If you are a Sleepless Web Hosting customer, you may need to update your SMTP outgoing mail server settings due to a recent Plesk/Firewall upgrade. Some users have reported questions about their settings in their mail clients/programs, and we are busy helping with any requests that come in. In the meantime, please refer to the following settings you can refer to for the most common mail clients. In the meantime, please be aware that you can check your webmail anytime at webmail.yourdomain.com by entering your full email address and password.

Mac Mail
Use port 587
Check the “Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) checkbox in the advanced settings
When you get a pop up informing you of a security warning, approve the certificate permanently.

Outlook (PC)
Use port 587
Use TLS
When you get a pop up informing you of a security warning, approve the certificate permanently.

Outlook 2003 (PC)
Override default port and use port 587
Use SSL
When you get a pop up informing you of a security warning, approve the certificate permanently.

Mozilla Thunderbird (PC)Use port 587
Use STARTTLS with normal password authentication
When you get a pop up informing you of a security warning, approve the certificate permanently.

Outlook (Mac)
Override default port and use port 587
Use SSL
When you get a pop up informing you of a security warning, approve the certificate permanently.

Thank you and we apologize for any inconvenience.
- The Sleepless Media Team

Here Are 5 Proven Ways An Ordering App Will Benefit Your Restaurant

Benefit One: Ordering Online…It’s Where Your Customers Are

Your customers appreciate when you go above and beyond to serve them great food—and perhaps more importantly—make their hectic lives easier in the process. When you show your commitment to them by offering them better ways to interact through the technology we’ve all come to know and expect, you’ll earn more repeat customers for life. It’s true, restaurants using online ordering apps tend to show a marked increase in repeat orders. Part of it is the convienece; the other part has a lot to do with being connected with your customer in ways that having your own restaurant app can facilitate.

Benefit Two: Stand Out…Be Proud To Be Local

The big chains are already in the game—but most local folks aren’t fully aware of this yet. Your local restaurant can very affordably play on the same level playing field as the chains with mobile ordering and menu capabilities. And through word of mouth and other easy marketing techniques, you can promote the fact that you’re local and you have cutting edge customer convenience. Again, while the chains might have the capability, they don’t do a very good job promoting it…most local potential customers don’t even know that they have the capability. But you can have your cake and eat it too by creating your own mobile app and simply promoting it to your existing clientele and elsewhere in your market area.

Benefit Three: Your Restaurant In Your Customer’s Back Pocket

Who actually uses a phone book these days? Do you even have an up to date phone book in your drawer currently? Most people have put the phone book right in the recycle bin and moved on to their always handy smart phone for all of their phone lookup and local directory needs. It’s just too easy, because it’s always there, always up to date, and just a click away. You can accelerate this principle for your restaurant by putting your own app right on your customers’ mobile device home screens. They won’t even have to search…it’s right there!

Benefit Four: Beat The Competition

You have a mobile ordering app for your restaurant. Your competitors don’t. It’s that simple as well in the eyes of your customers. When they want to place a quick carry out or delivery order via the convenience of their mobile device, and they know that your business caters to their mobile savviness, you become the go to restaurant while your competition is left in the dark. Restaurant apps are catching on quickly in the industry, but you can still be first and lock in your position today.

Benefit Five: Increase Your Order Size

It’s been noted that customers using a mobile ordering app tend to place larger orders than by phoning it in. Maybe it’s because they have a visual guide that shows them just how delicious your fare is…kind of like having a great in-house menu and team that present an enticing vision to your in-house customers. You can’t do that over the phone, and a phone book add is extremely limited at best in the amount of information you can present—but you can custom tailor your message perfectly with a restaurant ordering app. Show your customers how great your food is, give them an easy to use ordering interface, and watch your average order size grow. It really makes sense.

So what are you waiting for? You can still be the first in your market to do an online ordering app right—and you can cement your market-leader position by doing so. It’s a simple process, and doesn’t even have to cost an arm and a leg. Let’s talk about some of the options and how having a restaurant ordering app can boost your bottom line.

What Is A QR Code?

A QR Code That Links To Our Homepage – http://sleeplessmedia.com

A QR code is simply one of the pixilated barcodes you’ve been seeing all over the place—online and offline alike. You’ll see an example image right here next to these words. QR stands for “Quick Response,” and the square format filled with smaller squares is basically becoming a replacement for the standard UPC barcode (the series of vertical lines) that we’ve seen on products for years. But back to what’s important here…

QR codes have become a very popular way to share information quickly, especially for the world we live in today where seemingly everyone has a photo-capable, internet-connected smartphone in their pocket at any given moment. The idea is that you might see an ad or other piece of material with a QR code embedded in it and you can simply take a snapshot with your phone—or within your phone’s QR reader app—and you’ll instantly be directed to more information. It’s all about interactivity.

