Are you looking to create a website for your business? Aside from the design and functionality of your website, make sure you also look into your web host. To get you started, here is a quick explanation of what a web host is and the two most common types of hosting.

What is a web host?
A web host sells or leases memory space on its servers so your website can have a virtual location on the internet. Their services include online storage for all of your site’s files and web pages.

Many web hosts also offer domain name hosting, which creates a web address that users can type to access your website (e.g. google.com, inc.com, etc.). Combine these two hosting services and you have the main foundations for your website.

You can also get domain-based email addresses (e.g. [email protected]) and website databases from web hosts. Essentially, your web host can store everything your website needs.

When you sign up with a web host, you will usually pay a monthly fee, which the company uses to maintain and invest in new servers for hosting, increase access speeds, and provide better services.

What are the two most common types of web hosting?
There are hundreds, if not thousands of web hosts around the world, but they usually fall in one of two categories:

• Shared hosting – Multiple, different websites are stored on one physical hosting server. Sites have their own partition (section of storage) that is kept separate from other sites on the same server.
• Dedicated hosting – One website is hosted per server. This means you have all of the server’s capacity to yourself.

Which hosting type is best for my business website?
Most websites use shared hosting because it’s more affordable while still offering generally stable access and access speeds. This is the ideal hosting type for most small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with fairly simple websites.

If your website is going to be large (e.g. thousands of pages) and you are going to host complex features like advanced eCommerce, streaming, etc., then it would be best to opt for a dedicated hosting service. Examples of large sites include Google, Amazon, and government sites, among others.

With numerous web hosts out there, selecting the right fit can be quite challenging. But with our IT expertise and solutions, we can help you find the web host that will work best for your business needs. Contact us today to get started with your online presence.

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The sheer number of applications available in Google Play means spending hours distinguishing apps that improve your productivity from those that will dampen your efficiency. To save you time, we have chosen four apps that will make your life much easier.

Chrome Remote Desktop
This cross-platform app gives users a highly reliable level of support. If you need remote assistance, you can grant someone temporary access to your desktop through this app, and revoke it once the issue has been resolved. The app also lets you access your own desktop from any of your mobile devices (smartphone, tablet, Chromebook) so you can work on your files or use programs. Simply install the Google Chrome extension, assign a pin for remote access, and start sharing.

Trusted Contacts
It’s a dangerous world out there, which is why location-sharing apps such as Trusted Contacts are heaven-sent. With Trusted Contacts, you can request location information from, or share yours with, a contact who’s also using the app. Location sharing has long been part of most apps with a GPS functionality, but what sets Trusted Contacts apart is its ability to send a person’s location even when offline. In instances when a person’s location is requested and there’s no answer within five minutes, the app automatically sends the contact’s last known location.

Google Handwriting Input
Typing on smartphones isn’t easy for everyone, and that’s why enhancements such as Swype are a welcome feature to touchscreen keyboards. Google Handwriting Input works like Swype, but is more flexible and doesn’t require precise strokes. You can handwrite your IMs and text messages, perform searches, and even create emojis using your finger or a stylus. This app may not seem like much, but it can be quite useful for those who communicate in languages with special characters.

Google Trips
Organizing business or leisurely travel is taxing and having to use multiple apps just adds to the chaos. Google Trips reduces the hassle by putting all data — such as itinerary, hotel location, available transportation, and other trip-related information — into one app and letting you access it online or offline. It also provides recommendations on popular attractions, day trips, and things to do based on the itineraries and other travel-related information you’ve stored in your Gmail.

The answer to some of your business’s most pressing needs may be hidden in plain sight in the App Store. We’re constantly on the lookout for process-enhancing apps and tools, so we know which solutions are best for you. Contact us today for advice.

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Decades ago, five seconds was a completely acceptable time to wait for a page to load. But today,  internet speeds have become faster, and most users expect a page to load as soon as they open it. If your website doesn’t load in a second or two, visitors will simply close it. So how can you maximize the speed of your WordPress website to ensure users don’t click away? Here are several ideas to make your website faster.

Keep WordPress and plugins up to date

While you may already know that updating WordPress and plugins will keep your website secure, you may not know that doing this also increases your site’s speed. So if you want a fast site, install those updates as soon as they become available.

Choose a host wisely

Your host can make or break your website, so before you select your host, do some research on the various options out there, particularly on their website speed and uptime.

Also, while your first impulse may be to choose shared hosting because of its low cost, be aware that it’s also going to be your slowest option in terms of speed because many websites are simultaneously relying on the same server for bandwidth.

