Monthly Archives: February 2019

Your 2019 Website Redesign Checklist

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Hosting

The post Your 2019 Website Redesign Checklist appeared first on HostGator Blog . The beginning of the New Year is a good time to make resolutions and commit to the work that often gets pushed aside during the busy year. For a lot of business owners, that includes redesigning your website. The website that was bright and shiny and looked just how you wanted it to a few years ago probably isn’t pulling its full weight anymore. Every website owner should periodically revisit their website’s design to look for opportunities to improve. How to Tell When It’s Time for a Website Redesign Taking on a website redesign project requires a commitment in time and money, which makes it easy to find excuses not to do it. But there are few compelling reasons that are good enough to squash those excuses and move forward in 2019 with a website redesign.   It’s been years. Web design best practices change. Just because your website was intuitive to visitors five years ago doesn’t mean it is now. And if you haven’t done a thorough update in a few years, you’re likely missing opportunities to get more out of your website based on current trends in SEO (search engine optimization), UX (user experience), and new technology. If your last website design project was years ago, at the very least you should do a thorough review to figure out if your website is currently meeting your needs or could use a makeover .   You’re not getting as many visitors as you’d like. If you’re not seeing much traffic, you should both step up your online marketing and look for ways to strengthen your website. A website redesign presents the opportunity to analyze any weaknesses in your current website and spot missed SEO opportunities, so you can create a version that will perform better in search and bring in more visitors.     Your visitors aren’t sticking around or returning. Getting visitors to your website doesn’t matter much if they immediately click away and never come back. A good website is designed to get visitors to stick around, click through to additional pages, and keep coming back for more. If your visitors aren’t doing that now, you’ll want to reconsider your website strategy and look for ways to redesign your pages to encourage longer and repeat visits with useful content and compelling CTAs (calls to action).   It doesn’t work on mobile. One of the top sins of web design in 2019 is having a website that’s awkward or difficult to use on mobile. Too many people do their web browsing on mobile devices now for you to get away with providing a bad mobile experience. If your website is hard to use on a small screen, visitors will click away and the search engines will punish you in the rankings. This is probably more urgent than any other item on this list. If your website isn’t mobile friendly , a website redesign project is imperative.   Your business strategy has changed. For business websites, a New Year means revisiting your business plan and considering if your overall strategy and goals need to change. Anytime your business embarks on a new strategy—developing a new unique value proposition (UVP), introducing a new product, deciding to target a new demographic, etc.—your website needs an update to bring it in line with your new approach.   You’re tired of the website you have. Really, this is a good enough reason on its own. If you’re no longer happy with the website you have—maybe you want different colors, think the design looks outdated, or have recently come across a few websites with designs you like more—that’s a good enough reason to change your website so it better matches what you really want.   10 Steps to Include on Your Website Redesign Checklist When launching a website redesign, you can cut down on a lot of guesswork and risk by spending time on research and planning. Here’s a ten-step checklist to help you get your website redesign right.   1. Clarify your goals. Before you start working out the details of your website redesign, define what you want to accomplish. Every website will have some main overarching goals, such as making sales or developing an engaged community. In addition, you may have a number of smaller goals that help you achieve your main ones, like increasing traffic or getting people to sign up for your email list. Write out a list of the main goals your website ought to achieve, and determine the priority levels of each so you know what to focus on in your website redesign. Where possible, assign specific metrics to track to each goal so you can better measure your success once your new website is up.   2. Analyze your website metrics. Dig into your website analytics to gain a clear understanding of what about your current website is working, and what isn’t. Your analytics will reveal insights about who your audience is, how they find your website, and what they do once there. Look for trends in the data that suggest the types of topics, CTAs, and design elements your audience responds to. And confirm that the audience you’re attracting now is the one you want to reach—otherwise, your website and marketing may need to take a different approach to get in front of the right people.   3. Develop a persona. While you definitely want your website redesign to produce a website you like, that’s actually less important than making sure your website appeals to your target audience. For your website to work for the people it’s really for, every decision about the website’s design needs to put them top of mind. A buyer persona is a basic sketch of the type of person you most want to reach. It typically includes demographic details, a description of their interests and online behavior, and notes on their common questions and problems. A persona lets you picture the person you’re building your website for, so it’s easier to get inside their head and make sure you center their experience in your approach to the design. 4. Do keyword research. Keyword research is both a crucial step in optimizing your website for the search engines, and a useful way to gain knowledge about what your audience is looking for and the language they most commonly use. Using the terminology your customers use is a helpful way to make the website more user friendly for them, and increases the chance that your site will show up in the search engines for the terms they’re looking for. For on-site optimization, choose a relevant, unique primary keyword for each page of your website, along with a couple of secondary keywords. Work them into the URL, title tag, headings, alt tag, and website copy—but always naturally, don’t try to force them in. Lots of keyword research tools are available to help identify the best keywords for each of your website’s main pages, and many of them are free. If you do content marketing, keyword research is also a valuable resource for finding the topics your audience cares about.   