The most common use of a QR code is to direct a viewer to a website or perhaps a specific webpage within a website that is intended to provide them with a more in depth experience based on where they saw the QR code in the first place. But the codes can also connect a person to a phone number, SMS (text) message, or a variety of other creative directions.

There are other formats out there that are similar to QR codes—some allowing for creative designs within the code itself. That said, QR codes remain the most universal and widely used format.

How Can You Use A QR Code To Promote Your Website?

The ways of using a QR code to promote your website are really only limited to your imagination. Most commonly, though, they’re used to connect the offline world to the online. Use QR codes that link to your website on all of your print material:

• Print Advertising
• Business Cards
• Brochures
• Letterheads
• Item Packaging
• So on, and so forth

To get started and generate a QR code right away, all you have to do is search for QR Code Generator on your preferred search engine. There are hundreds of free services and sites out there that will get you going in just seconds.

This is straightforward enough, right? More creative uses would be to connect offline visitors to a specific page on your site—maybe a form they can submit to receive more information related to the exact place your QR code will be displayed.
Some folks use a QR code on their print materials to link to sort of a landing page website that includes direct links to their website, social media accounts, phone number, etc. Kind of like a fully featured online interactive business card, if you will.

In the end, it’s all about convenience. Sure, you can get creative with your use of QR Codes to promote your website, but it doesn’t have to be complicated at all. You can start using them today to allow smartphone users the ability to use a technology they’re familiar with to reach your site. Beyond that, the sky’s the limit!

Time is valuable. Time is money. When it comes to website content and keeping an active social media profile across all of you social media accounts, a little bit of automation between accounts in the form of cross-posting and syncing is an excellent thing.

It’s a piece of cake sync up your Facebook Page with Twitter. Here’s how to do it:

1. Visit http://www.facebook.com/twitter/ – You’ll need to log into your Facebook account that manages your Facebook Page along the way.

2. Under the big Green button that says “Link My Profile to Twitter,” select the smaller text link that says, “Link a Page to Twitter.”

3. If your Facebook account manages multiple Pages, you’ll now be asked which Facebook Page you would like to connect to Twitter. Select Accordingly.

4. Next, you’ll be taken to an authorization page on Twitter. Here, you’ll need to log into Twitter using the Twitter account credentials that you’d like to connect with Facebook. Enter the account login and press the “Authorize app” blue button.

5. After successfully authorizing the connection via Twitter, you’ll be redirected back to Facebook where you can select which portions of your Facebook Page you would like to have synced up with Twitter in the future. You can select from multiple options that include Status Updates, Photos, Notes, Events, etc.

6. Finish up by selecting “Save Changes” and that’s about all there is to it.

From this point on, when you make an update on your Facebook Page, the updates will automatically be synced and reposted on your associated Twitter account. As you can see, doing this saves time and helps you keep your social media accounts active and out in front of your followers. And you just can’t beat that!

The Quick And Easy Way To Make A Website Project Outline

1. Brainstorm and make a list of all of the pages you’d like to have on the new website, ideally with a very brief note to go with each that explains what that page is about / what it should accomplish. Use this list to explain your overall vision to your designers.

2. Organize the pages into a logical flow. This is the “Outline” portion of the planning process. With websites, the traditionally effective structure consists of a handful of main category pages and then includes subpages for each of these main pages that break into further additional detail for each category. Some folks go as far as making note cards, one for each desired page, and then laying them all out on a table or even the floor and organizing them into groups and order. Seems like overkill maybe, but for larger sites, it certainly could be a good way to visualize how it all will fit together. With a good ordered outline, your web designer / developers will be able to get a good feel for what you’re aiming to accomplish and will be able to use this to create the ideal navigational structure of your site. It’s very helpful to create a good outline like this.

3. Think of additional features you might want to have on the site. What are your competitors doing that you really like (or don’t like for that matter)? Are these features you might want to include in your new website? This is the opportunity to make a list of potential ideas—whether big or small—and pass them along to your web designer for conversation and feedback. Your web designer will absolutely appreciate this portion of the website outline, even if it is just a list of talking points—as ultimately, it helps the designer fully understand your vision and help to create a possible solution that is going to really match your goals.

