Archive for June, 2011

I’ve been working on several established websites lately and must say, I’m going mad! Not because the client is picky (picky is good!) but because the client is somewhat careless. And I don’t mean that they go in and try to hack things and make a royal cluster mess. No, I mean careless with their disk space.

On all hosting packages you’re set with a certain limit of space in which you can upload images, files and whatever. These can range from a few hundred MB to maybe a couple GB. I’m sure you’ve seen a number like 500MB and didn’t think much of it.

Well now is the time to think about this!

For instance, you’re a prolific blogger. You love to post stuff. Great! However you also love adding images. This is where you can run in to maxing out your disk space.

I’m not saying not to upload images. Shoot no! Images give posts the added flare to make something interesting. What I am saying is use photos that are large enough to showcase what you want your readers to see.

What do I mean?

Example: You have a great photo of your garden that you’ve uploaded from your camera. Your camera creates photos ready to print in a standard size of 4x6inches. You don’t need a  4×6 picutre on your blog! Resize that baby! And not with wordpress either. Resize it before you upload it.

This is where you’ll save space! Resize the images before you upload them to your site or wordpress and you’ll save a ton of space.

The typical “straight from the camera” image is around 2.50MB. That doesn’t seem big, but some photos that you take off your camera could be even larger. Plus when you add one per post (or more) they tend to add up quickly.

A good size image for you blog/site shouldn’t be any larger than around 50KB.

There are always exceptions to this but if you want to keep a busy blog without having to upgrade your hosting package, check out the images you’re uploading.

A common question for anyone thinking about getting a website is:

When do I buy the domain?

The answer:

Once you’ve settled on a name, buy it. Don’t put it off because you’re not sure if you’ll actually use it.

Here is the number ONE reason why:

Your dream domain is awesome! But suddenly, it’s not available anymore.

This is the biggest heartbreak ever. You go to purchase your domain only to find it’s been taken. Chances are you did a public whois on GoDaddy or some other site and the evil domain harvesting sites saw that someone had searched your domain, and suddenly deemed it as a wanted name. They swoop in and buy it. Just like that it’s gone.

To avoid this issue I recommend the following:

• NEVER share your ideal domain!
• DON’T do domain registration site whois searches until you’re ready to purchase.
• REGISTER your domain as soon as you’ve settled on a name.

If you’re unsure of your domain, by all means, take time and think about it. But be warned that the longer you think about it the more likely your dream domain might be taken.

Always remember that just because you’ve purchased a domain doesn’t mean you have to build a website ASAP. It’s ok to let it sit there while you prepare yourself for the next step. If you have a blog on Blogger or WordPress, point it to that link until you’re ready to do more with it.

And don’t be lured in by the extras.

If you’re not ready to build your site, hold off on the hosting. It’s only an unneeded fee until you actually use it. Most domain registrar places try to push their hosting packages but if you’re not ready, don’t waste the money.

Domain registrar places will also try to sell you multiple domains. Just ask yourself: Do you really need the .info, .me or .org? Probably not. If you have a commonly misspelled name, then perhaps you should buy the misspelled version of your domain in a .com but I’ve never found any reason to buy any of the other extensions. The .com or .net are good enough!

Domain Privacy is the one thing I do recommend adding on if its not part of the package. This feature protects your personal information from the whois records. Not everyone needs to know you live at 324 West Author Lane in Newcommerville.

Good luck on your future purchase!