Web Hosting Packages – Buy for Current Needs or Future Growth?

Web hosting packages vary in scope as much as businesses vary in needs.  It can be tough to determine the right package to purchase when your company is new (or in a phase of growth) because you need to decide if you want to select a web hosting plan that fits your current needs and upgrade as needs change, or to pick a plan you can grow into so you don’t have to hassle with an upgrade.

Here are three scenarios of a business that will help you decide which option is the best fit for you…

1) Your Business is a New Start-Up

As a start up, the goal is growth.  It can be tempting to try and cut costs when launching a business, but the time and stress of upgrading a hosting plan soon after purchasing it may not be worth the cost savings.  If you plan on growing, why select as plan that fits your current needs, when you could go one step up and have room to grow?

2) Your Business is Established, but is Getting Online for the First Time

If your business has been established, and you’re simply getting yourself online for the first time, select a plan that fits your current size. Unless you plan on moving most of your sales to an online store, or plan on revamping the way you do business, chances are you will know the commitment to an online presence you’ll need.  It could still be useful to select a plan a step above what you think you’ll need (especially if you’re adding an online shopping cart), but you can be comfortable selecting a plan that fits your current needs since you’re established instead of brand new.

3) Your Business is a Side Business or Hobby

Being a “small” business can be wonderful.  Either it’s a side business, jut for fun, or the online component of your business doesn’t need to be huge (though you do need an online presence, as it’s expected by consumers in today’s economy).  If you’re this type of business, feel free to select a small plan.  If it grows, congratulate yourself and then upgrade, but if you know going into it that your web hosting needs will be conservative, there’s no need to chose a more in depth plan until you have to.

Experienced Web Hosting from EarthLink

In 1995, before Google, before Facebook, before NetFlix and Wikipedia, when AltaVista was the top search engine and email was new…there was EarthLink Web Hosting.

For 18 years (practically as long as the concept of “web hosting” itself has even existed!), EarthLink has been giving businesses (and individuals) a quality option to host their website(s). Many other companies have popped up (and will continue to do so, now that the cloud is here), but no one has the tried-and-true experience like EarthLink.  Trust a brand new company, or one that’s proven itself for almost 20 years?

So, if you’re in the market for an experienced web hosting company to be your long-term, stable provider, look no further than EarthLink’s plans.  There’s bound to be one that fits your needs; after all, we’ve been around long enough to know!

 

Web Hosting – Why EarthLink is a Great Choice, pt 2

Last week we presented the first 5 points on this list, explaining the base reasons that EarthLink the best web hosting service provider.  This week we bring you the other five…the “frosting on the cake” if you will.  And, of course, should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call us (1-888-532-5004)!

6. FREE S.E.O. Tools. Search engine optimization (SEO) can help you drive more traffic to your website through customers clicking on your search engine results. Our free tools help you optimize your business website for google (and other search engines); it also lists your website on 60+ online directories and your physical location on many popular GPS systems!

7. FREE Email Marketing Tools. EarthLink’s Email Announcer Pro makes it easy to create email newsletters, manage customer contact lists, and track the open and click-through rates of your email marketing campaigns!

8. FREE Social Media Tools. Our free SocialStream tool lets you manage and post to multiple social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN) from one simple interface!

9. WordPress blog installer. EarthLink’s WordPress Installer is makes setting up a blog on your site through WordPress (the web’s top blogging software) …all within your EarthLink Web Hosting account!

10. We want you to succeed!  Our support staff is here to help you with questions, comments, and to resolve any issues that may arise.  EarthLink also has a variety of self-help tools to answer your questions any time of the day.  You’re our customer, and we care about you…when you succeed, we succeed!

Web Hosting – Why EarthLink is a Great Choice, pt 1

The world of web hosting can be confusing, but it doesn’t need to be.  As you’re researching, EarthLink wants to point out 10 reasons why EarthLink Web Hosting is the best choice out there.  This week we’ll cover the first 5 reasons (the basics), and next week we’ll round off the list with the final 5 (the “frosting on the cake” reasons).

1. Experience. New tech companies seem to pop up daily; it can be hard to see who is trustworthy and who won’t make it through the year (leaving your service up a creek without a paddle).  But EarthLink has been providing web hosting since 1995. 1995.  18 years of experience speaks a lot louder than the ad campaigns of start-ups.

2. Do-it-Yourself and Do-it-for-Me professional Design Options. If you want to build your website yourself, you can code it, or choose from a wide selection of professionally designed templates.  (This is as easy as selecting a template, entering your business information, and clicking to push the site live.)  Or, if you’d rather have a designer make your site, we have in-house professionals ready to help you (all for a low price that’s included in the hosting package)!

3.eCommerce Options. Both our Do-it-Yourself and Do-it-for-Me hosting packages can include full ecommerce (in-site shopping cart) capabilities so you can process orders within your site.

4. Value. EarthLink has found the perfect balance between cost and capabilities.  We’re not the cheapest and weakest out there, and we’re not the priciest and fanciest, but we are the most experiences web hosting provider offering robust plans at affordable prices.

5. Free Domain Names. EarthLink isn’t going to nickle-and-dime you.  Your URL is free with any web hosting plan.