Archive for Segments
5 Best Web Development Extensions for Google Chrome
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When it comes to extensions, Firefox is king – with thousands upon thousands to choose from. However, Google Chrome is just now starting to gain ground with the idea of having an extendable interface, so how many good web development extensions are there for this alternative browser from Google? I did my search and found five of the best web development related extensions for the browser.
Speed Tracer is a tool to help you identify and fix performance problems in your web applications. It visualizes metrics that are taken from low level instrumentation points inside of the browser and analyzes them as your application runs.
Chrome Extension that generates random dummy text.It uses a minimalist and well looking design. Many other extensions of this type – in other browsers – simply complicate this task, using really extensive code, XHR, etc. The main purpose of this one, is to use the less amount of code (and also memory) and help the developer/user to get the job done.
This handy SEO tool shows you the Google PageRank of web pages beside the address box. If the PageRank of the page in current tab is not available, the tool shows the PageRank of the domain instead, prefixed with ‘S’.
The Google Chrome SEO extension provides easy access to Search Engine Optimization Tools that can help you with Competitive Analysis, Keyword Research, Backlink Checks and other daily SEO tasks.
Use Internet Explorer to display web pages in a Chrome tab. Some sites can only be displayed using IE, and with this extension you can now see those sites without leaving Chrome.
Know of any more that I might have missed? Be sure to drop then in via the comments, and help us all learn a little more about the web development tools the Google Chrome browser provides.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #201 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
Maximize Work Space with More Browsers
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Anybody who has worked in technical support for a web hosting company will tell you that keeping all your tasks and windows organized on a day-to-day work schedule is very hectic and not a lot of fun. You have to keep this window open to check out help desk tickets, you have to look over here for forum replies, you have to go way over there to look at the recent tweets coming in from web hosting customers. It is enough to drive a person insane, unless you follow these simple organizational tips.
Divide Your Tasks, then Conquer Your Tasks
Most people multitask online by opening one Internet browser with multiple tabs. While this comes in handy, your tabs can become overwhelming very quickly. Rather than opening up one Internet browser with multiple tabs, I want you to open multiple browsers, with fewer tabs. Look at your daily responsibilities and divide your running Internet browser windows up by that.
For example, if you are responsible for feedback inside the web hosting company you work for, one Internet browser could be dedicated to that. You would open up the feedback help desk, the forums for the web hosting business you work for, their Twitter account perhaps, and so on and so forth. The next Internet browser window you could dedicate to another responsibility, such as support. Inside there, you could load up the customer records in one tab, the help desk in another tab, and your quick replies in a third tab. As you can see – you start to organize your work differently. You organize it by the jobs you need to do instead of dumping everything into one single Internet browser.
Once you have mastered this web hosting help organizational technique, you will find yourself working faster and jumping between each task you are responsible for even faster than you were before. Your supervisor will thank you, the customers will appreciate you, and all it takes is a little time and organizational skill.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #200 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
How Anybody Can Install WordPress
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As you can tell, if you have been to any of my web sites, I really enjoy WordPress a lot as a way to self-publish my content Online. WordPress is often known for it’s simple installation process too.
However, many people might still be confused on how to get started with WordPress, so I thought it would be a good idea to go through the steps with you, to make you feel more at home with the process.
How to Install WordPress on Your Hosting Account
The first step would be to download and unzip the WordPress package to your computer. I often like to put it on my desktop, as I use that as a workspace for all my various projects.
Setup the MySQL Details
Next, you will login to your web hosting control panel and create a MySQL database user, a MySQL database, and then assign that MySQL user to the MySQL database in question. Various web hosts and various control panels will have different ways to get this done. My advice would be to check with your web host, if you are unsure how to do so.
Now, open up that WordPress folder you saved earlier, and rename the file wp-config-sample.php to just wp-config.php. Open the wp-config.php file, and fill in your database details (the database name, user name and the password assigned to the user).
Important: Never use a word processor like Microsoft Word for editing WordPress files! You need to user a simple text editor, such as Notepad.
Upload WordPress to the Hosting Server
After you have saved the wp-config.php file with all the settings it needs to use to connect, it is time to upload the WordPress files to their new home.
- If you want WordPress to show up under your main domain, be sure to upload all of the files into your public_html folder.
- If you want WordPress to show up under a folder (such as /blog/), be sure to upload all the files into a folder located in /public_html/blog/. I’m simply using “blog” as an example. You could name the folder whatever you want to name it.
