Web Hosting – Get Your Business Online (Part 1 of 3)

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Welcome to the first article in our three part series “Get Your Business Online!”

Part 1: Claiming Your Domain and Email

Part 2: Branding & Design

Part 3: Site Functions & Customer Needs

The first step in getting your business online is picking the right domain name.? The domain name is the address people will type into their web browser (ex. Google’s domain name is “www.google.com”) to visit your website.

Ideally, you will be able to chose the “.com” that is your business name exactly.? For instance, if you own “My Example Business,” it would be great to own “www.MyExampleBusiness.com”.? However often domain names are already claimed (you can search for domain names HERE!), you may have to get creative.? Make sure it’s a domain that customers will remember if it’s different from your name, like “www.My-Example-Business.com” or “www.MyExampleBiz.com”.

TIP: If a suitable “.com” is not available, feel free to grab a “.net” or other ending…just make sure to clearly advertize it, since we assume most sites are “.com”

TIP #2: If you can, but the same domain (“www.MyExampleBusiness”) with multiple endings (.com, .net, .org) and have your hosting company “point” them to each other.? (EarthLink does this…if you type in EarthLink.com, you’ll be redirected to EarthLink.net!)

Once you have a domain, it needs to be hosted somewhere (having your site hosted is what allows people to see it!), and you should decide if you want to include business email addresses as part of the hosting.? Including business email in your hosting package would allow you to have your email reflect your url (ex. John@MyExampleBusiness.com), which customers love!

Check out EarthLink’s pricing options for registering a domain name and getting set up with hosting/company email!? (And check back next week for part 2 of this series!)

Fun Daily Search Engine Puzzle ? A Google a Day

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Search engine puzzle - a Google a DayThe Internet experts at EarthLink know that searching is a very important skill to master if you’re going to get the most out of your time online. That’s why the EarthLink Blog has already published three posts of search tips.

The search experts at Google definitely agree with us, and to encourage search excellence they’ve been running a daily search puzzle challenge called a Google a Day. Each day’s puzzle is designed to challenge your searching skills more.

At 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) every day a new search puzzle is posted, along with the answer to the previous day’s challenge.

We encourage you to test your searching skills now at a Google a Day.

Netflix Earns Weinstein Co. Streaming Deal

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Netflix has solidified the rights to offer “The Artist” and other films from The Weinstein Co. before such movies will be offered through pay-to-watch cable channels like HBO and Showtime.

The announcement came less than a day after Comcast said they plan to compete with Netflix (with a less expensive service…$5 a month to Netflix’s $8) by launching “Xfinity Streampix,” which will stream classic TV series and films to their high-speed Internet customers.

The big threat to Netflix is that some Comcast customers (those pay for multiple services), will get Streampix at no additional cost.

However, it should be said that Netflix’s library is more extensive, and their new licensing agreement with The Weinstien Co. ensures that customers will still get more for their money having a Netflix account. (And keep in mind EarthLink when you’re in need of a high-speed internet connection to enjoy their streaming service!)

Protecting Your Privacy…Before You Travel

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Going somewhere?

Whenever you do travel, chances are you’ll be taking some technology with you to make life away from home easier and to help you stay connected. But both traveling and technology have risks associated with them, including privacy risks.

In this post, we’ll discuss some of the most common privacy risks and ways you can help protect yourself before you leave. We’ll follow up with a part-2 post focused on privacy tips while you’re on the road.

Tech Tips to Prepare You to Travel Safely

1. Watch What You Say on Social Media: It’s vacation time! So you may be tempted to blast out to all your friends and followers that you’re heading out of town… but think again. Unless you have a restricted network that includes only close friends and family, posting an “I’m out of the country for 2 weeks” message on Facebook and Twitter can be an open invitation for someone to try to break into your empty home.

2. Decide What’s Truly Essential: If you don’t really need to bring a laptop, don’t. Not only do you risk losing these important items on the road, but the sensitive personal information they contain is more vulnerable out in public. And if you are travelling internationally, it is possible you may encounter border crossings where your computer is actually searched.

3. Password-Protect or Encrypt All Devices with Personal Information: As noted above, information on your devices is at more risk when you are on the road. So plan ahead. Before you go, make sure the devices themselves are password-protected, with more than the easiest-to-guess passwords. You may also want to encrypt folders or drives on your laptop that have particularly sensitive information, such as medical or financial documents.

4. Back Up Your Data: It’s smart to back up your computer all the time, but travelling should give you extra incentive. Losing your laptop and having to replace it is bad enough. Losing all your data and not being able to replace it can be catastrophic. You can back up your laptop to an external hard drive at home, or use a convenient online service such as EarthLink Online Backup to back up multiple devices and have remote access to all your files.

5. Set up Tracking on Your Devices: Should your phone, tablet, or laptop unfortunately disappear, you’ll be more secure if you have previously installed security software to track it down and wipe sensitive information remotely if necessary. iPhone, iPad, and Mac users should make sure they have the free Find My iPhone app installed and set up. There’s a link to setup instructions from the login screen of the app on iPhone and iPad. On your Mac, go to System Preferences, click iCloud, then click the Find My Mac checkbox and confirm you want to track your Mac. Android users have several free options including Norton Mobile Security with the Norton Anti-Theft Plug-In and Webroot SecureAnywhere Mobile. For PC laptop tracking, Prey is a free, open-source option. Lojack for Laptops theft recovery software offers subscriptions starting at $30/year (as of 2/15/12).

Be smart about your privacy. And bon voyage!