose the right domain name?

Choosing the right blog domain name isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. A blog is a very personal thing, with the potential to develop in ways that are unforeseen at the outset. From evolving subject matter to the introduction of sponsored content, it’s important not to pigeonhole future growth by picking restrictive or inappropriate blog domain names.

Most new blogs start with a small audience. Initial posts might only attract a few dozen readers, but this can increase very rapidly. An easy way to achieve this is by choosing a blog title that makes its theme or premise self-evident. Calling a mindfulness blog A Mindful Life gives people a clue about its content before they click through from a linked site or search engine result. 

When selecting blog domain names, it’s useful to analyze the names given to existing platforms. Are your rivals using plays on words and puns in their titles, incorporating their own names to raise personal recognition, or presenting their entries as authoritative guides on a certain topic? It’s also vital to avoid restricting your blog’s future growth, so don’t use the word ‘impartial’ if you might consider sponsored posts or affiliate marketing.

Having chosen a suitable name, the next challenge involves securing blog domain names that are still available. Unless you’re happy for the URL to incorporate ‘wordpress’ or another proprietary name, you’ll need to register a dedicated domain. 

Find the perfect domain at Midphase.com today.

4 Easy Steps For Creating An Engaging Blog

Now it’s time to look at building your new blog.  Below are four simple steps to creating a blog that encourages success.

#1. Pick A Platform

First, you must get all of the boring technical tasks out of the way, but Midphase has created an easy checkout process to guide you through the steps. Visit Midphase and select a hosting plan. We recommend WordPress for those who are looking for an easy-to-use, reputable platform. Midphase offers hosting packages specifically designed for beginning bloggers to get your website up and running in no time at all.

#2. Design Your Blog

Here comes the fun part. Blogging mostly focuses on content, but this doesn’t mean that you want content only. How your website is designed will affect how many readers become regular traffic. On the internet, eyeballs are currency, and you want as many eyes as possible looking at your terrific web design. If in step one you chose WordPress hosting, you are in luck! 
WordPress offers thousands of templates to choose from making designing your blog a breeze.   

If you chose to build your own blog, we recommend Midphase’s Website Builder. Our drag-and-drop application can help you create a website that is both functional and attractive. It’s built-in optimization tools will also help you score points with the search engines while saving you time and money. No technical experience required!

#3. Add Content

This is the part where you can let your creativity and personality shine through. Depending on the goals you have set for your blog, you will want to write about what interests you; good writing comes from passion. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and work with others to create great content for your blog. Guest bloggers can help you draw extra traffic and increase your site’s visibility. Remember to pace yourself, after all The Huffington Post wasn’t built in a day. However, once you establish a routine, it is important to stick with it. Your readers will expect content from your brilliant mind on a regular basis. Be sure that your tone of voice and personality is consistent as well.

#4. Promote, Promote, Promote

Be sure that you are using all resources available to you including social media, SEO tips, and tricks and even video services like YouTube. Get creative with hashtags to help your content reach more viewers and use social media as a chance to interact directly with your followers. After all, readers are going to be able to give you the most information about how your content is doing. Check out your favorite blogs and pay attention to their marketing tactics. A little amount of research can go a long way on the web, all the way around the world in fact.

The post Does Blogging Still Help Your Website Attract Visitors? appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

How To Protect Your Website Visitors

To be sure that your website security meets site visitors’ expectations, it is recommended that you perform periodic security checks. Run the security checks below against your website to weed out any vulnerabilities that may stop your website in its tracks. After all, the only vulnerabilities you can fix are the ones you know about.

#1. Are all of your website elements up to date?

Updating your website will fix any security slip-ups that may have developed since your last update. WordPress websites are especially vulnerable to update mishaps. The plugins you use for various tasks can effectively act as open doors for hackers if the latest version isn’t installed. Regularly scanning your website for anything that may be out of date can secure any of your accounts that might be risky.  

#2. Have you changed your passwords recently?

Changing passwords on a routine basis is a great idea for any account, not just websites. The best rule when creating passwords is simply the longer the better. Make sure that it is at least eight characters long (12 to 16 is even better) and that you are not using a word that can be directly found in the dictionary.

A popular tactic is to create sentences mixed with alphanumerics. For example, if your typical password is supersecure1, you could create the password 5up3r53cur34cc0unt (super secure account). The second password is far more secure because of the additional characters and because the words are not a dictionary in that format.