If it’s not an option for small- or medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to use a dedicated server because of cost restrictions, their best alternative in the middle price and performance range is a virtual private server (VPS). This acts like a dedicated server in terms of functionality, but still technically uses a shared server. Regardless, using a VPS will give you a boost in speed over typical shared hosting.

Keep your site lean

The leaner your site is, the faster its speed will be. To create a lean site, be mindful of these four aspects:

1. Theme – While the promise of a versatile theme can spark the imagination, actually implementing one can set you back in terms of speed. When a theme has a ton of features, the amount of code to produce those features can bog down your site. To avoid this scenario, test the theme demos to see how long it takes for them to load. If it’s more than a few seconds, look for a lighter theme that loads faster.
2. Design – Similar to theme, design elements have the ability to dramatically slow down the speed of your site. Simple sites are faster, so think carefully about what ads, images, and extras you’re going to use.
3. Plugins – Not all plugins are created equal; some run fast and others slow. To tell one from the other, you can use special plugins that show the impact a plugin has on your site’s load time. Another rule to follow is that fewer plugins equals more speed. So think twice before your next plugin installation spree.
4. Images – Bulky images can also slow down your site. And while many raw images are around 3,000 to 4,000 pixels wide, most featured images are only 600–800 pixels wide. To reduce image weight and gain a faster site, resize them to the exact size they’ll appear on your screen.

Mind your plugins

You should stick to only the essential plugins to speed up your site. Cache plugins like W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache can provide more speed by caching every aspect of your site and reducing its download times. Another helpful plugin is Lazy Load. It speeds up your site by loading the elements at the top of the website first, where viewers are looking when they first visit your site. Before installing the Lazy Load plugin, check your Theme Options to see if you already have it.

Create redirects sparingly

If a page on your site needs to be redirected to another page, it can really slow down your site so it’s best to use them as little as possible. And to ensure you aren’t using any unnecessary links without knowing it, use the Redirect mapper tool or similar alternatives that help you find redirects you don’t need.

If you implement some or all of the speed tips above, you’re sure to see a noticeable difference in the speed of your site. Do you need more tips to optimize your website? Do you need help with web or IT matters? We’re just a phone call away.

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Wearable technology seems like something out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie. And mobile apps are not too far behind when it comes to converging human and artificial intelligence. The good thing is that these two are great examples of how today’s technology has significantly improved patient care. With the many benefits of wearable technology and mobile apps, consumers and healthcare providers find themselves divided over choosing one over the other.

A growing number of patients are quizzing their doctors about which healthcare apps and wearable technology they should be using. With the popularity and prevalence of both technologies set to increase over the coming years, doctors are going to have to decide if these will be something they’ll recommend to their patients. It can be a tough decision, but here are a few of the issues one needs to take into consideration before making a choice.

What devices/operating systems do you feel comfortable with?

The sudden expansion of the mobile apps and wearable technology market left many healthcare professionals out of the loop. A lot of doctors are apprehensive about making recommendations without knowing the ins and outs of how something works, and this is why many of them are avoiding this subject with their patients.

To solve this dilemma, choose the operating system you prefer to use. If you use an iPhone, then download and test apps for iOS, not Android. It should be the same with wearable devices. Take a few out for a test drive and learn more about them. It’s also possible to have your technology provider arrange a demonstration of these devices and explain how they work. This way, you have a general idea of what they can do.

Figure out the scope of your recommendations

One thing doctors notice when exploring the world of health apps and wearable technology is just how massive and varied it can be. If you’re a specialist, it will be much easier to figure out which one to recommend to patients, but if you’re a general health practitioner who covers a broader range of medicine, you might find yourself lost in a wide world of technology choices.

When it comes to wearable technology, it is a little easier to figure out the items patients will be interested in. However, when it comes to health apps, you need to be on your toes. Because their scope varies wildly from nutrition and medicine reminders to heart health and stroke prevention, you are going to want to focus your recommendations on the areas you feel comfortable with.

Talk to your patients

A lot of doctors don’t speak with their patients about what mobile health apps or wearable technology they use or are thinking about using. But by talking to them, doctors will get a better idea of what their patients want from this technology. It also makes it easier for doctors to figure out what technologies they should be focusing on.

Ask a tech expert

Just because a particular piece of technology works great for you doesn’t mean your patients will have the same experience with it. There are a lot of factors involved when it comes to wearable technology and mobile apps, and learning more about these will be important to you and your patients. Tech experts, like those on our staff, can properly assess technology in terms of security and other issues. There’s nothing worse than recommending a technology that contains viruses or other problems for your patients.

If you want to recommend specific technology to your patients, get in touch with us first. We’ll make sure your picks have a clean bill of health.

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