Choosing an eCommerce web hosting plan can be a very difficult process, especially when one considers all of the aspects that need to be taken into consideration before an informed decision can be made. Perhaps even more difficult than selecting an eCommerce hosting plan, is actually going through the process of becoming acquainted with the hosting account once you have purchased it.

With so many modules and options, it can be difficult to keep your mind on the important issues, such as business expansion and security. The latter of the aforementioned terms (security), may be the single most important factor in creating any business website.

What is an SSL Certificate?

An SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is essentially a certificate that is placed on your website that lets your visitors know that your site is in compliance with SSL protocol. SSL is a secure method of file transfer that ensures that any information sent to and from a website is encrypted and completely protected from third-party interception. Even more important than the actual security of a website, is the trust and confidence that visitors place in the security of that website. You can have the most secure website in the world, however if you’re visitors are not aware of the security measures you employ, then they are likely to assume your site is insecure.

Do I Absolutely Need an SSL Certificate?

A website without an SSL certificate will undoubtedly be seen in this light by many of its more knowledgeable visitors, and therefore will ultimately suffer in terms of sales volume. To prevent  this from happening, you’ll need to make sure you not only have all of the proper security measures in place, but that you also make this information readily available in your site’s privacy policy and on all checkout pages. If you’re running a site that does not directly process payments or other critical data that contains financial or personal information, then you will not necessarily need an SSL certificate. However, if you are operating an eCommerce sites that sells items and process payments, then an SSL certificate is absolutely crucial to the success and sustenance of your online business.

Obtaining an SSL Certificate

There are several methods that can be used to obtain an SSL certificate. In some cases, your web hosting provider will offer the SSL certificate as an included feature with a  hosting plan. In fact, many web hosting companies do offer SSL certificates along with their standard eCommerce plans. If you are planning on operating several eCommerce websites, then you’ll need to make sure you have an IP address for each of these sites. This is important to note, as many web hosting companies do not allow you to have multiple IP addresses per hosting account. In most cases you’ll need to buy a separate hosting account for each eCommerce site. Although this may be slightly time consuming, it will help you offer a secure website for your visitors.

Dedicated web hosting ha become the standard for many small and medium-sized online businesses, due to its enhanced performance, functionality, reliability, security and support. While dedicated hosting plans are generally better than shared web hosting plans, not all dedicated hosting plans are the same. Each web hosting company offers different solutions for different customer needs, and each web hosting plan should be examined thoroughly before you decide to go forth with a plan subscription. Knowing the features of each web hosting plan provided by each company will ultimately help you make a more informed decision.

Inmotion Web Hosting

Perhaps one of the most renowned dedicated web hosting providers is Inmotion. Inmotion offers a variety of plans to accommodate all of their customers needs by providing dedicated IP addresses, friendly customer service, and easily expandable web hosting packages.

InMotion Support

Having a good support staff on call at all times is extremely important in the web hosting industry, as problems can occur at all ties of the day and night. Inmotion takes this into consideration by offering 24/7 support, 365 days out of the year. The Inmotion support staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and the company has an incredible track record of 99% uptime. That is very impressive, as it means your site stands a very small chance of experiencing downtime at any point. The support staff at Inmotion will go beyond what is asked of them, even helping you set up your websites firewall, add new PHP modules, and aiding in the completion of other extracurricular server configurations.

Inmotion Servers

Inmotion uses nothing but Dell servers, which are known for being reliable servers. Instead of offering low-end servers like many web hosting companies, Inmotion is known for giving its customers access to premium technology and hardware. It is this commitment to quality that has made Inmotion one of the most recognized web hosting companies in the industry.

Inmotion Security

The bandwidth and diskspace offered by Inmotion is virtually unlimited as their network is one of the most reliable in the industry. Each user receives there own dedicated IP address which lets them conduct online business with absolute assurance that their site is safe from the actions of other  irresponsible websites. By owning their own dedicated IP address, users can rest assured that the responsibility of  running a professional and trustworthy website is left in no ones hands but their own.

Inmotion Guarantee

Aside from the above features, Inmotion also offers a money back guarantee on all of their web  hosting products, which gives you a good idea on how much they believe in their ability to please and support their customers with quality services. Any web hosting company that does not offer such a guarantee is most likely not confident in their ability to offer the same level of service. By knowing that you are opting into a risk free endeavor with no obligations, you can be assured that your money is being used to fund a quality service that will provide your website with the resources needed.

Having a capable Content management system is one of the most important parts of maintaining and operating a website successfully. A good CMS will facilitate and expedite the process of uploading, organizing and editing content on your website within a centralized- user-friendly interface. Having a tool like this at your disposal will boost the overall productivity of your business, allowing you to focus on other aspects of the business, such as marketing and advertising.

It should be noted however that not all content management systems are the same. Each CMS has a list of features that differs slightly, and the user interface of each CMS also varies greatly. In this review we’ve outlined the key features of a commonly overlooked, yet very useful CMS – Cushy CMS.

Implementing Cushy CMS

Using Cushy CMS with your website is a simple process that can be set up in a matter of minutes. You also don’t have to worry about the risk of using a software that you may not enjoy, as the software can be tried for free with full functionality. This means you can use the software on as many websites as you’d like, and as many computers as well. Cushy CMS is an unlimited free CMS solution that is easy to use, and can be installed by even the most novice user.

Ease of Use

Aside from being free, one of the best aspects of the Cushy CMS is it’s user-friendly visually appealing content creation/organization module. In fact, the process is so simple, it is explained in less than three minutes on the official Cushy CMS website. Users can add content, optimize pages and create search engine friendly websites with a few clicks and some simple editing. The learning curve for the Cushy CMS is almost non-existent, as even the most novice user can add photos and text to their web pages with very little effort.