#3. Do you have an SSL Certificate protecting website visitors?

SSL certificates work by encrypting data as it passes between the server where it is stored and your website visitors’ screens. You will recognize an SSL certificate by the green lock on the left-hand side of an address bar. If the green lock symbol is present, then the site is secure against man-in-the-middle attacks, where data is captured while in transit.

SSL certificates encrypt data and can only be translated by the proper recipient. Search engines frown upon any website not protected by SSL encryption. All Midphase web hosting packages include an SSL certificate to protect the personal information submitted by website visitors and to help your organic search value.

#4. Is your malware protector finding any trouble spots?

Midphase loves SiteLock malware detector. By installing SiteLock you can protect your website with daily scans of up to 2500 pages. SiteLock regularly performs website application scans, SQL injection scans, FTP scans, and file change monitoring. Employing professional malware protection puts your mind at ease, knowing that you are proactively securing your website on a daily basis.

#5. Are you protected against DDoS attacks?

Cloudflare is a service available in your control panel to boost speeds and protect against denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Remember that Cloudflare is absolutely free for Midphase clients. Simply add the service and you will supercharge your website to protect from hackers and spammers while simultaneously boosting website performance.  

Security may be the single most important aspect of your website’s reputation. One attack can deem your website as unsafe territory, and search engines will then prevent visitors from entering your digital space. By regularly scanning your website for any security flaws and vulnerabilities, you can prevent any security mishaps that could slow your traffic to a dead stop.

What is Cloudflare?

Cloudflare is a website performance company that is now partnered with Midphase to make sites hosted with us even safer and faster. Over 2 million sites are powered up by Cloudflare’s optimization, analytics, and security; almost 25% of the internet’s traffic passes through the Cloudflare network.

Cloudflare is a content delivery network, or CDN, and serves your data to all corners of the globe at lightning speed, but how does it do it?

What Is A CDN?

The internet is made up of billions of images, reams of text, and countless files. Over 3.2 billion internet users access this data every month by sending a request through their internet service provider (ISP) to the server that hosts it. The time it takes for these requests to travel from point A to point B, called latency, varies depending on the distance between the request and the server.

For example: If a server in New York gets a request from Egypt, the latency will be longer than if the server received a request from New Jersey.

Cut Latency, Boost Speed

Content delivery networks (CDNs) are evolving to be an integral part of online business; their method of delivering data reduces latency significantly. A CDN acts as a hotspot for information retrieval by storing your important data in several different locations around the world so that your website visitor in Egypt can receive your information from India rather than waiting for it to arrive from New York.

Think of a CDN as a franchise of a larger company. If we had to visit Bentonville, Arkansas every time we wanted to shop at Walmart, their business would definitely suffer. By strategically placing different Walmarts in convenient locations in towns across the US customers are able to easily access their products and services.

Data Distribution

A content delivery network is made up of a large network of servers placed around the world, hopefully, close to those accessing your data. Each of these servers stores an exact replica of your information; when a computer makes a request the intelligent network can route your information from the server which is closest geographically to the request.

Content delivery networks increase the reliability of your services and lower latency times, making for happier customers! With a CDN your information can be instantly available around the clock; it is an easy and inexpensive way to boost the performance of your server. If one of the servers in the network experiences downtime or an outage you can rest assured knowing that your data is still zooming around the globe to anyone who needs it.

Midphase Hearts Cloudflare

Midphase is now offering access to an amazing CDN through our partnership with Cloudflare, a web performance and security company. Cloudflare is dedicated to improving the speed, safety, and quality of online data interactions. You can now add Cloudflare for free if you are a Midphase hosting client. You will soon be taking advantage of their content delivery network with replicas of your data in 35 global data centers. Cloudflare services help Midphase clients keep their sites speedy, and their information secure and accessible around the clock and around the world.

Global Reach

Over 2,000,000 global websites are powered and protected by Cloudflare, a figure that increases daily. They are committed to a safe environment for all internet users around the world. Cloudflare has your back as you increase positive interactions with customers, attract more visitors, and improve your brand reputation, meaning that when a potential customer visits your site your product or service will be showcased without frustrating loading times or glitches.

Supercharge Your Site With Cloudflare!

Join two million other sites in their quest to be faster and safer with Cloudflare services.

