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How to Fix a Server Resource Site Suspension
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Nobody likes having their web hosting account suspended for any reason. Going through a server resource usage suspension though can be on of the more stressful combination of web site hosting problems because of the many factors that come into play. Let me see if I can help you, to make your next server resource suspension at least go a little smoother, or at least let you know what you can expect.
Notification of the System Resource Usage Problem
Now the situation starts with getting some sort of notification via e-mail about the problem at hand. Often, web hosts will give you details on where the script is hosted on your site that is causing the problem. It is often up to you to decide what that script is though.
Next, you have to figure out a way to disable that script or disable the part of the script that is causing the problems. For example, if you were using WordPress to manage your web site, turn off all the plugins. I wouldn’t disable WordPress all together, but switching off the plugins or changing to the default theme might help find the cause of the problem.
Fixing a Server Resource Usage Problem
The truth of the issue is you will have to turn things on and off, disable this, delete that and more. It will take some detective work to find the root of the issue that is causing the shared server’s RAM and CPU to go up so much.
Your web host will often review your account status ever 24 hours or so, to see if your changes are having any real impact in reducing your server resource usage.
Although it sounds like a way to get more money from you, upgrading to a VPS or dedicated hosting plan are a reasonable fix for the problem too. Your web site might have grown in popularity and usage so much, it is time to look for a hosting plan that will give you more proverbial “elbow room” when it comes to RAM or CPU usage.
I hope that helps with fixing your own server resource issues or, at least, lets you know what you can expect if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. Feel free to post your own tips or questions in the comments, would love to hear what you have to say about this debatable topic.
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How to Setup an Affiliate Program
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Are you a web host looking for a way to bring in new customers, and reward current customers or web site owners for doing the dirty work for you? Then you might want to look into setting up an affiliate program. It takes some capital stored up to get started, but once you do – you will see your new accounts list grow and grow every single day.
Most of the time when a web host starts an affiliate program they either host and setup the script themselves or they let a third party control things. If you go the self hosted route, you can always search Google for, “affiliate program scripts” to find some script suggestions. I have not had much experience with scripts like this, so I will leave that as homework for you to do. For smaller web hosts, letting a third party handle things might seem more efficient. You have less to worry about and all you really have to do is dump some money in, and then decide who gets paid for what referral.
Two third party affiliate program providers you might check out are:
- Commission Junction
- Google Affiliates
Both have their own good and bad points, but have also established themselves as leaders in their field. I would highly suggest either one of them (or both!).
How Much Should You Pay Per Referral?
Now, how do you determine how much to pay out per referral? On average, I would say pay out half the yearly price of your most popular plan. So if your most popular web hosting plan costs $120 a year, you should pay your affiliate partners $60 per referral. Not going to say you have to play by that rule, but I have seen it as a success time and time again.
Unless you have an endless supply of cash you will need to make sure you are still making enough profit in the long term to meet the discount you are providing now.
I hope that helps any web hosts out there listening with their own affiliate program questions. Now I have to ask you, what have you seen that works as far as setting up an affiliate program? Please give us all a few suggestions in the comments.
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The MIDGET Rule to Forum Success
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Anybody can set up a forum script and host it somewhere, but what does it take to make a set of forums on the Web a big success? Well, I might not be able to help you build the most popular set of message boards you have ever seen (because if I could, I’d be doing that – earning millions in Google AdSense ads, and not still going on and on here). I do have a few suggestions though how you can get off the ground after having setup your forum script.
If you can remember the word M.I.D.G.E.T. you too can run a successful set of forums.
M ight Need to Setup the Rules First – The most important part of your forums are the rules. They set the mood, and the guidelines for what people can and can not do. Keep the general rules short and simple (under ten would be nice) so people will actually take the time to check them out.
I nactive Forums Are No Fun – Try your best to keep your forums active with new threads and topics every day. If needed, you might ask a few of your friends to stop by and post here and there to help you get started, ‘till you have your own community built up anyways.
D on’t Forget Contest and Promotions – A good way to start building some free press for yourself, and to get people interested is to start a contest, giveaway or promotion. People like free stuff, and they will flock to you for giving it to them.
G et Some Interactive Topics and Discussions Going – Whatever your forum’s main topic is, try to start some topics that encourage contributing to. Asking for people favorite this, that or the other is a great conversation starter, just as one example.
E void Controversial People and Ideas – OK, I know Evoid isn’t a word, but I had to make it fit. People who like to pick fights should be dealt with quickly. While some debate is healthy, make sure you run things, and you kick people who are ruining the party for everybody else. Don’t let the inmates run the asylum.
T hanks for All the Fish – It might sounds cliche, but going to say it anyways. Remember to have fun with your forums. Enjoy what are building, and the community you are helping to found.
So there you have my few suggestions on how you can make your forums a little more successful from the start.
If anybody else out there in Web Hosting Land has any suggestions – feel free to leave them in the comments or drop me an e-mail. Would love to hear your thoughts on this issue.
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7 Extra Service Ideas for Web Hosts
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There comes a time with every web host, when they feel they have outgrown their current services they provide, and they want to do more than just web hosting. When a web host diversifies into other things, they often branch out internally or with the help of a third party into other services. If you are a web host out there looking for a way to branch out, I have a few suggestions that you might want to look into.
Domain Name Registration – This one is the most obvious additional service a web host can provide. Who doesn’t want to give customers the ability to register a domain and buy the hosting in one place? By doing so, you keep you customers from looking elsewhere for one of the most important add-ons you could branch out into.