5. Do a content and SEO audit. A successful website redesign doesn’t require starting over from scratch—you can still use a lot of the pages you already have, but look for ways to make them better. A thorough SEO and content audit will reveal opportunities to make the content you already have on your website go further and get better results. In particular, in reviewing your current website, look for: Web pages that aren’t well optimized for search now Web pages that lack a clear CTA, or have one that isn’t getting results Opportunities to improve your site structure so it’s more intuitive for users through more useful categories or a clearer menu Successful content that can be repurposed into different formats Successful content that can be updated to better drive visitors to take the actions you want Underperforming content that can be improved upon for better results Broken links or other issues contributing to high bounce rates Content that no longer supports your goals, that your website is better off dropping While your content has little to do with your website’s visual design, incorporating it into your website redesign plan will ensure your new design supports your content—a crucial feature of a strong design.   6. Develop a style guide. A style guide is a helpful tool for clarifying the general look you want your website to have. If more than one person will be involved in your website redesign, it will keep everyone on the same page when it comes to the website’s primary design elements. Even if your website redesign will be completed by one person, it makes it easier to ensure each web page communicates a consistent visual brand. Your style guide doesn’t have to be something complicated. It can be as simple as defining your color scheme, choosing your typography, and addressing formatting choices. You can also include choices about the images to use, the button colors and styles to go with, and the proper icons to use (and not use). Whatever you decide to include, a simple style guide will serve as a handy reference point as you work to helps you achieve visual consistency throughout the site.      7. Find the right designer or website builder. With your basic research and strategy in place, the next step is deciding how you’re going to create you new website design. Your main two options are hiring a web designer or choosing a website builder. Each option has its advantages. Most notably, a web designer allows you more flexibility and control, while a website builder provides convenience and affordability. Whichever you’re leaning toward, take some time in this step to research your options. Hiring a web designer that’s a good fit for what you want is crucial to the overall success of your website redesign process. And choosing the best website builder for your needs will make the designing process easier and ensure you have all the features and functionality you need.   8. Consider UX. UX is the term used to describe design that centers the user experience. In other words, thinking through how your visitors will interact with your website in order to spot issues that may be confusing or difficult for them. For example, if a significant number of your visitors come to the site looking for kids’ products, then making sure you put a link to the Kids category of your website right in the menu makes it easier for people to find what you’re looking for. Other factors that influence UX include making sure your text and buttons are in colors that are easy to see, your fonts are easy to read, and your links are well sized for people on mobile. Before you settle on your new website design, go through it looking for any factors that could make it difficult or confusing for your visitors to take the actions you want them to take.   9. Prioritize the mobile experience. A mobile friendly website is a requirement in 2019. When you’re considering your website builder options, take into account whether they offer responsive templates that make creating a mobile friendly website easy. Or, when you’re interviewing designers, ask about their experience creating responsive websites. Double check how all your design elements look and work on mobile devices. A too-small button or link can make a website that otherwise seems fine basically unusable on mobile. You can’t treat mobile as an afterthought any more, it ought to be top of your mind throughout the website redesign process.   10. Do user testing . When you’ve finally got everything else on this list checked off and your website seemingly finished—don’t publish just yet. You’re never going to be as good at seeing your website the way your visitors will as someone who comes to it with fresh eyes. So find some customers or friends to help you test out your website. Ask them to complete a few main actions on the site, like making a purchase, filling out a form, or navigating to a particular product. Encourage them to do so on different types of devices and in different browsers. And make a note of anything they have trouble with, so you know what changes to make before you go live.   Launch Your New Website! Once you’ve checked off all ten steps, your new and improved website is ready for the public. Publish it to the web, but keep a close eye on your website analytics to see how it fares. You never want to assume a website redesign will accomplish everything you hoped. Track specific metrics based on your stated goals to see what’s working, and continue to make small tweaks to the design as you go based on what the data tells you. Your redesign is a great way to make your website go further in 2019 and beyond, but when it comes to website maintenance, your work is never entirely done.   Ready to transform your website? Contact HostGator’s Web Design team today. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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4 Proven Methods to Increase Your Website Conversions

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Hosting