Branding Cushy CMS as Your Own

Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of this CMS i that it can be redistributed as your own CMS solution, for whatever price you’d like. The only catch is you’ll need to purchase the Pro Plan for $28 a month to re-brand the software and resell it. Aside from having reselling rights, you’ll also have access to any future upgrades of the software as well. The Pro Plan also offers a plethora of features that make re-branding and customizing the software simple and fun. For example, you can change the color of the user interface, and you can even use whatever domain name you’d like to sell the CMS. With the Pro Plan users also have access to RSS feeds that let you easily track page changes and other site updates. The pro plan also includes direct email support, and compatibility with 12 different languages.

Conclusion

Overall, Cushy CMS is a very capable content management solution for both the novice and experienced user. Any web designer looking to create their own CMS for their clients should definitely consider Cushy CMS because of it’s reselling capabilities.

The domain market is a massive and thriving industry, filled with eager buyers looking to capitalize and procure a valuable domain name while they are still available. Just as there is a sea of buyers looking for good domain names, there is an entire ocean of domain sellers, and some of them make their living off of selling domain names. The art of buying a domain name specifically to sell it is called domain speculation. There are entire companies that specialize in domain speculation. Some sites even go for hundreds of thousands of dollar, based on the name alone, with no active site included! Considering it only costs about ten dollars per year to register a domain name, domain speculation may be the best investment you could make.

The following tips will help you be successful in the domain speculation industry.

Do Not CyberSquat

Not to be confused with domain speculation, cybersquatting is an illegal practice that often results in lawsuits. Cybersquatting is the act of registering a domain that has been trademarked by another company, in the effort of extorting funds from the owner of the trademark for the domain. However, many times cybersquatters will focus on a domain name that has not yet been trademarked, but instead is a likely target of a particular company. For example, if your company name is RandomDomainCo INC., and your website name is RandomDomain.com. The cybersquatter may buy domains like TheRandomDomain.com, or even misspelled variations like RadnomDomain.com. If you want to start a successful domain speculation business, you should steer clear of dirty tactics like this.

Don’t Be Greedy

Being greedy is a sure way to fail in any business, especially in the domain speculation business. If you’re aiming to make thousands of dollars off of each domain, you’re probably going to be let down. The goal is to make money fast by selling as many domain names as possible. This means you’ll need to focus on realistic goals, rather than high value short .com domain names that are nearly unattainable.  You may even have the bankroll to buy a very valuable domain name in hopes of selling it, but before you jump to a conclusion, you’ll want to make sure you’re not overpaying, as you may never see a return on your investment.

Domain Swooping

Perhaps the best way to procure valuable domains is to snatch them as soon as they expire. There are currently more than thirty million domain names that have been purchased and are now expired. Some of these domain names are excellent, and some of then once housed profitable domains that may even still have live backlinks online! The most valuable expired domains are the ones that have just recently expired, as the marketing efforts of the previous owner may bring instant traffic if the website is resurrected in time. If you can manage to find a domain that has recently expired, has plenty of backlinks, and is still receiving plenty of traffic, you may be able to capitalize on it and sell it for a lot of money instantly. As I mentioned above it is not wise to depend on situations like this, but it is optimal to keep your eye open for such instances.

The single most important feature a web hosting plan can have is a good encryption service. Without proper data encryption, all of the information sent to and from your website can be intercepted by hackers and other cyber criminals. If you run an online business, this can prove to be especially dangerous, as there is important information being transferred on your web server daily, including credit card numbers, bank account numbers, addresses, phone numbers and other information that your customers entrust to you. If this information is intercepted you may be held liable, and ultimately your business could be dismantled.

What is Encryption?

Encryption is the transformation of plain information into encrypted information which cannot be viewed by an outsider without a special key that unlocks the encryption. When data transfers through an encryption service it is scrambled in a seemingly arbitrary fashion. By the time it reaches the other side of the portal, the data is completely unrecognizable and cannot be used by any third party without the key that is custom generated during the encryption process. The encryption services uses a computer algorithm to create a random cipher which prevents hackers from accessing the encrypted information. Many people also use the term decryption to refer to the process of deciphering the information for the end users usability. Over the years the standards for encryption has changed notably.

WEP

WEP – (Wired Equivalent Privacy)  is an algorithm that has been deprecated to effectively secure all IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. Since wireless networks broadcast their messages utilizing radio waves, they are susceptible to intruders, even more than conventional networks with wires attached.  When it was first released, WEP  proposed to provide  completely confidentiality similar to that of a conventional wired network. However, in 200 various crucial weaknesses were noticed by professional   cryptanalysts, and it is now a widely accepted fact that a  WEP connection can be hacked easily obtainable software in a very short time period.

WPA

In response to the aforementioned weaknesses of WEP, WPA was created.

WPA/WPA2 – (Wi-Fi Protected Access)  is a program that provides certification, developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance to represent complete compliance with all security protocol instilled by the Wi-Fi Alliance. These protocols are specifically designed to maintain safety in all wireless networks. The WPA protocol enables safe functionality of IEEE 802.11i standard, but was initially meant to an intermediate security measure to temporarily substitute WEP while 802.11i was being prepared. The later developed WPA2 established an advanced protocol that is now seen as the full standard in data encryption.

Conclusion

Having the proper encryption services to protect your online website is absolutely imperative, especially when running an online business. Knowing the nature for encryption services and what the industry standard is will help you make the right decision without having to experience costly trial and error mishaps. Using only thee best encryption services will keep your business from suffering, and will prevent you and your customers from being victimized.