Website owners and visitors alike share two main concerns when operating and interacting on the web: speed and security. Everyday sites are compromised by malicious forces such as hackers or bots. Likewise, a slow-loading site is enough to make visitors click the ‘x’ every time, which can be detrimental to your business.

If we were being melodramatic we’d say it’s enough to make us want to give up the web altogether. But before we all write the web off as ‘bad for business’ and move to the wilderness, Midphase has something up our sleeve to answer our everyday website concerns…

Introducing Cloudflare: the free addition to your hosting package which will act as your website’s security guard while keeping things running at optimum speed.

Cloudflare acts as your site’s very own security team by deflecting attackers, spammers, and malicious activities while streamlining your content quickly across the globe. The Cloudflare content delivery network (CDN) allows site visitors from any continent to quickly access and utilize your site with little to no risk.

Cloudflare protection is offered free to Midphase clients through logging in through your CHI account or at initial registration with Midphase services.

How does Cloudflare work?

A CDN like Cloudflare will improve your site in three major areas:

Speed

Cloudflare can double your website loading speeds by consolidating network requests. Their asynchronous loading of JavaScript means faster, uninterrupted service. The Cloudflare CDN brings your data closer to those who need it, no matter where they are located around the globe.

Cloudflare covers all of your typical everyday traffic, but will also have your back for sudden spikes of activity. No longer will you need to worry that the day your brand goes viral is the same day that your server can’t balance the load. Between Midphase’s top-of-the-line Cisco equipment and Cloudflare’s smart protection, we have all your bases covered.

Security

Cloudflare brings peace of mind and acts as a calm in the storm of spammers, information and identity theft, email harvesting, and DDoS attacks. Security breaches are tough to tackle with any successful site but with Cloudflare, you will have the tools to block up to 90% of harmful traffic.

Safety net

In the event of server downtime, Cloudflare will maintain a copy of your site – which you can retrieve at any time – with their Always Online service. They will also provide you with an analytics report breaking down your website’s traffic into categories like bots, threats, and visitors which will make it easier for you to determine your audience. Cloudflare harvests the information you need to make informed decisions regarding the risk levels of your site and the recourse you should take to resolve such risks.

Enlist the help of Cloudflare’s expert speed and protection (free!) through your CHI account or with the help of our technical support staff.

The post How Cloudflare Can Keep Your Website Visitors Safe appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

Why The Best Time To Build A Website Is Now

Below are the top five excuses we often hear from small businesses on why they don’t want to create a website, along with the evidence that the perfect time to build a website is right now:

#1. Websites are too expensive.

If you have yet to own and operate your own website, it may seem like an expensive endeavor. However, owning a website is most likely cheaper than you think. Domains can be registered for less than $10 a year, and web hosting starts from as little as a few dollars a month. You can be the proud owner of a basic website for less than $100 per year.

#2. I don’t want to hire a team to design a website.

Great news! Easy-to-use applications such as our Website Builder allow you to design a website with no technical experience necessary. Odds are that if you have navigated to this blog post, you have the skills and tools you need to create a website complete with images and contact information. You can add menus, portfolios, blogs, and contact us pages with just a few clicks. Simply drag and drop the content you want to appear on your screen, preview your creation, and press ‘Publish’. It really is that easy. If you prefer, our WordPress hosting is great for creating fully functional, aesthetically pleasing websites with the WordPress platform.

#3. Websites take up too much time.

Now, don’t get us wrong. Some websites can take a lot of time to create and maintain, but as a general rule, they don’t have to. The magic of websites is that they can be as complex or as simple as you would like. For example, our new StarterSite comes free with every registered domain and helps you create a simple landing page in just 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes! However, if you are looking to build a multi-faceted website with multiple pages and functions, you can build that too!

#4. I don’t know anything about websites.

For those who are not technically inclined, building a website can seem like a daunting task. However, advancing technologies have created simple tools that help beginners create beautiful websites without pain or frustration. At Midphase, we have a team of technical experts available day and night to help you with your toughest questions. Also, our knowledge base features articles on everything from domains to email to help you learn as you go.  

#5. My business is fine. I don’t need a website.

