As the holiday season draws near, it’s time to start thinking about updating your website to capitalize on the increased traffic that often accompanies this time of year. Satisfied customers and a successful holiday season will make any business owner smile, and your website can play a big role in making that happen. Taking extra time to prepare now is a good way to avoid technical problems and other issues during the holidays.

1. Optimize for Mobile Devices

Thanks to the growth of smartphones and other mobile devices, online shoppers don’t have to be chained to their computer desks to check off purchases from their holiday shopping lists. Developing a simple and functional theme specifically for your mobile users can increase your potential customer base. The easiest way to do this is to make use of responsive designs. With a responsive design, your website will modify itself automatically to create the optimal layout for the customer’s mobile device; these designs can accommodate both smartphones and tablets. Due to the smaller screen size typical of mobile devices you probably won’t be able to maintain the exact same design from your desktop version, but you can still use the same branding and color scheme.

2. Improve Your Website’s Loading Time

You may want a website with all the latest bells and whistles, but consider your website’s performance before you load it up with high-resolution graphics and elaborate scripts. Sluggish loading times on your website frustrate your customers and may encourage them to shop elsewhere. Before the holidays start, have your technical support team run tests on your website to see how fast each page loads for the average user. Changes to your design, such as reducing large images and eliminating complex coding scripts, can help your website perform better. You can also opt for a better cloud solution or web hosting server for your website to see even more improvement in loading speeds.

3. Secure Customer Data

Shopping online is always risky; some websites don’t safeguard customers’ data properly, putting these individuals at risk for identity theft and other issues. Investing in robust security software is a good way to protect your customers’ important data. Your technical support staff should keep apprised of the latest developments in online security to help your customers stay safe. To help alleviate your customers’ concerns, you can include information on your website about the security protocols that you use and offer tips on how your customers can shop online safely.

4. Offer Friendly Customer Support

Browser problems, incorrect stock levels and missing orders are just some of the common customer issues your staff will need to work through. Having enough staff on hand is an essential ingredient to helping your website survive the holidays. If possible, offer a live chat support option to those who are currently browsing your website. Keep an eye on your social media profiles in case a customer tries to reach you through those networks. Some customers may prefer to use email to get in touch with you; using a ticket system to handle incoming customer emails is a good way to keep track of issues. Help your staff to cultivate a customer-centric attitude, and try to anticipate common problems so that you can develop solutions ahead of time.

5. Boost Your Search Engine Presence

Improving your search engine rankings before the holidays begin can help fuel your success during the holiday rush. There are many ways to help boost your search engine rankings, starting with updating older pages on your website; offering fresh information to your visitors is a good way to impress search engines and show that your website is active. Adding special features, such as a blog, can also help. If your blog content is particularly noteworthy, you can expect more traffic to head your way. Your blog content should offer something useful to readers, such as tips for using your products.

6. Prepare a Festive Look

A festive design for your website encourages your customers to start thinking about the holidays. You don’t need to spend excessive money on a festive look; changing some pictures and making some cosmetic changes, such as altering the font color, can help dress up your website. Your holiday look should also include banners displaying any specials you plan to run, including discount codes.

7. Brush Up Your Social Media Presence

Social media networks offer an excellent way to connect with individual customers, generate buzz about your products and direct traffic to your website. Don’t let your social media networks sit unused with only a link to your website; update them frequently and interact with your customers. Make sure your profile on each platform matches so that you have cohesive branding. As the holidays draw near, using social media to announce your specials will help you get more interest from potential customers.

8. Beef Up Your Website’s Server

If your website is unable to handle massive amounts of traffic at once, a crowd of shoppers on big sales days could lead to sluggish performance or an outright crash. Major server problems are not something to be taken lightly; investing in the right server infrastructure for your expected traffic is a good way to avoid these issues. If your customer base is larger, you might need a dedicated server to keep your website afloat during the holidays. Dedicated Servers may cost more than basic shared or cloud hosting, but your website won’t be at the mercy of problems caused by other websites/users on the server.

Examining every aspect of your website before the holidays arrive can help you prepare a strategy to improve customer satisfaction and your own business success. A good website requires many things, including fast loading times, quality customer service and security. Working on these elements early can ensure that your website is ready long before your customers even start to think about tackling their holiday shopping lists with your business.