And that’s pretty much it as far as creating a quick and easy website outline…just 3 simple steps essentially. Easy, enough, don’t you think?

Again, this isn’t a full working wireframe, nor does it get into the solutions and specifics that your web designers & developers will use to help reach your goals for the site. What it does do is provide clear, easy-to-share communication that your designer will be able to use to more accurately understand your vision and objectives for the site—it allows them to create the specific solutions to make it all happen and deliver the great result you expect from a professional.

And why not leave the heavy lifting to the designers and developers…after all, that’s their job, right?

What exactly is anchor text on a website?

Speaking in context, most of the time the term anchor text means the visible part of a hyperlink on a web page. In other words, the anchor text is the word or word phrase that you actually see on the page (usually underlined or differentiated with a specific color) that you click on to follow that link. It’s not the code or the behind the scenes stuff, but rather, it’s the link text itself.

What is anchor text used for?

Well, by the human, it’s used to identify and understand what the link is or where it goes. Best practices always suggest that the link’s anchor text is indeed naturally descriptive so visitors can understand what the link is and where it’s going to take them at a quick glance.

Why does anchor text matter when it comes to SEO?

Traditionally, analyzing the links both within your site that point to other pages within your own site, and also by analyzing links from other external websites that point to pages on your site have been one of the primary ways that search engines understand what your web page is about (by interpreting the anchor text of links pointing to that page). Also, links to your pages have been traditional viewed as popularity votes. The important thing to understand here is that this is all changing on a daily basis – the search engines are smarter and smarter every day and are not as easy to manipulate via anchor text as many believed they once were. That said, search engines most definitely still pay attention to anchor text on your site as a way to analyze what your page is about and how it should be listed.

How should you use anchor text for best results?

Best practices today are to not “over-manipulate” anchor text first and foremost. It used to be that using the same anchor text for something like 10 links on a given page was a great way to do well in the search engines for keywords related to that anchor text used. Not the case anymore. Search engines are much smarter and know that when they see something like this, they’re probably being tricked or manipulated. Keep it natural with your link anchor text and don’t try to force it by repeatedly using a certain keyword as your anchor text. Instead, be descriptive, and by all means use your keyword if it fits naturally—but keep it helpful to humans along the way. In other words, make sure that link anchor text is accurate as to the content it points to and is also simple and easy to understand.

Should you repeat anchor text on a page?

If it’s natural and helpful to the visitor, then it’s probably natural and helpful to the search engine too. This is a good rule of thumb. Just don’t get too carried away and maybe error on the side of caution, again, by not over-optimizing. If you have multiple links on your page, remember to shake it up a bit when it comes to your anchor text. Use your natural keyword related to the page for one of them perhaps, and then use a variety of different phrases, both long and short, but all easy to understand and helpfully descriptive along the way.

Does it matter where anchor text is placed within a page?

It’s been noted that the first instance of a link to the same URL on a page will be the one that is most referred to when it comes to analyzing anchor text. It’s hard to know for sure if this is a fact or not, but it’s something to keep in mind anyway. And don’t forget that your nav bar menu containing the exact URL link to a page that anchor text elsewhere on that page will often be the first instance and the one that matters. If your navbar has the link, then that’s probably going to be the most important anchor text for what it’s worth.

These days, there are really only two or three search engines that even matter…and manually submitting a site to these really doesn’t accomplish anything that they won’t do automatically on their own anyway (that is, unless your SEO or web development expert has a good reason to do manual submission in certain specific cases)—they want to find good sites and share with their customers after all.

What DOES matter though, is making sure the high value online listings and web properties do have your site listed—for organic purposes and for an advantage when it comes to optimizing your site for better rankings. Here are some preliminary suggestions…

Search…

Google Search – Obviously the granddaddy of them all, make sure your site is Google friendly and consider using the Google Webmaster Tools to keep tabs on your Google listings.

Bing – The other popular and widely used search engine, you’ll want to make sure your site is part of the Bing search results. Again, check out Bing Webmaster Tools to keep tabs on your results and visibility here.

Google+ Local and Places For Business – Make sure your local business is listed here. This is what puts you on the map…literally. A surprising number of online searches take place via
Google Maps listings.

Social Media…

Pinterest – Having your site’s profile on Pinterest—as well as using this social media service actively to pin things of interest on and surrounding your site is proving to be a successful option lately. In fact, a surprising number of Pinterest listings are showing up in Google Results lately…even if this is not a direct link to your site, it does enhance visibility and it’s clear that the search engines are paying attention.

