Category: Domain Related

May 31, 2017

Domain Related, Hosting Related

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The last 3+ years or so has seen some very useful web development application tools being introduced to streamline the process of both creating and further developing websites. Here at 4GoodHosting we are always keen to offer more to our clients as part of being a quality Canadian web hosting provider, and we know that more than a few of you are the webmaster behind your website. In this week’s blog we are going to offer our recommendations on some of them that have really made the grade in our opinion and have much promise in allowing you to develop and expand upon your website. Developer Tools Notepad ++ - Choosing Notepad to write or edit your code is still a viable option, but there’s the potential to increase your productivity and efficiency with Notepad++. Among the more notable improvements with ++, it has syntax highlighting and syntax folding features that simplify the process of weeding out bugs, and a well designed tabbed interface allows you to work on multiple documents. In addition, Notepad++ boasts an auto-completion feature that makes writing code that much faster (relative to using Notepad). Notepad++ is available as both a full install and as a portable app. FileZilla - FileZilla is regarded as one of the best free FTP, SFTP, and FTPS clients around. Aside from being available for multiple platforms (Mac OSX, Linux, & Windows), it is relatively easy to navigate and use. It’s optimized for allowing webmasters to manually backup the files on their sites’ FTP servers and while FileZilla is only available as a full installer, it’s still really a top notch tool and worth the space if you’re especially active. Database Browser - This free tool lets you easily connect to databases, as well as modify data on your DBs and export or import data plus run SQL scripts any time you like. Notable supported database servers include MS Sql Server, ODBC, Oracle, MySql, BDE, SQLite, Firebird, and Interbase, among others. Like Notepad++, the program is available as both a portable app and full Windows installer. XAMPP - XAMPP gets high marks for the fact it is an extremely important tool...

May 25, 2017

Domain Related

Reading Time: 7 minutes

With the fact that the majority of customers are acquired through web searches these days, it’s an absolute necessity for any business to have a sound web presence. In contrast, during the early days of the Internet here was no telling how important and indispensable that presence would become. While the design, usability, and content of a company’s website are all important for success in digital marketing, business owners also need to look long and hard as to where they will choose to host their websites. When it comes to hosting, you really do need to understand that one size does not fit all. Here at 4GoodHosting, part of what has made us a reputable Canadian web hosting provider is the fact we’re very accountable to our customers in as far as their individual web hosting needs.Going with a web host that’s not an ideal fit for your business can result in a loss in revenue, detrimental effects on your SEO rankings, as well as the possibility of security and malware attacks. And it’s not just you the business that’s put at risk - your customers can be put in vulnerable positions as well, in particular with those same software and malware attacks. There’s no getting around the fact that the Web is an ever more competitive and dangerous space. As a result, businesses need to be very judicious in choosing web hosting. With that understood, we’re happy to offer you 6 tips here that can help businesses make the most solid choice for their web hosting. Understand the Entirety of Your Hosting Needs This may seem overly rudimentary, but business owners in the market for web hosting must first know what makes up the entirety of their online marketing needs. You’ll find that more than a few low-cost web hosting companies cut their operating costs by limiting the technologies they make available to you as a customer. Before you commit to one, make sure you ask yourself a series of questions Do I need special software, such as a CMS? What are my current traffic needs (how many visitors do I have to my website in a specific time...

May 3, 2017

Domain Related

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Here at 4GoodHosting, we take pride in being a premier Canadian web hosting provider that serves customers from Victoria all the way to St. John’s. But we’d like to take a moment to explain why we’re an even better choice for those of you who are also residents of the Lower Mainland and Greater Vancouver. Read on. The Internet has been of tremendous benefit for nearly everyone on the planet and for pretty much every conceivable objective out there, and accordingly greater and greater numbers of web hosting providers have popped up to meet demand as people realize the value in taking whatever it is they have - be it a business, blog, personal venture, or anything else - onto the web. In the early years of the web, there was not much in the way of any connection to providers outside of your immediate locale Of course, that’s no longer the case. Your web hosting provider can be located on the other side of the planet if you’re pleased with their rates, service, and the reliability of the web hosting. You may well find that a provider that’s nowhere near where you’re located is offering some very attractive features or offers like more storage, lower price points and other additions. Without a doubt, more than a few web hosting customers in our B.C. backyard have taken their hosting business elsewhere, and that’s honestly as it should have been. However, more recent developments in the big picture of the world of Internet marketing has made it that there are advantages to having a local web hosting provider. Let’s discuss them. Impact on Google Ranking When a website is first created, it will assume an Internet Protocol, or IP address, that is assigned to it. It references the location, geographically, where the website was created, it’s ‘original location’. However, If you are a B.C. company that has acquired your hosting from an American provider, for example, your website’s IP address will be an American based on wherever it is they’re located. This influences the way Google views your website, as despite the fact you are a BC user, you have an...