Many online business owners make the mistake of overlooking the importance of having a fast website. When you want to get the most from your online presence, the loading speed of your content is one of the most important factors to your success. Your prospects have a lot of distractions fighting for their attention, and you must compete with their friends, family and other advertisers if you want to make any progress.

Web users don’t have much tolerance for slow websites, and most will navigate away if your content takes longer than a few seconds to appear on the screen. So every step that you take to increase your website’s performance will help you attract and retain customers, and you are about to learn how to get moving down the right path.

Content Delivery Network

One of the benefits of working online is that you can reach a worldwide audience, and doing so is one of the best ways to enhance your profitability. But when someone downloads your content or accesses your website, the speed at which the content loads will depend on that person’s location. For example, if your hosting server is located in New York, someone who lives in China will encounter delays when trying to access your website.

If your prospects are forced to wait too long, they will often opt to find a local business that can offer them efficient download speeds. You can overcome that problem by using a content delivery network, or CDN. When you have a CDN, your content is stored on several servers around the world. When someone accesses your website or tries to download a file, the CDN will send the files to them from the server that is closest to that person’s location.

Reduce Image Size

When crafting great content, including valuable and engaging information is not always enough when you need to attract readers and to keep their attention. When you want to keep your audience’s focus, including images is a great way to reach your desired outcome.

But having too many images on your website can impact the loading speed in a negative way, causing you to lose prospects. Although many people try to remove most of the images from their website, doing so is not your only option. You can try converting your images to a web format to reduce their size without harming their quality.

Check Your Scripts

You can find many scripts that will help you captivate and engage your audience, but using too many of them can decrease the loading speed of your website. If you want to speed it up, take a look at each plug-in to determine if you need it and how much it is impacting your site. Disable one script at a time to determine if the changes make a difference in the amount of time that it takes for your content to load. If one of your scripts is causing a lot of harm, consider removing it, but you can also check to see if the developer has released any updates.

Upgrade Your Hosting

If you have tried everything of which you can think to improve your loading speed, then you might want to take a look at your hosting provider. If you have a basic plan, then you might not have access to the amount of bandwidth and resources that you need to improve the speed with which your audience can access your content.

If your hosting plan is the source of the problem, then you might want to upgrade to a better hosting solution, such as a dedicated server, or even a better provider. Although you likely wish to avoid spending more money than needed, the enhanced speed of an effective hosting plan is an investment that will pay for itself over time.

Those who don’t take steps to optimize their website’s loading speed are likely losing more customers than they realize, and you don’t want to repeat the same mistake. Putting in a little effort can go a long way when it comes to keeping your prospects engaged and focused on what you have to say. Optimizing your website is a good place to start when you want to make your content load with enhanced efficiency. But if that step does not help, then upgrading your hosting plan or provider is sure to get the job done.

When your website loads quickly, your customers’ experience will not be interrupted, and they will be that much more likely to make a purchase as a result. The speed with which your content loads is also a reflection of you and your products. When you prevent delays, you are also showing your customers that you care about your reputation, and you will start to earn their respect.

No matter what your business offers, building an online presence is an essential part of becoming a global brand. Any business owner can put up a website with little trouble. However, you need a lot more than a simple HTML page to make an impact on the crowded stage of the Internet. Engaging content, elegant designs and a willingness to embrace the latest changes in technology and social networking can help your business website stand out.

Fresh Content

Your website’s content can have a major impact on your audience and your search engine ranking. Evergreen content, which refers to content that is almost always relevant regardless of when a visitor views it, can continue to serve your website well for years. Time-sensitive content, such as a special event guide from three years ago, will not rank highly with search engines after the event has passed. Take the time needed to go through your website’s content, retiring old content and updating pages that are still useful.