Twitter – Twitter is also very searchable. Twitter posts are not quite as prominently listed in search results as they were at their peak, but they are still noticed by the search engines. Having an active Twitter profile (i.e. actually using it in a positive and proactive way) linking to your site is a good idea.

Facebook – It certainly can’t hurt things to have a Facebook Page based around and leading visitors and search engines to finding your website. Worth the effort on several different levels.

Worth A Try…

DexKnows.com Local Business Directory – If you have time, this one might be worth your effort to submit.

Niche or Local Directories – If you happen to know about any local or niche directories that seem to be the standard for your area or type of business, then by all means, submit your site to these quality online directories as long as there is no fee involved.

Fading Quickly…

Yahoo! Directory – This is where it all started on the web. It used to be if you had a Yahoo! Directory listing for your site, you were set. More or less inconsequential in 2012 going into 2013, you might submit your site here if you have time, but absolutely do not pay their Submission fee.

DMOZ – Again, this directly used to help ensure your website would do well online via search, etc. But it’s not nearly as influential as it once was.

Additional Words To The Wise…

Please do not submit your site to thousands of directories—this might seem to create enhanced online visibility for your site, but it really comes across these days as spammy. If you’re going to submit your site to directories, be certain that they have traffic (and traffic that relates to your niche or location). It’s best to submit to such directories manually and only when they actually look like quality, impressive sites. Subpar directory submissions just for the sake of “link building” these days can do more harm than good.

What Exactly Are Hashtags?

Well technically, a hash tag is a keyword or short phrase with# (pound sign) in front of it. They’re typically used without any spacing. So for example, our post here about hashtags could be associated with #hashtags or even #hashtagsarethebest.

Where Are They Are Used?

We’re starting to see them used all over the place (i.e. as a watermark in the lower corner of your favorite T.V. show, etc.), but they serve the most purpose on social networks—usually Twitter—but also networks like Google+ and Instagram.

Why Are Hashtags Used?

Social networks often use words prefixed by hashtags as links. For example, on Twitter, when a person views a tweet that includes a #hashtagkeyword, and then clicks on that #hashtagkeyword, they’ll be taken to a search results page that includes all of the posts with using that identical #hashtagkeyword.

Because of the instant nature of social media, they can be used to follow a trending topic – back to the live T.V. broadcast for a quick example – when people view that show and talk about it online using the designated hashtag in the their messages, the buzzworthienss of a topic can be measured by the social network just through the sheer quantity and frequency of the use of that hashtag in a marked period of time. When you hear the term “Trending on Twitter,” this is a good way of understanding how this is measured.

How To Use Them?

Hashtags are used for promotion – Savvy promoters have become good at starting hashtag trends that “brand” online conversations. For example, #Londoin2012 was frequently used in conversations talking about and promoting 2012’s Summer Olympics events in London.

Hashtags are used to support a trend – Many groups will formally or informally begin using and promoting a hashtag to get noticed and create an online trend. This tends to be kind of a grassroots/organic thing that just kind of happens and takes off, but there’s always somebody that has to start it.

Hashtags get connected – Want to show that you’re talking about a specific thing online? For example, say you’re a graphic designer talking about a new design idea or new design software online. You might use the hashtag #graphicdesign to connect your post to the greater online conversation about that topic or perhaps to be found by others searching for posts about that topic. Someone looking to hire a graphic designer might post something on Twitter that looks like “Need a designer for my new business cards. Suggestions? #graphicdesigner” You, the graphic designer might do a daily search for this particular hashtag and connect with the people having the online conversations accordingly.

Use them for poetic effect – You probably see people use hashtags all the time that really don’t apparently have a clue what their actual technical function is. In many ways, they’ve simply turned in to a way to add emphasis or even snarkiness to an online post or conversation. For example, a post that looks like this, “Flying to Florida for vacation #itsallgood” really doesn’t have a hashtag that means anything or is worth tracking. It’s just a form of online conversation.

And that is what hashtags are all about. #nowyouknow

So how do you get more likes on Facebook?

Well, clearly you can promote your Facebook page via traditional online or offline methods. And you’ll find success with this if you work it hard—maybe a little bit of guerilla marketing techniques would come in handy here.

And sure, you should have a Facebook like button clearly embedded on your website or blog for good measure. This will lead to some likes here and there for sure.

But the most obvious way to get the job done – and the easiest way to really kick your likes campaign into gear is to advertise on Facebook.