April 24, 2017

Domain Related

Reading Time: 7 minutes

As a small business these days, you need to be strongly fortified and streamlined with your digital marketing and business management fronts, perhaps more so than with any other aspect of your operations. As a reputable Canadian web hosting provider, here at 4GoodHosting we try to keep tabs on industry developments that will be of interest to our customers who are small business owners. The construction of an information technology infrastructure can be decidedly complex - and expensive - for businesses that are either new or still in their formative stages. Common detriments include limited resources, expertise, and time constraints when it comes to the way they find they are limited with how much they’re are able to accomplish. And it’s not only a case of accomplishing, it’s also about doing so in a timely manner to take full advantage of opportunities for the business Software companies have been receptive to this challenge, building web-based tools that are either specifically designed for small businesses, or ones that can be configured to be more ideally suited to the more-exploratory operating challenges for those of you who are still fairly wet behind the ears when it comes to running a business (and particularly ones where the business relies heavily on the digital marketing front). No where are these challenges more readily apparent - for most at least - than they are within the realms of communication and commerce online. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Effectively communicating with prospective customers, and then facilitating their purchases or any type of commercial transaction in a speedy, reliable, and secure manner are 2 of the more pressing needs for any business. So, without further adieu, we’ve compiled a list of 9 super communication and commerce-based apps for small businesses that we feel really make the grade and then some when it comes usability, functionality, and readily-apparent value for you. Asana Collaboration Efficiently working together to accomplish tasks is a primary need for any business. Asana makes for a more natural and cohesive, collaborative teamwork process. Asana's free version supports up to 15 team members, which is perfect for even smaller businesses that don't need more...

April 4, 2017

Domain Related, Hosting Related

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Here at 4GoodHosting, we’re a reputable web hosting service provider in Canada and we like to think we’ve got our thumbs sufficiently on the pulse of what’s new in the digital marketing world too. The ‘stack’ we’re going to talk about today is all about computing and the new way in which cloud computing, in particular, has revolutionized the way people access and utilize resources made available through the internet. We always have tips for improving your online marketing presence, but this blog post is really more about some of the more notable developments in cloud computing as they pertain to business. The Cloud is a broad collection of services, and these days there’s plenty of options in regards to the way you can optimize them for the benefit of your company and organization. The stack is the broad range of services built on top of one another - thus the stack. Each one owes much of its stability and practicality to the one underneath it, as we’ll highlight shortly. Unparalleled Network Access Services make the grade as ‘Cloud’ worthy when they feature: On-demand self service - any time and anywhere you want it, sign up and receive service without delay Broad and uninhibited network access across varied devices (desktop, laptop, AND mobile) Extensive resource pooling Rapid elasticity - able to flex upwards and downwards in relation to demand surges and sags Measured service that is billed accordingly, and with transparency The Stack Itself Alright, picture a pyramid divided into 3 sections. The pointed top is SaaS (software as a service). The middle section is Paas (platform as a service) and the base is IaaS (infrastructure as a service). SaaS applications are intended for delivery to end users, and that delivery occurs immediately via the web (analogy - think passengers) PaaS encompasses all of the tools and services that make coding and deploying those services occur smoothly, reliably, and relatively understandably (analogy - think vehicles) IaaS is the groundwork - the hardware and software powering it all along. This can be servers, storage, networks, operating systems (analogy - think roadways) SaaS is software that’s deployed over the internet. To put...

March 27, 2017

Domain Related

Reading Time: 7 minutes

As an experienced Canadian web hosting provider, we’re well aware that not ALL of our clients are in business - and more specifically in e-commerce businesses. There’s a good number of you who have your basic web hosting packages for personal interest or promotional websites, and for those folks knowing how to rank higher on Google search results won’t be as pressing a need. For the rest of you who are fully into competing for higher search engine rankings, it’s a fact that Google is constantly altering and updating its algorithms. Let’s discuss approaches that are in line with the current search engine tunings coming from down there in Silicon Valley. Those Ever-Changing SERP Algorithms Many factors come into play as these aforementioned Google algorithm’s regularly evolve. Many of these transformations are in response to measurable changes among users’ habits (The increasing predominance of mobile web browsing, for instance). The way people consume search results and act on them plays a significant factor too, and Google monitors and analyzes every little detail extensively. Here’s what you need to know about what determines online search results in 2017. Featured snippets are now of increasing importance. Featured snippets can be more simply understood to be a direct answer, a summary of an answer to a query displayed on the top of the results page, often as a list of actionable bullet points or numbered steps. How they are advantageous is users get their questions answered directly on the results page, which is of course appealing because it means a straighter path to finding what they want and doesn’t involve any additional ‘clicks’. Google is showing these snippets in more than 32% of queries. (In 2015, the number was 28% and that’s expected to increase dramatically.) How’s all of this relevant, you ask? These featured snippets are extracted straight from the content of a website. One singular website that Google deems to have the best answer. If you want that website to be yours, you need to try to think about what questions your customers are asking and address those answers in as clearly and directly a manner as possible, and in the...