Strong Presence on Social Media

Social media networks are not going away anytime soon. Finding your own voice on social media is a great way to gain a wide audience of customers. Some businesses choose to do the bare minimum with social media, such as tweeting the occasional new product or posting on Facebook every other month. This approach may not win you too many followers, however. If you want to take an active approach instead, start by interacting directly with your customers. If someone tweets a question about a product that you make or sell, respond as soon as you can. Every time you post a new blog entry, share it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

Fast Website with a Responsive Design

Desktop and laptop computers were once the primary methods of browsing the Internet. Today, people can view the web through a long list of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and even Smart TVs. If your website only has a desktop, non-mobile optimized design, customers using other methods to browse may have significant trouble reading or interacting with your website. A responsive design offers an ideal solution; the design cleverly adjusts to best fit the screen of the user, no matter how big or small. Mobile friendly sites also tend to be load faster and rank higher with Search Engines. If your site is still slow, even after utilizing a mobile/responsive design, it may be time to upgrade your server and/or Web Hosting provider

Multiple Methods of Contact

Your customers have their own preferences for how they like to get in touch with companies. Customers who are versatile with smartphones and social media may prefer to contact you through Twitter. Other customers may want to stick with email or use a form on your website. Make sure your website is equipped with a simple page detailing all of the methods of contact available. A live chat feature is another great way to connect with your customers and quickly solve minor issues; if this method of contact makes sense for your business, be sure to include it.

A Blog with Regular Updates

Blogs are powerful tools that let you connect with customers, offer useful information and build your search engine ranking. Even if you don’t consider yourself an expert writer, you can still make a meaningful impact through your blog. Write about topics that are closely related to your business and offer something of value to your readers. If you sell gym equipment through your website, for example, your blog should include articles about eating healthy and new exercises to try. It’s not a bad idea to post blogs that address timely issues, but you should focus on writing blog entries that will generate search traffic throughout the year.

A Comprehensive Branding Strategy

Developing a brand for your online presence is a good way to build recognition for your company. Start by unifying all of your online profiles, including your social media accounts. Each profile should use the same imagery so that your audience can instantly recognize your company whenever you post. Your branding should reflect your website through either the use of logos or color scheme. If possible, use the same username across all of your profiles, and opt for a username that is simple and memorable. Once you’ve built your brand, you can work on boosting your brand’s reputation through positive reviews and good customer outreach.

Marketing Plan

There are many ways to market your company online, including some that won’t cost you a dime. Dutifully building your brand through tweets and Facebook shares will net you some customers, but it may take some time to see the full benefit of your labors. Targeted advertising can help you generate customers more quickly. You can use a number of methods to achieve this, including soliciting bloggers to post about your company and paying for banner advertising on popular websites. You can also produce videos and other multimedia content about your company’s products and services to improve your online presence and build customer loyalty.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings

A good search engine ranking will help you become the popular choice when customers are searching for your product or service. Optimizing for search engines can be done through a variety of means, including building organic links with other companies or individuals. For example, you could ask bloggers to become brand ambassadors for you in order to get your links on their websites. Fresh content can also be a big boost for your ranking; updating your blog regularly can help with this. Keeping your social media profiles updated with frequent links to your fresh content can also help. If you produce videos, make sure that your video posts link back to your website as well.

The strength of your company’s website and online presence can help drive your success. A winning online strategy helps your company to live where your customers are. Putting time and money into developing a quality online brand will generate long-term returns on your investment and help your company to thrive in today’s competitive economy.

If you run your own small business, you may find yourself asking the question “Does my business really need a website? Isn’t Facebook really my website these days?” Facebook and other social media platforms like LinkedIn, and Twitter, all give you a little space to publish your message. Think of it as a small billboard that you get for free. However, if you want to provide a branded and interactive experience that drives business to you, having your own website is crucial.

Think you don’t need a website because you just have local clients who come to your shop? You can get even more local clients aware of your business by having a website, combined with using social media. For instance, having your own website lets you setup email news letters (so you can re-announce to your current clients to come back in during promotional periods), as well as sell direct to people outside your region. Even if you are a local retailer, focused on walk in sales only, a website won’t hurt you, it will only help promote more people to come in and check you out!

The first step in starting a website for your business is finding a web hosting solution. Web hosting is a type of service that allows individuals or organizations to make their website visible on the internet. This can vary greatly from a simple static web page to a truly interactive video rich experience that drives sales through an online e-commerce shopping cart. Web hosting companies provide dedicated servers or shared space on a server for clients that are housed in an internet connected datacenter. Web hosts can also provide datacenter space and connectivity for other advanced needs beyond just website hosting, such as an office’s central file server, mail server, or even virtual desktops. Web hosting is also commonly referred to as “Cloud Hosting”, or “The Cloud” since your website resides out on the internet, allowing anyone to access the information you want publicized.