The post 4 Proven Methods to Increase Your Website Conversions appeared first on HostGator Blog . Are you actively creating new content for your website or blog, only to find that you seem to be wasting more time than anything else? If so, then you will find a lot of value in today’s article. With more than a BILLION active websites and blogs on the internet today, there are a few things you need to know: There is now more competition than ever to rank in Google Every topic has already been written about a thousand times over For content to make money, it needs to have traffic and call-to-action The best business models are ones with a direct focus and need on their audience Remarketing similar products and services to your site visitors is key By reminding yourself of these five key points, you will find a lot more success in blogging and content creation . It’s also important to remember that people are using the internet for three main reasons, which are 1) to buy something, 2) to find information, 3) to be entertained. Cater to any of these needs with an ending call-to-action, and you are on the right track. At the same time, it’s extremely important to make sure you have a marketing plan in place as well. Just creating content and hoping to rank in the search results is no longer a viable plan. With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at a some of the many different ways to create valuable content and marketing methods that continues to make money time and time again. 1. Have a Great Call-To-Action on Your Main Page When you look at any of the top websites on the internet today (especially in online marketing and business services), you will see that most of them have a direct call-to-action, or CTA , on their main page. Here’s an example of HostGator’s: There are plenty of reasons for this, but two of the most obvious are that you only have a few seconds to make a great first impression and to get the user to act on whatever you have to offer. Another reason, is that simple micro-sized actions usually have much higher conversions and engagement in the long run. Let’s take a look at a couple examples of this below. With more entrepreneurs, content creators, and affiliates jumping into the world of ecommerce, there is a huge untapped market that is searching for answers daily. One of the biggest problems ecommerce sites are facing, is trying to find winning products that are in demand, have low competition, and also offer higher profit margins. All of this can be summed up nicely in the “Find products for your store in minutes” call-to-action that is found right on the home page of Oberlo . Throw in the addition of the product image and a visual on the retail price and potential profit, and you can only imagine the conversion rate on this homepage alone. At the same time, when having any type of product or service, it’s a huge benefit if your brand is actually using that same solution itself. Another example of this can be seen on OptinMonster , which is a popular WordPress plugin that has a whole collection of popup and call-to-action lead generation tools for site owners to use. Once you start to scroll away from their site and appear to close it out, they have a popup window that appears and discusses the topic of “Cart Abandonment.” For anyone already visiting the site, they are likely already interested in how to improve their business and user engagement for the better, and this is a perfect way to show not only what their service has to offer, but how it can work for other site owners and brands as well. These are just a few working examples of how to create excellent home page calls-to-action that grab the interest of your audience and make them want to convert and become a paying customer right away. 2. Focus on How To Content, Case Studies and Live Webinars When most people visit Google, they are often searching for information to solve a problem or to help them with a decision or process. By creating content that caters to this audience, gives them value, and then direction, not only will you be providing a service, you can also turn such traffic into leads and sales as well. “How To” guides and “Tutorials” are some of the best ways to accomplish this. Just think about what your service or business offers, then reverse the process and recommend it to your audience as the solution to their problem. For example, thousands of individuals and brands are starting a new website or blog for the first time. While this might seems like nothing for the majority of us, it can be quite a daunting task for anyone attempting this the first time around. HostGator has a whole slew of tutorials and reference guides on our site for how to get started, and we also offer several live webinars as well. And just like how millions of people will be starting a new website or blog today, the same is true with social media. It’s not just about how many people will actively go live on new platform, but also how they use it for their business or brand. Even if they aren’t new to the social platform, they might be new to the concept of advertising with them — and those businesses and services out there that cater to this need will continue to generate new business as well. Another example of how to use case studies and brand examples to provide new leads and sales for your business, is to show how other companies are doing something right (such as social media marketing), and then how your customers can follow along and do the same. This Zappos case study is a great example of how a site is leveraging the success and branding of another brand, then offering a relevant service to their audience — hoping to turn them into customers. Often times, these types of case studies and resource guides go into super detail on how complex and time-consuming it actually is to create a winning strategy, and then sell that formula and service instead. Again, this all goes back to knowing your target audience and catering to their needs. These are just a few examples to consider when trying to come up with new content ideas and calls-to-action for your site, while also driving new traffic and leads in the process. 