Category Archives: Domain Related

Reading Time: 4 minutes

OpenVPN has become the most widespread VPN (Virtual Private Network) protocol used by today’s commercial VPN providers.

However, did you know you can set up your own VPN service on a VPS (Virtual Private Server) which provides a closed environment situated as a physically remote server?

If you lease a VPS from 4GoodHosting you can do anything you want with it, such as installing any operating system, and basically treating the VPS as your own personal remote server.

If you are interested in running a VPN service on your VPS then this article will be helpful.

Using automated installation scripts, the process has become easier for the average person to use. The following is how to install OpenVPN on your own VPS server running Centos 6.x or 7, Debian (or Ubuntu) Linux.

- download an auto-installer for OpenVPN, such as this one openvpn-install

- Next: login to your VPS (as root) and run the following:

- wget http://git.io/vpn --no-check-certificate -O openvpn-install.sh; chmod +x
 -openvpn-install.sh;

If you are not logged in as root you type: sudo ./openvpn-install.sh

The OpenVPN auto installer will execute and it will then prompt you for more information as follows:

1. The script will first autodetect your public IP address. (if you have multiple IP addresses on your VPS you can set it via the script to utilize a specific one.)

2. Next, type in the port number used for incoming OpenVPN connections (or use the default of “1194”). Any port can be used, any random one will likely do – as long as it is not in-use by other application server, or service. Select whether to listen on port 53 too; which is useful for covert connections.

3. Next, you will be asked for a name of client certificate. You can use anything such as “user1”, “anonymous”, “johndoe”, yourdog’s name, etc.

That’s all the OpenVPN installer needs to know. Subsequently it will download the packages, generate the encryption keys and certificates and then after that it will attempt to start the server. OpenVPN uses 2048bit RSA keys for authentication and the 128 bit Blowfish algorithm for data encryption.

If everything went smoothly, the auto-installer will notify you that the security client certificates have been saved into a .tar.gz archive, e.g. “ovpn-client.tar.gz”.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Migrating to a better web hosting company is so risky or difficult risky as you might think. 4GoodHosting makes it easy to migrate all of your data, domains, emails, and entire websites – with our *free* (that is; no hidden strings attached) transfer/migration service; while all you have to do is relax and trust our A+ BBB rating.

4GoodHosting’s server engineers, or admins/technicians are already in place to guide you through the process and ensure your migration is completed successfully to your full satisfaction. Our experienced professionals are expertly trained at transferring websites: your files, applications, databases, and email accounts.

Our service agents will guide you through all the typical steps, and we will begin your website transfer the very same day that you sign up for web hosting with 4GoodHosting! Note: If your previous host utilizes cPanel (control panel), then your website can be migrated seamlessly with zero downtime!

We’ve even have a special offer for those customers who are reading this blog and have decided to switch from a competitor! You just need to ask for it by writing us at support @ 4goodhosting.com You will receive an extra complimentary month (for shared hosting accounts) with a year of pre-paid hosting (13 months – a baker’s dozen if you will). Note: we do require a yearly billing schedule and 1-year pre-payment 4 our free transfer service.

1. Make the decision to signupfor hosting with 4GoodHosting

4GoodHosting has been dedicated to providing Canadian based web hosting solutions for small, medium & large scale businesses as well as hobbiest websites for folks from around the world. See our web hosting plans.

(link: http://4goodhosting.com/linux-web-hosting )

Once you have signed up (and paid up), you will receive a 4GoodHosting welcome email in your inbox. Save this email as it will contain the login details for your cPanel (that is, control panel) – as well as 4GoodHosting’s domain name servers (DNS).

2. Ready – Set –Transfer Your Site!

Now that you have an active account with 4GoodHosting, please then submit a support ticket for your transfer request from customer portal account. (or you can simply email us at support@4goodhosting.com).

Just let us know how we can best help you, and a technician will reply as soon as possible to begin the migration. Our team will begin working on the migration and will handle everything related to transferring your files, emails, DNS settings, etc. When you submit your transfer request ticket – provide us with access to your current hosting providers control panel. If your current host uses cPanel we would need the login information. If your host does not use cPanel then we’ll need access to their control panel interface to download your files, email, and databases.

At some point during this process, you will receive an email asking to update the DNS on your domain to our name servers. Our super-duper friendly support team will detail to you exactly how to do this, step by step. Website transfers can take from 1 hour to 48 hours (average 4 hours) depending on the size of your website(s). 4GoodHosting will ensure your website is transferred correctly without any issues or downtime!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Once in a while, about every 3-4 years of years, your website should be updated ensuring it has a fresh modern look; utilizing the latest and greatest web design methods.
A website which looks outdated can damage your credibility & ultimately cost you new customers. A redesign starts by planning what you want create from your existing website into the next finished upgrade.

Step 1 – Planning the project…

A good exercise is to list what you like about other websites that you have encountered and bookmarked. Consider how you can integrate the features that you like into your own website. While perusing through other websites you will also get a better feel for what your site already does well and where it doesn’t shine so well.
Before you begin, you have to work out what you want your website to do exactly. The goals should be realistic and specific.
Ask yourself: who and what is my website for ?

· A means to communicate with customers?
· To build brand awareness?
· Is it’s main function to be a sales funnel?

Every website has a slightly different purpose. Define what your website’s purpose is precisely.

At the start of your project you should create time-line of of what needs to be done; and when. If you have a project team of other people you should also include who is responsible for each part.