Your Web Hosting Provider’s job is to keep your website always online, secure, and fast so that your potential and current clients continue to find and shop with you, and not your competitor. Selecting a reliable Web Hosting Provider is crucial because when you site is down, people cannot get information or make purchases. Every minute your website is down impacts your reputation and could mean losing a potential customer or make your business appear unreliable. Choosing the right Web Hosting provider to fit your business needs can seem to be a large task with all the vendors and options on the market today, but don’t fear, TurnKey Internet has got you covered.

If you are serious about your business, you plan to grow, and picking TurnKey Internet as your Web Hosting partner provides you future growth ready flexibility. TurnKey Internet offers a wide range of cost effective cloud service options and platforms to get your business online. From value-priced Web Hosting Plans, Virtual Private Servers, Dedicated Servers, Managed Servers to Secure Colocation Services, TurnKey Internet can meet your cloud-based needs from one small virtual server, up to hundreds of dedicated servers. The foundation and core of TurnKey Internet is structured for lighting speed and rapid growth through our company-owned network and datacenter.

The question should no longer be “Does my business really need a website?” But rather “Why did I wait so long to start?”

Examining critical aspects of your website can help you prepare a strategy to improve customer satisfaction and your own business success. A good website requires many things, including fast loading times, quality customer service and security. Working on these elements early can ensure that your website is ready long before your customers even start to think about using your business.

Loading Times

You may want a website with all the latest bells and whistles, but consider your website’s performance before you load it up with high-resolution graphics and elaborate scripts. Sluggish loading times on your website frustrate your customers and may encourage them to go elsewhere. Have your technical support team run tests on your website to see how fast each page loads for the average user. Changes to your design, such as reducing large images and eliminating complex coding scripts, can help your website perform better. You can also opt for a better hosting package for your website to see even more improvement in loading speeds.

Search Engine Optimization

Improving your website’s search engine rankings can help fuel the success of your business. There are many ways to help boost your search engine rankings, starting with updating older pages on your website; offering fresh information to your visitors is a good way to impress search engines and show that your website is active. Adding special features, such as a blog, can also help. If your blog content is particularly noteworthy, you can expect more traffic to head your way. Your blog content should offer something useful to readers, such as tips for using your products or services.

Mobile Friendly

Thanks to the growth of smartphones and other mobile digital devices, online shoppers no longer have to be chained to their computer desks. Developing a simple and functional theme specifically for your mobile users can increase your potential customer base. The easiest way to do this is to make use of responsive designs. With a responsive design, your website will modify itself automatically to create the optimal layout for the customer’s mobile device; these designs can accommodate both smartphones and tablets. Due to the smaller screen size typical of mobile devices you probably won’t be able to maintain the exact same design from your desktop version, but you can still use the same branding and color scheme.

Data Security

Shopping online is always risky; some websites don’t safeguard customers’ data properly, putting these individuals at risk for identity theft and other issues. Investing in robust security software is a good way to protect your customers’ important data. Your technical support staff should keep apprised of the latest developments in online security to help your customers stay safe. To help alleviate your customers’ concerns, you can include information on your website about the security protocols that you use and offer tips on how your customers can shop online safely.

Support

Browser problems, incorrect stock levels and missing orders are just some of the common customer issues your staff will need to work through. Having enough staff on hand is an essential ingredient to helping your website survives. If possible, offer a live chat support option to those who are currently browsing your website. Keep an eye on your social media profiles in case a customer tries to reach you through those networks. Some customers may prefer to use email to get in touch with you; using a ticket system to handle incoming customer emails is a good way to keep track of issues. Help your staff to cultivate a customer-centric attitude, and try to anticipate common problems so that you can develop solutions ahead of time.

Don’t Forget Social Media

Social media networks offer an excellent way to connect with individual customers, generate buzz about your products and direct traffic to your website. Don’t let your social media networks sit unused with only a link to your website; update them frequently and interact with your customers. Make sure your profile on each platform matches so that you have cohesive branding.

As you know, we’re big on making sure that you’re all happy as clams with the service you’re receiving from us. How happy is a clam, you ask? I don’t know. I don’t even know where that expression came from, and that’s not important right now.