3. Product Information, Review Articles and Testimonials Matter We already know that a ton of people are going to Google everyday to learn new things and to research processes to accomplish whatever their personal or business goals are. But what about product and service information? Sure, there are millions of websites about products and services out there, but some do it better than others. Just having a product page with generic information will get you nowhere. Instead, shopping comparison and niche review sites do this extremely well. This is something Amazon has revolutionized over the past several years. Just take a look at any product on their site, and then you will see a ton of product recommendations based on other customer viewing and purchases. Just imagine how much of an increase Amazon sees in order size, thanks to these little recommendations and ratings throughout their site. This method also works very well for affiliate marketing and commission-based lead generation as well. Since site owners and bloggers are pretty good at social media and SEO, it’s actually one of the most popular and effective ways to drive traffic and revenue to some of the top sites on the internet. A perfect example of this can be seen in this HostGator review , which highlights nearly all aspects of the hosting platform. You can bet that anyone looking for a hosting plan and coming across this page will find all of the information they need, and are most certainly ready to take action in the process. At the same time, there are also user reviews and ratings placed throughout the site as well. And with Inc.com recently reporting that “ 84 percent of people trust online reviews as much as friends ”, you can only imagine how well such testimonials and reviews work, even when we don’t actually know the individuals posting them. These examples show how product ratings and testimonials can make a huge improvement to conversions on a shopping or review site, but this method can be effective for any kind of business, from solopreneurs to small businesses . A couple more content ideas are product/service “alternatives” and “review” style posts. You can also write content on your competition and then recommend your own services or products as the better option. If you know your target audience, cater content to exactly what they are looking for, and provide them with real value — they will then likely take action while they are on your site. 4. Run Your Business with EverGreen Content Many of the methods highlighted in the points above are focused on engagement and impulse buying, while some are specifically targeted towards audiences that are already in buying mode. If someone is searching for information on an individual process or product, they are likely already in action mode. Why not create valuable content that can keep working for you for several months and years to come? This is often referred to as “ evergreen content .” In short, this means it’s something that is always in demand and won’t go out of style anytime soon. Here are a few ideas on winning evergreen topics: health/weight loss finance/making money education/employment birthdays, weddings & graduations If you have content (or a business) that caters to any of these areas, you can continually generate traffic and leads everyday of the year. This is usually easier for businesses that already have a focus in these areas, but there are also plenty of opportunities for any brand to tap into these evergreen markets as well. A winning evergreen content strategy can look something like the chart below. It’s not just about pushing out as much content as possible, but instead creating as much value within one post, which can also be promoted and referenced to time and time again. The good news is that this type of content can be created for nearly any type of business model or customer audience that you might have in place. For example, starting a new website or blog isn’t limited to just those who are tech-savvy. Through the use of articles focused on topics like “How to Lose Weight and Blog Your Journey ” or “ Create a Site for Your Upcoming Wedding! “, site owners can create compelling content for an audience, while also monetizing it through the use of HostGator and their affiliate program . Again, this goes back to the providing your audience with a “walk through,” having a call-to-action in place, and also adding in the “evergreen” component as well. How to Make a Solid Content Creation and Marketing Plan For the most part, content creation is the easy part. You can take any of the examples and concepts above, reverse engineer your end call-to-action or monetization process, and then create content around it. If you aren’t a good writer, you can simply map out these data points and then hand it off to a freelancer to complete. But as we noted, content creation is only half of the battle. With more than two million sites and blogs going live daily , you need to have an effective marketing strategy in place. It doesn’t matter if you focus on paid, SEO, or social media — as long as you have at least one in place. Before you leave this article, run through the list one more time, take some notes and then start thinking about how you can improve your business model and engagement with better main page call-to-actions, using reference guides and webinars, and also implementing evergreen content in the mix. Your competition is likely already doing many of these, and now it’s time for you to do the same. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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How to Create Shipping Guidelines for Your Online Business in 5 Steps

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Hosting

The post How to Create Shipping Guidelines for Your Online Business in 5 Steps appeared first on HostGator Blog . Your new online store may have the coolest design, the greatest products, and the most reasonable prices, but does it have the one thing shoppers really want? We’re talking about a great shipping policy—one that gives your customers free options and fast options and provides delivery tracking—can seal the deal with today’s e-commerce customers. Here’s how to create shipping guidelines that can help your store compete.   1. Give Your Customers Multiple Shipping Options People are particular about shipping when they shop online, and they like to have choices. A 2018 international survey of e-commerce shoppers found that half have ditched an online shopping cart because they didn’t like the merchant’s shipping options . It’s a good idea to offer at least two options—a free option for people who aren’t in a rush, and a faster, paid option. Depending on what you sell, where your inventory is stored, and where your customers are, you may also be able to offer local same-day delivery through a third-party service. 