We have had countless requests from our customers over the years about what we can do to help get rid of their unwanted SPAM email. Until now, we had no recourse other than using the spam filters already available though the Plesk hosting control panel, and we’ve found that they are not quite powerful enough to get rid of everyone’s unwanted spam.

We are proud to announce that we are now offering the option of adding Google Postini Spam Filtering service for your existing email accounts that are hosted with us.

Google Message Filtering, powered by Postini, provides inbound email filtering for organizations of all sizes. It blocks spam, phishing, viruses and other potential email threats before they reach an organization’s network, reducing message volume while at the same time increasing capacity on email servers and infrastructure. The service filters your incoming email just like it would filter a GMail account.  You would have the convenience of keeping your current email addresses (you@yourdomain.com), and having the SPAM filtering power of Google Postini.

Google Message Filtering is delivered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which saves organizations money and IT resources because there is no software or hardware to install. Google Message Filtering offers a 99.999 percent uptime performance SLA and constantly updates anti-spam and antivirus filters to ensure that customers are always protected from the latest inbound threats.

It’s easy to get started with Google Message Filtering. We take care of the one-time setup, by adjusting your email MX records and setting up the email accounts to route email through Google’s data centers. There, messages are analyzed in real time rather than stored to disk to help ensure minimal latency and maximum privacy of all email.

Every evening, you get an email that lists all of the blocked spam you’ve received throughout the day, from there, you have the ability to send any mail that was accidentally caught, and/or add email addresses to your safe senders list.

Postini Mail filtering requires a one-time setup fee, and would also add a marginal cost to your monthly hosting bill.

Please contact us for pricing, or if you have any questions whatsoever, or are interested in adding Google Message Filtering to your hosting account.

Thank you,
Sleepless Media

Overwhelmed while trying to select the best e-commerce shopping cart solution for your website?  If so, it’s completely understandable-after all, this is a really complicated area of internet technology these days.

What’s our advice?  Well, first things first, take a deep breath and try to slow down.  It’s just not worth rushing into the wrong solution.  Next, it’s time to take a look at the basics of choosing the right e-commerce solution.  Ready?

Define Your Specific E-Commerce Needs.

For example, will you be selling thousands of different products across a wide variety of categories?  Perhaps you’re just seeking the best shopping cart solution to sell a single product…maybe an e-book or something similar.  Think about the overall objective you’d like to accomplish with the shopping cart solution before going any further-it’s incredibly easy to talk ourselves into a very complex solution when something simple, easy, and more affordable will not only suffice, but probably even work better for the particular situation.

Free Solution, Premium Software, Open Source – What’s The Difference?

Because there are so many different types of e-commerce out there, it’s only natural that the shopping cart solutions being offered are just as diverse.  It can be confusing to decipher one variety from the next, but here’s kind of a quick, simple rundown:

• Free Shopping Cart Solution – This is something like the solution offered by PayPal to their customers (or something similar anyway). In this case, the shopping cart is set up through the account with that service and is designed to direct transactions on your site through the service for payment processing. It’s a win-win in simple cases…you’ll receive an easy way to accept payment and enable e-commerce on your site, while the service will take a small percentage fee to cover their end of the deal. Again, because this option is not a robust, full-scale solution, it’s probably best for those promoting a smaller product inventory.

• Premium E-Commerce Software – There are several well-known names out there when it comes to premium e-commerce shopping cart software. Most premium choices available are very good-packed with both practical and advanced feature sets and designed to handle complete e-commerce inventory management, payment processing, and beyond. In many cases, it’s worth paying extra for a premium solution for the support alone-and in this regard, it’s always a good idea to make sure that the support offered will stand up to that which is promised before committing to the purchase.

• Open Sources Shopping Cart Software – This type of e-commerce solution is becoming more and more popular with web developers and e-tailers alike for good reason…it’s free! Many of the open source options available are truly excellent. One thing that is typically lacking in this category though, is the ability to pick up the phone and call for support. Not usually a problem if your web designer or developer is your point of contact on all such issues (and they know their way around the software they’ve installed), but in the worst cases, you could end up being left out in the dark.

The Last Word.

As with any major purchase, doing the background first will save lots of hassle, headache, and expense later on.  Be sure to ask plenty of questions.  Don’t just settle for a one-size-fits-all solution for your website’s e-commerce shopping care solution.

Let’s face it…intro pages often look really attractive and can even provide visitors with a thoughtful initial perception of your website (and therefore, your organization as a whole).  But before deciding to follow the bandwagon and go with the same kind of introductory pages that many other sites might be using, it’s a wise idea to step back and take a look at the actual impact that using intro pages has on your website.

Here’s the primary thing you must know about intro pages…

No matter what your competitors-or even your favorite inspirational sites-might be doing, intro pages are indeed bad for your website and for search engine optimization (SEO) too.  If there’s just one takeaway to be gained from reading this blog post, this would definitely be it.

But why are intro pages really so bad for a website?

First things first, they tend to be a distraction for the visitor.  Sure, they might look great and provide a neat little video clip or animated design upon landing at your website’s homepage.  However, most web users are looking to find the information they’re seeking as quickly as possible.

In an era of limited patience, and especially with more and more on the go mobile-device web users out there, having to wait even 5 extra seconds to reach the “bread and butter” of the site they’re visiting can make or break the deal.  It’s true-an intro page can be just enough of a distraction to turn a visitor (a potential customer) away for good.

And one additional thing to note here, while we’ve briefly mentioned mobile device internet users, is the fact that many mobile devices will have difficulty rendering and displaying the typical intro page correctly.  This makes for yet one more unnecessary distraction.

Intro pages are bad for search optimization purposes too.