Step 2 – Design for building a high level of trust between yourself & your audience

Getting your visitor(s) to trust your brand should be the overall goal.
Mostly your website to be considered credible & trustworthy is to continuously update it with original high-quality content.
Original content helps customer prospects find you in search engines; and in turn establishes you as a thought leader in your market segment. Also keep in mind that you don’t want your visitors to see you as just selling something. The first goal should be to get your visitors to trust your website as an authority.
The other avenue to build trust with your customers is to create and maintain an active social media presence. Today’s consumers expect some communication interactivity before to forking over their money. With openly communicating with customers through Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc. then you paint a human face on your business. This also creates the perception that you are interested in hearing what your customers have to say.

Step 3 – Examine current analytics/metrics to better identify which parts of your website is worth keeping and what needs to be reworked.

4GoodHosting’s websites, through cPanel, have analytics applications installed, but it is a skill and passion to know how to leverage analytic data to increase traffic and sales.
While analyzing matters, identify on which pages are attracting the most hits – and which ones are keeping visitors around for the longest amount of time. Look into what is making those pages more successful than others.

Also focus on where your traffic is coming from and which of your marketing strategies have been the most successful in the past. This knowledge will help you further experiment to see what creates the best results.

What you learn should ultimately influence your redesign.
Key analytics metrics consider most: High bounce rates, High exit rates, low rime on page(s)
If you have any questions, on this topic or of any sort, always feel free to contact us at support @ 4 goodhosting.com

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Local business’ (with a website) should apply effort to create a particular kind of content that not only provides value to your readers, but also performs well in the search engines. This can be tricky as you need to appeal to two different things at the same time.

Logically, running a local business implies that choices for content topics will more limited compared to have a global scope, so you will need to be extra creative. Many local business owners end up boring visitors with content that doesn’t provide much useful information, or cause them to feel inspired. In this post we show you how you can produce readable (and useful) localized content which will simultaneously help your website rank higher.

Your Current Content

Have you already created much content for your website? Here are some useful insights to spruce this up. First, one of the quickest methods to see what content is performing best – is to use a tool from a website called Buzzsumo (link). The free version doesn’t give you a complete breakdown of every page or post. However, it will display to you the top performing content areas on your website. This way you can tell what content or presentation is getting higher content rankings on Google compared to other posts, then consider creating more variations on similar themes in order to attract more traffic.

Identifying Local Keywords with Decent Search Volume

Try out the Google Keyword Planner by typing in a couple of local keyword variations that you think local community members will be searching for. Of course, localized keywords will produce a search volume that will be much smaller than larger-scope keywords. The idea is to find local keywords that have a decent search volume.

With consistent content creation tailored for those keywords, your website will begin to rank higher associations. Also by using the Keyword Planner, you are validating that there is already relevant existing search traffic which is a measure of demand. If there isn’t much of a demand for your particular kind of service, you will have to then generate demand with some other marketing.

So once you have a list of good keyword choices, you can then combine them into keyword groups targeted at specific sub-topics. This will help you create a more comprehensive array and / or position more in-depth content.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

After you have secured hosting and installed WordPress (or another CMS), it is time to pick out a theme. Figuring out which theme is best is definitely overwhelming at first because there are about 40,000, free and fee, templates and themes to choose from. In order to help you get through the process of theme selection, the most important things to consider while choosing a theme are listed below. If you utilize these tips, you will have an easier time getting started in the right direction.

Customization

One of the great things about themes is that it gives you a place to start and you don’t have to spend days or weeks of work to make it all look good. Another more expensive option is to hire a talented designer to create a personalized blog theme for you, but it’s also great to have some customizable options. This details include being able to alter the general color of your theme, being able to change the header image, and perhaps also the ability to tailor the theme code, that is – if you know what you are doing. The more options you have for customization, the better.

High Readability

A very important aspect of theme selection to consider is to make sure it provides for high readability. The main point of getting visitors to your website or blog is for them, not just to see colors and fancy graphics, but to actually consume and be influenced by your content. So you should choose a theme that utilizes a font which is easy on the eyes and consistent. Even if you think a particular font is cute – if it makes the word is hard to read; then skip that theme if you are unable to easily customize the overall font.

Some additional tips to increase the readability of your website/blog:

* The important of adequate amounts of “whitespace”. Try to find a theme that allows plenty of blank whitespace. Pictures, graphics, text and other design elements can go a long way – there also should plenty of whitespace, in between blocks, in order to give your visitor’s eyes a break.

* Line spacing. Another easy way to make your blog readable is to use line spacing to your advantage; use double spacing between your paragraphs rather than just indents.

* Font selection: Pick a theme with only one or two fonts that are easy to read. Arial, Courier, Verdana, and Times New Roman are always safe fonts to use.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In this article we will help bring you up to date with current website development standards.

HTML5 was a many year project that was launched in 2014; mostly as the concerted effort by the W3C organization. The plan was, from that point forward to continue to publish regular incremental updates to the HTML standard; but a few things didn’t happen as planned. Now a newly named organization, the Web Platform Working Group (WP WG) is working towards a HTML5.1 to be released within the next 6 months. The project centers around a general workflow; which means the group will be releasing a stable version of HTML, as a W3C recommendation, about once annually moving forward.

HTML Specification Goals

The core goals for future HTML specifications are to:
* match reality better,
* make the specification as clear as possible to readers,
* to make it possible for all stakeholders to propose improvements,
* and to understand what makes changes to HTML successful.

HTML 5.1 Timeline

The current schedule is to ship an HTML5.1 recommendation in September 2016. This implies they will need to have a Candidate Recommendation by the middle of June 2016, following a “Call For Consensus” based on the most recent working draft. The updated working draft is published approximately once a month; changes are noted within the specification itself.

They practice an evolutionary schedule of “rinsing and repeating”; making regular incremental updates to HTML that is relatively straightforward to implement. If you are interested you can see current chatter from the working group members @HTMLWG on Twitter.