2. Calculate Your Shipping Costs The most complex part of creating your shipping guidelines is comparing rates from different shippers and figuring out what shipping will cost, so dive in and get it done first. Your shipping costs will include not only the rates you pay to the carrier but also the cost of packing material and time spent handling and packing the orders, printing shipping labels, paper and ink for labels, etc. All these costs should be built into the shipping charges your customers pay or built into your product pricing if you’re offering free shipping. To keep your shipping-related costs as low as possible, spend some time with different carriers’ rate tables and package classes. See who offers free boxes and envelopes for flat-rate shipping. Compare the rates for those containers with what it would cost to provide your own packaging and pay based on weight. A lot depends on the weight of your products and how far they must go. You’ll also need to figure out the costs your customers will pay at checkout, and it’s almost mandatory to offer some sort of free shipping option, because shoppers expect it. “75 percent of consumers surveyed expect delivery to be free even on orders under $50 , up from 68 percent a year ago,” according to the National Retail Federation’s data. That doesn’t mean every customer wants free shipping every time, though. The same survey found that 35% of online shoppers are willing to pay more for faster, more convenient delivery options when they need them. Whatever you choose to offer, you don’t want to lose money through your shipping choices. Keep in mind that most carriers raise their rates at the beginning of each calendar year because demand is so high. That means you’ll need to review your shipping policy and product pricing each fall—those rate hike announcements usually appear during or just before the holiday season, so don’t miss them amid the holiday rush. 3. Set Up Shipping Security Best Practices If you offer same-day or next-day delivery, make sure your payment processor provides thorough screening for transaction fraud , especially if you sell expensive or rare but popular items. Faster shipping options are popular with scammers because they can sometimes get their merchandise before the bank or the merchant discovers their payment fraud and stops delivery. Always track your shipments, no matter how small. Why? If the item is lost, you’re out the purchase price, and if the customer charges back the purchase through their card issuer, you’ll also have to pay a chargeback fee to your payment processor , which can run anywhere from $20 to $100, depending on the size of the transaction. Tracking keeps your customers happy, cuts down on inquiries to customer service about deliveries, and gives you a way to prove your packages are delivered. Finally, work with a shipper who won’t re-route packages from your store without consulting you first . Scammers sometimes use an unsuspecting consumer’s card and delivery address data to make a purchase, and then call the shipper directly to have the item sent to their lair instead. The result for your store is a loss of merchandise, the value of the sale, and a chargeback fee. 4. Plan for Holiday Season Shipping Changes The holidays are the peak season for most retailers, and they’re crunch time for shipping carriers, too. Every e-commerce store owner needs to keep tabs on holiday season shipping surcharges and timetables to avoid getting stuck with unexpected shipping costs, delayed deliveries, and unhappy customers. Most carriers announce their peak surcharge rates at least several months in advance. You can search your carriers’ sites for surcharge information and use it to adjust your pricing and shipping deals during the holiday season. For example, UPS peak surcharges during the 2018 holiday season ranged from 27 to 99 cents per package, depending on shipping speed and date. If you’re planning a holiday special that cuts your profit margin on a popular item in order to sell more, make sure holiday shipping surcharges won’t push your deal into money-losing territory. Shipping windows and cutoff dates are important for store owners and shoppers alike. Once your shippers publish their cutoff dates for the season (the last dates by which you can ship an item for delivery by Christmas Day), you can add the time it takes to process and pack orders to come up with your store’s cutoff dates. Post them on each page of your site during the holiday shopping season. 5. Share Your Shipping Policy After you decide on your shipping policy, feature the basics on every page of your site along with a link to the fine print in plain English. Put it up high on the page so visitors don’t miss it. And if you have a special shipping deal, include that information, too. Nike does this by promoting its free-shipping offer in exchange for customers’ social media info and/or email address. “Free Shipping for Members. Want it faster? Upgrade for two-day or next-day delivery. Join now.” And just in case shoppers miss that message at the top of each page, Nike also includes a free-shipping dropdown info box on each product page. Set Up Shipping for Your Online Store You can create shipping policy notices on your store pages easily with Gator Website Builder’s drag and drop tools. Gator also gives you a choice of e-commerce templates, coupon tools, inventory management, and other features to help your store run smoothly. Be sure to add an SSL certificate to protect your store from hackers and data thieves, and to help your store do better in customers’ search results.   See how easy it is to get started with Gator now . Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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15 Questions About the New Gator Website Builder

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Hosting

The post 15 Questions About the New Gator Website Builder appeared first on HostGator Blog . Gator Website Builder is a drag-and-drop website builder created by HostGator. Gator was created for anyone who has an idea for a website and wants a frustration-free solution to get a website online with ease. It even has eCommerce functionality! The HostGator team hosted a webinar announcing the Gator Website Builder, complete with a live demo. If you missed the webinar, watch the replay here . Attendees had quite a few great questions about how to use Gator for their needs. Here are the top 15 questions we received about Gator Website Builder during the webinar. 1. Will the Gator Website Builder be available for reseller accounts? A reseller account allows individuals to run their own hosting business and sell hosting accounts to their web design clients. At this time, Gator Website Builder is not available to resellers since Gator does involve a different billing system and platform. 