Foundation
Before building a great website, you have to start with the right foundation. Be an informed consumer in making decisions about the technology solutions your business needs.
I offer my clients discounted rates on the most popular products, as well as 24/7 product support.
To make the right choices, understand these sophisticated components that go into website development:
Domain Names
Your online identity begins with your domain name. Do your business name and website domain name match? Are you a ‘.com’ business? Choose the right name and the right top level domain (TLD) extension.
Don’t know how to search for and register a domain name? See my online storefront for domain name availability and pricing.
What is Hosting & Why Do I Need It?
To have a website on the internet, you need to have your website files on a web server (a computer hard drive somewhere in the cloud). Three server options that are available are Shared hosting, Dedicated hosting, and Virtual Private Server hosting. Many low cost hosting plans that are readily available are shared server hosting plans. With a Shared hosting plan, you are literally sharing server space with hundreds or thousands of other websites. With Shared hosting you run the risk of cross-contamination by malware or viruses that infect other sites on the server. With Dedicated server hosting a client leases an entire server not shared with anyone else, eliminating the risk of cross-contamination, but at a far higher cost. Virtual Private Server hosting mimics a dedicated server within a shared hosting environment. It is technically both shared hosting and dedicated hosting, and offers the benefits of Dedicated hosting without the high cost.
Virtual Private Server Hosting
I have found the benefits and cost of Virtual Private Server hosting to be the best value for my clients. VPS hosting provides increased website stability (no worries of another rogue site taking the server down), dedicated server resources (other sites won’t slow your site down), increased website security, and because my client websites are isolated from other potentially harmful websites, there is no threat of malicious malware attacks.
If you host your site with TechCreative, LLC, you will enjoy these benefits:
- Blazing fast server speeds with 99.9% uptime
- Nightly website backups
- Managed WordPress software updates
- Hacker-free security (with free malware cleanup in the unlikely event your website is hacked)
- SSL Certificate with free installation
- Free migration of your current site
Domain Name Email Accounts
Does your email address match you domain name (for example, myname@mycompany.com). Or, are you using a free “Gmail” or “Yahoo” email account? Credibility and professionalism are important to your business and it starts with your email address. Don’t know how to get an email address to match your domain name? I can show you how.
Malware Protection
Malware is short for “malicious software.” It refers to a type of computer program designed to infect a legitimate user’s computer and inflict harm on it in multiple ways. Malware can take down your website, redirect your website to another potentially unsavory website, harm your computer, or any number of other malicious activities. Just as you would want to protect your personal computer from malware by installing malware protection software, your website needs protection as well. I offer my clients complete malware protection with my Virtual Private Server hosting plan.
SSL Encryption
SSL protects sensitive information as it travels across the world’s computer networks. Even if your website doesn’t handle sensitive information like credit card numbers, user names or passwords, SSL is essential for protecting your website and your visitors. SSL encrypts sensitive information, and authenticates the destination server so that you are sure you are sending information to the intended recipient and not an imposter trying to steal your data. SSL also provides visual cues in a browser, such as a lock icon or a green bar, to make sure visitors know their connection is secured. Potential customers will trust your website more when they see these cues and will be more likely to buy from you.