Anyway, I feel it is important to give you blog readers a heads up on a crazy, world-wide WordPress attack that might be affecting your service, just in case you haven’t stopped by the TurnKey Helpdesk recently. I just had a chat with our Operations Manager, Brian, and since he basically sleeps in our cold containment pods, what you’re about to read is fresh from the kitchen. Watch your hands—the plate is hot…

There is currently a world-wide attack affecting all WordPress sites at all hosts. This is an attack of unprecedented nature, from a botnet operating on 90,000+ IP addresses.

Due to the nature of the attack, memory consumption on targeted servers has increased. In some cases, this has resulted in degradation of performance and unresponsive servers. This is due to a high volume of ‘http’ requests, which can cause some servers to start swapping memory to disk, and possibly run out of memory. We’ve put measures in place at the firewall and at server level to off-load a lot of the attack, however, there isn’t much more we can do at this time. We have disabled all access to wp-login.php to ensure none of our customers are at risk. For those customers needing to log into their WordPress sites, please open a ticket with our support team, and we can provide access to your sites.

We are working closely with our security and channel partners to further address the issue as it becomes possible.

Again, we feel it’s important to stress that this is not a TurnKey-specific issue. Brian and I took a peek around, and it seems like everyone, everywhere is fighting the same, annoying battle.

We’re super grateful for your understanding and patience while the attack runs its course. If you would like further assistance, or have any additional questions, feel free to contact us by phone or email, Live Chat, Facebook or Twitter—however you would like. Owl? Sea plane? Regardless, we’ll be listening. Sit tight, and we will iron this out as soon as possible.

Howdy-do, TurnKey Lovers?

A couple of weeks ago, my co-worker, Joe Schoonbeck, came up with a brilliant idea for a post. He suggested we write up a quick “How-To” on some of the essentials you need to begin a hosting business. What a simple, yet profound idea. If I had a dime every time we received questions about how to set up hosting, I would be able to buy a triple with cheese and a large fry from Wendy’s. Enough of this talk about food; let’s get down to business.

Now, this list of ideas is by no means set in stone. These are just a few steps that I believe will give you a good foundation to build your business upon.

 
Step 1 – Decide and Buy

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is important to determine which type of reseller account suits your needs. Unlike spandex, one size does not fit all. You see, at TurnKey Internet, we sell different types of reseller accounts: alpha, master, and WHM (web host manager).

Each reseller account has its pros and cons, but we’ll leave that for another article. For this entry into the TurnKey diary, let’s just keep it very high-level. Alpha accounts can resell Master accounts and WHM accounts, while Master accounts can only resell WHM accounts. Then, the poor, old WHM accounts can only resell cPanel accounts. This allows you to resell multiple accounts on your website.

Once you decide which account is best for you, purchase it.

Step 2 – Create

I had an intense, internal debate about step 2. Initially, I was thinking about skipping right to Step 3 (configuring your DNS), but it didn’t make sense to me to get into that if you have no site to share with the world.

You can take multiple steps in setting up your website, so I will be brief. You can use TurnKey’s website builder that is included in our reseller packages. Or, maybe you have a developer who creates fantastic websites in his/her sleep. The choices are limitless on this step.

Step 3 – Setup (Part I: Your DNS)

For the sake of this article, I’m going to assume you do not know what DNS is. I’m going to instead share how I teach what DNS (domain name system) is to our newbie engineers. You see, I compare DNS to a post office system. You have your streets and your addresses, which allow people to find your place of residence. That’s what DNS is, in a nut shell.

You have your website, and in order for others to see your masterpiece, you must first tell them where it is. You do this with your DNS. You have your DNS record, which contains your website’s IP address and your nameservers. Your IP address is essentially like the number on your mailbox. Your nameserver(s) would be the street(s) on which your house resides. You have to setup your DNS in order for others to visit your site.

Step 4 – Configure

Now that you have your site online and users purchasing hosting from you, they will inevitably need support. This could be with anything, from support for setting up your clients’ websites, to adding space to their account.

You will need some point of communication that you can use to speak with your clients. Our TurnKey reseller accounts each come with free helpdesk software included, which you can white label in your company’s name. This allows you to have a way for your customers to easily and efficiently submit tickets.

Step 5 – Setup (Part II: Extras)

When I say “setup extras”, these are items that can add increased functionality to your hosting company. While this step can be rather large, we will just stick to a few of the basics.