2. I tried working with WordPress and it’s pretty difficult. Can I transfer my WordPress site into Gator? There are certainly many pros and cons to weigh when considering if you should choose between WordPress or a website builder . WordPress is popular and very robust, but does require some configuration involved when you are first setting up your website. We created Gator Website Builder to be a robust tool to create your website with minimal configuration from the beginning. If you want a frustration-free solution to get a website up with ease, Gator Website Builder could be exactly what you need! Watch the webinar to see a live demo or read this article for 10 reasons we think you’ll love Gator . Currently, we don’t have an import or migration capability that allows us to automatically migrate your content from WordPress or other website builders. However, you could manually move your content to Gator Website Builder by copying and pasting your text into the Gator editor. 3. I already have a HostGator account. Do I have access to the Gator Website Builder? If you already have a HostGator website, there is a drag-and-drop editor available in the customer portal. However, in order to access all of the features of the Gator Website Builder, such as the Gator control panel, professionally-designed templates, and the eCommerce functionality, you will need to create an account with Gator Website Builder. 4. What types of design templates come with Gator Website Builder? Gator Website Builder comes with more than 200 professionally-designed themes at no additional cost. The themes are even sorted by category so you can easily find a design that fits your website or business. We had questions about what types of designs are available. Here’s the full list of design categories. This is the full list of design categories available in the Gator: architecture & real estate beauty & fashion blog business & consultant computers & technology construction & trade design & creative hotels & travel lifestyle music & entertainment night life one pagers online store pets & animals photography portfolio professional services restaurants & eateries sport & leisure wedding 5. Can you add SEO elements such as meta tags and alt tags? Yes, Gator Website Builder comes with the ability to change SEO elements without needing an additional plugin! You can change the page title and metadescriptions for each page in the settings tab of each page. To add alt tags to an image, simply click on the image when you upload it, and change the SEO characteristics under the settings section. 6. What packages and features do you recommend for a nonprofit? If you are running a nonprofit website and want to be able to accept donations online, we have a “PayPal donate” element that can be added to the website. The PayPal donate element can be added to any of the Gator plans – even the starter plan – to accept donations. You only need an eCommerce plan if you want to sell physical or digital goods on your website. While there isn’t a specific category for nonprofit websites, all of the themes can be customized with your own photos so any design could easily be appropriate for your nonprofit website. There’s even a category called “one pagers” for websites that don’t need a lot of pages. Need to feature events? Calendar functionality is on our roadmap for future features. In the meantime, you could add HTML to embed Google calendar or something similar. 7. Can I import products into the eCommerce plan instead of entering them manually? The eCommerce store has a product import feature that accepts excel, google sheets, or CSV format. We also have a handy .xls template you can download! 8. Can specific HTML coding be added easily? Yes! Gator Website Builder has an element that allows you to add a block of HTML code anywhere you want on a page. 9. Can you add Venmo as a payment option? Currently, Gator Website Builder integrates with paypal, stripe, and cash on delivery is also an option for local businesses. Venmo is a great idea! We will add this to our roadmap for future development. 10. How many eCommerce sites can I have with the eCommerce package? You can create multiple websites under one account in Gator. Each websites counts as a subscription, and you would be charged for each website. 11. If I start a blog, can I upgrade to eCommerce later? Absolutely! You do need an eCommerce plan to start an online store, but you don’t have to do that right away. Within the dashboard, there is a ‘store’ button. Click this button and you’ll see the option to upgrade to an eCommerce plan and create your store. 12. Can I use my own domain name? Can I have more than one domain name redirect to the site? Yes! If you sign up for one year or more, you will receive a free domain for the first year. If you already have your own domain, you can easily connect it to your Gator website. You can transfer your domain to HostGator with a few steps. Or you can link an existing domain to your Gator account if you would rather keep your domain with your current host. If you would like to link more than one domain to your site, you can do that too! DNS changes would need to be made if the site is registered outside of Gator. Within Gator, you can simply point the domain to the your site in the control panel. 13. Can I edit from my mobile? Unfortunately, at this time, you can only edit your Gator website from a desktop. To fully utilize the functionality of the drag-and-drop editor, it’s really best on a desktop experience. 14. Can I add product categories in the eCommerce store? Yes, the Gator eCommerce store has product category functionality already built in. You can manually create category pages in the main editor and add more categories in the store app.   To add relevant subcategories that will show up in the dropdown for your main menu pages, add a new page for each subcategory and drag it underneath the page you’ve added to the main menu. You can use this page to highlight all the relevant products that fall into the category, and to optimize your site for the relevant SEO keyword. Click to read more about how to create your eCommerce store with a website builder. 15. When I enter products for the store, can I add weight and package size to calculate shipping rates? Your Gator store comes with integrated shipping options thanks to our partnership with Shippo! Shippo is an integrated software company incorporates shipping with multiple carriers through an API and web application. You can use weight-based shipping with priorities like, “Next Day, 2 Day, or Standard Shipping.” You can create your Shippo account from your Gator dashboard and create all the necessary details about your shipments. So what about you? Do you have any questions about the Gator Website Builder that we didn’t cover? Comment with your question below! Gator Website Builder is an affordable option for how to get your website online with ease. Check it out today! Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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What Are Dedicated Servers for Games?