Last, but not least, run the WordPress install script by going to yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php, or if you installed it into it’s own folder, go to yourdomain.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php. Remember that “yourdomain.com” and “blog” are just examples here, be sure to change them to fit your own web site preferences.
Now simply follow the on-screen instructions and you are all set! I hope this tutorial comes in handy the next time you install WordPress on your own web hosting space.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #200 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
Mitch’s Marketing Book Project
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Since I now have 200 podcasts under my belt, and with a new year coming up quick, I thought now would be the perfect time to introduce to you my new project. I want to help you with marketing.
Mitch Does Marketing!
Now, I will not create a new podcast or a blog. Instead I am going back to my roots, and diving back into producing another book – shades of the long forgotten Lockergnome’s Guide to Web Hosting, which was the inspiration for this podcast four years ago.
So what can you expect? I’m not really sure just yet, other than I am looking to offer to the public at large tutorials, tips and advice on how to market your web site or online business, with as little cost to you as possible. Think of it as a good ol’ southern boy’s guide to marketing.
As soon as I have more information on the project, I’ll be sure to share it with you here. I hope it is as successful as my other projects are, and that most of all, you will get plenty of use out of it.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #200 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
How to Turn a Complaint into a Feature
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How does somebody turn a complaint into a feature? Anybody out there, who runs a web hosting company, can tell you they hear complaints about this, that and the other, every single day. When public opinion becomes SO strong, you might want to take the idea into consideration.
You do not have to drastically change the way you do business though. If you are successful in one area of business, do not toss it aside to do something else that is more popular. I got a question submitted to me the other day from Matt, which touches on this very topic.
Here is what Matt had to say:
I run a free hosting site, and I’ve been at it for 4 years, and we’ve got very high rating, and uptime, and server speed, but I’ve still got this problem where everyone expects our service to be a sort of scam or not very good because of the price. If I start charging for it, I have to say goodbye to a lot of people who I’ve been helping for a long time, and if I don’t, it seems to me there’s always this group of people who wont choose it. I mean, if you want to pay money for your hosting, I’ll gladly take donations, and I have many people who do donate. If you have time, because I know you’re very busy, could you give me your honest opinion of our service and what we need to do to appeal more to small businesses and community organizations?
How can a free host become successful?
People are always skeptical when it comes to getting something for nothing, so as long as you give free services – you’ll always have somebody out there dismissing your claims of success because they think you’re a fraud. Thankfully, they might also think we never landed on the moon or one of the muppets assassinated JFK. The fact of the matter is there will always be somebody out there to complain.
My question is, do you have to pick one business plan, free hosting versus paid hosting, or can you have your cake and eat it too? I would suggest you keep your free hosting in place, it sounds successful, and you have happy customers – which is something many web hosts, free or not, can not claim. As a secondary service, roll out a paid hosting solution that offers a few perks over the free version. It could be in features, support or anything else you feel like you could offer a little more of to the people willing to pay for it. Then, once that is in place, start marketing your new paid hosting service to those customers you do have, and let them know that it is an option you are providing for them.
Some might bite at the proverbial worm you are tossing out there, and others may say no thanks. Past that point you can sell your new paid hosting option to the masses using the free service as a way to get your foot in the door, as far as seeing how great your hosting setup is. You might even sell it as you are so confident they will enjoy their hosting with you, you are willing to give it away for free.
Thanks to Matt for the question, and to check out his web site – or maybe send some more suggestions his way, be sure to check out ismywebsite.com.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #200 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!
How to Backup Your Web Site Backups
Posted by: admin | Comments Comments OffBefore you claim that I am just overly suspicious of bad thing happening, let me make my case. What would you do if your web site went down?
You’d contact your web host to find the problem. Now let us say they lost your web site, and have no active backup. Well, you could then turn to your own backed up files.
How Should You Backup Your Web Sites
What if your own backup went bad? What would you do then? Your entire web site, and for some of us that is years of data, would be lost. So what is the perfect backup solution?
Online Backup Providers
Now, I only use Carbonite as an example backup service. There are many others to choose from, such as:
All four of these are great off site backup solutions.
So now that we have a new year, it is time to make one more resolution. Make sure you backup your backups, because it never hurts to have too many copies, especially right after you lost the one you are looking for.
Like This Article? Listen to it and more like it on podcast #201 of the Web Hosting Show!
Add me on Twitter! Come follow my daily antics, links, tips and more @mitchkeeler on Twitter!© Mitch Keeler 2010 | Check out my firefox help site and my tech blog too!