If you’re selling anything on your site, you will need to install an SSL certificate. This basically encrypts your users’ connections when they submit orders to your company. I would say this is just as important as your website. If you don’t happen to have an SSL certificate lying around, you can request a FREE SSL with your TurnKey reseller account. If you’re going to be accepting orders, you may need a billing system that can help keep those orders in line. Enter—one of our most popular free extras—a free WHMCS license.

 
Now, there are no exact steps, but these can give you a good foundation for beginning your hosting account career.

Until next time, Turnkey Lovers!

Anyone with a blog faces this conundrum at one time or another. Some people start out with a free blogging service like typepad or blogger, and, as they grow their audience, decide they need their own property. Others start out managing their own blog and get mired in the wordpress updates or spam and bail for a free, fully managed option. Before leaping right in, there are several items to consider when deciding which arrangement is right for you.

What are your Goals?

Are you planning on world domination or is your blog primarily for your friends and family? If you’re aspirations are modest, there is no reason to invest your time and money into a privately hosted blog. On the other hand, if you have loftier goals and think  you might, one day, want to become a pundit or amass a million followers, hosting your own property could pay dividends.

Design

Are you a designer? Does it matter to you to have your blog look just so? With free blogs, you have severely limited options design-wise. You can pick colors and templates, but you can’t go much beyond that. If you want to design your blog from the ground up, a privately hosted blog is right for you.

Maintenance

How good are you at computers? Do you understand how to configure a database? Do you understand PHP, blog software installation stuff or server-side configurations? None of this is particularly difficult, and it is very possible to learn it all with a little elbow grease. But, if you haven’t got the time, or don’t want to be bothered, a free blog is the best choice.

Branding

Generally, a blog with its own memorable domain name is much more brandable than a free blog domain (that includes .typepad or .wordpress within the URL). A private domain projects a professional image and sticks in people’s minds. Name your blog something clever to really capitalize on the memory factor. If you have big dreams, think about the promotional materials and business cards you may use in the future. Your own domain will look smashing on both.

Making Money

If your blog is popular, you can sell ads and make money, regardless of what format your blog happens to be in. Arguably, advertisers may be more inclined to take you seriously with your own domain name, but numbers talk. If you have the traffic, they’ll be interested.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’ve decided on hosting your own blog with your own domain name, look no further than TurnKey Website.

Today I am very excited to be able to announce our newest software-as-a-service solution: TurnKey Website! TurnKey Website is an easy-to-use website builder that will save businesses thousands of dollars in web design costs. It includes over 1,000 different design templates you can completely customize in minutes. It also comes with tons of web applications (like blog, SitePal, image gallery, guestbook, forum, feedback, RSS reader and more), traffic reports, a free domain name AND ecommerce shop pages! Of course, all of this is backed by our world-class 24×7 support.

But I’ve Never Made a Website Before!
For those of you who may feel a little bit timid about leaping into designing your own company website, I completely understand where you’re coming from. As a former small business owner myself, I remember feeling completely overwhelmed by both the cost of hiring a designer, and the steep learning curve of figuring out how to do it myself. I ended up spending many hours that I didn’t really have to design my site. In the end it was functional, but it wasn’t pretty, and my company’s reputation suffered. If I had had TurnKey Website back then, who knows how my business would have done!

Video Tutorials
If you have never used a website builder before, you will probably benefit from watching our short tutorials that demonstrate the software and illustrate, quickly and easily, how you can use it to build your own business website. Everything in TurnKey Website is customizable. You pick colors, include your logo and edit all the text. If you watch the tutorials and follow the easy step-by-step instructions, you will be amazed how much functionality you suddenly find at your fingertips.

The Highest Quality: Professional Results Every Time
The first time I tried TurnKey Website, I was shocked by the quality of the templates. They look extremely professional—in fact, many “professional” designers use similar templates for their projects—projects that bring in thousands of dollars for the designers. The only difference between those designers and you is that they know how to use the software! To be fair, a lot of the web design software out there is extremely convoluded and confusing, and it’s worth it to hire an expert—figuring it out yourself would be worth the money, and more! But TurnKey Website isn’t hard to figure out. It makes sense! In fact, you could learn it in 30 minutes and then turn around and sell your design services to the next guy! Seriously. It’s that easy and that good.