March 22, 2017

Domain Related, Hosting Related

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Taking a critical look at big data gives companies valuable insights that allow them to make better-informed strategic decisions. Looking at these insights - and then making smart strategic moves based on your deductions - gives you the edge over your competitors and provides a more complete picture of your business. Undertaking big data analytics isn’t the simplest of processes though. You need the computing resources in place for it to be done effectively, and here at 4GoodHosting we like to share what we know as a Canadian web hosting provider who understands Internet marketing as well. So, What Exactly is Cloud Analytics? Cloud analytics is a cloud-based solution which enables businesses to carry out analyses and related intelligence procedures through integrated cloud models, whether that’s with hosted data warehouses, SaaS business intelligence (BI) or cloud-powered social media analytics. A whole range of analytical tools and techniques are put to work to help companies extract information from massive data and then present it in a way that is easily categorized, readily available via a web browser, and - most importantly - digestible and comprehensible for those who have interests in it. A Unified Vision For The Business Many companies face problems when different elements within the organization do not share the same perception of what is going well for the company - and what isn’t. Often, they are all working from their own data sets without a collectively agreed-upon ‘big picture.’ Cloud analytics makes it easier to identify and firmly define what that big picture should be. One of the crucial advantages of using cloud analytics is its ability to consolidate big data from all sources and communication channels that a company employs. The capacity that cloud computing offers allows everything to feed in in a linear and timely manner: you can gather large-scale data from all your internal apps, devices, social networks and data subscriptions. Needless to say, that would be difficult to do in-house and on a single network. Using a cloud-based data management platform lets you easily blend data from a range of sources, enabling it to be matched, merged and cleansed – with the collective volume...

February 27, 2017

Domain Related, Hosting Related

Reading Time: 4 minutes

No one will be better informed than a Canadian web hosting service provider to detail the way today’s data centers can really ramp up operating costs. There’s a whole host of reasons for that, but nearly every one of them is contained in those centers’ digital architecture, and their sensors and instrumentation specifically. Making correct analyses of where inefficient operation is occurring is often beyond the means of even the most digitally savvy of us, but certainly not for the smart folks at Intel. Intel’s Data Center Manager helps data center operators lower costs and extend infrastructure life spans by automating data collection and presenting insights into ideal operating conditions and configurations. It involves identify and monitoring as many individual data points, so when there’s a problematic inefficiency, users are able to know exactly where it is. One of the common issues DCM data reveals is a need to increase the temperature in datacenters and thus minimize cooling costs. This shouldn’t come as a surprise entirely, given the ever-increasing workload these data centers face and the according way they will tend to run hot as a result. There are more data points than ever, and so by extracting that data and looking at it from a more objective perspective, you can be confident in choosing to turn up the temperature as a means of lowering your air conditioning costs. From there, the DCM team can set threshold levels and implement algorithms to try to predict temperatures and to alert datacenter operators of potential problems. Just one example of how Intel’s DCM is super effective in helping to manage and keep a Data Center cost controlled. Here’s more: Languages to Communicate Across OEMs All hardware manufacturers follow the Intelligent Platform Management Interface, or IPMI, specifications to report performance metrics independently of the hardware’s CPU, firmware, or operating system. Each brand customizes their IPMI feed slightly to differentiate their products, and that’s to be expected. DCM provides a simplified data feed to infrastructure and application performance managers to interpret or to connect with a facilities management interface. The out-of-band solution has its own discovery mechanism to locate network devices and languages, and...

February 22, 2017

Domain Related

Reading Time: 4 minutes

www.merriam-webster.com is pretty much the go-to online dictionary of choice these days, and it offers a full 10 different categorical definitions for the word domain, but most people will understand it to mean ‘space thats yours.’ The prefix ‘sub-‘ generally indicates a state of being beneath or under the suffix, whether literally or figuratively. Here at 4GoodHosting, we’re web hosting experts in Canada but we’re the furthest thing from that when it comes to dictionaries. Just this once though we’ll take a dissection approach to the word subdomain, and talk briefly about how it relates to web hosting as a whole. If we’re taking the literal meaning of it based on what’s explained above, it means ‘under space’ and while that’s vague and indeterminate it’s still fairly applicable. A subdomain is the part of the website address before the domain name. More in sticking with our definition here though, subdomains are known as ‘third level’ domains, or canonical names, and as such they’re ‘beneath’ a website’s standard URL that’s registered, recognized, and functional within web directories. To put it more simply and understandably, a website’s URL will begin with the very recognizable http: (hyper text transfer protocol) - but you’re probably more familiar with it as it’s subdomain - www.______. com / ca etc etc. Let’s use Merriam-Webster again as our example here. Their URL is https://www.merriam-webster.com/ but you’ll know them and link them with subdomain shown up on the first line of this blog post. That’s a subdomain! So why subdomains? Subdomains are commonly used to categorize portions of the website, and they can be easily moved to another server if the category gets very popular. Subdomains are also used by free web hosting providers to resell web space under their own domain name (e.g. http://membername.hostname.com). Each member will have their subdomain, but every one of them there will still share the domain name of the hosting provider. Subdomain names are also practical to balance the web servers for a high traffic website. Multiple web servers are assigned different subdomains like www.sitename.com, www1.sitename.com, www2.sitename.com etc, though each of them contain the same application code. When the request comes from...