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Hosting

The post What Are Dedicated Servers for Games? appeared first on HostGator Blog . If you love playing video games, then you’ve probably considered running your own gaming server. There’s nothing more frustrating than slow loading games, dropped connections, or experiencing lag that makes gameplay impossible. Issues like these are one of the main reasons gamers decide to use their own dedicated servers. Dedicated server hosting can help to provide the ultimate gaming experience. Whether you’re looking to improve gaming experience across the board or want to create a server environment your friends can enjoy too, then upgrading to a dedicated server just makes sense. Below we look at what a dedicated server actually is, how they can help to improve gaming, as well as the top considerations to take into account when choosing a dedicated server for gaming. What is a Dedicated Server? To start we’ll break down what a dedicated server actually is. Essentially a dedicated server is a physical server that’s dedicated entirely to a single user, you’re not sharing server resources with any other users. Usually, these are used by website owners who have very large websites, receive a high volume of traffic, require a customized server environment, or need enhanced levels of website security like a SSL. However, the great thing about dedicated servers is that they’re incredibly versatile. Once you sign up for a dedicated server package, you can use this server however you desire, including running your very own gaming server. Dedicated servers usually allow for hardware customizations, a variety of operating systems to choose from, firewalls and security monitoring, ongoing maintenance, regular backups, and a dedicated support team. Dedicated servers tend to be towards the higher end of the price spectrum, but there are a ton of advantages that you can’t get with any other style of web hosting , especially if a high level of gaming experience is what you’re after. What you’ll pay for a dedicated server depends upon the length of your contact (monthly, yearly, or multiple years), the company you decide to go with, and the type of dedicated server you require.   What is a Dedicated Server for Gaming? A dedicated server for gaming is a dedicated server that has the requisite requirements to effectively run any game while offering a very high level of performance. What’s required from your server will depend upon the game you’d like to run and how many players you’ll want to have using the server at any given time. If you’re running your own gaming server , some games won’t allow you to charge people to play the game, especially if they’re free and open source. Others, however, are fine with you charging an entrance fee in order to utilize your server. Overall, monetizing your gaming server depends upon the hosting company you’re renting the server from, along with the games you’ll be running via your server. Most hosting companies that offer dedicated servers for gaming will have specialized software that will speed up the game configuration process. At the very least, a company offering dedicated gaming servers will have the necessary hardware to run games at peak capacity.   How Dedicated Servers Improve Gaming There are many dedicated IP benefits you should be aware of, especially for gaming. Sometimes the servers provided by the gaming company won’t cut it, or you’re looking to create the ultimate gaming server for your own games or a place where your online team can practice. Whatever your reason a dedicated gaming server can offer you a ton of advantages. Here are some of the most common benefits you’ll realize when upgrading to a dedicated gaming server.   1. Better Gaming Performance Probably the biggest reason you’ll want to run a dedicated gaming server is to provide a better overall gaming experience. If you’ve been running a game that allows for the use of a dedicated server, then you should probably make the upgrade, if you really care about gaming performance. For example, most games will look for the best connection. But, if the game is incredibly popular, or even if it’s older and there are fewer players, then it might be hard to find a stable connection. Most games will rely on peer-to-peer connection, but sometimes this can be slow of glitchy, depending on the internet connection. Sometimes gaming companies will even provide their own dedicated servers, but due to the cost, most gaming companies will not provide them.   2. More Control and Customization With a dedicated gaming server, you’ll have a much greater level of control over the gaming experience. Some games will even allow you to modify the gameplay, so you can create certain rules, or even control how the game is played. You’ll also be able to control who is allowed onto the gaming server. You’ll be able to add or remove users with ease. This can be valuable if you want to create a gaming server for your friends, or if you want to host a server that allows you and your team to practice, before playing online. In some cases, you can also install software that effectively acts as an anti-cheating tool. This will help provide your server with necessary security measures, so other people can’t manipulate the code to their own advantage.   3. Decreased Level of Lag One of the biggest effects on the overall playability of a game is lag. High lag usually comes into play when a user has a slow internet connection, or they’re connecting from another far-off part of the world. This not only provides them with a poor gaming experience, but it will also affect other users who’re playing the game as well. If you have a team member experiencing a high level of lag, then they could cost your more matches. Overall, teams who are experiencing less lag will tend to win more games and matches. By running your own dedicated server you can help to reduce issues that surround lag for you and any other players who are using the same server.   