In today’s digital world, your business needs an online representation of your brand. There’s really no way to avoid the internet any longer. Whether your customers are looking for a price, address, or phone number, they will go to the internet to find it. Not only do you need a space on the web, but you also need professional email and security along with it. Nobody takes a company seriously when they see @gmail or @yahoo attached to an email address. Besides, why shouldn’t you take advantage of an ecommerce platform when possible? To keep customers’ information and your information safe, you will need a secure platform that people trust. Luckily, Midphase offers website, domain, email, and security at one low price. There’s no reason not to get started now!

What To Look For In A Website Builder

Now that you know how easy and inexpensive it is to create your own website, you may be considering the idea. If so, good for you! It’s a great idea. By building your own website you can take advantage of many benefits you would otherwise miss out on.

By building your own website you can:

• Save money that would be spent on developers
• Quickly and easily make changes in the future
• Keep your website updated without additional help
• Create the version of your website you see in your mind
• Customize your website to your liking

However, there are also a few downsides to building your own website. For example, you will need to invest quite a lot of your own time, and building a website can be frustrating if you don’t have the right website builder. In this post, we have assembled a list of what you should look for before choosing a tool to build your website.

Website Builder Options

If you search the internet for “website builder” you will quickly find dozens of tools all claiming to be the best. How do you know which to choose? There are a few popular options to consider like WordPress or a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), which is a tool that lets you drag and drop website elements onto your page.

WordPress

WordPress currently supports 75 million websites and there are thousands of helpful videos, articles, and tools to help you create the perfect website. The WordPress platform is often not thought of for website building due to the platform’s popularity as a blogging tool. However, WordPress can be used for just about any type of website from photograph portfolios to a fully equipped ecommerce website. WordPress is a very simple tool to use once you get the hang of it. However, there is a little bit of a learning curve. Luckily there are hundreds–if not thousands–of support resources available. So, make sure to gather resources and read up before you get started.

Join 25% of the websites in the world by creating a website with WordPress. The WordPress platform is different from Website Builder because it’s a Content Management System (CMS) rather than a web application. However, this does not mean less functionality. In fact, it is quite the opposite. WordPress can be used to build your website as well as manage all of the content you add to it in the coming years. This includes blogs, newsrooms, knowledge bases and even ecommerce shops.

An additional benefit of WordPress is the thousands of WordPress plugins available for use. If there is a feature or add-on you can think of, odds are that someone has used WordPress’s open-source code to build a plugin for you. Also included in your WordPress website is Midphase’s 24-hour support, professional email addresses, web hosting for your new website and automatic updates and website security. 75 million websites can’t be wrong by choosing WordPress, so this package very likely has everything you need to publish your new website.

Website Builder

Our Website Builder is a favorite among Midphase customers. This impressive tool has everything you need to get online. It will only cost you a minimal fee and a few hours of your time. Simply add Website Builder to your shopping cart to add the service to your account. Once checkout is complete, pick a template from the collection and start adding your website information.

Website Builder is the perfect tool for those who want to build their own website, but don’t want to spend a lot of time learning a new platform. It is especially great for people who don’t consider themselves to be very technical. Website Builder is a WYSIWYG tool that allows you to simply drag-and-drop the various website elements onto the page. There is even an ecommerce package that comes equipped with a shopping cart and payment portal.

Important Builder Elements

To be sure that you are choosing the best website builder tool, make sure that before confirming your purchase you see the following elements:

• It is hosted by a reliable company that offers 24-hour technical support.
• There is hosting, a website domain, and email account(s) included in the package.
• The specifications allow your website room to grow.
• A variety of website templates to choose from.
• A responsive WYSIWYG editor that allows you to customize your website.
• Plenty of resources on how to use the website builder tool.

Website Builder packages from Midphase also include a professional email address that matches your domain. Web hosting and 24-hour expert support create a complete package. If you decide to make changes to your website at a later date, simply access your website from desktop, mobile or tablet and make any updates you deem necessary. Website Builder is a stress-free way to create and manage a website. You will soon own a beautiful website without the stress of technical elements and security. You worry about designing your website and Midphase will handle the rest.  

Once you’ve decided which tool to use, all that’s left is to start building! Make sure to follow the Midphase blog for more helpful tips on how to build and maintain your website, domain, and web hosting package. From marketing to technical issues, Midphase covers all the information you need to make your website a success.

Announcing Midphase’s 8th Generation Website Builder!

In our efforts to be a customer-satisfying one-stop-shop, four years ago Midphase added Website Builder to our arsenal of tools created to help you get online easily and efficiently. We are excited to announce that not only will we continue this tradition, but we have expanded our Website Builder kit with new tools and features.

