You may have recently received email with the subject line “Important ICANN Notice Regarding Your Domain Name(s)”.  This is a standard annual check by all accredited registrars to make sure their domain registrants review their domain name contact information and make any changes necessary to ensure accuracy.   If you receive this email from your domain registrar (including YNot Web), just follow the instructions defined in the email, which will generally include a link for you to review your current contact settings.  Under ICANN rules and the terms of most domain registration agreements, providing false contact information can be grounds for revoking your domain name registration.  To review the ICANN policy, visit: http://www.icann.org/registrars/wdrp.htm

Don’t push that button!  I would recommend NOT upgrading to IE7 when your Windows Updater prompts you to do so.  There are still some major issues.  Frankly, I’m surprised Microsoft would release it like this, even with Microsoft’s so-called reputation for putting out products that aren’t quite ready.  Complaints about computers crashing, unable to browse anything, IE freezing up are pouring in on forums and newsgroups.  Personally, I can say, though I readily installed it in order to start testing websites I’m working on in the new version, I can no longer use IE as my main browser (Firefox to the rescue).  Basically, it fails to load so many pages on the first try (saying ‘there must be problem with your internet connection or the website you’re viewing).  Refreshing the pages allows me to continue on my merry way, but who wants to hit ‘refresh’ for nearly every page they browse to. 

Again, I’m shocked they would release the product this way.  Perhaps their beta group is not representive of real people?  I know several techs who installed it long ago with no issues.  Unfortuntely, I’m not one of them.  I do plan to try a reinstall but if that doesn’t work and I can’t revert to IE6, I will be switching completely to Firefox until MS can correct the issues.

In case you’re stuck with no way back to IE6, you can find Firefox with the link below.  Its nice and fast and has given us the option for ‘tabbed’ windows(something MS is introducing with IE7) for a couple of years:

Well, yes I did.  I had a nice 2 week reprieve from the “summer” season but that came quickly to an end with the “end of year crush”.

I’m not really sure why (and it seems to get worse every year) but I get inundated with new prospects as the holidays approach.  And I’m not the only one, I get several referrals from other developers that are similarly getting barraged with requests and I know the ones I pass overflow business to are also booked.

My only theory is that people made pledges to themselves that they would either get a web site or fix their existing web site and make it work better for them this year and suddenly they realize ‘this year’ is almost over.  I also get some stragglers that want something up ‘for the holidays’.  Most holiday-themed (or shopping themed) sites need to be up and running by no later than mid-September to be contenders for the holiday shopping frenzy. 

As for anyone who wants a site by the end of the year, I pretty much have a policy against it by mid-October.  Normally, 6-10 weeks is plenty of time to finish a site, but I find it works out better for everyone involved to have a realistic view of their level of involvement during the holidays.  Plus, launching at the beginning of the new year can give you a sense of optimism and vigor to meet your business goals for next year.

For those who still want to try to find a developer that will say they can finish your project before the end of the year, I say sincere apologies that I cannot oblige and good luck with your project.

I’ve been dealing with several clients whose websites have been down or not functioning properly due to server issues at their various web hosts.

No host can provide a 100% uptime, but what DO you look for when shopping for a host?  First, they should publicize some sort of “uptime guarantee.” Without a guarantee, you have no assurances that they are at least trying or providing due diligence in keeping your website available.  I’ve recently seen a popular host REMOVE their guarantee from their sales pages.  Not a good sign of things to come for their clients.

So what kind of uptime guarantee is good enough? This depends on your needs and, honestly, your budget.  Of course, no one wants to have their website DOWN ever, but what do these numbers mean?  Here are some common guarantees in the industry today and the actual amount of downtime per month involved.

• 99.5% uptime = Over 3 HOURS (216 minutes) of downtime in a month
• 99.8% uptime = 86.4 minutes of downtime in a month
• 99.9% uptime = 43.2 minutes of downtime in a month
• 99.99% uptime = 4.32 minutes of downtime in a month
• 99.999% uptime = 0.432 minutes (26 seconds) in a month

Based on these numbers, I would never recommend a host with less than a 99.9% uptime guarantee and I would rather see my clients on a 99.99% uptime server.  I only know one host, Rackspace, that gives a 99.9999% uptime guarantee and they only do managed server hosting and is much more expensive than standard hosting.

So check for an uptime guarantee as one of the necessary elements when shopping for a web host.

Google provides yet another set of valuable educational resources at its Conversion University. On this site (marketed mostly to Google Analytics users), you will find loads of articles about creating a website that converts visitors into customers and helps retain your existing customers.

My favorite article found here was “Monetizing Non-Ecommerce Sites.” No, its not yet another article about how you can Get Rich with Adsense–it is an editorial on how you can measure the value of a non-Ecommerce site, such as a website that promotes a service-oriented business. Not only will the ideas presented help the average business-owner understand the important connection between their website and sales, but it also emphasizes the importance of tracking for determining your ROI (Return on Investment).

If you need a website that includes more conversion techniques, YNot Web can help. We also provide our own article section on Conversions, for those who want to investigate and test out ideas on their own.

I finally had a chance to expand on and input the strategies from two out the three handouts I provided at my presentations on Web Site Content.
The first is titled Must Have Content and the second is How Content Affects Your Search Engine Listings and Ranking.
Check them both out in my Articles section on Creating a Web Site.