3. Greater Reliability With a dedicated server, you’ll experience higher levels of reliability than any other type of server. With other types of server environments, like shared servers, you’re competing for server resources with potentially hundreds of other sites. This increases the chances that your server could be temporarily offline when you need it the most. As always, it’s important that you fully understand both dedicated IP and shared hosting plans before choosing the right one for you and your website. Dedicated servers have an extremely high level of uptime, sometimes reaching as high as 100%. Of course, there are minor times when server maintenance needs to be done, but beyond keeping your server up to date there shouldn’t be any other reasons your server will be offline. This means that whenever you want to play a game or host an epic multiplayer match you’ll be able to count on your server.   Considerations When Choosing a Dedicated Gaming Server If you’re sold on getting a dedicated gaming server you’ll want to keep some things in mind throughout your search. Not every company that offers dedicated servers will make it easy to run games on your server. Beyond looking for a hosting provider that actually offers dedicated gaming servers here are some tangible requirements to keep in mind:   1. Know Your Gaming Resource Requirements Every game has different hardware and software requirements. Some online games have massive resource requirements and you’ll need to ensure your server environment is up to the task. If the overarching goal of running a dedicated gaming server is an improved gameplay experience, then you’ll need a server with sufficient resources. You’ll also need to consider how many people you’ll have playing on average. For example, if you’re maxing out server resources with solo gameplay, then you’ll need to upgrade to a server that has a higher level of available resources.   2. Required Memory and Bandwidth Sever memory and bandwidth are two of the main hardware requirements you’ll need to look out for. With enough memory and bandwidth you’ll be able to have a lightning fast connection. You’ll want to invest in a higher bandwidth host, so you can ensure that any games you run will run smoothly.   3. Don’t Choose on Price Alone If you’re trying to save money, then a dedicated gaming server might not be for you. A dedicated server is typically the most expensive forms of hosting you’ll find. You may be able to find cheap dedicated server hosting options, but this could come at a cost of negatively impacting the gameplay experience. With a cheaper provider, you’ll usually have to sacrifice server performance, lack of customer service, and more.   4. Look for a Knowledgeable Support Team Unless you’re an expert in server technology you’ll want to have a solid technical support team behind you. Most dedicated server environments require at least some level of technical expertise to configure and get up and running. But if you’ve set everything up correctly and you still run into an error, you’ll want to be able to troubleshoot the issue with a team of experts. In some cases, you might also be able to find a managed dedicated server. Instead of having to deal with server setup, maintenance, optimization, and any other technical tasks on your own you’ll have a team of experts do it for you. This option is usually more costly but can be very valuable if you don’t have the necessary technical skills.   5. Bundled or Available Server Software Most dedicated servers will offer you the choice of server software to install. You’ll need to make sure that the server software you go with will support your game of choice. If you want to run multiple games on the same dedicated server, then look at the software requirements and ensure they match up. Generally, this won’t be an issue, but some games will have very specific requirements. Beyond the initial dedicated server software requirements, your host might also offer additional software that’ll help morph your standard server into a gaming server with little effort on your part.   Can’t I Just Run a Gaming Server At Home? When you’re doing research and trying to find the perfect dedicated gaming server the question might arise: why don’t I just run my own gaming server? However, if you’re thinking about going this route just know that it’ll require a high level of technical expertise, and you probably won’t be able to get the levels of performance you’re looking for. A dedicated server is technically just a computer that’s connected to the internet. But, a remote dedicated server provided by a hosting company will have all of the specialized server hardware that’s uniquely configured to run the required server software. Simply trying to piece together a server on your own might work, but then you have to think about ongoing maintenance, security, and a lot more. Not only that but if your server crashes you won’t have a support team you can rely on to help you diagnose the issue. You’ll probably spend more time trying to setup and maintain your own server than actually gaming, or hosting games for your friends. Overall, doing your web hosting with a dedicated IP is going to be your best course of action.   Is a Dedicated Server Right for Your Game Environment? If you’re a serious gamer, you can’t go wrong with a dedicated server when making a gaming website . By choosing a high-quality hosting provider you can ensure you’ll get a dedicated gaming server that offers you unparalleled levels of performance, along with the resources required so you can play your favorite games. The process of setting up your own gaming server can be a little technical. But, with the help of a dedicated support team behind you, it might be easier than you think. Plus, you’ll have ultimate freedom in creating your own custom game environment, from your own gameplay options, to who you want to let play with you. Although a dedicated server might be a little costly, for some having the ability to create your own gaming experience, and offer the highest level of gameplay possible is too much to pass up. However, keep in mind that the quality of the host you choose does matter, especially in regards to overall performance, security, and the support team you’ll have behind you. Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →

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