Computers

If you have a fast Internet connection, broadband or DSL for example, every now and then youll visit a website and wonder why it takes so long to load. There are a couple reasons why a particular website might load slowly even on a fast connection. Both reasons represent a mistake made that can really hurt traffic.

Using Managed Hosting
Flash websites are really catching on now, because people really like the idea of their website being interactive and fun. One approach a designer might take is that nothing will run until every aspect of the site has been loaded. While this is understandable, because its a simple approach from a design standpoint, if you have a lot of large files, such as Flash applications require, the site is going to take a long time to load, and some people may assume it isnt working, or they may simply not have the patience for it.

The other thing that makes a site load slowly even on a fast connection is the location of your hosting. You need to buy enough room to host your site on the Web, this is true. You also need to be sure that the host has enough dedicated server ability to be able to handle traffic, because each person who visits at any given time causes it to expand for that moment.

Youll see a lot of companies offering amazing hosting deals, and thats great, but do your research. A very good friend of mine decided to have his site hosted at a company based only on the cheap price. He ended up with a site that took forever to load simply because this company was really nothing more than a guy with an extra computer to act as a server.

Four years ago, a company I was involved with ran into a very interesting problem with their website. It turned out that the name they wanted for their site was already taken. To make matters worse, it was the most obvious domain name for their website and anyone looking for them would probably end up there first.

Domain Name Hosting: What to Do?
In some cases, the reason this happens is simply a matter of cyber squatting. Cyber squatting is when a group or an individual buys up domain names in the hopes of selling them later for a large sum. Some famous examples of this are celebrity names, and a few of those cases have gone to court.

The courts have generally come down on the side of the company with the brand or the celebrity. The few exceptions had to do with individuals who demonstrated that they had indeed maintained a real website, and they werent just doing it for profit. In other words, the history of the domain name and the website showed they werent just squatting.

If you have a new company, or even an old company that doesnt have a site yet, its a good idea to reserve your domain name quickly. There are a number of companies that will aid you in this endeavor, including some that also handle hosting. If you have a very distinctive brand, youll want to make sure you register .org, .com and even .tv so that nobody can exploit your brand.

If I have a question about my computer, the best solution would be to ask the company that manufactured my computer to answer it. Sadly, in many situations, the information I can get from the manufacturer isnt quite up to par. Customer service is just not what it once was, though there is some good news.

Who Can Help with Technical Issues?
As a direct result of articles in magazines such as Consumer Reports and the Wall Street Journal, companies are starting to address the decline of customer service. Many companies are putting more people on the phones to handle customer issues. There is a long way to go though before these people are fully qualified, and more advanced features such as live chat are universally enabled.

An alternative some consumers have started taking advantage of is companies that have actually made technical help their business. Rather than selling products, they traffic in information, something in short supply and high demand. These companies provide the service for a small membership fee or on a per call basis.

In general, you are probably going to prefer the membership version of this service. Paying per call can add up, since one problem can often require making multiple calls. This service is naturally great for consumers, but its also great for small companies that need tech support but cant afford to create a division of their own.

Being represented on the Internet is no longer just a neat idea, it is a necessity. From consumers to other businesses, this is the way people are doing their research and staying in touch. The problem for many companies is that it can be time consuming and expensive to maintain a truly viable website.

Tech Support: Someone Elses Problem?
More and more companies are coming to realize that the old solution of creating a web division of their own just isnt practical. It can cost a lot of wasted startup money before you can even begin to get the job done to your satisfaction. Then, once you have it in place, you now need to maintain a tech support division, which, if it is going to be of real use, should be up somewhere in the 24/7 range of availability.

By taking this problem to a company that specializes in this work, companies have cut costs by well over 50 percent. They are also able to get the actual nuts and bolts of the job done much faster. Even companies that do design their website are turning to this solution, because it is a lot easier to manage and conduct tech support this way.

What this means, of course, is that there are a lot of companies getting in on this business. A good rule I like to employ is that if Im going to rely on this company for technical support, they should at the very least know more than I do. They should also have a focus on privacy and security, because hackers are out there trying to make a profit off of information. Only a company that works preventatively against this should be contracted with.

At the very first internet company I ever worked with, I was there with eight other writers. The company decided that the way to outfit the writers was with ten basic Mac computers, which were then about six months behind the curve on technology. That decision ended up being an expensive mistake, because as the business grew, the technology tools the writers needed to get the job done changed, and what we had were ten expensive paper weights.

Computer Consulting Saves Money
Instead of jumping in and making this purchase, what we should have done was rent the machines. Owning the machines isnt much of a plus when the technology isnt going to keep pace with what you need. In our case, one of the many consulting firms could have pointed us in the right direction and saved us money.

Another place where some companies get caught is with server space or a design that doesnt allow for growth. If you are saving money in the short term, but you are forced to continue starting over, you are really losing both money and time. The idea should be that what you do now can be replaced in a smooth fashion, rather than always starting over.

The way to think about this business is that you are always trying to keep up with changes in an effort to take advantage of technology. You dont want to keep up with the curve, you want to stay ahead of it. The companies that really make a dent on the Internet are the ones that recognize the trend first, and consulting with experts can go a long way towards making that happen.