For those who love our drag-and-drop editor and pre-designed templates, you will go wild when you see what we have in store for you. Creating a website to pair up with your newly purchased domain name has never been so easy.

Website Builder V8

Having the ability to purchase a domain, lease web hosting, and design a website in the same place is very important to Midphase clients. This is why we are always looking for ways to expand our services and provide the best available design technologies. With each generation of Website Builder, processes become more streamlined and attributes are further enhanced for ultimate usage. However, we are excited to tell you that this particular version has some features that are really special…

Optimization Plus

Our previous version of Website Builder offered instant mobile optimization, which is pretty crucial for today’s website visitors. But this version offers this and so much more. Website Builder V8 contains 180+ stunning and responsive themes to get you on the screens of phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops in record speed. Did we mention that your search engine rankings will also see a boost once your site embraces optimization? Complying with mobile-first recommendations will help you get your website to the top.

Interface Boosted

While our interfaces have always been streamlined, the new Website Builder V8 goes one step further. It is now easier than ever to add photos, text, maps, and more to your website. Whether you are uploading a slideshow or ecommerce functionality, our interface will help you achieve your goal just the way you want. This means that your website will be focused and functional with none of the stress. A new pop-out sidebar lets you customize everything from colors to buttons while easily relocating elements around the page.

Truly Responsive

We are thrilled to announce the release of our new True Responsive editor, which functions on desktop, tablet, and mobile. It allows you to use Siri or Google Now to dictate copy straight to your website. No longer will you lose the great idea that comes to you when you don’t have a pen or time to stop and write it down. If you ever feel like your thoughts are faster than your fingers, then this feature is for you. Our True Responsive editor also allows the seasoned developers and designers to have complete control over CSS for fine-tuning. If fully customized websites are your thing, you are in the right place.

Time to get started!

We have covered just a few of the exciting new features included in Website Builder V8. For example, Midphase has introduced SSL Support*, an important part of any website that deals with sensitive information. Once you have had a chance to explore further, you will notice our other new additions, all of which are necessary to foster a fun, frustration-free website-building experience. You will have a complete website on the web so quickly that you’ll want to try again. Or at least continue playing with the one you’ve got…

Take a look at the exciting new features today. You won’t know how amazing it is until you try it.

*Note: SSL Support is only included within Business, Business Unlimited, and Ecommerce packages. To talk to someone about an upgrade please visit Midphase.com today.

The post Easily Create A Website With Midphase’s Website Builder appeared first on The Midphase Blog.

In the modern age, there’s often very little to distinguish between competing organizations. Dropshipping has helped to slash operating costs and margins, anyone can create a stylish website that looks equally slick on desktop and mobile devices. Consequently, brand professionalism and reputation are some of the increasingly few ways to distinguish between good and great brands and an easy way to instantly display brand credibility is through email.  

Become an email expert

Email is a critical aspect of any business and is typically the first interaction businesses have with customers. Whether you use email marketing to help find new customers or if email is only used for basic communication and support, every business needs a professional, reliable email address.

Despite the ongoing twin assaults from spam and social media platforms, email remains a crucial communication tool. Half the world’s population has email accounts, and 269 billion messages are sent every day, of which barely half are believed to be spam. A remarkable 86% of businesspeople prefer to communicate via email, due to its immediacy and the permanent record it creates of discussions or agreements. This is particularly important when conducting negotiations, or when dealing with small print. 

To help you succeed, Midphase has created this helpful email guide containing everything you need to know about business email. Read on for our ten tips for email success. Let’s get started!

Email Tip #1. Match email addresses to website domains.

Imagine sitting down at your computer one morning and finding two emails in your inbox from rival companies. Both contain identical discounts for something you’ve wanted to buy. However, one email was sent specifically to you through a branded address. The other has blank To and CC fields and was sent from a Gmail account.

Now think: which company would you feel more enthusiastic about giving your business to?

If companyname.com has a matching @companyname.com email address, every email will instantly and automatically reinforce the brand. Incoming email will be considered legitimate when responding to new inquiries or first-time customers. Spam is a consistent threat and always at the forefront of our minds. Most potential customers will overlook an email sent from an unfamiliar Gmail or Hotmail account. Branded email addresses accentuate a brand’s professionalism more than third-party email ever could.