And There’s More
Beyond just the design of your website, TurnKey Website includes tons of added programs to build your online presence—from ecommerce tools to images, from blogging to flash intro pages. Once you understand the basics, you can set up an online store in minutes, and start taking credit card payments right away.

Give it a Shot
Try TurnKey Website today and we know you will be amazed with what you can do, and super pleased by the price tag (only $7.95/month). And with our free 30-day money back guarantee, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. How often does that happen?

IPv6 stands for Internet Protocol version 6 and it is the all new version of how computers will communicate on the Internet (some computers already speak the IPv6 protocol, as do some web sites). With the last of the IPv4 address space about to run out in late 2011, any new devices, computers or web sites connecting to the Internet after that date will now connecting via IPv6.  IPv6 has been designed to handle the growth of the internet, for 100’s of more years – and is the standard going forward that websites, and online businesses need to be ready for.

This means that new cell phones, and home computers as well as web sites will soon be be only on the IPv6 address space.  In order for these new devices to communicate and talk to the ‘old internet’ that resides on IPv4 a sort of proxy system will be created by service providers to connect their subscribers to who need to reach the ‘old’ IPv4 internet web sites of online destinations.  The problem with this is that by forcing everyone through a proxy to ‘gateway’ to the old network, will create bottlenecks and lower quality service (as well as security issues for ecommerce enabled web sites).  So to avoid this congestion on the 1-lane exit ramp between IPv6 and IPv4, what you need to do is make sure your web site or dedicated web server has both an IPv4 AND IPv6 ip address assigned to it.

If you ignore IPv6, or are with a web hosting company that doesn’t support IPv6, you are going to jeaporadize client relationships, and lost sales.  If you don’t connect your web site or dedicated web server to the IPv6 network you will force your online visitors coming from the next generation IPv6 network to go through those IPv4 proxy aggregation choke points, and force your potential and current customers into a lower quality (and less secure) experience reaching your online business.

So, is your web site ready for IPv6?  If the answer is “no” or “I don’t know”, you need to get started with IPv6.  Many of you probably still remember the countdown to Year 2000, and the great computer glitch that never came.  Well IPv6 is coming, and it will be in 2011 and 2012 that everyone will be forced into that reality, you better be ready for it.  The good news is it only takes a few minutes, and no disruption to your web site to enable it for IPv6.

To get your web site ready for IPv6 doesn’t take a lot, you need to contact your datacenter and/or web hosting provider and make sure they are IPv6 ready.  If they are not yet IPv6 ready, you have a bigger challenge ahead, as you have to wait until they get ready.   Internet providers have to upgrade their routing infrastrcuture, put in special software, and train their staff, as well as spend a lot of time configuring their network to be ready for IPv6.  If your internet provider hasn’t done this, it’s getting late in the ball game so you should call and ask when they will be ready.  If they answer “we don’t know”, its time to find another web hosting provider before 2011 hits.

If you are with  web  hosting provider that is IPv6 enabled then the next step is pretty easy, contact them and order an IPv6 ip adddress for your web site or server.  Due to the added time/configuration and labor of the new IPv6 network it’s likely the web hosting provider may charge you a small feel for the setup or small monthly fee, but then you can rest asured you are ready for the future.

Once your web site has its IPv6 address (which may looks a little strange, for instance www.turnkeyinternet.net  as the following ‘IPv6’ address:  2064:7c00::1 ) but the good news is you don’t have to remember those strange looking IPv6 addresses.  The wonderfull world of domain names and dns settings has already long since solved this since the early 1990’s when IPv6 was first concieved.  You simply need to add an “AAAA” record in your dns for your web site pointing at your new IPv6 address, and that’s it!  Your traditional web site IPv4 address already has a domin name “A” record – so by simply adding this “AAAA” record for your domain name, you now will be both IPv4 and IPv6 enabled and ready for the future.    This means that if someone types in www.yoursitename.com if they are connected to an IPv6 network, they will get your IPv6 address and route there directly.  If someone is on the old IPv4 and type in www.yoursitename.com they will get the IPv4 address and go straight there. In no way will either party have to go through a proxy or congested IPv6 to IPv4 system – and your online business will perform at it’s best no matter which network your web visitors are traveling from!