Want more likes? Advertise on Facebook.

There are several reasons why this is a great method to build up followers:

It’s Obvious & Expected. It’s easy to overlook the obvious at times, right? Well, when people are browsing and clicking around on Facebook itself, they are definitely inclined to click the like button for something that appeals to them. They are already in Facebook mode, and getting the click is the natural thing here.

Advertising on Facebook is very affordable. Seriously, starting a Facebook advertising campaign is remarkably affordable compared to other PPC and online advertising. It also happens to be a great way to experiment with online conversion techniques. With a little bit of research and some careful planning, you can roll out a successful advertising campaign for $50 or less.

Advertising on Facebook is targetable. Want to target grandmas who don’t like to bake their own apple pies (who in your subdivision)? You can probably narrow down your niche to that specific group of potential local pie-buyers with your Facebook advertising. Okay, okay, maybe not quite that specific, but you get the point. Facebook advertising is undoubtedly the most targetable online advertising stream there is—and this is good for getting likes from the right potential customers (and it’s also good that you don’t have to waste your budget on irrelevance).

Advertising on Facebook for likes is once and done for a particular subscriber. In other words, once they’ve seen your ad on Facebook, and clicked your like button, you’ve got them as a follower for life. Of course, you can always keep advertising for additional potential customers with the same method.

Likes are viral. Get the ball rolling with an initial Facebook advertising campaign and then continue by re-upping that campaign, or perhaps just let organic take over from there as your initial group of “likers” snowballs in to a much larger base of Facebook followers.

Facebook advertising is still fairly new & novel. It blends in and is more interactive than some other online advertising techniques, meaning viewers are likely to participate when an ad shows on their screen.

Facebook is bound to offer some pretty attractive advertising options as they try to build revenue & profits. Seriously, Facebook is under immense pressure from shareholders to grow their online advertising revenue now that they are a public company. Now is the time to take advantage of attractive pricing and offers before it all becomes much more mainstream.

To sum it all up, getting likes on Facebook is a good thing. It’s a yet another important and modern form of having a client walk in your door, or having your email or catalog land in their inbox or mailbox. It’s wise to do what you can to build your likes—and Facebook advertising is one of the easiest ways to do so for sure.

After the king—content—the queen is next in line. It’s straightforward and simple really when you look at it like this: Your website NEEDS content, as without it, there would be nothing there to read or view. Content is king.

But all things aside, if your website didn’t NEED content, then the design really is all that matters, right? After all, what else is there besides the content and the design of a site? So, all too often, we hear the adage again and again…content is king, content rules, content is king. Well it is king, needs to be king, and really always will be the top of the hierarchy by default. But that makes design no less important, just different.

Do not underestimate the queen.

Seriously, would you want to ignore one of the most powerful forces in the world of the web? Nope, not if you’re wise anyway. Your website’s first-rate, attractive design makes or breaks your site every bit as much as having content on the site or not. Why?

Well, people don’t like ugly website designs, or unattractive queens for that matter. Ugly websites are a distraction no matter how great the content itself is. People can’t see past the silent force of the design because design is omnipotent. It’s everywhere we turn, and our eyes are simply trained to appreciate attractiveness when it comes to design or otherwise. People avoid ugly websites with bad design, or if nothing else, they probably dismiss them as being unprofessional or amateurish.

The queen can be quite convincing herself. You’ve probably heard the old traditional saying “behind every good man stands a better woman.” Same goes for the king and queen, the content and design. The design backs up good content. The queen supports the king in all of his endeavors. Design guides and steers the content, both directly and even subliminally. The design helps the content do what it sets out to do—capture the visitors’ attention and guide them to take the next desirable action on the website.

Give the credit to the queen where credit is due.

Just because the king content is supposed to be the authoritative ruler, and this is what every good web copyrighter will insist on, really, every partnership or marriage is all about having a good give and take relationship. Much the same, good web design sincerely appreciates good web content—there’s no other way. But the feelings must be mutual. There is give and take on the web because good design must support good content and good content must support good design. They work together in perfect harmony as rulers of the web. Let’s face it, we need both kings and queens in this world…it’s how we do things here.

Remember, no matter how great the content, no one likes an ugly website. That’s a fact. And without quality content, the design really has nothing to do itself. Content and design are both absolutely important necessities. They are the king and queen of the web and masters of their domain (pardon the bad pun).

The bottom line is worth repeating: website content might be king, but trust us, good design is the queen and she should not be underestimated!