Reasons why customized email is important:

• It instantly identifies the origin of a message.
  A customer who’s just placed an order might not associate a Gmail account with their purchase. However, email from sales@brandname.com will immediately be connected to their order or account.
• It raises brand awareness.
  Every time a consumer sees a brand name, it subliminally reinforces the brand. Email is great for this, particularly when sending out periodic messages about new products or incentives. Customers will gradually start to associate certain brands with particular industries or services.
• It’s less likely to fall foul of spam filters.
  Any new email account has to build a reputation, and might initially arrive labeled as spam. However, recipient servers are more suspicious of messages from generic senders like Hotmail. A company-branded email establishes sender reputation quicker.

Make an instant impression

Email marketing campaigns are at the forefront of truly effective customer relations. An unsolicited email may be the first time a customer has heard of your brand, and first impressions count. Within a matter of seconds, the recipient will have subconsciously decided whether the sender is professional and friendly, or impersonal and anonymous. And if they decide the latter, this email won’t just be ignored. It may be flagged as spam, damaging the sender’s reputation, and reducing the chance of future messages reaching their intended targets.

One of the most important ways in which email marketing campaigns can avoid such negative connotations concerns branded email accounts. Here at Midphase, we include email addresses with every purchase of a website domain. As a result, Midphase customers are able to select specific email addresses (hello@brandname.com, johnsmith@brandname.com, etc).

What’s in a name?

Choosing a suitable email prefix is another important consideration. It’s fine to have an info@ or sales@ address for general correspondence. However, is this the first impression you really want to create in an email marketing campaign? 

It’s far better to send messages from a named individual, addressing the recipient directly. Individual emails suggest intimacy and exclusivity and build a connection to subconsciously encouraging people to read on. 

It’s also advisable for the sender to be a point of contact throughout subsequent customer journeys. This ensures that clients don’t have to communicate with several email accounts in different divisions of the business. That gets old pretty quickly.

Email Tip #2: Consider brand reputation.

The other strand of this personalization process involves contacting named individuals one at a time. Having a named recipient in the ‘To’ field immediately creates a sense of identity. Each person won’t know how many other people received the same message, but they’ll know it’s no more specific to them than a billboard or radio advert. Although individual emails take longer to dispatch, they’ll achieve far higher response rates. And automated software tools take the strain out of mass mailings. They can distribute email in response to specific events or when a certain amount of time has elapsed.

Any email marketing campaign is a significant undertaking, consuming staff resources and requiring considerable planning. Sending messages targeted at individuals (and their unique needs or preferences) helps to ensure optimal response levels, justifying any initial investment. Meanwhile, the added professionalism of a branded email account helps to build trust – and establish a long-term client relationship…

Email Tip #3: Pick a dependable email hosting company.

You can’t afford for inboxes to be offline, or for a sender’s mail server to be associated with junk mail. A dependable email hosting service will offer webmail login and compatibility with software packages like Outlook. It’ll store inboxes and backup copies of sent messages on secure data servers, automatically duplicating mailboxes to prevent them from being lost or deleted.

Midphase offers a variety of email options from Personal to Professional. Get started for $1 or less per month!** Packages include email addresses that match your domain, 24-hour support, spam and virus protection, and our powerful webmail client. Our SLA ensures that your email is online and available around the clock or your money back!

Email Tip #4: Choose address prefixes and subject lines carefully.

Many recipients decide whether to read or delete an email based on just two factors: the sender’s name and the subject. Rather than adopting a sales@ or noreply@ address, yourname@yourcompanyname.com could increase open and click-through rates by up to 35%. It also builds a vital sense of personality, often lacking in online ventures where there’s no human interaction.

The other part of the open/delete equation concerns a message’s title. Words like ‘free’ and ‘bargain’ arouse suspicion among inbox spam filters, meaning messages may not reach their intended recipients. Equally, lengthy subject lines rarely display properly and look unnecessarily messy. Research suggests a 65-character title is optimal, ideally making a clear statement or a compelling offer.

Consider testing out a variety of address prefixes and subject lines to see which work best for your target audience. Simple A/B testing can teach you a lot about how your customer base reacts to email marketing. 

Email Tip #5. Design for mobile.

In today’s culture, messages are mostly viewed on smartphones and tablets. A variety of screen sizes can make optimization troublesome. However, it’s essential to ensure emails display equally well on a anysized device. 

