Web Presence Starts with a Good Web Host

I decided that it was time to write about something that not everyone knows about, but is present in our lives everyday. That something would be website hosting. Every website online has to be hosted on a Web Server. The companies that provide this service are called Web Host. Now, you would think that this is all pretty simple, just pay your measly $2.00 per month and be on your way. Well, it’s not that simple. See Web Servers are computers, but with much more memory and disk space. Each computer/server can run Windows, or Linux. I prefer Linux over Windows because I like to use open-source software like WordPress and Joomla. Both of these content management systems us PHP, which runs on Linux natively. Windows offers this but I’m sure you probably have to buy some kind of plugin or something. Windows runs ASP nativel

Houston Web Hosting

Anyway, the reason I’m talking about this is because a friend recently came to me and wanted to develop a website on a Windows server. So, I logged in and went to install WordPress and low in behold no databases were available. What? No databases. Well if we were on a Linux box we would not have that problem. So in order to install WordPress or any database driven application I would have to buy 5 databases for an additional $5 per month on top of the already paid for services. LAME!  So my point is always research your Web Hosting company and read the fine print. I have 3 Web Host that I love, Media Temple, Site5, and another local Houston Web Hosting company called Host Gator that you should check out.
All offer great hosting packages and if your in Houston, it’s nice to support a local company. Also, if you host multiple sites, it’s good SEO practice to have each site on a separate account or IP address. That’s my 2 cents on web hosts and I hope you find it helpful. If you find yourself in a situation or need hosting advice feel free to contact me for your web hosting needs : ). Cheers!

School Days at the Art Institute of Houston

Calling all Photographers and Videographers

If you have talent, a camera, and a little extra time on your hands, Shutterstock.com want’s you.  I remember signing up with Shutterstock awhile back and they were paying people for their photos if someone downloaded it.  Now that might not sound like much, but if your work is good and you can target a specific niche, then you might actually be able to create a substantial amount of pocket change with this.  I have also read that they are also accepting stock video footage now.

Shooting video footage for Shutterstock.com pays more as well.  This especially appealed to me because of the commissions you can make.  You make 30% per download for clips priced from $10-$50 bucks.  They have tight guidelines but once your footage is up and running it could be a gold mine for you.  I’m working on getting my photos and clips together as I type this fine message for you guys. So go check it out and let me know if any of you become a part of this program and I might just buy some of your content. To your success!

Freelancers Streamline Your Invoicing

Save time, get paid faster and look more professional by streamlining your invoicing with FreshBooks. Look like a pro and impress your clients by giving your clients online access to their invoices and account history.  According to our 2007 User Survey our users get paid on average 14 days faster after starting to use FreshBooks. How do we do this? By allowing clients to view and pay invoices online without any hassle.