Backup Hosting – Many web hosts move into backup hosting too. You could provide off site personal backup as a secondary service, or you could offer a subscription based service for the customer’s web site backup and the process of restoring that backup.
SEO or Marketing Services – When it comes to selling search engine optimization or any sort of marking packages, make sure you have the support team to back you up. This sort of service has a bad reputation, because many people see it as selling snake oil. It is a tricky one to show real results from, so if you do move into the SEO and marketing business, just make sure you provide your customers with the goods.
Gift Cards – Providing gift cards can be an excellent way to make yourself look more compassionate about the customer’s needs. It might not make loads of money, but providing a way to give your services as a present is never a bad thing. It could help out beginning web hosting gurus, and help young webmasters in getting their first works on the Web.
Affiliate Programs – Why sell your web hosting plans yourself when you can get somebody else to do it for you? By giving people a “finder’s fee” when they bring you a new customer, you give your community a reward, just for sharing their opinion. Now it might be hard to lure affiliate professionals, when some companies pay 95% of their profit to affiliates, but start out low and work your way up.
Web Site Design – Like domain name registration, offering a web site design service or an internally built WYSIWYG editor is another nice extra service to add. It is one of those web hosting necessities that everybody needs, and not everybody has the time to do themselves.
Other Flavors of Web Hosting – When it comes to adding extra services, do not just look at things outside web hosting. You could offer more web hosting plans. For example, if you only provide shared web hosting right now, you could move into VPS or dedicated web hosting services. You could even make shared hosting plans that are a little cheaper (with less extras) or a shared hosting plan that is a little more expensive (with more extras).
There are many ways a web hosting company can diversify. The important thing to remember is to keep your quality of the service as high as possible for each new service you provide. I have seen web hosts launch a new product, then forget about it the next month, too many times. Make sure you give yourself ample time to build up each new service you decide to provide.
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Effective Web Site Navigation Rules
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A web site visitor should never be confused by your web site’s navigational layout. Every web page out there should have an easy way to navigate both to new web pages and categories, but also back out of them. Think of it as reaching a fork in an old country road, choosing to go down the left road – and then turning around and finding a pink hippopotamus in a tutu. While that might sound ridiculous – many web sites leave visitors with the pink hippo more often than not.
Keep it Clean, Simple and Easily Recognizable
Every web site should start off with a clear, upfront way to navigate from one section to the next. A web site visitor is not going to stick around long if they can’t find their way around the site. The web site navigation should be around the top and stick out enough so it does not get lost in your web site’s content.
Don’t Use Crazy Names for Navigation Links
You should also use obvious names for each navigational link. Don’t use the name “Ice Box” if you want to give a link to your page about yourself. Instead, use the word, “About” or something to that effect.
Less is More
Keep it simple. Less really is more when it comes to web site navigation design. Giving your users too many buttons, links and sub-links right from the start will just lead to confusion. Rather than link after link, you might consider using a drop down list to give your web site visitors access to pages that fit under that specific category.
Never Leave Your Web Site Visitors Lost
My last ‘bit of web site navigation advice would be to remind people where they are. Each web page on your web site should be labeled telling the user where they are at. If they are looking through your list of articles on bugs, then at the top of the page it should say something to the effect of, “Bug Articles”. Also, always leave your web site with a path back to the front page – just in case they need to start over navigating through your web site.
Now, I want you to investigate your own web site’s navigation.
Is it simple enough to use?
Are you using obvious link and page names?
Are you keeping things nice and simple?
Do you remind people on the page of what they are looking at and where they are?
If you answered, “no” to any of these questions it might be about time you invested some of your time in making your web site navigation better.
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How to Give Faster Web Hosting Support
Posted by: admin | Comments Comments OffA web hosting company can not keep a customer base happy with sloppy support habits. Think of your reply back to a web hosting customer as a sandwich. You start out with the slice of bread introducing yourself, you have the goodies inside which represent your reply and you have the second piece of bread to finish things off. If you learn how to build your sandwich reply, then you can handle support situations in a much faster way than the web host down the block is doing it, making your web hosting company just a little ‘bit better.
Introduce Yourself
First impressions are important, so you never want to jump right into the reply without letting people know who you are. In the first part of your reply, you need to state who you are, what company you are working for and thank the customer for doing business with you.
Here is a perfect example:
In those two sentences, I was able to greet the customer, tell them who I am, what company I am working for and generally start the customer/client conversation on a happier foot. Also note that I used the client’s name too. This is very important. If you know the customer’s name, make sure you use it to start the message. This makes for a much more customized reply to the client. They feel like they are talking to a real person, and not just reading some pre-defined message you send out for these types of situations.
Meat and Potatoes of Support
Next, you will want to give the proverbial meat and potatoes of the reply. You want to make sure you give the impression that you understand the problem, clarify the issue (if needed) and then give suggestions for fixes they can do or thing you need for them to do.
Now this is highly flexible depending on the situation at hand. Just make sure you read and re-read your reply before you send it back to the customer. Make sure this makes sense to not only you, but to somebody who might be less knowledgeable on the topic than you are.
Wrapping Up Communications
At the end of a reply to a customer, you want to hit some of the basics you touched upon in the introduction. You want to thank the customer for doing business with your company, and you want to leave the proverbial door open, just in case they have any other problems.
Here is another example:
See what I did there? I called the client by his name again, thanked him for his time and told him if he needed anything else, then to please let us know and we’d be happy to help out.
The golden rule comes into play in any customer/support team contact. You do not just want to get them the answer. The golden rule says, “treat others as you would like to be treated”. You must put yourself in that person’s shoes and think, what kind of reply would you like to see if the shoe was on the other foot?
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