To optimize your email, use compressed graphics to reduce download times and placeholder captions in case an image doesn’t display. Beta-test messages on as many devices as possible to maximize legibility on all of them, and rely on universally recognized fonts like Arial. Just a few additional steps can help you maximize open rates. 

Email Tip #6. Send messages at optimal times.

Did you know that email sent between 8 pm and midnight have the highest open rates? Additionally, Tuesdays achieve better read rates than other days of the week. 

Selecting the perfect time to send can help you reach more people and encourage open and read rates. However, you don’t need to sit at your desk hitting ‘send’ at a precise moment to ensure emails go at the right time. Use automated software packages to distribute emails at pre-selected times, as well as monitoring engagement levels for fine-tuning future campaigns. 

Email Tip #7. Always proofread emails several times before sending.

Spelling and grammatical errors suggest a lack of professionalism, so avoid them at all costs. People are increasingly wary of typos and other forms of miscommunication and will instantly categorize an email as spam when grammatical errors are present. 

Whenever possible, review draft messages the day after writing them and ask a colleague to read the text out loud. Remember that it is always more difficult to edit our own writing, so a fresh perspective can identify inconsistencies or other issues. This is also helpful for clarifying ambiguities in a sales or marketing message.

Consider downloading a grammar checker like Grammarly for an additional layer of proofreading protection. And when it comes to tone of voice, remember that consistency is key. Bonus tip: If you always write as yourself, your tone  will always match. 

Email Tip #8. Email sparingly.

Finally, a note of caution. Over three-quarters of consumers unsubscribe from mailing lists if their inboxes are overflowing with communications. Send emails in response to customer actions or inquiries, or to promote genuinely noteworthy events like half price sales and new product launches. One or two emails per week should be the maximum any firm distributes to individual clients.

Always ask yourself, “Would I like to receive this email?” If the answer is not an overwhelming yes, then you may want to reconsider your offering or perhaps save the news to combine with a future, more crucial, email.  

Email Tip #9. Follow CAN-SPAM Rules

Are you familiar with the CAN-SPAM laws in the US? If not, you could be penalized thousands of dollars.

In 2003, the US Government and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) outlined a specific set of rules for email marketers to follow called the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003, more commonly referred to as CAN-SPAM. This set of rules specifically outlines what is considered to be spam and what is not.

The act lists requirements for email senders to comply with in response to the massive amount of spam that had began to circulate in the early 2000s. Contained in the CAN-SPAM laws are a set of guidelines including unsubscribe options, content restrictions and sending behavior compliances. For example, you must include a physical address in your email marketing plans, along with an opt-out button.

Failure to comply with CAN-SPAM in email communications can result in penalties of up to $16,000 per spam email and loss of services from their web host. If you or your business include direct emails as a part of your marketing strategy, we recommend reading the full description of CAN-SPAM rules from the FTC.

CAN-SPAM Crash Course

Below is a CAN-SPAM crash course full of helpful tips to ensure that you are following the laws and avoiding any loss of money or services:

• Always include your business address on any email that is sent from your accounts. It can be a PO Box or a street address, as long as it is accurate.
• Only email people once you have their permission – just having their email address is not enough.
• Include a simple opt-out or unsubscribe method for email recipients who no longer wish to receive emails from your company – the option must be simple, free and easy to follow.   
• Don’t sell or share email addresses. Ever. It is your job to keep the information on your email list safe and secure.
• Be sure that all “To”, “From”, and “Reply to” fields are accurate and easy to understand.
• If an email recipient opts out, make sure that the individual is removed within ten days, if not sooner. Email service providers will most likely do this automatically.
• Closely monitor anyone or any service who sends emails with your name attached. It is your responsibility to ensure that any emails with your name included are adhering to CAN-SPAM rules.

Email Tip #10. Always carefully consider your email strategy. 

You only have one chance to send great email. There’s no editing or deleting a sent message. Far too many businesses make critical email mistakes and drastically damage their business and sender reputation. 

If you cannot enthusiastically agree to each of the bullet points above (specifically regarding spam) you may want to spend some time readdressing your email. It is best to be very cautious when emailing anyone for business purposes, so basically if it seems even a little risky just don’t do it.

The post Midphase’s Guide To Business Email Success appeared first on The Midphase Blog.