Because intro pages are frequently and intentionally devoid of any real written content-opting instead to show a flashy graphic or animation sequence-they are more or less completely ignored by the search engines.  These days, SEO looks mostly at the written content of a page to determine what the page is all about and where it should be listed.  When the search engine spider indexes the website and finds an intro page devoid of helpful content or relevant information, it will quickly make the decision not to index the page.  Intro pages and SEO are just not compatible.

In conclusion…

Now again, the premise of using an intro page for your site is probably based on very good intentions.  But you’ve got to admit that you’ve probably even abandoned sites with intros yourself while browsing the web, right?  It’s okay, we all have!

The bottom line?  It’s just best to skip the intros and skip all of the trouble they bring.

Spam filters these days are very good at catching spam.  Unfortunately for legit email marketers and those sending regular newsletters that subscribers look forward to receiving, all too often, the filters are a little bit too good-they block lots of e-mail that is anything but junk mail or spam.

Now, while it’s just not possible to stop every spam filter out there from blocking your e-newsletters from reaching their intended recipients, there are several common sense tactics you can take to help prevent your newsletter marketing efforts from floundering due to hyper-sensitive filters.  Let’s take a look…

Start with a reputable mailing list service or auto responder. Managing the professional distribution of a quality e-newsletter should be done with A-level mailing services.  In other words, if you’re still using your computer’s default email program to broadcast your newsletter, it’s probably time to upgrade to a system that’s designed to handle the task-one that follows the proper opt-in and subscription management protocols (look for CAN-SPAM compliance). Spam blockers are much more likely to give e-newsletters sent through a well-respected mailing service a pass based on the service’s good reputation.

Use e-mail authentication. This could become a very complicated technical explanation really quick if we let it…so we won’t.  Here’s what you should know about email authentication in a nutshell-authenticating your mail basically means signing it with your own unique digital fingerprint.  It’s a way to tell the recipient’s internet service provider exactly who you are and allow them quickly know if you’re legit or not.  There are several common protocols out there, each with their own merits.  If you see that your mailing service uses DKIM, Domain Keys, SPF, or SenderID, then you should be in the clear.

Do not use spam-proofing software. You know, the kind that replaces certain letters of certain words with random, miscellaneous characters in order to “trick” the spam filters into thinking your newsletter distribution is not spam.  Using it might seem like a good idea-and you might definitely have the very best of intentions-after all, the software is supposedly designed to stealth your mail through strict filters.  Problem is, all of the genuine spammers out there are also using it, naturally raising the suspicion of spam filters.

Make sure you are welcome. Your e-newsletter recipients probably do want to receive your mailings-after all, they did sign up for them, right?  The thing is, sometimes it’s really easy to forget which mailings we’ve signed up to receive or not.  Make sure you can be easily recognized by using a unique identity for your newsletter.  Also, it never hurts to remind receivers why they’re receiving the email and where they signed up with a quick note at the very beginning of the email. Doing this alone will reduce the tendency for spam-wary recipients to hit the “junk” button before they even think about what the email could possibly be.  The less your e-newsletters are manually marked by spam, the better-spam filters factor these manual submissions into their blocking algorithms.

Following these tactics is a great start.  Of course, it’s also a good idea to be a good “netizen” and not overdo your mailings with too much self-promotion or by sending them too frequently. Remember to provide solid value to your subscribers and ensure they’ll continue to look forward to receiving your e-newsletters each time you send them.  Do this and your efforts will pay off for sure!

Choosing the right web designer should be a straightforward process. In fact, it’s mostly about asking the right questions and running your own quick “background check” before making the decision to proceed. The thing is, to really end up with a successful project outcome in the end, it’s also extremely important to be prepared as a customer to help your web designer create a true masterpiece.

Start with the right type of designer.

It’s a common misconception, but it’s one that seems to be quite persistent-many folks believe that their advertising agency or print design company is the obvious partner to turn to when it’s time to design a web presence. Sure, in some cases, traditional media design houses have really great web design divisions. But the fact is that it’s kind of an exception, not a rule. Just like you’d choose a specialist to help solve a particular medical issue, it’s important to seek a web designer that specializes in web design for healthy project results.

Ask plenty of questions.

Every professional web designer knows that developing a new website is a major component of your organization’s marketing and visibility strategy-and the pros will be more than willing to answer as many questions as you can think of with complete patience. After all, asking the right questions not only makes you a more informed consumer, but it helps the web designer get to know you and your needs too. Designers can provide better, more accurate solutions when they really understand your desires.

Consider design philosophy.

Some designers rely on pre-existing design templates while others develop an entire website from the ground up. Others focus on the graphic design components and outsource the code. In the end, it’s the final results that really matter, but it is a good idea to make sure your web designer’s philosophy meshes with your own picture of how the process should work. Creative professionals and business-minded folks are often pursuing a project from two completely different angles-make sure you’ll be able to meet in the middle for the best of both worlds.

Know your niche.

And be sure the web designer you choose also understands your niche well. Examples? Well for starters, just consider all of the different websites you personally browse on a daily basis-there’s the social media, corporate style websites, interactive websites, blogs, entertainment-oriented sites…the list goes on and on. Ultimately, you’ll want to choose a web designer that is proficient in your niche and with the feel of site you’re developing.

How about a few more quick tips?

By following the selection pointers above, you’ll definitely be on the right track to choosing the right web designer for your project. Here are a few more quick tips to consider as you move forward:

• Select a designer that communicates quickly and effectively.
• Establish a mutually agreeable project timeline before getting started.
• Understand that the creative process is quite complex and does take reasonable time.
• Ask for testimonials or case studies from similar projects to yours.
• Think about additional services needed and who’ll provide them-SEO, content development, etc.

Above all, do remember that the web designer you choose is your number one ally to help you create the best website possible for your needs-take your time and choose wisely.